Yes: Close To The Edge
Printed From: Progarchives.com
Category: Progressive Music Lounges
Forum Name: Prog Recommendations/Featured albums
Forum Description: Make or seek recommendations and discuss specific prog albums
URL: http://www.progarchives.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=116292
Printed Date: May 08 2024 at 16:52
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Topic: Yes: Close To The Edge
Posted By: SteveG
Subject: Yes: Close To The Edge
Date Posted: September 13 2018 at 07:00
| Ok, Close to the Edge. Deserving of the accolades or overrated? And what about that great cover? |
Replies:
Posted By: Argo2112
Date Posted: September 13 2018 at 08:18
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I guess any album that get's as much attention as CTTE is going to be labeled as overrated by some. I think it's a Masterpiece but I guess I can see why some people think it gets too much hype. |
Posted By: someone_else
Date Posted: September 13 2018 at 09:36
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To me, Close to the Edge is the ultimate prog album. Yes were known to strive for perfection and came as close to its edge with this one as a prog band could. ------------- 
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Posted By: The.Crimson.King
Date Posted: September 13 2018 at 09:48
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Yes was the 2nd prog band I got into after ELP and CTTE was the 1st Yes album I bought back in September '75. Everything about it blew me away, the artwork, the sound of the instruments, the skill of the players, the way the songs kept changing and evolving, and especially having 1 song take up a whole side of an album! The audacity! Nowadays, I don't listen to it very often as it's more a historical trip down prog memory lane than something I can't live without hearing regularly...but when my wife puts on the classic rock DirectTV channel they play And You And I every couple of days it reminds me what a great album it is and how it made me want to hear more prog
 ------------- https://wytchcrypt.wixsite.com/mutiny-in-jonestown" rel="nofollow - Mutiny in Jonestown : Progressive Rock Since 1987 |
Posted By: dr wu23
Date Posted: September 13 2018 at 11:12
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Probably the best Yes album in my opinion.......though 'The Yes' album is a sentimental favorite for me. Bruford always though it was their best...and then he left for KC. ;) As to the cover.....one of the most boring covers in prog history. ------------- One does nothing yet nothing is left undone. Haquin |
Posted By: Catcher10
Date Posted: September 13 2018 at 11:14
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Pretty amazing album considering it was released in 1972. The performance and production of that album in 1972 is masterpiece deserving. -------------   
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Posted By: Squonk19
Date Posted: September 13 2018 at 11:26
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A true prog rock classic. All 3 tracks are amongst my very favourites. A band at their absolute peak. The Yes Album and Fragile follow closely, but Close to the Edge is rather special. 2nd only to Foxtrot as my favourite album of all time. ------------- Living in their pools, they soon forget about the sea. |
Posted By: Mortte
Date Posted: September 13 2018 at 11:29
| As I said in that Fragile-thread, CTTE has never been me as important than those two earlier albums. Second side is great. |
Posted By: SteveG
Date Posted: September 13 2018 at 11:34
------------- This message was brought to you by a proud supporter of the Deep State. |
dr wu23 wrote:Posted By: dr wu23
Date Posted: September 13 2018 at 11:46
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^Hmmm.....never used that LP for that purpose. ;) ------------- One does nothing yet nothing is left undone. Haquin |
Posted By: SteveG
Date Posted: September 13 2018 at 11:59
| ^ Hmm. If I had to guess, I bet you gave the cover to the Lamb album by Genesis a work out once or twice. :) |
Posted By: Mascodagama
Date Posted: September 13 2018 at 13:33
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It'll do. ------------- Soldato of the Pan Head Mafia. We'll make you an offer you can't listen to. http://bandcamp.com/jpillbox" rel="nofollow - Bandcamp Profile |
Posted By: SteveG
Date Posted: September 13 2018 at 13:36
 ------------- This message was brought to you by a proud supporter of the Deep State. |
Posted By: Dellinger
Date Posted: September 13 2018 at 20:46
| My favourite Yes album, along with Fragile. It's just the best line-up I could think of for a prog band, and the music is just as good. Also, I think this is the quintesential prog album. |
Posted By: Fischman
Date Posted: September 13 2018 at 21:05
| Yes. It's all that. No question. |
Posted By: richardh
Date Posted: September 13 2018 at 23:46
nuff said
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Posted By: Mortte
Date Posted: September 14 2018 at 00:08
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Posted By: Chaser
Date Posted: September 14 2018 at 02:54
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The most perfect rock album ever made, in my opinion, and the only album on this site that I would score 500 out of 500. Total perfection. ------------- Songs cast a light on you |
Posted By: Lewian
Date Posted: September 14 2018 at 08:32
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Well I'm not the biggest Yes fan overall but everyone should realise that this album is something quite spectacular. That's not 100% a quality characteristic though; I find a bit too much showing off/noodling/"we do it because we can" on the title track. Fair enough, it contributes to the charisma of the album, the "standing out-factor", but from a perspective of pure musicality I think it's overdone. But then And You And I and Siberian Khatru are impeccable; And You and I would probably be the one Yes song I'd keep if I had to pick one. I like this quite a bit more than Fragile and the Yes Album; it's more consistent and has the highest highlight, but I'd rank it behind Relayer on my Yes list. |
