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The Whistler 
Prog Reviewer
Joined: August 30 2006
Location: LA, CA
Status: Offline
Points: 7113
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 Topic: Closer to the Edge
Posted: November 01 2006 at 01:57 |
Ugh. I must be feelign unwell. I actually wanted to listen to Close to the Edge. I actually wanted to hear those descending Wakeman runs into Seasons of Man. Oh well.
I must admit that, aside from I Get Up I Get Down, Close to the Edge is better than I remembered. Of course, aside from The Preacher and the Teacher, And You And I is, er, worse than I remembered, so I reckon it balances. However, I like my sidelong tracks to have meaning, be it a battle of Tarki and Aquatarki. So, what's it all about?!? My vote (if I could do it) goes to Suicide. Yep. Some dude's gonna off himself by leaping off a cliff. Thanks Mr. Anderson for that.
Of course, I'm probably wrong, so I've stuff some extra answers up there. (13 for Halloween!)
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"There seem to be quite a large percentage of young American boys out there tonight. A long way from home, eh? Well so are we... Gotta stick together." -I. Anderson
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KoS
Forum Senior Member
Joined: May 17 2005
Location: Los Angeles
Status: Offline
Points: 16310
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Posted: November 01 2006 at 02:00 |
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Uh...shining flying purple wolfhounds
I have no proof but it's a try
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Uroboros
Forum Senior Member
Joined: February 25 2006
Location: Oxford
Status: Offline
Points: 912
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Posted: November 01 2006 at 02:06 |
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Everything was about weed in those days.
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Tous les chemins
qui s’ouvrent à moi
ne mènent à rien si tu n’es plus là
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Ounamahl
Forum Senior Member
Joined: November 13 2005
Location: Finland
Status: Offline
Points: 245
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Posted: November 01 2006 at 02:41 |
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Dude, weed! :D I recall that someone said it was about reaching nirvana/orgasm?! Eargasm?
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This is an electrified fairytale
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dAJaro
Forum Senior Member
Joined: February 02 2006
Location: Germany
Status: Offline
Points: 161
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Posted: November 01 2006 at 02:52 |
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actually its about buddha... but what the heck - voted for everything!
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Phil
Forum Senior Member
Joined: June 17 2005
Location: United Kingdom
Status: Offline
Points: 1881
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Posted: November 01 2006 at 02:52 |
Well as I undertsand it's about the cricle of life.....Jon Anderson taking a few themes from Hermann Hesse's "Siddartha", about how the river flows through life, always constant but always moving and changing.....
Yawn! Sorry someone had to be boring!
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Froth
Forum Senior Member
Joined: November 19 2005
Location: United Kingdom
Status: Offline
Points: 461
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Posted: November 01 2006 at 03:39 |
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The mere fact that we're all wondering what its about is testement to that song, and record's unrivelled lack of sincerity and emotion. Its probably about something but nothing that actually matters
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UtUmNo1
Forum Senior Member
Joined: October 29 2006
Location: Australia
Status: Offline
Points: 114
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Posted: November 01 2006 at 05:32 |
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As long as it's not another song about anal sex.
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fuxi
Prog Reviewer
Joined: March 08 2006
Location: United Kingdom
Status: Offline
Points: 2486
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Posted: November 01 2006 at 06:01 |
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I never understood a word of it, and I couldn't care less. The melodies, and the purity of Jon Anderson's voice, used to be enough for me. Of course I always assumed 'Close to the Edge' was somehow connected to its original album cover. The mood of the album seemed to be reflected not only in Roger Dean's surreal landscape painting, but also in the greenness of the outside sleeve, the first triumphant appearance of the Yes logo, and the neat pictures of the musicians on the back.
Do you get more pleasure out of prog with lyrics that seem to make sense? It depends. Most of Andy Tillison's lyrics for the Tangent are more intelligent than Jon Anderson's, but their albums sound as if Tillison is setting whole essays to music... rather tiresome. Albums such as BENEFIT, ANIMALS and LARK's TONGUES IN ASPIC are probably best: fairly traditional songs with meanings everyone can understand, almost like simple poems, nothing incomprehensible, a bit of sarcasm, a few lovely images...
