After releasing their huge album Fragile in 1971, Yes were not phased by their sudden rise in fame, and that showed as they weren't going to give in and let the money go to their heads. They continued to do new material, more and more complex, rather than just going for the simplistic 3 minute songs with two chords. Their recent addition of Rick Wakeman on keyboards also helped get the band up to speed, leading to even more complex music. Their follow up album is no disappointment, and I find it to be better than Fragile, and even my favorite Yes album to date.
This new album was their most ambitious at the point of its release. The new album, released in 1972, was called Close To The Edge. The album featured their first sidelong epic song, the title track, which clocks in at just under 19 minutes. On the second side of the album were two 10 minute songs, both incredibly complex in and of themselves. When it was released in September of 1972, the album was another huge success, becoming Gold in the US alone just a month after its release and making it to number 3 on the Billboard Charts. The album remains as a many Yes fans' favorite album.
The album opens up with the epic title track "Close To The Edge". Divided into four main sections, the whole song goes through many movements, all including wonderful musicianship by the five members, Jon Anderson, who is the angelic voice of the group, the insane Chris Squire on bass, the accomplished Bill Bruford on drums, the great Rick Wakeman on keyboards, and the legendary Steve Howe on guitar. The first movement is called "The Solid Time of Change" and it begins very unassumingly with a fade in of nature sounds such as birds and a waterfall and also a small bit of synth setting an unsettling mood. Then, at the apex of the fade in, the band booms in with a rather unorthodox guitar solo played by guitarist Steve Howe along with the rest of the band playing their individual roles, creating an almost cacophonous mix at time. There's not much of a structure for this section, going from time signature to time signature, but still sounding amazing because the musicianship is amazing. All the while Chris Squire plays an ascending bass riff, often adding to the mood going from menacing to happy with ease of just a note. Interspersed are random wordless vocal shouts, which are multilayered by vocalist Jon Anderson, and some other members in the band. About 3 minutes into the song, the whole band comes in with a main theme and structure, which is just beautiful to hear because the band shows themselves to be very diverse. This whole section seems happy almost, that is, until the words come in a minute later. This vocal section lets the guitar take a break from relentless soloing, but puts the bass and keyboards in the front, as Chris Squire plays a minor and prominent bass line for the first verse. Jon's vocals are wonderful, sung in an almost chanting style due to the amount of words per line. At the end of the verse, one of the song's most prominent themes comes in with Anderson singing "Close to the edge, round by the corner. Close to the edge down by a river", which gets used a lot later in the song. This transfers into a major sounding verse, different than the first musically, but ending with the same "Close to the edge, round..." lyrics coming in. This is where the song takes a big leap into the most prominent theme of the song with Anderson singing "I get up, I get down". These words end the first section, although the whole song really doesn't feel like there are big differences in the sections as they beautifully and organically flow through each other and into each other. The whole song feels like a complete unit, which is great because it wasn't just several songs all pasted together with an odd chord change and then sudden change of tempo or a fade out and fade in, put together haphazardly as other prog rock groups would do (such as Rush's first sidelong epic "The Fountain of Lamneth" and even parts of the famous "2112"). At the 6:00 mark or so, the song goes into the second section, "Total Mass Retain" which stays in the same style as the first part, but the bass line changes to a more frantic style. During this section, there are a few different movements, but the tune stays within what has happened already in the song. This also is one of the only parts with Steve Howe playing rhythm guitar as most of the time in this tune he is ripping it up playing lead in cool ways, or leaving the space open for keyboards and bass to take the front. Very mature in his guitar playing indeed. This repeats the "I get up, I get down" theme another time and is followed by a short riff played by guitar and bass with keyboards slowly becoming the main section to transfer into the third section which is dominated by keyboards. This third section is called "I Get Up, I Get Down", and it is titled this rightfully so as that phrase is repeated several times. The whole part is mostly quiet, with atmospheric keyboards playing at the beginning and then transferring into a standard melodic beat played on a keyboard softly. Jon Anderson, Chris Squire, and Steve Howe then perform some of the most beautiful harmonies as they sing the lyrics. Chris and Steve take the backing vocals most of the time with Jon singing lead overtop. This whole section is so beautiful and well constructed. This is definitely the most diverse part of the song, as the quietness is unexpected in the context of the song. There is a somewhat verse-chorus structure here with several verses coming and ending with "I get up, I get down". After this cycle is repeated numerous times, Jon Anderson sings the line louder as his voice soars followed by a loud and lovely church organ played by Rick Wakeman. Jon then sings the line again at the end of the organ piece, which then goes back into the organ piece. The organ is so powerful and creates a wonderful sound in the tune. At the end of the organ solo, a synth comes in, transferring into "Seasons of Man", the fourth and final part of the song. This whole section begins with Rick ripping it up as he plays an amazing synth solo. He is truly talented, playing intricately fast. The music in the background is similar to earlier parts of the song's verses. At the end of Rick's solo, which lasts for nearly 2 minutes, Jon comes back in to sing a final verse in the song, leading up to the climax. The whole band gets progressively louder, building up gradually. At the end of the verse, the several themes in the song, "Close to the edge, down by a river", "Seasons will pass you by", and "Now that it's all over and done", come back building up into a final three repeats of the triumphant "I get up, I get down", sung beautifully with added orchestration and fervor from the band. This ends with a keyboard line getting repeated several times, fading into the sounds of nature heard at the beginning. This truly is Yes's greatest piece, at least in my opinion! The musicianship is insanely talented, and the song is so well put together.