Posted By: Boojieboy
Date Posted: September 14 2018 at 14:41
| It's good and average among the classics of prog. Not necessarily anything spectacular. But in the Top 15 or so. If it had say another song or two, pushing it closer to a hour, and the liner notes had tons of pictures and information, I'd give it a little more recognition. |
Posted By: Rednight
Date Posted: September 14 2018 at 15:16
------------- "It just has none of the qualities of your work that I find interesting. Abandon [?] it." - Eno |
Posted By: irrelevant
Date Posted: September 14 2018 at 20:47
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An album that's permeated with "you're listening to something rare and very special" ------------- https://gabebuller.bandcamp.com/" rel="nofollow - New album! http://www.progarchives.com/artist.asp?id=7385" rel="nofollow - http://www.progarchives.com/artist.asp?id=7385 |
Posted By: Dellinger
Date Posted: September 14 2018 at 21:08
Yeah, however, it couldn't have ane more songs nor reach one hour, since Vinyl wouldn't allow it. And pictures and information on the liner notes, as far as I'm concerned, are secondary to the greatness of an album. I rate and enjoy an album for it's music... having good lyrics, a nice cover, or lot's of stuff on the liner notes are just an extra that I might like and enjoy too, but they won't make me like the music any better. And I do prefer a 40 min album in which every song is excellent, than to stretch it to 60 min, and end up putting sub-par songs (I do believe CD's have harmed the quality of albums released in that way, since bands don't have to be so selective about what makes it into the album). And sure enough some of the re-issues of the album have more pictures and Roger Dean paintings and info that the earlier ones. |
Posted By: Mortte
Date Posted: September 14 2018 at 22:12
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Posted By: I prophesy disaster
Date Posted: September 15 2018 at 03:22
Given that I think Pawn Hearts is better than Close To The Edge, maybe I do think it is a little overrated. However, there aren't many albums that I know that are better than Close To The Edge, and I do accept that Close To The Edge is a masterpiece that is more aligned to people's tastes than Pawn Hearts. ------------- No, I know how to behave in the restaurant now, I don't tear at the meat with my hands. If I've become a man of the world somehow, that's not necessarily to say I'm a worldly man. |
Posted By: Dellinger
Date Posted: September 15 2018 at 21:01
Now, there seems to be some very different versions or interpretations, about what happened with Bruford and his leaving after CttE... and his impression of the album. What I remember reading about it is that he thought that one couldn't be improved upon. |
Posted By: The Dark Elf
Date Posted: September 15 2018 at 22:43
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Siberian Khatru is inferior to the rest of the album. It's the Epping Forest of Close to the Edge. ------------- ...a vigorous circular motion hitherto unknown to the people of this area, but destined to take the place of the mud shark in your mythology... |
Posted By: irrelevant
Date Posted: September 16 2018 at 07:14
Siberian Khatru is great and should not be compared to that hard slog of a track. ------------- https://gabebuller.bandcamp.com/" rel="nofollow - New album! http://www.progarchives.com/artist.asp?id=7385" rel="nofollow - http://www.progarchives.com/artist.asp?id=7385 |
Posted By: micky
Date Posted: September 16 2018 at 10:48
yeah .. love ya Greg but you whiffed on that one. Shorter, punchier and more interesting with kick ass licks.. no.. absolutely nothing like the Bataan death march snore fest of prog that was Epping. ------------- The Pedro and Micky Experience - When one no longer requires psychotropics to trip |
Posted By: Dellinger
Date Posted: September 16 2018 at 21:17
Yeah, Siberian Khatru is my least favourite song from the album, but still it's a great song and worthy of being in a masterpiece album. Battle of Epping Forest is indeed the song that ruins the masterpiece category of Selling England for me... if only that song were as good as Siberian Khatru, I may consider Selling England as great as Close to the Edge. |
Posted By: ForestFriend
Date Posted: September 16 2018 at 21:20
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I like both Siberian Khatru and The Battle Of Epping Forest... ------------- https://borealkinship.bandcamp.com/releases" rel="nofollow - My prog band - Boreal Kinship |
Posted By: cstack3
Date Posted: September 16 2018 at 22:49
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I love this jazz-rock mashup of Siberian Khatru, this has always been a favorite! ------------- I am not a Robot, I'm a FREE MAN!! |
Posted By: Mortte
Date Posted: September 17 2018 at 00:16
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Posted By: Frenetic Zetetic
Date Posted: September 17 2018 at 04:01
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It's the archetypal apex of progressive rock for me, and always has been. ------------- "I am so prog, I listen to concept albums on shuffle." -KMac2021 |
Posted By: SteveG
Date Posted: September 17 2018 at 04:09
 ------------- This message was brought to you by a proud supporter of the Deep State. |
Posted By: chopper
Date Posted: September 17 2018 at 04:23
Me too. Khatru comes over slightly badly due to being on the same album as two of the greatest prog songs ever recorded. I've never had a problem with Epping Forest, there are better tracks on SEBTP and there are worse.
