How would you rate Yes' Close to the Edge album?
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Topic: How would you rate Yes' Close to the Edge album?
Posted By: Logan
Subject: How would you rate Yes' Close to the Edge album?
Date Posted: May 20 2020 at 07:55
| Close to the Edge is an album that has, methinks, been proclaimed by someone as the masterpiece of all masterpieces, perhaps not just in Prog but also when considering all forms of music. I considered writing some star descriptions, such as the quite inane "5 stars: a sublime and masterful work of art, perhaps the greatest music composed, performed and recorded ever", but this is about appreciation, and appreciation is subjective. Remember, to each his or her own tastes, and bear in mind the maxim, "Regarding taste, there is no dispute". That said, I hope this topic on taste leads to some vibrant discussion. |
Replies:
Posted By: dougmcauliffe
Date Posted: May 20 2020 at 08:18
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You probably have a general idea how this thread is going to go. It's a great, creative piece of music, that I rarely ever find myself reaching for. 4-4.5 stars ------------- The sun has left the sky... ...Now you can close your eyes |
Posted By: Logan
Date Posted: May 20 2020 at 08:28
A general idea, but it's the specific comments (individual impressions and approaches) that I'm most interested in. I never make a topic without anticipating response and the individual responses of particular members, but I'm quite often surprised how threads go or fail to go. Often the best discussion, I find, comes out of the "digressions", or related issues. |
dougmcauliffe wrote:Posted By: The Anders
Date Posted: May 20 2020 at 08:30
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I guess it depends partly on what parametres I would choose to use. Listening my way through it now... |
Posted By: I prophesy disaster
Date Posted: May 20 2020 at 08:34
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5 stars. It's my favourite Yes album. But it's not my favourite album. ------------- No, I know how to behave in the restaurant now, I don't tear at the meat with my hands. If I've become a man of the world somehow, that's not necessarily to say I'm a worldly man. |
Posted By: dougmcauliffe
Date Posted: May 20 2020 at 08:35
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Following up on my comment, this is an album I would say is probably 5 stars looking at it objectively, but for my own personal taste, or subjective opinion, there is stuff I enjoy a lot more. So i'll give it 4 stars for that reason. There is nothing else that quite sounds like CTTE, but generally it doesn't move me like some of my favorites do (Camel, Harmonium etc). I am actually of the crowd that thinks Tales is the best Yes album, that music is absurdly beautiful and equally as creative as CTTE is in my opinion. I will say about CTTE, i've never really cared for that pipe organ section if i'm being honest. ------------- The sun has left the sky... ...Now you can close your eyes |
Posted By: The Anders
Date Posted: May 20 2020 at 08:42
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It's a bit difficult for me to judge I guess. It's obvious that there are a lot of musical ideas in it, and it is quite bold to make a record with so much happening - maybe a little too much actually. In any case, it does sound impressive. However, on a solely personal level, it does little for me. The paradox is that despite its musical complexity, it also tends to sound rather polished. Also, I am not so much a fan of John Anderson's singing; too "softening" perhaps?
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Posted By: I prophesy disaster
Date Posted: May 20 2020 at 08:46
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One thing I'd like to say is that in Yes vs Genesis, Close To The Edge vs Foxtrot, and Close To The Edge vs Supper's Ready polls, it is Yes all the way. ------------- No, I know how to behave in the restaurant now, I don't tear at the meat with my hands. If I've become a man of the world somehow, that's not necessarily to say I'm a worldly man. |
Posted By: I prophesy disaster
Date Posted: May 20 2020 at 08:49
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I'm listening to Siberian Khatru at the moment thinking what a brilliant way to end an album. ------------- No, I know how to behave in the restaurant now, I don't tear at the meat with my hands. If I've become a man of the world somehow, that's not necessarily to say I'm a worldly man. |
Posted By: Logan
Date Posted: May 20 2020 at 08:56
| I'm thinking about writing a review of this album, despite it having been been rated/reviewed so much already, and despite me being a very poor music reviewer. I'd have to give it a fresh listen to rate it. I do suspect that I would rate it for PA (to go with my review) higher than my actual appreciation would warrant. Right now I'd say that I might be around the 2.5 mark in terms of enjoyment. I think it's a good album, but it's not one that ever excited me. It never connected with me very much, and there are literally thousands of albums that I have enjoyed much more than it. I like the title track. I do think an early bias against it came into play. When I was introduced to it back in the late 80s by a friend, Fragile was one of my very favourite albums (the same friend had introduced me to that). He told me this was better still, but this album just didn't move me nearly as much. Since then I have tried listening to it again many times, but it never really clicked. I have enjoyed all of the earlier Yes albums more than it, and Yes isn't one of my favourite bands -- I tend to prefer Krautrock, RIO, Canterbury Scene, Prog Folk and Progressive Electronic to those in Symphonic Prog. A favourite album included in the Symphonic Prog category may be Clearlight's Clearlight Symphony. In Symphonic Prog-type music, many of my faves hail from France and Italy. And for a three track Prog album, I find, say, Bubu's Anabelas far more exciting. |
Posted By: Cristi
Date Posted: May 20 2020 at 08:59
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4.5 I've always needed a special mood for it. I think I respect this album more than I love it.