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Gravity Eyelids
Forum Senior Member
Joined: August 12 2006
Location: United States
Status: Offline
Points: 357
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Posted: November 01 2006 at 06:29 |
Wiki's explanation:"According to the band's official website, Yesworld, the song is inspired by Hermann Hesse'sbook Siddhartha, an explanation which can cast the cryptic and mysterious lyrics in a new light, tracking the awakening of Hesse's character "close to the edge" of a river (and, symbolically, of the serial lifetimes of his soul) where he experiences a spiritual awakening."
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Into this wild Abyss the fiend
Stood on the brink of Hell and looked a while,
Pondering his Voyage.
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Norbert
Forum Senior Member
Joined: October 20 2005
Location: Hungary
Status: Offline
Points: 2506
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Posted: November 01 2006 at 08:07 |
There are some similarities but without mentioning Hesse's work would not come to my mind, although I've read it, and I've liked it.
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fuxi
Prog Reviewer
Joined: March 08 2006
Location: United Kingdom
Status: Offline
Points: 2486
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Posted: November 01 2006 at 08:48 |
 Gravity Eyelids wrote:
Wiki's explanation:"According to the band's official website, Yesworld, the song is inspired by Hermann Hesse'sbook Siddhartha, an explanation which can cast the cryptic and mysterious lyrics in a new light, tracking the awakening of Hesse's character "close to the edge" of a river (and, symbolically, of the serial lifetimes of his soul) where he experiences a spiritual awakening."
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'Spiritual awakening' - well of course!
The problem is that Herman Hesse wrote rather pretty books full of stories that can actually be understood, whereas Mr Anderson's lyrics, well...
Let's not forget Anderson also claimed to have based 'The Gates of Delirium' on a rather famous Tolstoy novel. He must have been staring at the book's cover, just as we used to stare at Yes album covers, hoping to gain some enlightenment!
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Bj-1
Special Collaborator
Honorary Collaborator
Joined: June 04 2005
Location: No(r)Way
Status: Offline
Points: 31661
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Posted: November 01 2006 at 08:49 |
I don't really care. The wonderful music is the most important to me 
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RIO/AVANT/ZEUHL - The best thing you can get with yer pants on!
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Rutgers Joe
Forum Senior Member
Joined: January 30 2006
Location: United States
Status: Offline
Points: 103
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Posted: November 01 2006 at 10:28 |
It's about 19 minutes long. 
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The original (and very creepy) cover of THE STEVE HOWE ALBUM...hint...look in the water... 
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the icon of sin
Forum Senior Member
Joined: July 29 2005
Location: United Kingdom
Status: Offline
Points: 588
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Posted: November 01 2006 at 10:33 |
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I was always a sucker for what has become known as the Chris Squire Constipation Theory.
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el böthy
Prog Reviewer
Joined: April 27 2005
Location: Argentina
Status: Offline
Points: 6336
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Posted: November 01 2006 at 10:35 |
its Jon Anderson interpretation of Herman Hesses Sidharta made music...not weed
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"You want me to play what, Robert?"
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Pnoom!
Forum Senior Member
Joined: September 02 2006
Location: OH
Status: Offline
Points: 4981
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Posted: November 01 2006 at 12:24 |
Some political situation I'm unaware. People say it's good, and a large percentage of good music is either political or societal issues related, so I'm going to have to go with that.
Of course, people also say fall out boy is good...
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Arsillus
Forum Senior Member
Joined: March 26 2005
Location: United States
Status: Offline
Points: 7374
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Posted: November 01 2006 at 12:35 |
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It's about whatever you want it to be.
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Yito
Forum Senior Member
Joined: November 28 2005
Location: Mexico
Status: Offline
Points: 145
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Posted: November 01 2006 at 12:49 |
This song talk about spiritual growing
is not based on "Herman Hesses Sidharta" or about suicide; Anderson never mention that book when he talk about CTTE and his against the suicide.
Edited by Yito - November 01 2006 at 12:50
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Psalm 96
1 Sing to the LORD a new song;
sing to the LORD, all the earth.
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Dennis
Forum Senior Member
Joined: May 09 2005
Location: United States
Status: Offline
Points: 241
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Posted: November 01 2006 at 12:54 |
It's really all about Jon's eastern religious beliefs filtered through a lot of acid.  Tales was conceived the same way! 
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"Day dawns dark, it now numbers infinity"
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Closer to the Edge