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Posted By: Mortte
Date Posted: September 17 2018 at 05:03
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Posted By: grantman
Date Posted: October 28 2018 at 05:55
| Absolutely their finest hour ,everyone involved working together making magic. |
Posted By: Logan
Date Posted: October 28 2018 at 11:43
| Close to the Edge never really clicked with me, and I have heard it considerable times over the past 30 plus years. I do like the title track, but I feel like it could use some pruning. Maybe I just never got over the initial disappointment when I was very big on Fragile. These days I prefer the pre-Fragile albums to others by Yes. |
Posted By: Chaser
Date Posted: October 28 2018 at 11:53
Completely agree! A superlative album in every way ------------- Songs cast a light on you |
Posted By: jazzcomputer
Date Posted: October 28 2018 at 13:45
For me it's the greatest prog album ever, but tell me people, what about the Yessongs versions of the three tracks ? Do you like them as much as the originals ? More ? Less ? ------------- Ambient Jazz Music : http://jazzcomputer.org/" rel="nofollow - http://jazzcomputer.org/ |
Posted By: ForestFriend
Date Posted: October 28 2018 at 18:11
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Personally, I prefer the studio versions of the songs from CTTE and the live versions of the rest of the tracks from Yessongs. And You And I in particular is quite rough compared to the album because of the omission of acoustic guitars. I feel like the production on the album is so good that the added energy from the live performance (which does have its own appeal) doesn't really bring it to the same level. ------------- https://borealkinship.bandcamp.com/releases" rel="nofollow - My prog band - Boreal Kinship |
Posted By: Dellinger
Date Posted: October 29 2018 at 00:37
| I do prefer the studio versions of the album, specially compared to Yessongs. In the end, CttE has one of the very best line-ups I could hope for on a band, while on Yessongs, yeah, Alan White, as great as he is, just isn't Bruford. However, there are indeed live versions of those songs that I like at least as much elsewhere: title track and And You And I on Symphonic Live are just gorgeous, and Siberian Khatru on Keys to Ascension. |
Posted By: CristauxFeur
Date Posted: October 31 2018 at 21:12
Close To the Edge Is the Best Yes Album Cover (Inner Cover  ). It's sad the inner cover isn't on the CD------------- Dragged down by the stone |
Posted By: Kempokid
Date Posted: November 05 2018 at 20:38
| While there is no doubt that each song on the album is of high quality with some incredible instrumentation and great melody, I don't find this to be the ultimate prog album by any means, simply because while I do see so much of what makes this album great, I also find it to feel almost clinical at times, feeling as if it's lacking emotion, which while it doesn't bother me too much in this case, is still enough to stop me considering this to be the greatest album ever made. |
Posted By: AFlowerKingCrimson
Date Posted: November 05 2018 at 22:32
| If it's over rated that only applies to prog circles. I don't feel the album is being bought much by anyone these days not already into prog. The album only sold one million copies in the US(platinum) which is nothing compared to Dark Side of the Moon. Anyway, I feel it deserves all the praise and accolades it gets. Maybe not my personal favorite Yes album but it is possibly the best place to start for a newbie who wants to explore prog. |
Posted By: richardh
Date Posted: November 06 2018 at 00:12
| All prog albums are over rated (apart from the ones that aren't) |