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Posted By: The Anders
Date Posted: May 20 2020 at 08:59
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Judging by the results so far, it's a very popular album. |
Posted By: Catcher10
Date Posted: May 20 2020 at 09:55
Key word is "mood" for me here. Its an album that for me does require a specific mood for me to pull it out and spin it. I too respect that album more than I love it, unlike say Selling England By the Pound......I spin both albums because they are brilliant but Selling England I can spin it regardless of mood, pretty magical album with many moods on both sides. I'm also a 4.5 for its sheer importance to the rock world. I am finding less and less rock fans/musicians who quote it as a major influence...times just be a changin'. -------------   
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Posted By: Tom Ozric
Date Posted: May 20 2020 at 10:00
| I say a solid 4 stars for me - yes, it’s a classic, but over the years I’ve spun it so much that the freshness and magic has faded significantly for me. I rarely spin my record of it any more. |
Posted By: AFlowerKingCrimson
Date Posted: May 20 2020 at 10:18
| I would say close to the edge is to prog rock what dark side of the moon is to classic rock. I would say 4.5 maybe 5 not sure. |
Posted By: Logan
Date Posted: May 20 2020 at 10:31
| I am thinking that I should have used the word enjoyment rather than appreciation as they can have different connotations. I can appreciate something without necessarily enjoying it much and I had meant in terms of how much one enjoys the album. So my rating if I reviewed it would be higher than how much I have enjoyed it. I hope to become more precise in my language, but I get less precise as I age. |
Posted By: The Anders
Date Posted: May 20 2020 at 11:03
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I ended with 3.5. Undoubtedly it's a good album with many interesting ideas. But I feel that despite the many elaborate arrangements and musical structures, there isn't actually so much to get under the surface. It somehow comes across as sterile. |
Posted By: Lewian
Date Posted: May 20 2020 at 11:09
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I clicked 4, probably that's because today I'm not in the mood for it. Not the slightest impulse to play it today, although I know I actually appreciate it and also like it on a good day. Probably between 4 and 5 depending on mood. I wrote before that it's impressive and also beautiful, but I think at times they do some showing off on the album that doesn't really help the music. |
Posted By: AFlowerKingCrimson
Date Posted: May 20 2020 at 11:18
Yes, I understand that dark side is often considered prog rock and CTTE could be considered classic rock but for the most part I think CTTE is more closely associated with prog and DSOTM is more closely associated with classic rock.
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Posted By: AFlowerKingCrimson
Date Posted: May 20 2020 at 11:19
Being that there is no 4.5 star rating on this site I voted for 5 stars. 
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Posted By: Logan
Date Posted: May 20 2020 at 11:25
I hadn’t meant how you would rate it for the album page in PA, but which option in the poll most accurately reflects your enjoyment of the album. My PA album page rating might well be higher than how I would rate it in this poll. |
Posted By: dr wu23
Date Posted: May 20 2020 at 11:26
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Today 4.5 stars....maybe 4 tomorrow.... I don't think I have ever given anything 5 stars...most of my favorites get 4 though it would be nice to have half point ratings added....so a 4.5 could be given. CTTE is currently at 4.66 on the top 100 list. For me there really isn't a perfect masterpiece album...does anything really meet 5 stars..? I think some come close but it's human to be imperfect. But then I'm probably overthinking this...  ------------- One does nothing yet nothing is left undone. Haquin |
Posted By: SteveG
Date Posted: May 20 2020 at 11:29
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On a scale of 1 to 5 it's easily a 10. (Said the man who hasn't listened to it in years.) ------------- This message was brought to you by a proud supporter of the Deep State. |
Posted By: Logan
Date Posted: May 20 2020 at 11:35
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^^ You are not overthinking it, the more thinking the better. ; ) I wish I had put a little more thought into the preparation of this poll. I especially wish I used the word enjoyment rather than appreciation for the poll question. I am listening to the whole album again right now, I should be concentrating. But I’m only on the title track, and that one I have returned to many, many times. Dig that. Will see if the rest of the album resonates more this time. My appreciation of music often does vary very much depending on mood, inclination at the time, what I’m particulsrly into at any given time.... |
Posted By: SteveG
Date Posted: May 20 2020 at 11:38
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The thing about CttE is that it's one of those albums that you can hold up as being a cornerstone of prog rock. It's almost legendary. I don't know if that makes the music better but it does seem to help. ------------- This message was brought to you by a proud supporter of the Deep State. |
Posted By: SteveG
Date Posted: May 20 2020 at 11:39
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Now, ItCotKC actually is legendary. ------------- This message was brought to you by a proud supporter of the Deep State. |
Posted By: Logan
Date Posted: May 20 2020 at 11:43
| Well, it’s kind of like how I see ELP as quintessential Prog and can really appreciate ELP from that perspective but I don’t necessarily enjoy it much. I am enjoying the album more this time around than I usually have. |
Posted By: Hercules
Date Posted: May 20 2020 at 11:49
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Side 1 5* Side 2 3* Overall 4* ------------- A TVR is not a car. It's a way of life. |
Posted By: Logan
Date Posted: May 20 2020 at 12:09
| So I just listened to the whole album again, and rIght now, and this despite listening to this album many times since I first heard it in the 80s, I don’t know how I’d rate it. It seems messy. There are parts throughout the album that I love and parts that irritate me. I’ll have to listen again without any distractions to hear if it gets better for me. I’ve heard it called safe before, but that’s not how I would describe it. I do like contrast in music, and can enjoy jarring justpositions. I am a little surprised that some who find, say, King Crimson’s Lizard suite (which of course features Jon Anderson in part) find that to be too much, but find this album easy to listen to. My tastes are rather less out there than they used to be on the whole. I like my loungey Muzak. |
Posted By: AFlowerKingCrimson
Date Posted: May 20 2020 at 12:39
Ok, well I'll stand by my five star rating regardless because I don't think there is another album I would rate higher(except maybe relayer and even then I'll admit it's subjective).
