CLOSE TO THE EDGE

It's hard to write about this album, since I personally consider it one of top five all times. Suffice it to say it is one of those rare albums which are equally enjoyed listening to it in whatever mood you may be, day or night, spring, summer, winter or fall.

Close to the Edge was made in Yes' prime - their most productive period, along with such incredible achievements as Fragile, The Yes Album and Tales from Topographic Oceans. The album has three pieces - three extraordinary examples of spiritual abundance and musical creativity. They are in perfect constellation and that's why the album offers you enough of everything one would like to find in a prog rock album - the theme, the development, unexpected shifts, rhythm and melody, faster and slower parts, great solos etc.

The song Close to the Edge should be studied by new prog rockers in order to understand the basic rule of progressive rock mastery - not every long song is a good song. This song (18:50) has a carefully designed structure, from the beginning to the end, nothing pretentious, nothing redundant. It does not let you wait for a concrete development (such a frequent weakness among krautrockers), but rather strikes you right in your head, with powerful, aggressive, frantic introduction, where the forest of sounds raises your temperature and prepares you for the whole story. After the brilliant singing parts one could witness one of the most amazing use of church organ in modern music (the only parallel I momentarily have in mind is Birth Control's Hoodoo Man). And then, after the ecstatic ascension, a new entangle - the song explodes and culminates with a magnificent manifest, when Rick Wakeman plays one of his best hammond organ solos ever. What a song, what an experience!

The production of the album - brilliant. The lyrics - sometimes too complicated. The only objection I have is the cover. Roger Dean illustrated the inner cover. The main cover? Only green. Still, the overwhelming green suits perfectly with the mood one experiences during the journey.