TODAY'S ALBUM: No.2 (27th October 2011)

'Close To The Edge' 

by Yes
(1972)

One of the truly great progressive rock albums from the genre's early-seventies golden period, this epic effort would find British outfit Yes firing on all cylinders. Their fifth album, after 'Yes', 'Time & A Word', 'The Yes Album' and 'Fragile', 'Close To The Edge' features just three tracks spread out over 35 minutes of music with the epic title-track spanning a hugely impressive 18 minutes, follow-up 'And You And I' hitting the ten-minute mark and closer 'Siberian Khatru' a couple of minutes shorter. Each track, or 'song-suite', runs through multiple sections, styles and sounds, ranging from celestial pop, hard-edged metallic rock, keyboard-drenched neo-classical themes and bursts of experimental psychedelia, all the while wrapped in the oblique and deliberately mysterious lyrics that have become the group's trademark. 
The line-up for 'Close To The Edge' has long been considered the 'classic' Yes line-up, though, predictably, it wouldn't last. The group featured high-pitched vocalist Jon Anderson, ex-Tomorrow guitarist Steve Howe, keyboardist extraordinaire Rick Wakeman(formerly of The Strawbs)co-founding bassist Chris Squire and jazz-loving drummer Bill Bruford. Wakeman had been brought in after the dismissal of original member and organist Tony Kaye, whilst another founding member, Pete Banks, had been unceremoniously dumped in favour of London-born axeman Howe. However, the addition of Wakeman and Howe would prove to be the smart move. The duo would fatten up and thicken out Yes' rich sound, adding layers of keyboards, effects and stinging guitars that would embellish tunes such as'Siberian Khatru' with a populist, classic rock appeal. Indeed, 'Close To The Edge' would prove one of the group's biggest sellers, placing Yes at the forefront of the 1970s rock sphere and winning each individual member various end-of-year magazine polls at a time when various end-of-year magazine polls really meant something. For one member though, the brilliance of 'Close To The Edge' was a marker for change. A witty, acerbic, public school-educated musician, Bill Bruford would shock his fellow Yes mates by quitting the group within weeks of the album's completion. The decision both shocked and confounded fans and critics alike, yet decades down the line Bruford's move can now be seen as a master-stroke. The drummer would subsequently join-up with Robert Fripp's King Crimson in time to drum on their seminal 1974 album 'Red', whilst Yes would run into big trouble with their enormously ambitious double-sided concept album 'Tales Of Topographic Oceans', an album that would sum up the vulgarities of prog and spell the beginning of the end for the genre's popular cycle. Bruford had seen this coming a mile off, and with foresight that would impress the hardest working psychic, jumped ship for the grass on the greener side.
He would leave behind him one of the greatest progressive rock albums of all time, an album that would be often copied but never bettered. The eighteen-minute long title-track is perhaps the peak of both Yes' and the genre's existence, featuring a series of interconnected sections that blend structure-fiddling art rock with psychedelic flourishes, inspired instrumental verve and fantasy trimmings with luxurious abandon. Eddie Offord's crystal clear production lends the project a shiny musical jacket that brings out all the special effects and sound collages with expert glee, wrapping much of the rock-based material in a vibrant experimental glow that would, for many, become the very essence of progressive rock. 
Without a doubt 'Close To The Edge' is one of the top five albums from the era, and all those interested in the genre are advised to start with this glowing gem.


Key songs: Close To The Edge, Siberian Khatru