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Posted By: Nogbad_The_Bad
Date Posted: May 20 2020 at 12:46
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It's certainly a very good album and if anyone asks me "what is prog rock?" I think it's the best album to define the genre stylistically. I have a ton of albums I'd rate ahead of it in the masterpiece category. A solid 13 (4.5) for me. ------------- Ian Host of the Post-Avant Jazzcore Happy Hour on Progrock.com https://podcasts.progrock.com/post-avant-jazzcore-happy-hour/ |
Posted By: geekfreak
Date Posted: May 20 2020 at 12:49
 My favourite Yes Album 5 stars------------- Friedrich Nietzsche: "Without music, life would be a mistake." Music Is Live Two people are better off than one, for they can help each other succeed. Keep Calm And Listen To The Music… < |
Posted By: Scorpius
Date Posted: May 20 2020 at 13:00
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Had to go with 5 stars on this one, it is easily the best Yes album IMO and is a quintessential album for any progressive rock fan to experience at least once. Any album that can be described like that generally would deserve nothing less than 4.5/5 stars. Though Relayer is my personal favorite of theirs, CttE is easily the most balanced, emotive and well-constructed album they made as a creative unit. Whether I'm just popping it on for a casual listen or pouring my "undivided attention" into it, I find CttE the easiest Yes album to completely lose myself in and I always come out the other side noticing something about the record I had never heard before. Up there with ITCHYCOCK for sure. ------------- The most dangerous man in America. |
Posted By: someone_else
Date Posted: May 20 2020 at 13:20
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5.0/5. I am one of those guys who have this album on top of his overall ranking. ------------- 
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Posted By: Sacro_Porgo
Date Posted: May 20 2020 at 13:21
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It took me a second listen to get into but after that I loved it. It's otherworldly, and insanely catchy too. It tends to battle with The Yes Album for my favorite Yes album. I'd give it five stars any day of the week, and 6 on Christmas. ------------- Porg for short. My love of music doesn't end with prog! Feel free to discuss all sorts of music with me. Odds are I'll give it a chance if I haven't already! :) |
Posted By: Man With Hat
Date Posted: May 20 2020 at 13:28
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3 stars for me, but as an album it is essential in the prog Parthenon. ------------- Dig me...But don't...Bury me I'm running still, I shall until, one day, I hope that I'll arrive Warning: Listening to jazz excessively can cause a laxative effect. |
Posted By: Grumpyprogfan
Date Posted: May 20 2020 at 13:48
| 4.25 for me. Never liked And You and I. |
Posted By: BaldJean
Date Posted: May 20 2020 at 14:30
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4 stars. it is too "normal" (for prog that is), not challenging enough to get 5. "Relayer" on the other hand - now that's a 5 star album -------------  A shot of me as High Priestess of Gaia during our fall festival. Ceterum censeo principiis obsta |
Posted By: Logan
Date Posted: May 20 2020 at 14:43
| I think I’d give The Yes Album and Fragile top marks for Yes. After a second listen Today alone, I am giving CttE a three. I do think it’s an essential album for those delving into Prog to hear, but it doesn’t rank anywhere close to my favourite albums either generally or in the Prog sphere. Never-the-less, I now appreciate it more than I did and may well come to enjoy it quite a bit more. I love various music on it, but it doesn’t gel quite as much as I might like or resonate deeply with me. |
Posted By: AFlowerKingCrimson
Date Posted: May 20 2020 at 14:43
I noticed after looking at your ratings though you gave it 5 stars. There's no rule that says you have to give certain albums 5 stars if you don't feel that way(especially since your review seems to indicate you really do think it's a 3 star album).
Just out curiosity though which albums do you genuinely feel deserve 5 stars? |
Posted By: miamiscot
Date Posted: May 20 2020 at 14:54
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It's obviously a 5 star album or else such a thing doesn't exist... ------------- The Prog Corner |
Posted By: essexboyinwales
Date Posted: May 20 2020 at 15:08
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I've gone 3 stars too. I struggle with it. Last time I put it on I couldn't get through the title track. I'm not a big fan of yes TBH. But perhaps my problem with it is that I expect too much? It gets so lauded on here, and I don't know why. So perhaps I need to just put it on again and listen without expectations... I'm walking the dog alone tomorrow morning, so there's an opportunity. With decent headphones! Could be the album's final chance... |
Posted By: verslibre
Date Posted: May 20 2020 at 15:29
This. I was very fond of CTTE when I first discovered it, but Relayer is where it's at. It's arguably the best Yes album. ------------- https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_ipg=50&_sop=1&_rdc=1&_ssn=musicosm" rel="nofollow - eBay |
Posted By: Chaser
Date Posted: May 20 2020 at 15:53
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Relayer is more boundary pushing, but has flaws, whereas CTTE is total perfection. 5 stars beyond any shadow of a doubt. ------------- Songs cast a light on you |
Posted By: ExittheLemming
Date Posted: May 20 2020 at 15:59
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Good album. No more, no less. http://www.progarchives.com/Review.asp?id=229361" rel="nofollow - http://www.progarchives.com/Review.asp?id=229361
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Posted By: AFlowerKingCrimson
Date Posted: May 20 2020 at 16:59
| Two questions for those who say CTTE is only good and or don't give it more than three stars. One, how many(if any)Yes albums do you think are better and which ones? Also, what other symphonic prog albums(if any)do you think are better or maybe you just don't care for this kind of prog(symph prog). |
Posted By: Tom Ozric
Date Posted: May 20 2020 at 17:27
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^ Interesting perspectives...... Albums that I rate higher than CTTE are : Fragile, Topographic, Relayer, Drama and Yessongs. Technically, Yessongs contains the entire CTTE album. |
Posted By: Enchant X
Date Posted: May 20 2020 at 17:47
4.5 stars as I love the Fist two tracks but I only think Siberian Khatru is good not great. I know many people love Siberian Khatru but for me it's not as good as the other two tracks. 
