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Reviews

Yes — Close to the Edge
(Atlantic SD 7244, 1972, LP)

by Mike McLatchey, Published 2014-11-29

Close to the Edge Cover art

McLatchey's Top Tier #31

If Rock Bottom was the hipster choice, this one might be the antichoice, or it is because I don't rate Topographic Oceans at all. It's interesting to see this album finally see its day, I believe it was voted the #1 Progressive Rock album by Prog magazine recently. My first Yes album as a teenager was Classic Yes, which a friend loaned me and from the get go "And You and I" has always been one of my all time favorite pieces of music and I had already played this album absolutely to death by the time I was 17. Ever since then I pull it out maybe once a year or two, because I have it practically memorized. When it comes to symphonic progressive rock, I think if you check this and most of the long forms from the previous two albums you have something of a real canon of the genre. These days I probably gravitate a bit earlier, specifically The Yes Album era where they were a lot less polished and full of energy and vigor. But this one will always be their true masterpiece. Like Ommadawn or Rubycon I don't need to listen to it much at this point, but in my own personal memory arena this flutters from the ceiling like a retired jersey.

Filed under: New releases, 1972 releases

Related artist(s): Jon Anderson, Bill Bruford / Earthworks, Steve Howe, Chris Squire, Yes, Rick Wakeman

 

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