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Yes - Close to the Edge CD (album) cover

CLOSE TO THE EDGE

Yes

 

Symphonic Prog

4.68 | 5054 ratings

From Progarchives.com, the ultimate progressive rock music website

Riuku
5 stars Close to the Edge...an album that is just "that good." This album wears five stars proudly and deservedly so; it's fun, romantic, haunting, technical, psychedelic, innovative, and imaginative--not to mention, it lends itself very well to the imagination. Many other albums deliver this whole package, but the amazing thing about this specific album is how it happens so quickly. It's easily the most agreeable "five star" album because it's just that good. Every musician performs their absolute best, the lyrics are charming and very open to interpretation, and still make you feel "good." The compositions rival classical music, and the music itself is simply uplifting, very Siddhartha-like. You really do visit another world with the spin of this album.

The title track will kick your ass several times. Really. Steve Howe shreds like a boss after the strange enlightening intro, slightly confusing you. I think this represents the difficulty of life and of course the relaxing ending is representative of the resolution of complexity. And that wormhole part in the middle is the "enlightenment." But I could just be joking, it means what you want it to.

After some absolutely amazing musicianship from...well...everyone, the Wizard casts a spell and teleports us to another world. This is absolute beauty. It feels like you are swimming in some clear beautiful water in a diamond planet with unicorns and fire-breathing seahorses that you can mount. Wow. This quickly becomes a haunting moving section which is even more amazing, and then after a recap of certain parts of the beginning, the song comes to a peaceful end, And that's just the title track (no drugs necessary!)

And You and I is my favorite number on this feel-good, very fun album (and one of my favorite songs period). It is a romantic journey through the ages, beautiful throughout all ten minutes. And then there is Siberian Khatru, which has the most delicious opening lick to start things off. From then you're pretty much lost in space in the crazy musicianship present.

If you have not heard this album and you are reading this, you probably do not exist. But one thing is for sure...we can all agree that this easily deserves five stars. An easy, relaxing, and fun listen with top notch musicianship to boot.

The mind-blowingly insane-the part that kicks off right after the "wormhole" section

The mind-blowingly beautiful-the last four vocal lines of And You and I

The mind-blowingly unexpected-the opening of Siberian Khatru

Riuku | 5/5 |

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