CLOSE TO THE EDGE

So onto THE ALBUM. Not only is it #1 on the Prog Magazine countdown, it is my personal #1 as well. You could say that my wife, Allison Rich. and I live in a "house divided" as her personal favorite was #4 in the countdown? Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon. Both are definitely all time greats! But, Close to the Edge, to me, is the best album ever recorded. It amazes me as to how good it is from start to finish. All three tracks are among my top 10 Yes songs, with the title track being #1 (albeit tied with Awaken, from Going for the One?See that review, it was #26 in the countdown.), And You and I in at #2 and Siberian Khatru Probably at around #5 or 6. OK enough buildup, onto my review.

Track 1 - Close to the Edge

This track has 4 sections, as follows:

- i. The Solid Time of Change

- ii. Total Mass Retain

- iii. I Get Up I Get Down

- iv. Seasons of Man

Yes' first "sidelong" begins with a slow fade-in of nature sounds: running water, birds chirping, etc. Then synth sounds begin to crescendo until BANG! At 55 seconds into the track the band launches into controlled chaos. It sounds like they are all just going wild, but they are not! They know exactly what they are doing, because after about a minute of musical cacophony they stop on a dime and sing a harmonized, a cappella "ahh". Then jump back into the craziness for a few more seconds and do another "ahhh", this one a little longer, with a melodic contour. A bit more craziness follows. Bruford is almost going off the rails on the drums. However at 2:50, he plays a drumroll that signals the end of part one (The Solid Time of Change). The singers sing some more "ahhhs" then we transition into a 6-8 meter, led by a drum fill and Steve Howe's melodic guitar theme. This is the beginning of part 2. (Total Mass Retain) Squire's bass and Bruford's drumming lay down a solid foundation for Howe to play over with Wakeman's keyboards sustaining chords. At 3:52, Bruford taps a few tom-toms and we have a new odd-metered musical theme. Howe switches to Coral Electric Sitar, and the first lyrics enter at 4:00, led by Jon Anderson and supported by Chris Squire and Steve Howe. I absolutely LOVE the opening lines: "A seasoned witch could call you from the depths of your disgrace, and rearrange your liver to the solid mental grace." What does it mean exactly? No telling, but it really doesn't matter. It just IS. They hit the first refrain of "Close to the Edge, round by the corner?" at around 4:35. Then Howe plays a brief solo interlude, bringing us to the second verse which has a completely different feel than the first verse. Squire's bass lines cannot be ignored. He was the master of prog bass. Another refrain hits at around 5:40. At about 5:55, they sing "Seasons will pass you by. I get UUUUUUUP! I get Do-ow-ow-ow-ow-own" (but we haven't gone to section 3 of that name yet.) Verse 3 finds Squire and Bruford with yet another feel change. The bass tone is absolutely fierce. At around 6:30, Wakeman is really featured for the first time in the song with a nice mellotron and synth interlude between lines of the song. At 6:45, there is another instant change of meter and instrumental melodies, with Wakeman featured again. This leads to a bridge of sorts with alternating instrument and vocal parts. Anderson returns with another verse at 7:09. Every verse has different backing, it's absolute musical brilliance. This is a total COMPOSITION, not just a standard rock tune (nothing wrong with standard rock songs, I love lots of them, but this is a different thing). That, to me, is what makes the best prog songs so great. And I believe the very best ones, like this one, could stand up with great classical pieces throughout history. These songs were built to last; but I digress?soap box put away, for now. Another refrain follows with another "I get uuup! I get dowwwn?"part. This leads us into what I call the "squiggly bit". It's a bit of a layered part, with Howe on the electric sitar, being matched by Squire's bass, while Wakeman plays counter-melodies on the organ, and Bruford subtly keeps time underneath. Then at 8:30, the music gets all dreamy and part 3 (I Get Up, I Get Down) begins. Sustained echo-ey keyboard & guitar sounds create the soundscape as we cross the halfway point of the song. At around 9:49 staccato organ chords begin to establish a 4-4 rhythm. Soft harmonized vocals emerge, sung by Squire & Howe singing the narrative ("In her white lace?."), while Anderson alternates with lines of "I get up, I get down." Then Anderson continues the narrative ("Two million people barely satisfy?") Then Squire and Howe's vocal lines overlap with Anderson's. At around 12:15, Wakeman takes over on GLORIOUS pipe organ. This part always gives me chills. At around 12:50 Anderson returns to "I get up, I get down," again before another round of the amazing pipe organ from Wakeman. At 13:53, Wakeman adds fat synths on top of the organ with an accelerating tune that leads us into part 4 (Seasons of Man), heralded by 3 sharp organ chords. The Bruford & Squire back in at full force around 14:12 along with Wakeman's synths. A beautiful transitional section, led by Wakeman, happens between 14:50 and 14:59. Then the rhythm from section 2 returns with Bruford & Squire playing a tight rhythm under Wakeman's Hammond organ solo. Howe is back (maybe he smoked a joint?) on electric sitar. Another verse returns at around 15:52. Part 4 is essentially a re-working of part 2. There is a cool marching beat at 16:10. After the line "knowing all about the place," at 16:30, there are some staccato notes from the band and we begin the song's massive climax!