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Posted By: Logan
Date Posted: May 20 2020 at 18:26
I'm one of those who opted to give it three stars, and while I've kind of answered both of those questions in posts already, I will go into more detail. First off, I don't make claims of better, certainly not in an objective manner, it's just preference. I just want to make that clear in case it's not obvious to all that this is a subjective appraisal. I tend to avoid terms such as best, worst, and the like when talking taste. I prefer all of Yes' earlier albums to Close to the Edge, as well as Relayer. The Yes Album and Fragile would be the two that I'd rate highest. At one time Fragile ranked amongst my very favourite albums (when still a teenager) and it was at that time that I first heard Close to the Edge. I recognised that my love of Fragile may have biased me against the album early on as I had been told that CttE was even better by the same one who introduced me to Fragile, and was disappointed with CttE. By the way, I listened to Fragile again recently, and I still really dig that one (there are a considerable number of albums I once loved that I went off). Symphonic Prog once was the kind of Prog I primarily listened to -- later I shifted more to Krautrock, Canterbury Scene, Prog Folk, RIO, Zeuhl and Progressive Electronic, as well kinds of JRF and a huge amount of music that has a psych component.. A search for the Lamb Lies Down on Broadway, specifically "Hairless heart" is what led me to exploring Prog websites. Long story which I won't bother to share again other than to say I heard it at the after party of a play, and didn't know what it was. Various Genesis albums have been faves of mine. Focus has long been a favourite band of mine, I love some Earth & Fire ("Song of the Marching Children" is one of my absolute favourite tracks). I have particularly gravitated towards lots of French and Italian symphonic Prog. Clearlight's Clearlight Symphony and Forever Blowing Bubbles are favourites of mine. While not in PA, I would include Willam Sheller's Lux Aeterna under the Symohnic Prog umbrella, and that is commonly labelled as Symphonic Prog. I like Camel, love The Snow Goose. Arachnoid is a favourite of mine. Love Ange, Shylock.... I adore Bo Hannson. I like Renaissance, Mona Lisa, Harmonium. I am into Memoriance, Pentacle, Wapassou, Carpe Diem (I asked for that to be moved to Eclectic and it was). In modern Symph, I have been very into Kotebel. RYM lists Jean-Claude Vannier's L'enfant assassin des mouches as symhonic prog (I pushed for it and approved it in Eclectic) and that is one of my absolute favourite albums in PA. There's a tonne of Italian Symphonic Prog and Symph related, it generally gets lumped into RPI here, that I have been very into: Le Orme, PFM, Banco del Mutuo Soccorso, Metamorfosi, Alphataurus, Goblin, Metamorfosi... If I didn't care at all for Symph, then it's likely that I wouldn't even rate Close to the Edge with a three (meaning, I mostly enjoy it, but it's not really special to me or resonates deeply with me). If you look at my ratings you'll only see two ratings for Symphonic Prog albums, but I've hardly rated anything in a decade, and at the time when I did most of that rating ( did most of that over a short time), I was most into RIO and Zeuhl and more experimental music than I am generally currently into. Even when I was big on lots of Symphonic Prog, and even when I was big on other Yes, I wasn't big on Close to the Edge. I've tried returning to it many times over the last three decades, but it never wowed me. Maybe my expectations were too high to begin with. When things seem to be over-hyped, that can be a turn off. My Art Zoyd and Magma hype may well have turned some people off in the past. I do generally try to avoid hyping albums and prefer to recommend music that I think fits people's tastes well. I don't expect people to appreciate what I like unless I know they are into similar music. And I avoid telling people "this is good, you should try it" or telling people that they should appreciate this-or-that. To each his or her own tastes. By the way, perhaps the first Symphonic Prog album to wow me was Focus' Hamburger Concerto. Now that remains a meaty masterpiece to me. I haven;t remained as interested in Yes on the whole,but I did start to get back into the band some years ago with Time and a Word, an album I appreciate much more than many. If I were to play one album included in Symphonic Prog at PA right now, it would be Bo Hansson's Sagan om ringen -- I love the psychedelic qualities. I think there's a lot more music that I like that has a Symphonic Prog element than is Symphonic prog proper, and many of my favourite Symphonic Prog sphere albums will be found in various categories at PA (some of them are ultimately quite eclectic, and a psych component is not uncommon). I have nothing against Symph, but it is definitely not one of the more consistently enjoyable categories for me, and there is plenty in Symph that sounds milquetoast to these ears which may have been dulled by the screams of my enemies.;) Three is still quite a good rating. I find Close to the Edge quite enjoyable, but it's not essential to my collection. I know a huge number of albums that I'd rather listen to and would rate higher. I've even given threes at PA album pages for some albums that I really like, including Comus' To Keep From Crying whose highs are very high for me, and I still enjoy the lows. I never got into rating things that I didn't enjoy and most of my ratings I enjoyed immensely. |
Posted By: AFlowerKingCrimson
Date Posted: May 20 2020 at 18:40
| ^Since you didn't mention it I'm wondering how you would rate Topographic in comparison to CTTE? Do you like it more or less? Just wondering. |
Posted By: Logan
Date Posted: May 20 2020 at 18:45
| like Close to the Edge considerably more than Tales From Topographic Oceans, that said, I haven't tried to spin TFTO much over the years. |
Posted By: AFlowerKingCrimson
Date Posted: May 20 2020 at 19:35
You might want to consider "spinning" it again. I know of people(mostly hardcore Yes fans)who like it better than CTTE.
