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Yes - Close to the Edge CD (album) cover

CLOSE TO THE EDGE

Yes

 

Symphonic Prog

4.68 | 5061 ratings

From Progarchives.com, the ultimate progressive rock music website

SiberianKhatru
5 stars Few albums have truly revolutionized my whole view of music as much as Close to the Edge. A friend put this on my iPod insisting that it was an incredible masterpiece. At that time, music only appealed to me that had a catchy chorus and a simple: verse, chorus, verse, chorus, bridge, chorus. On my first listen, I hadn't paid much attention and was distracted by else things. On my second listen to Side-A, I was completely mesmerized.

The keyboard sequence isn't what really captured my attention, however, "The solid time of change" and "The Total Mass Retain" sections gave me the shivers; from there, I was hooked. There is something about the urgent manner of Anderson's vocals in this song that make give it an extra epic feeling. The lyrics are incredibly cryptic, in fact, I'm not sure that they mean anything at all. The words, however, flow excellently together, almost as if each syllable was chosen specifically to follow the previous.

The "I Get Up/I Get Down" section of the song changes the atmosphere. From this point, it is a continuous crescendo until the very end of the song.

The final section, "Seasons of Man" returns where the first two left off, in one of the closing lines, Squire takes over lead vocals. The lines "On the hill we viewed the silence of the valley, Called to witness cycles only of the past. And we reach all this with movements in between the said remark." Are possibly my favorite of any song period. The song appropriately concludes with "I Get Up I Get Down.

Side-B is equally as impressive as Side-A. And You and I is one of the most lyrically beautiful love songs ever written. Siberian Khatru is a killer ending. Plenty of showcasing each member at their respective instrument.

This album isn't only essential for fans of prog rock, it is essential for fans of music: period.

SiberianKhatru | 5/5 |

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