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

Close to the edge, down by the river

Down at the end, round by the corner

Seasons will pass you by,

Now that it's all over and done,

Called to the seed, right to the sun

Now that you find, now that you're WHOOOOOOLE!

Seasons will pass you by,

I get up! I get down!

Beautiful instrumental fills?

I get up! I get down!

Beautiful instrumental fills?

I get up! I get down??..

And instruments fade into the natural sounds from the opening, completing a cycle.

To me, this moment is one of, if not THE finest moments in all of prog. It never lets me down. There is so much energy and expression. It's almost breath-taking. That song is 18 minutes and 50 seconds of total musical bliss! That alone is worth the price of admission. But NO, we aren't done yet! This was only side 1. Two more glorious songs to go!

Track 2 - And You and I.

This one is also in four sections:

- i. Cord of Life

- ii. Eclipse

- iii. The Preacher, the Teacher

- iv. Apocalypse

And now my second favorite Yes-song after the unbreakable tie at the top. We begin with "captured" studio sound of Howe tuning his 12-String acoustic with harmonics. And a bit of studio chatter. Then Howe begins the song- proper with some 12 string melodies at 30 seconds in (Part 1, Cord of Life). Squire and Bruford enter at around 1:15 with a rhythmic pattern followed by either a triangle or finger cymbals (I've seen them use both on various live versions). Then Howe plays a nice folky, simple strumming pattern that establishes the theme of the verse Bruford and Squire keep playing their rhythm pattern behind Howe, then Wakeman joins with a lovely-synth lead-in to Jon's ethereal vocals, which begin at 1:38. Verse 2 starts around 2:15, with Howe adding subtle electric guitar tones to the mix. The rhythm changes to a more standard beat at 2:53 for what might be considered a pre-chorus ("coins and crosses?") There are layered vocals here as well, as there were in the title track. The backing vocals are a little hard to discern as there is an effect on them. Here is what a lyric site shows us:

Coins and crosses

(Turn round tailor, assaulting)

Never know their fruitless worth

(all the mornings of the interest shown,

presenting one another to the cord)

Cords are broken

(All left dying, rediscovered

Of the door that turned round)

Locked inside the mother Earth

(To close the cover, all the

interest shown)

They won't hide, hold, they won't tell you

(To turn one another, to the

sign at the time float your climb)

