CLOSE TO THE EDGE

I'd say it's proper for my first contribution to ProgArchives to be on this, the finest Progressive Rock Album of all time, Yes' "Close to the Edge". Yes is my favorite band, and Close to the Edge is my favorite of their albums, with my favorite Yes song leading off side two, And You & I .

For me, Close to the Edge is quintessential Progressive Rock. Variety of musical form is the key to this album's greatness, but here I must point out the presence of surpassing talent and musicianship. The sonic textures of this album take one from the sublime to the bombastic, all masterfully segued. Talk about painting pictures with music!

I agree with other reviewers that this is merely where Yes came to their fore, and that the following releases (Tales and Relayer) only stretched their genius further. But with every re-visit to CTTE, one is reminded of why this band got put on the map in the first place, and was able to stay there. Before Close to the Edge, I'd submit that Yes was merely a great band. But with this album's release, all rockdom realzed that Yes was more than a band. It was an entity of five incredibly gifted soloists who were able to harness their talents (and egos!) enough to collaborate wonderfully, but not too much where their genius couldn't shine through.

Other bands before and after have made album-side long songs. But I submit, none are more perfectly crafted than CTTE's title track. With Close to the Edge, Yes made the album-side long song an art form. All 18 minutes and 34 seconds are pure genius -- no instrumental filler at all.

So yes, for any Prog Rock fan and collector, I'd certainly put Close to the Edge in the top ten of essential records to own, if not The Number One.