CLOSE TO THE EDGE

This is an epic album and the best of the three albums Yes produced in 1971-1972, when the Progressive Rock band founded by vocalist Jon Anderson was at its creative peak. The title track "close to the edge" was the entire first side of the album and represented the group's formulaic pattern at its best: a nice long instrumental introduction that leads to the song's main figure which everyone in the band takes turns playing. With Anderson the thing is to always enjoy his soaring tenor voice and forget about the inane lyrics; trying explaining "A seasoned witch could call you from the depths of yoru disgrace/And rearrange your liver to the solid mental grace/And achieve it all with music that came quickly from afar/Then taste the fruit of man recorded losing all against the hour." Compare that with how the "I get up, I get down" from the end of "The Solid Time of Change" works a lot better because what matters are not the words but the sound. Anderson's voice and the falsetto harmonies he creates with Steve Howe and Chris Squire are as much an instrument as Howe's guitar or Rick Wakeman's keyboard. Howe's acoustic guitar work is featured on "And You and I," while "Siberian Khatru" features a nice musical duel between Howe on electric sitar and Wakeman on harpsichord. The promise evidenced by "The Yes Album," and developed further on "Fragile," reaches full maturity on "Close to the Edge." Listen again and you will reach the conclusion that this is Yes' best album.