CLOSE TO THE EDGE

As a young Puerto Rican kid living in the Bronx in the late 70's I was listening to some prog but I didn't discover YES till recently. In the 80s and 90s I was all about punk from the Pistols to Black Flag to Sonic Youth to Nirvana. Now I've gone and discovered a band I pretty much ignored back in its heyday. I guess in an age where Avril Lavigne and Ashley Simpson can call themselves punk...it's hard not to despair. Anyway...this is the one folks...the SGT. PEPPER of the Prog era. What amazes me is the sheer accesability of the tunes within this album. The title track is as catchy and pop as anything The Beatles ever recorded. "And You And I" is effortlessly majestic in a way that Zeppelin in all their jackhammer vulgarity would try and capture in "Kashmir". "Siberian Khatru" is the lesser song but the first two are rock miracles. There are no annoying fusion moments and no extended instumental forays into the stratosphere. Just good music...no make that great music....A 70's masterpiece.