Close to the Edge at 50

“And then perfection came...

“Nothing prepared listeners for Close to the Edge.  There had been experiments with odd rhythms, polytonalities, atonality, thematic and lyrical visions, and sheer complexity before...In rock music, however, no one had achieved such an extended integration of these elements before.  And, in more general terms, Close to the Edge as a totality was and is an original and moving work.” (Martin, page 128)

Nature sounds.  Birds.  A babbling brook increasingly accented by a suspended tinkling, like chimes.  Then the electric guitar chords with the chimes.  Chaos ensues.  It is like the band members are playing different songs all around each other.  Not quite an improvisation.  Drums explosive, rapid-fire repeating synthesized notes, the guitar is rambling all over the place, and the bass thunders in long drawn-out notes.  At the three-minute mark the drums seem to rally everyone.  The music becomes more cohesive.  At four minutes  the first section begins in earnest (though we have been inside it all along) and we are treated to the brilliant vocals of Jon Anderson.

So begins the 18-minute magnum opus by Yes on 1972's Close to the Edge (CttE) album.  The title track takes up the entire first side of the record.  This was Yes taking things one step further than they did the year before on Fragile with the incredible 11-minute “Heart of the Sunrise.”   This piece of music worked on a much grander in scale and scope, intentionally symphonic, partly inspired by Jean Sibelius's Fifth Symphony.    

Yes was pushing the boundaries of their creativity and this was one of those rare times in rock history when virtuoso musicians were all on the same page, immersed in complete collaboration.  Anderson (vocals) and his masterful band mates, Steve Howe (guitars), Rick Wakeman (keyboards), Chris Squire (bass), and Bill Bruford (drums/percussion) were in sync creatively.  All five minds and talents contributed to the recording of the song that “defined prog rock.”

Bruford would go from his drums to a keyboard during rehearsals, for example, and work out a melody (theme) that was in his head.  He couldn't communicate it on his drums, the keyboard allowed Howe, Wakeman and Squire to know what general area to play in (how the tune went).  The same was true of each Yes musician.  Whereas half the songs written and performed on Fragile featured each band member performing individually, now all five were contributing to the music as a team.   

“Close to the Edge” itself was stitched together through multiple sessions recorded while the band was on tour in the first half of 1972.  Initially, it was the brain child of Anderson who juxtaposed Sibelius with Hermann Hesse's novel Siddhartha and living in nature along the Thames River.  That provided words and the foundation themes allowing each of the other members of Yes to shape the sound with the exploration of each theme.

Anderson and the band wanted to experiment with a symphonic perspective.  “Close to the Edge” is presented in four sections, similarly to what the band did with “Starship Trooper” in 1970.  “The Solid Time of Change” is mostly the nature/chaos intro to the album with a bit of singing and playing until the 4:45 mark where we get the first appearance of what will be the chorus, the rallying point for the composition.  

“Total Mass Retain” takes up the next four minutes which introduces a more standardized rock melody and beat. Then suddenly, the listener is transported to another world.  The song slows and becomes richly atmospheric.  Soft and inviting and contemplative, “I Get Up I Get Down” is a loving, easy piece to hear.  Anderson's voice is sweet.  Howe and Squire on alternate and backing vocals are smooth.  There are long isolated and extended tones of single guitar (sitar?) strings.  The bass is lazy.  The keyboard is simple and of a reassuring beat.  

Everything is toned down and relaxing.  It is a gentle psychedelic trip.  After some time,  Anderson sings up each note of perfect octave.  Higher and higher until, abruptly, Wakeman erupts with a gigantic church organ at 12:10.  It is an ecstasy.  After briefly returning to the previous softness a second eruption of the organ occurs.  This is clearly classical music at the height of a progressive rock song.  

At 14:11 “Season of Man” significantly picks up the pace until we are back in full rock mode to finish the song.  This features Wakeman's keyboards though Bruford's improvisational drums and Squire's crashing big bass notes are wonderful to hear.  Finally we are back to the chorus again, only this time in a triumphant key.  Everyone rises.  “Seasons will pass you by, I get up, I get down.”  This song is a transcendence out of chaos into peace.  You can hear it in each band member in the last few notes before we fade out with the sounds of nature again.  No chaos this time.

“Close to the Edge” is one of rock's greatest accomplishments.  I have listened to it fairly regularly through my adult years.  I blogged about it ten years ago here.  In commemoration of its 50th anniversary, I wore a CttE tee-shirt to Cumberland Island this past spring.  The band completely succeeds in achieving rock music in a symphonic form.  The song builds to a holistic and satisfying resolution.  It is about living a spiritual life.  

The “edge” is the one “down by a river” of revelation and fruition.  Being close to the edge is about being near the source of the spiritual life.  It can be applied universally and, indeed, Yes intended it to be that way.  Part of its wide appeal, aside from the masterful performances by everyone, is that it is a composition with a broad message of emotional aspiration.  

