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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

The Sleepwalker
Prog Reviewer
4 stars I'll be the 986th member of ProgArchives to rate Close To the Edge. One could say that's useless, but I want to share my opinion anyway. Close To The Edge is a very highly regarded album by prog fans. The album is often said to be the absolute highlight of prog music, but I disagree with that. In my opinion there are better albums made, by Yes as well as other prog bands. Close To the Edge features three epic pieces, one being an almost 19 minute long epic, the other pieces both being about 10 minutes in length. The album is a very symphonic one, and has a very pleasant sound.

The epic title track opens the album with nature sounds. Soon a powerful instrumental part will come in, featuring some striking guitar playing by Steve Howe. This powerful intro takes us to more gentle and much more symphonic music. From here on, the song is full of brilliant songwriting and catchy, melodic music. The overall sound is very warm and delighting, with the exception of the "I Get Up I Get Down" part, which has a slightly darker sound, thanks to for example Rick Wakeman playing on a church organ. The song is fantastic and absolutely nothing less, though I also want to mention it does not have moments as brilliant as some other Yes pieces.

The remaining two pieces are great as well, though both are very different from each other. "And You And I" is an acoustic guitar driven track, having a very "cosy" mood. This piece is, just like the title track, a multi part suite. Some of the parts are more powerful than others, but thanks to some reprises and pleasant transitions I don't get the feeling of listening to a bunch of pasted parts, which is a very good thing. "Siberian Khatru" is a more up-tempo piece, which I have mixed feelings about. The piece is very creative and gives the members of the band the chance to play the best they possibly can. On the other hand it sounds a bit forced at some parts, like for example the vocal harmony part near the end of the song.

I think Close To The Edge is a weaker album than for example Fragile or relayer, though it still is a fantastic album. I don't think it truly deserves the status it has right now, but that's just my opinion. Anyway, I think because of it being a wonderful album it deserves a 4 star rating.

The Sleepwalker | 4/5 |

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