CLOSE TO THE EDGE

Well, I knew this day would come at some point, reviewing one of the renowned prog classics of all time. I could go on forever typing things that anyone can find somewhere in this album's reviews, so I'll suffice for a personal reflection on what this album has meant to me, and the indescribable impact it has had on my life and who I am as a person.

I received this album as a Christmas present from my best friend in high school, during my Junior year. I was still doing much personal growth in who I would become as an adult at the time. The philosophical minded individual I am, I had an open mind to new ideas and concepts, seeking "enlightenment" if you will. By chance, this album happened to come along and change the whole course of my life. I'll never forget listening to it the first time walking home from the bus down my street. How long the songs seemed! How brilliant and lush and complex the music sounded... how much there was to listen for! And for the rest of high school I'd find myself listening to this album constantly, the lyrics and their cryptic meaning captivated me. I decided this was the kind of artistic music I really love, and it was a big part of what lead to me choosing to be a musician rather than a doctor, a hard decision as the achieving individual that I've striven to be. Music became my life after this album.

Now, I still listen to it on occasion during points of my life of great achievement or failure, of great elation and sorrow, and it never fails to put things back into perspective: I get up, I get down. Life will always be an up and down. However, during this bumpy journey, we must strive to increase our love and holiness. This is, what I believe, the meaning of the work itself: coming closer to God, which would made sense considering its authorship. I found a brilliant interpretation that I think captures the spiritual Christian mentality for which Jon Anderson was aiming by a quirky guy online who runs a ministry, code-named "yhwh." Really the meaning of the lyrics is often unveiled (and, for me, still are at random times) when a person gains a deeper understanding of Christian faith, particularly theological and biblical topics, especially from the more "hippy" peace and love angle of Christianity. Even a week ago, reading something out of a theology book, I suddenly heard lyric from the album in my mind and realized "oh, that's what that means! It fits!" And I'm sure it'll keep happening for the rest of my life.

Suffice to say, it is an album close to perfection that is an essential masterpiece of work, up there with the symphonies of Beethoven, the choral music of Bach, and the pinnacle jazz works of Davis and Coltrane. A timeless piece of music.

So, just check it out once and give it a chance. It just might change the course of your life.

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