CLOSE TO THE EDGE

"Close to the Edge" is the album that first introduced me to the entire genre of progressive rock, and after branching out to listen to many other artists and songs, this is still the one album that I come back to at the end of the day. It is a timeless masterpiece and a milestone of progressive music.

I sit here trying to put all my feelings on this album into words, but nothing I write seems to be adequate. The lyrics in each of the songs are cryptic and sometimes seemingly nonsensical, but to me this just adds to the beauty of the music. The seeming vagueness of the words allows them to have a much more personal and emotional meaning.

Listening to the title track "Close to the Edge" takes me on a spiritual journey from the chaos and uncertainty of "The Solid Time of Change" and the search for meaning of "Total Mass Retain" to the contemplative and introspective "I Get Up I Get Down" and finally to the realization and awakening in "Seasons of Man". It really is indescribable and must be heard (multiple times) to be understood.

"And You and I" is, to me, the ultimate love song. "All complete in the sight of seeds of life with you." ...Beautiful

"Siberian Khatru" is an upbeat, uplifting song that for some reason always puts me in a good mood whenever I listen to it. Jon Anderson's lyrics are nearly indecipherable here, but in the end it really doesn't matter because his voice and the harmonies supplied by the rest of the band blend so well with the music that the voices basically become another instrument.

The album's structure, musicianship, and composition have all been discussed to death on this site, so I'm sure there is nothing new I can offer to that discussion, but rest assured, they are all top notch throughout. In the end, "Close to the Edge" is most definitely deserving of 5 stars and is an album that I believe EVERYONE should listen to at some point in their life.