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Posted By: tigerfeet
Date Posted: May 20 2020 at 20:55
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I rated it a four as it was one of my first prog albums and I loved the atmospherics and especially the bass playing. I was a bass player and guitar player at that time but tended to play bass in bands as the guitarists usually had the bigger ego so i was the bass player. anyhow, learned a lot from this album in regard to bass playing in that I became quite a good bass player and liked to accent or add stuff that may have been better not in a tune, sometimes to the annoyance of the band i was in at the time. As a side note, you are probably gonna hate me for this but my favorite yYES album is Going for the One, and that was mainly because friends who visited could be subjected to that album rather than Closer to the Edge. However, I listened to CTTE so many times in my youth that it is ingrained into me for life; and listening to it just now. EDIT: I just realized why albums like CTTE mean so much to me, i mean i only had access to the radio and some hand-me-down LPs so yeah, had to make do with the music i was lucky to borrow and tape at that time. ------------- I'm sorry, if you were right, I'd agree with you. Robin Williams. |
Posted By: Spacegod87
Date Posted: May 20 2020 at 21:09
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4. Great. Not a masterpiece. And I stand by that. ------------- Levitating downwards, atomic feedback scream. |
Posted By: Logan
Date Posted: May 20 2020 at 21:18
I am listening to Tales, and it feels like I've never really heard it before properly as I am genuinely loving it. And this might well really bring me back to Yes so much that I will appreciate Close to the Edge much more (I really liked a lot of Close to the Edge already). Yeah, this sounds great. It might have helped listening to as much Yes as I have already today. Thanks. Now I hope to get it on vinyl so I can properly spin it (I remember the gatefold sleeve album being a thing of beauty). I do seem to have a thing for double-albums. Consider me transported and properly back to Yes fandom. |
Posted By: AFlowerKingCrimson
Date Posted: May 20 2020 at 21:32
 For the musically adventurous and open minded Yes is a magical band. For others they are pompous, self indulgent and boring. Glad to see you are in the former and not the latter group.
I've been a fan since the 80's and have seen them live more than any other band(about 11 times). |
Posted By: Logan
Date Posted: May 20 2020 at 21:40
Magical is the prefect word. Honestly, I haven't felt this way about music, or had this level of experience, in a very long time. In fact I don't know that I ever have at quite this level. I was talking to my wife the other day about the sense of magic I had as a kid, and that I never feel that way anymore -- became so jaded. Well, this has changed me and is it is still playing, it's still changing me. Truly wondrous. Remarkable. Wow! |
Posted By: twosteves
Date Posted: May 20 2020 at 22:00
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if you can listen to an album as many times as I've listened to CTTE---and still find it exciting, fresh, original and moving---even after all these years--have to give it 5 stars. 5 young guys at their peak---each deserves a star.
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Posted By: iluvmarillion
Date Posted: May 21 2020 at 00:46
| 5 Star album for me. Even if they had a 4.5 star rating on this site this one wouldn't change while a lot of other albums would come down from 5 stars to 4.5 stars. |
Posted By: ExittheLemming
Date Posted: May 21 2020 at 01:35
I prefer Relayer over Close to the Edge, and CTTE over Tales from Topographic Oceans (but find sufficient to like in all three to consider them good albums - I don't own any other Yes albums) As far as so called Symphonic Prog albums go, Brain Salad Surgery, the Snow Goose, Everything as Nice as Mother Makes It, Refugee, No Earthly Connection, Au-Dela Du Delire (Ange), Emerson Lake & Palmer, Black Moon, Pictures at an Exhibition, Tarkus, Trilogy, Open Up (Ethos), Glory of the Inner Force (Finch), Foxtrot, Live (Genesis), Selling England by the Pound, the Lamb Lies Down on Broadway, Five Bridges, Live at Fillmore East (the Nice), Fish Out of Water and the Whirlwind all garnered more stars in my reviews. I don't think we should set too much store in the numbers here as history teaches us that the types of people who believe aesthetics can be quantified are often those with a political agenda to stifle such free expression.
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Posted By: Blacksword
Date Posted: May 21 2020 at 04:00
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4 Stars on the strength of the title track, which I would certainly rank among the greatest prog rock epics of all time. The other two tracks are ok, but quite unremarkable overall, IMO. There are better songs on Fragile and the Yes album. ------------- Ultimately bored by endless ecstasy! |
Posted By: Hrychu
Date Posted: May 21 2020 at 04:16
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I wouldn't. I hate giving numeric ratings. ;) ------------- “On the day of my creation, I fell in love with education. And overcoming all frustration, a teacher I became.” — Ernest Vong |
Posted By: essexboyinwales
Date Posted: May 21 2020 at 04:58
So I listened this morning. Of the 3 tracks, I would rate And You And I highest. The other 2 do little for me. I stand by my 3 star rating: there are many many albums I would rank more highly, and as a song, CTTE would not figure if I compiled a list of (at least) 25 epic tracks. Regarding symphonic prog albums that I prefer: I confess to not being clued in completely to what is and what isn't symphonic prog. But if Yes and Genesis are, then so are IQ in my book, so I would have to include every IQ album (yes, I mean it), the first 5 Marillion albums (and possibly others, but not sure if more modern Marillion can be described as symphonic), Foxtrot/SEBTP/TLLDOB/TOTT/W&W by Genesis, Blomljud by Moon Safari, The Snow Goose and Moonmadness by Camel, every Transatlantic album, Tarkus and Brain Salad Surgery by ELP, and probably some Neil Morse and Kansas.... re other Yes albums, I'm really not sure, like I said I struggle with them, but definitely Drama would rank more highly! Oh, and the wonderful Trevor Rabin solo album Can't Look Away.... And if we move away from symphonic, then there would be many more from the likes of Ayreon, Dream Theater, It Bites, Mike Oldfield, Nightwish, Devin Townsend....
