I finally got around to giving an album a go that has been on my shelf for quite a bit, Yes' Close to the Edge. I must thank my father for finding this album for me at a yard sale in Burlington, NC, as having had the opportunity to listen to it in its entirety I vastly enjoyed it. It is an interesting album, from Roger Dean's cover art that some claim the film Avatar borrowed visual ideas from, to the idea of an album that flows through movements rather than songs, with few track divisions. I counted one tiny one on Side One "Close to the Edge" and one on Side Two "And You And I". Obviously another concept of the album is to name the two sides into differing themes, and Yes was well known for loving a concept. On this album, the concepts work well, and the band really reaches a new level, with a sound that was far ahead of its time at its release in 1972.Both sides o
f this album are strong and each could stand on its own as a tremendous EP, but combined as an album they are top notch. In the third movement of the Side One the band epitomizes what made them prog rock pioneers and innovators. The movement is named I Get Up I Get Down and the repeated chorus from which it received that title is a beautiful point and counterpoint of harmonies that would make the Beach Boys stand up and applaud (Mr. Wilson might remain seated, but would applaud) and exemplifies how Yes influenced the indie-psych and chill wave music of bands like Panda Bear and Animal Collective. From this beautiful chorus, an organ solo that could be directly from a horror film leads into the full on drum, key, guitar, and bass break that many associate with the "Yes Sound". It is a masterpiece of arrangement and writing that shows how well five musicians can morph into a unified force, all of their complicated and virtuoso individual parts becoming a seamless and seemingly effortless whole.This is where the strength of Yes is, in their ability to maneuver and transition complex lines and various layers of sound into songs that seem natural and comfortable. Songs on this album can go from funk breaks to vocal parts that sound as if taken from a hymnal or a piece of gregorian chant, yet the pathway of the songs retains the listener into traveling up and down and around the various parts and vast breadth of subject matter on this album. All in all I would rate this album a 9 out of 10, as it is easily my favorite Yes album out of the 4 or 5 I have had a chance to truly listen to. If you see it in your local record store, or luck out in having your Methodist minister father find it in a yard sale in Burlington, NC (Thanks Dad!), i recommend purchasing it from wherever it comes. If you are a fan of prog rock, classic rock, or psych of any generation, there is probably something for you on this album.
Link for Close to the Edge download: http://www.mediafire.com/?zu39ofha2g2
