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CLOSE TO THE EDGEYesSymphonic Prog4.68 | 5250 ratings |
From Progarchives.com, the ultimate progressive rock music website
daveconn
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Prog Reviewer |
YES took their sound to even more epic proportions on "Close to the Edge", arriving at
a plateau that found their ambitious individual styles comingling in a profoundly organic
setting. "Close to the Edge" may well be the band's finest moment: surely its succession
of brilliantly rendered musical themes is one of progressive rock's crowning
achievements. The side-long title track returns to the elastic and acrobatic sound
of "The YES Album", forsaking the heavier sound of "Fragile" for a fluidity and clarity
that brought all of the instruments into play. The vocals of JON ANDERSON have rarely
sounded so angelic, the guitar histrionics of STEVE HOVE intermingle madness and
lucidity, RICK WAKEMAN's arsenal of keyboards effervesce throughout the
arrangements, and CHRIS SQUIRE's bass slides in and out of the melodies with often
fantastic consequences. (BILL BRUFORD, while seemingly incapable of being less than
creative and unconventional in his rhythms, is called upon to play the musical straight
man through much of this music.) Open space, something that "Fragile" had little need
for, plays an even larger role on "And You and I." The song starts with an acoustic
introduction from HOWE, and the magical journey is soon underway, invoking moments
of sublime beauty with uncanny ease. By comparison, the muscular "Siberian Khatru" is
perhaps too heavy handed, although the broad lexicon of sound at the disposable of
HOWE and WAKEMAN is again amazing. "Close to the Edge" is easily the tightest tapestry of music that YES has woven, and a culmination of the styles explored on their last two albums. Sadly, BRUFORD left to join KING CRIMSON before the album was released, effectively ending what many still consider to be the band's "classic" lineup.
daveconn |
5/5 |
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