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Posted By: The Anders
Date Posted: May 21 2020 at 05:19
I do consider myself adventurous and open minded, just in a slightly different direction...
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Posted By: VianaProghead
Date Posted: May 21 2020 at 08:32
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5 stars, absolutely. I even can say that I can't see any other kind of rating if you have a great prog taste, as I have.
------------- "PROG IS MY FERRARI". Jem Godfrey (Frost*) |
Posted By: Mormegil
Date Posted: May 21 2020 at 08:53
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5 stars. The amount of time it spends on my turntable, the way it makes me feel, the soundscapes . . . Yeah, I dig it. ------------- Welcome to the middle of the film. |
Posted By: Earl of Mar
Date Posted: May 21 2020 at 10:01
| 5 stars. It has been a 5 star album to me from when I first heard it on a tape in 1974 and has remained a 5 star album ever since. |
Posted By: jamesbaldwin
Date Posted: May 21 2020 at 11:28
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This is my personal ranking, from 0 to 5,75: one stars from 6 to 7: two stars from 7+ to 8: three stars from 8+ to 8,75: four stars. from 9 to 10: five stars. I consider - 8,75 four and a half stars: almost masterpiece - 9 a small masterpiece -9+ a real masterpiece - 9,5 a great masterpiece - 9,75 and 10 absolute masterpiece not only of prog but of contemporary music. At the moment just 9,75 - Arbeit Macht Frei - Area - In the Court Of - King Crimson - The Silent Corner and The Empty Stage - Hammill 10 VdGG: The Least We Can Do, From H to He, Pawn Hearts Wyatt: Rock Bottom. Where are Yes in my ranking? - Relayer 9: Small masterpiece - Close to the Edge 8,75 almost masterpiece (four and a half stars) - Fragile 8,5 four stars - 90125 : 8+ or 8,5, I must decide Tales? I dont know at the moment. The other albums are surely under 8,5. So I dont consider CTTE a masterpiece,but it is close (4,5 stars). Close to the Edge, the suite, is a masterpiece. But And You and I and Syberian Khatru are not so great songs, specially the second. Overall, B side of CTTE is good but no more than good. ------------- Amos Goldberg (professor of Genocide Studies at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem): Yes, it's genocide. It's so difficult and painful to admit it, but we can no longer avoid this conclusion. |
Posted By: moshkito
Date Posted: May 21 2020 at 12:11
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Hi, Hard to decide ... but here goes. Considering the time that it came out and I got to listen to it in a dilapidated apartment building that had poop coming through the bathtub drains ... I would say it ranked high, even if it was a bit on the sordid, ugly side of things, one could look forward to tomorrow, right? Fast forward some 48 years, and I like listening to it, but it does not have the youngster child-like view of things and hopes that are related to a "favorite song", kind of thing ... it is a very nice album that should rank high and I would not change that ranking between yesterday and today ... but the listening to it, with 48 years in between makes this a VERY DIFFERENT thing. Compare this to TFTO, where I can still see things in it, just like I did yesterday, and how positive it was all around, CTTE, for me, was not as strong, but had its wonderful moments, and I still like that opening and that bass going crazy ... nobody does a bass crazy right at the start of the song, right? But it sets the tone, and that is something I like, and enjoy a lot, in some music ... the moments that last forever and they always sound great. So my ranking? Not on my "top five" but it would be in my "top ten", since my choices have a lot more music (AND different music) than the average list/folks here on PA ... but in my rankings one of the reasons why I prefer that BANDS be considered progressive, instead of albums, is because I do not want to have CTTE competing with TFTO at all ... thus I do not participate in album polls, because to me they diminish the artist's abilities and thoughts. And sometimes, it ends up intimidating artists that were hoping for nice things from their work, and instead end up having nothing but issues with it ... hello Mr. PG! ------------- Music is not just for listening ... it is for LIVING ... you got to feel it to know what's it about! Not being told! www.pedrosena.com |
Posted By: verslibre
Date Posted: May 21 2020 at 12:12
TFTO is pretty awesome. To some it's "self-indulgent," to others it's immersive. Wakeman on Mellotron...what's not to love? ------------- https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_ipg=50&_sop=1&_rdc=1&_ssn=musicosm" rel="nofollow - eBay |
Posted By: Logan
Date Posted: May 21 2020 at 12:23
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^ I don't know if you read my later response about TFTO, but I was amazed at how much I enjoyed Tales From Topographic Oceans yesterday. It truly was a most magical trip. It's one of those albums you really need to properly listen to from start to finish, and I don't think I ever had properly without distractions as I have never personally owned a copy. While I had liked various Yes albums, and I hardly disliked Close to the Edge (I liked a lot of it, and some parts I have even loved), I do suspect that my appreciation for the album will now increase even if it is taken on the whole a very different sort of adventure to Close to the Edge. On another note...