Watching the world, watching all of the world

Watching us go by

The wistful chorus comes in at 3:22 and leads us to part 2 (Eclipse). This portion begins with a dramatic, and cinematic instrumental section. Featuring Wakeman's synths and mellotrons beginning at 3:47. Howe's lap steel slide guitar cascades in the background before taking the spotlight at 4:10. The effect is massive yet beautiful. Howe switches to a standard guitar at around 4:40 with a rotary effect on it. Anderson returns with soaring sustained vocals at 4:56 ("Coming quickly to terms with all expression laid?") The high note at 5:20 is mesmerizing. The big instrumentation continues until 5:44, when Howe plays a descending pattern on his electric guitar, before returning to the opening melody on the 12-string guitar. This leads us into Part 3 (The Preacher and the Teacher). This begins with Howe playing a "cowboy chord" rhythm on the 12-string at 6:15. Wakeman spices things up with a synth bit on the top to lead-in Anderson's vocals. Incidentally, the line "There'll be no mutant enemy?" inspired tv and film director Joss Weedon to name his production company "Mutant Enemy Productions." At 7:03 the strumming pattern changes and Howe overdubs a bit of electric guitar as Bruford and Squire return to the mix. The acoustic drops out in favor of electric. At around 7:45 Wakeman plays a synth solo. At 8:15, the 3 vocalists sing a verse in harmony that leads to this song's climax. The vocals peak on the lines: "A clearer future, morning, evening, nights with YOUUUUUUUUUUU!!!" Following that is part 4 of the song (Apocalypse). This is a primarily instrumental section along the lines of section 2, but possibly even MORE dramatic. There is a massive crescendo that peaks at 9:15 or so (the instrumental peak of the song) and Wakeman plays a chromatic descending pattern on the piano while the other instruments echo. I love the final low note on the piano at 9:22. Then Howe accompanies Anderson on the 12-string for the final lines of the song:

And you and I climb, crossing the shapes of the morning

And you and I reach over the sun for the river

And you and I climb, clearer towards the movement

And you and I called over valleys of endless seas

It is truly a beautiful, emotional song throughout its 10 minutes and 9 seconds. Just breathtaking.

Track 3 - Siberian Khatru

This is the "short" song on the album at just under 9 minutes. It is also the most rockin'. It would move from album closer to concert opener on the Close to the Edge tour and several others (Following excerpts from Stravinsky's "Firebird Suite", of course) Howe starts us off with a guitar riff with lots of hammer-on guitar chords at a very brisk tempo. At 11 seconds the band establishes a rhythm of 3 bars of 4-4 followed by one bar of 3-4 (15-4?). Wakeman plays a mellotron melody while Howe plays a guitar solo pattern on top of Squire and Bruford's down and dirty rhythm section work. At 53 seconds they launch into the main 4-4 riff for the verses. Vocals enter in 3 part harmony around 1:05. The chorus hits at 1:30 with Howe playing a similar chord style to his intro backing the vocals while the rhythm section hits accents behind. The second part of the chorus has a smoother backing with a bit of mellotron from Wakeman. The beat pauses for the singers to sing "river running right over my head?" after a little syncopated variation, the main riff returns for the second verse. One of the great things about Yes and other great prog bands is, they never do a section exactly the same twice. It is always full of variations to keep things interesting. No exception here. Squire in particular was a master of varying his bass lines to great effect. Another chorus follows, but this time it repeats as a variation. Then there are some wordless vocalizations leading to an instrumental break at just after 3 minutes. The electric sitar returns from the title track to be featured first. Then at 3:15, Wakeman dazzles us on the harpsichord. Squire's bass lines underneath are impeccable. Then at 3:30 Howe takes back over, this time on lap steel slide guitar. Next he goes to standard electric guitar around 3:50. The intro riff follows at around 4 minutes in this time with accents from the rhythm section. At 4:14 we hit the bridge which has forever left prog fans questioning "what is a Khatru?" At 4:49, the main riff returns and we have another verse. Following that, we come to one of my favorite Yes moments with the fantastic word-play in the two word couplets, with Bruford playing marching-style snare rolls along with other instrumental parts. Up next we get the extended outro which echoes the 4-4, 4-4, 4-4, 3-4 pattern near the beginning. At around 7 minutes there is a staccato part which is highly syncopated while Howe plays an ostinato (repeating) pattern. During this part, the singers sing wordless syllables in a pattern that is very difficult to replicate correctly. Then the mixed meter part comes back with a spectacular Steve Howe guitar solo. Then the song gradually fades out. And the song, album, and the challenge are all now concluded!

OVERALL IMPRESSIONS:

It sucked?.lol?.jk. Again, it is my favorite album of all time. It is Yes' ultimate masterpiece. Absolutely perfect from start to finish. I want to give credit to engineer/co-producer Eddy Offord for his brilliant editing of the various bits and pieces that he put together to make a cohesive title track. He was definitely the 6th member of Yes in the studio in those days. This, to me, is what all prog albums are measured against. An easy 5 out 5 stars.

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