“”Close to the Edge.” as it originally appeared on the LP, was not only a product of self-reflection but also subtly coaxed the listener to evacuate his normal headspace for the psychological high ground of self-reflection.” (Romano, page 99)

The second side of CttE consists of just two songs.  Almost ten minutes long, “And You and I” is another of the best songs Yes would ever record.  It features Howe's fantastic guitar skills more so than “Close to the Edge.”  Beginning with pure harmonics on acoustic guitar giving way to a simple strumming, sing-a-long style.  Anderson's vocals are, again, strong and bright.

“And You and I” is also conceived in four parts as well.  “Cord of Life” is the strummed opening of the song and ends with the chorus.  “Eclipse” keeps the same pace but now all rhythm is gone.  This is Howe and Wakeman wandering around fabulously with their various instruments building higher as Anderson's voice reaches a crescendo.

And we start over.  The song is back to its acoustic beginning becoming “The Preacher, the Teacher.”  This is a funky part of the song, still rambling around earlier themes.  A second crescendo is followed by an extended section where the band creates a loud, proud echoing space that ultimately gives way to “Apocalypse” which is just a brief part at the end.  The end wraps back to the beginning again.  The song has a chant-like quality in that regard.  Like “Close to the Edge,” this is absolutely one of my Top Five Yes songs.  These musicians are at the height of their craft in 1972.

“Siberian Khatru” is an example of Anderson's nonsensical play with words.  Khatru means “as you wish” in Yemini.  What has Siberia got to do with that?  Matched up with the other two tracks this song naturally seems like a lesser work.  Being the least experimental piece on the album it is also not just “filler” and it completes the album on solid ground.  Lasting about nine minutes, it  has a catchy beat to it and sounds more like what a listener might expect from progressive rock at the time.   Howe sparkles on guitar is several places.  He plays at least three instruments that I hear on this track, maybe more.  For many years, this was a standard Yes concert performance, so the band obviously thought it was a strong piece as well.

My 2003 remastered CD.  I sold my vinyl copy years ago.  The previous image is just a close cropping of this pic.

Throughout CttE Anderson's lyrics are clever and poetic, just don't try to make sense of them specifically.  The songs are all nebulous in the sense that the phrases are mostly strange.  No matter the words, the way they are sung is exquisite on this album.  Few vocalists have the range that Anderson exhibits on CttE.  Bruford adds some jazz-infused percussion to the mix.  Squire's bass is very deep, funky and omniscient.  Combined with Howe and Wakeman, few bands could match the talent of Yes for sheer musicianship.  

Just before Yes began touring with the CttE material, Bruford left the band to become the percussionist for King Crimson.  He originally offered to cover the first part of the tour until the end of the year but Howe wanted a full commitment.  Years later Howe regretted not having played the songs on CttE live with Bruford.  

Alan White was close to the band and familiar with their work.  He was literally thrown into the job of playing like Bruford (to which he adapted superbly) and would remain the drummer (establishing his own style) for Yes until his death earlier this year.  All three songs were enthusiastically received live by Yes audiences, solidifying their popular success as one of the top touring bands of that era.

“Close to the Edge” is a song I usually listened to at some point every year or so.  It is a elite touchstone that is threaded into my life.  There are only a few other songs or compositions I can say that about.  Shostakovitch's Symphony No. 10 is another.  Listening to the album over and over recently I am struck by how easy it is to relate to it after all these years.  It has aged very well.  I did not discover it until five or six years after it was first released (I was only 13 when it came out) but it quickly became a favorite and Yes has always been a favorite band of mine, though I really only care for their 1970's music.

I follow classical composer Doug Helvering's YouTube Channel.  The Daily Doug offers musical insights on mostly 60's and 70's rock in a “first reaction” format.  That is, each episode features him reacting in real time to songs he has never heard before.  First reaction videos are actually quite popular on YouTube.  And I get a kick out of watching these sorts of episodes.  

Anyway, he reacts to Yes a lot (he has become a great fan of their music) and when he first heard “Close to the Edge” the video is priceless.  CttE has since become one of his favorite albums ever.  In more recent episodes he has the album in the background of his office where he records his reactions.  He gives a terrific musical analysis of the song and becomes practically speechless when he hears the pipe organ part.  It is a lot of fun to watch others react so positively to music I've been loved for decades.  See it here.  

CttE peaked at #3 on the Billboard 200 in the US, ultimately selling more than a million copies.  Some indication of its lasting appeal is reflected in the fact that it currently ranks 89th on the Top 100 albums of all time according to research by besteveralbums.com.  That's quite remarkable for a record made fifty years ago.  I never tire of listening to it.

“...there is nothing I would change about this piece of music.  In all of the Yes albums up to this point, there are pieces here or there that might have been done differently – perhaps a bit better, or better not done at all.  If one way to define perfection in a work of art is in terms of a certain completeness, where everything fits together in the right way and there is nothing lacking, then Close to the Edge is perfection, to my mind...[It] is music that takes risks, it is music that is infused with great craft, and it is music that has a sophisticated vision that works on many levels; and this is music with passion.” (Martin, page 128)