Not sure how to interpret this, to be honest. The wink indicates kidding, and you have rated various albums. Despite presenting this poll, of which I'm really more interested in the impressions of the album than the simple numerical ratings themselves (i.e how you would rate the album according to your enjoyment as expressed using words), I've taken issue with numerical ratings. I did rate a lot of albums when the quick rating feature was brought in (maybe 11 or 12 years ago?) and have hardly rated anything subsequently. I have said that I would rather be able to review without having to give any numerical rating as my favourite review sources when I was very into read film reviews did not use such ratings. I was against quantifying art in that sense. I felt that the synopsis and review should speak for itself. What I do like with numerical ratings is that it indicates an individual's tastes. Looking at an individual's ratings page can give me an indication of what they know, like, and don't like. And if I seem to share similar tastes with that individual, those ratings can be a good guide for me for what to look for. Rocktopus' ratings were a good guide for me (he didn't review) when I joined as I seemed to share very similar tastes, and I discovered plenty of albums that were great for me by looking through his ratings (he knew far more than I did). I have suggested before the option to be able to review without rating the albums, and to be able to rate albums in a separate area where the ratings explicitly refer to your enjoyment of an album. So, instead of 5 stars: Essential: a masterpiece of progressive rock music 4 stars: Excellent addition to any prog rock music collection 3 stars: Good, but non-essential 2 stars: Collectors/fans only 1 star: Poor. Only for completionists Which never made a lot of sense to me -- it's so subjective, is dependent on one's prog parameters, and that system makes assumptions about how others should value/consider the album -- our personal profile rating pages would be 5 stars: "I adore this" etc. It would explicitly reflect our enjoyment. And that is how I am approaching the ratings in this topic. That Progressive Electronic album may be essential to my collection, but if you don't like Progressive Electronic that doesn't mean it should be essential to your collection. And hell, one might well not consider such progressive electronic to be prog rock even if PA includes it. I'd rather something like "A most excellent album of its ilk per my tastes" etc. Ratings can be useful in various ways and I wouldn't want this site to be without that feature. ------------- https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLXcp9fYc6K4IKuxIZkenfvukL_Y8VBqzK" rel="nofollow - Duos for fave acts |
Posted By: verslibre
Date Posted: May 21 2020 at 12:26
I did see that, and it's indeed a "trip." That's the simplest way to refer to it. It's a great late night album, and I concur that it's best listened to from beginning to end. ------------- https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_ipg=50&_sop=1&_rdc=1&_ssn=musicosm" rel="nofollow - eBay |
Posted By: Logan
Date Posted: May 21 2020 at 12:32
Maybe it did help that I listened to it at night. I don't often listen to music in quite the same way I did last night. The experience reminded me the most of when I was 19, living in a lovely beach house In Queensland, lying on the floor with my eyes closed while listening to Kitaro's Oasis. It's not that they are musically that similar, but I had a similar almost transcendent experience. ------------- https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLXcp9fYc6K4IKuxIZkenfvukL_Y8VBqzK" rel="nofollow - Duos for fave acts |
Posted By: verslibre
Date Posted: May 21 2020 at 13:10
His early albums are so $%&@ good! I like everything before Tenku, with Ten Kai, Oasis, In Person and Ki the best. ------------- https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_ipg=50&_sop=1&_rdc=1&_ssn=musicosm" rel="nofollow - eBay |
Posted By: dougmcauliffe
Date Posted: May 21 2020 at 15:17
I've listened to Tales on LSD before, I can confirm, it is definitely a trip  with or without it though, it's a very stunning album and one that has a ton of replay value. Your experience sounds lovely and makes me think of some of my own great music experiences here at the same age------------- The sun has left the sky... ...Now you can close your eyes |
Posted By: Squonk19
Date Posted: May 21 2020 at 15:58
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My ratings (if I use them) tends to give 5 stars for anything 'excellent' rather than just 'very good' - so I do have a lot of 5 star albums and this is very near the top of that list! ------------- “Living in their pools, they soon forget about the sea.” |
Posted By: Logan
Date Posted: May 21 2020 at 16:03
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5 stars for me is sublime, amazing, life changing, mind altering, revelatory. I have a lot of five star ratings and might now be harsher, but all of those I adored at one time. ------------- https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLXcp9fYc6K4IKuxIZkenfvukL_Y8VBqzK" rel="nofollow - Duos for fave acts |
Posted By: King of Loss
Date Posted: May 21 2020 at 19:45
| Five stars |
Posted By: Enchant X
Date Posted: May 22 2020 at 03:15
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My opinion is based on the first 50 times I played the album , I must have listened to Close to the edge over 300 times in my life maybe more Yes and Kansas were the first prog bands I ever got into these two bands opened up an infinite field of progressive possibility .. led to King crimson & Rush, Elp & Genesis etc etc etc from there Marillion (who still carried the prog flag in the 80's) I was open minded when it came to prog, those were great days of discovery memories which I treasure.
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Posted By: Tom Ozric
Date Posted: May 22 2020 at 03:58
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^ Umm, punctuation would be nice
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Posted By: Frenetic Zetetic
Date Posted: May 22 2020 at 04:31
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Exemplary progressive rock, and my favorite prog album of all time, hands down, no contest. 6/5 stars, no hyperbole. It breaks ratings. It transcends itself, and the genre, while the genre was just starting to really take off. Untouchable for me. ------------- "I am so prog, I listen to concept albums on shuffle." -KMac2021 |
Posted By: Rick1
Date Posted: May 22 2020 at 06:14
Exactly! Albums such as this transcended the genre along with 'Tarkus' etc. A touchstone album that really does not need to be re-assessed or re-analysed...
