CLOSE TO THE EDGE

Well well well... This one holds a particular place in my heart because it's the one which introduced me to prog : when I got into prog, I just said myself : This one looks nice, I'll buy it and see what it's like. God, I have never had a best idea in all my life. It changed everything : My way to listen to music, my way to play music, my way to talk about music... This is an incredible release on all points : to my eyes Fragile was good but not perfect and too cut to be appreciated fully. Close To The Edge doesn't have this problem as I can listen to it as many times as I want in a row. Any second is a magical moment, a minute is paradise and the whole album is really extasy. All the players are at their best here, especially Howe and Wakeman who are simply amazing. Not much to say about Jon as he is always close to the edge of perfection. Squire plays his bass like he has never did before. Well, Bruford is just perfection, one of the best drummers ever. Close to the edge is the ultimate mix of Rock, Jazz, Experiments, and last but not least, Classical Music. All has already been said about the tracks in the previous reviews, so I won't go any further than the others. One more thing : Close To The Edge is sadly forgotten among youth today, as I'm probably the only one who knows this band in my school (I'm French) and I think Progarchives is a great way to learn about prog, just as I did. I'll never thank you enough.

5 stars.