The second side opens up with the ten minute "And You and I", which is considerably softer than "Close to the Edge" and the following track "Siberian Khatru". The song opens up with Steve Howe playing an acoustic guitar and speaking a few words such as "Okay". He plays some harmonics for about 30 seconds as he tunes up until he goes into the intro riff, played on a twelve string acoustic guitar, the riff is minor in contrast to the major riff that follows. This next riff is just a simple three chord progression with different percussion sounds coming in and out as well as a Moog playing a short and simple solo. Jon's vocals come in at the end of the synth solo, singing nicely. This continues for another few minutes, until the whole band comes in, with a sharp difference in chord progression. This section only lasts for a few seconds though, as Jon comes in with a harmonizing chorus that lasts for a short while, until going into the next section, a slow, orchestrated part, with everyone slowing down to half speed. Rick Wakeman leads the pack with another synth solo played on Moog and Mellotron. Jon sings a short verse that leads into the third section which reprises the intro riff played on twelve string, but this time Steve plays a different riff at the ending. Rick plays a little more synth before Jon comes back in with his singing as he sings another verse. This verse ends with the full band coming in, following most of the structure in the previous verse. Chris and Steve both seem to play the lead parts, with them seemingly taking turns in front. Rick ends it with a keyboard and synth solo which leads into a verse sung by Chris, Jon, and Steve with a beautiful harmony. This reprises a melody found earlier in the song's first section. Once the harmonies end, the band comes back in with the half speed slow section as Rick creates synth noises that sound like shooting stars. The song ends with the soft chorus found at the beginning of the song, with just Jon singing and Steve playing acoustic. This song is wonderful and is definitely the softest on the album. Also, it features some excellent musicianship from each of the members, with each section feeling refreshing and new, even the reprises.
The third and final track on the album is the nine minute "Siberian Khatru". This track is also opened with Steve Howe playing a riff, but this time, though, it is more of a rocker. Steve plays the riff twice through with the whole band coming in at the end. Rick plays some organ chords with Chris playing lead for a few bars until Steve comes back in with the main riff of the song. Steve plays the simple 4 note riff in three different octaves (four when he plays it live) and it just builds up tension as it leads into the verse. I like this main riff because the time signature is pretty cool as there are two bars of 4/4 and then one of 7/4 (or three of 4/4 and one of 3/4 if you like) which is a snazzy structure as Bruford catches the guitar's rhythm by accenting certain beats. The verse features a different riff which is a much funkier affair. Steve and Rick play the riff together with Chris holding up the rhythm section along with Bill Bruford. The verse ends as it leads into the short chorus. The guitar part of the chorus reminds me of something Hendrix would have done, granted that it is a lot faster that Hendrix would play most of the time. Jon sings his lyrics and ends the chorus with harmonizations with the other members. Steve plays a slower and softer version of the main riff along with Chris accenting some points a few times before launching back into the harmonious voices of the second verse. The verse is basically the same as before, as well as the following chorus. There are several odd time signatures, as Bruford often plays a 4/4 beat while the guitar plays in 6/8, which is a cool idea that is well executed. Steve gets a solo on sitar after the second chorus as well as an interchange between keyboards and guitar that leads back into his introductory guitar riff. This time though, the intro riff leads into a softer verse sung by John that leads into the third and final verse. This time, however, Jon ends the verse with random two syllable words that build up tension as orchestration and drum rolls get louder and louder with Chris playing a steady riff. This all leads back into the final reprisal of the main riff that lasts until the end of the song. A few bars in, Jon sings wordless vocals overtop, which again lead into the main riff, which features a wonderful guitar solo by Steve. Steve plays a clean guitar overtop of the rest of the band, with each member contributing their own style to make a big sound. This lasts until the end of the song as the band fades out, ending a wonderful album wonderfully. This is another favorite of mine; in fact, every song on this album is a favorite of mine, with "Close to the Edge" being my all time favorite Yes song.
All in all, this is, in the view of me and many others, Yes's greatest work! I find each song to be a journey in and of themselves, never getting stale or boring. I give this album a 10 out of 10.
This is a live version of "Close to the Edge"
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