CLOSE TO THE EDGE

I won't belabor my love for this album, which in my opinion should appear in the dictionary under progressive rock, nor will I go into fan-boyish praise for its compositional, instrumental, and musical merits-- it has been described enough by the numerous voices above.

However, I will encourage anyone-- in the thousand to one shot reading-- who HASN'T discovered classic progressive rock, that this is almost certainly the best place to start. More than King Crimson's uneven early albums, Genesis' tepid mediocre offerings, and ELP's key-driven pomp: YES' songwriting, instrumental proficiency and energy completely and unfailingly entertain. Each member of the group sets the standards of quality for their instrument, and presents a release here that only gets better with age. Each song has limitless musical secrets to discover, and some of the sharpest and most memorable tunes in the genre.

5 big, fat, solid stars.

Songwriting: 5 Instrumental Performances: 5 Lyrics/Vocals: 5 Style/Emotion/Replay: 5