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Posted By: twosteves
Date Posted: May 22 2020 at 09:01
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https://youtu.be/GvEfa5zKK7g this will explain to those who don't understand
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Posted By: dr prog
Date Posted: May 22 2020 at 15:32
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4 stars. Yeah title track and khatru start well but drop off a bit. You and I is solid ------------- All I like is prog related bands beginning late 60's/early 70's. Their music from 1968 - 83 has the composition and sound which will never be beaten. Perfect blend of jazz, classical, folk and rock. |
Posted By: Manuel
Date Posted: May 22 2020 at 16:49
| To me is a 5 stars album, but not the master piece of all master pieces. One of the most important albums of the gloden era of progressive music, but not the ultimate progressive music album. |
Posted By: richardh
Date Posted: May 22 2020 at 23:39
there is no such thing though. For the time and considering that symphonic prog dominated , then its as close to anything else that I can think of. Maybe if Genesis had made LLDOB a single album , then that would be it. Possibly Wish You Were Here wrapped up everything in a nice package as did TAAB. Beyond that what else? GG were just too quirky and VDGG off the scale weird. CTTE is accessible, perfectly performed and easy to listen to while retaining enough complexity of ideas to be a proper prog album. Yep it's numero uno in my book.
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Posted By: Frankh
Date Posted: May 22 2020 at 23:43
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Absolutely beautiful. However many stars that is. And Tales, too. ( felt like Dorothy Gale adding that ) ------------- Perhaps finding the happy medium is harder than we know. |
Posted By: octopus-4
Date Posted: May 23 2020 at 06:13
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I've given it 5 stars when I reviewed it long time ago. I haven't changed my mind. ------------- I stand with Roger Waters, I stand with Joan Baez, I stand with Victor Jara, I stand with Woody Guthrie. Music is revolution |
Posted By: Progmind
Date Posted: May 30 2020 at 16:12
| To me its a solid 4 stars, i prefer Fragile over CTTE |
Posted By: Tom Ozric
Date Posted: July 16 2020 at 05:58
| Right - I’ve just spun my record of CTTE - it has been quite a while. Just felt like it this eve. I stand (or rather, sit, here, currently) and it is indeed up there with the BEST, that Prog has to offer. It’s definitely an enduring CLASSIC. Everything in the right place. |
Posted By: Earl of Mar
Date Posted: July 16 2020 at 10:16
| CTTE was the first Yes album I ever heard back in 74. I loved it then and I still regularly play it when exercising each morning. CTTE is a fantastic piece and even if SK is a weaker track, the album is still superb. |
Posted By: thief
Date Posted: July 16 2020 at 14:04
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For me, it has to be five stars, any way I cut it. Let me give you one very simple reason: I consider Siberian Khatru a bit, just a bit less exciting than And You And I and Close to the Edge suite. So, logically, this one is the "weakest" track, according to my taste... but it's still a five star material. It has great melodies, sense of danger, unique sounds, very tasty twists and turns. Very Fragile like composition, but better than Roundabout. Yes, this album is easily 5 stars worthy.
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Posted By: Psychedelic Paul
Date Posted: July 16 2020 at 15:47
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The voting is not even Close to the Edge so far. Yes, it's five stars all the way for me too, baby.
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Posted By: King of Loss
Date Posted: July 18 2020 at 06:39
It is not surprising. A lot of us believe it is the quintessential progressive rock record!
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Posted By: dr wu23
Date Posted: July 18 2020 at 10:53
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4.5..............because nothing deserves 5 stars.
------------- One does nothing yet nothing is left undone. Haquin |
Posted By: Lieutenant_Lan
Date Posted: February 25 2021 at 20:50
| 5/5 its perfect. |
Posted By: SolNiger
Date Posted: March 03 2021 at 04:51
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5/5. But Tales is a 5.5/5 ------------- All is but God in God to God revealed; and so all is, for naught but God is real. |
Posted By: Neo-Romantic
Date Posted: March 07 2021 at 15:53
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4.5 for me. Really enjoyed the first and third tracks, very stirring and exciting pieces of music! And You and I is not quite as consistently gripping of a song from start to finish in my opinion, but it certainly isn't bad. If I reviewed the album and had to choose between 4 and 5 stars, it would be a 5. ------------- May God bless you all in Jesus' name. No matter who you are, you're special, you're loved, and you matter. |
Posted By: uduwudu
Date Posted: March 09 2021 at 02:30
Classic rock is sales format not a genre or style. E.g how does one play a guitar solo in a classic rock style? Fleetwood Mac or Black Sabbath and bands like these? All lumped in as they recorded in the 1970s and this tag, or headstone has been imbued with meaning without definition. Dark Side was probably the primary prog rock album to break through into popular culture possibly way more than ITCOTCK or CTTE. ******** Anyway for those interested (no one) And You And I is incomparable. Khatru pretty much the same level of brilliance. The suite is terrific (I even once had the single...). Colourful creative music. Not going to put Yes in the public pantheon the way Dark Side did; far too specialized i.e. not universal though And You And I could work on the public in that way. It's as brilliantly timeless as the great classical melodies. |
Posted By: Ronstein
Date Posted: March 09 2021 at 02:42
| I rate it 4 stars, which is as good as Yes get for me. |