Yes
Close To The Edge

"Close to the edge", "close to the edge". Indeed, with this album, Yes truly transcend the edge of their artistic creation, giving birth to one of the great monuments in the history of progressive rock.

Released in 1972, less than a year after the previous masterpiece "Fragile", this album is undoubtedly a testament to Yes's full artistic maturity. In "Fragile", one could perceive a more experimental approach, both in the search for cohesiveness within the group (evidenced by the numerous tracks where individual members take the lead), and in the precise identification of the "Yes" sound within the progressive genre. And in the spirit of "if it ain't broke, don't fix it", in "Close to the Edge", we find the same members who created the previous album; drummer Bill Bruford would join King Crimson's ranks the following year.

This time, the central theme of the album is no longer natural or cosmological as in "Fragile", but it embraces decidedly more philosophical and spiritual topics soaked in Eastern culture. The album's title, as explained in encyclopedic citations, refers to Hesse's Siddhartha, who awakens by the riverbank, representing the paths of his spirit. The beautiful (though in my opinion not the best track of the album) suite, "Close to the Edge", which opens the album, deserves a brief analysis of its four parts, but analyzing the lyrics is a decidedly more complex operation that does not suit a musical review. The first and second parts of the suite, "The Solid Time of Change" and "Total Mass Retain", occupy the first eight minutes of the piece, which begins with birdsong in a jungle, immediately creating a rich atmosphere. After a few seconds, there is an abrupt explosion of psychedelic sounds that proceed in a spiraling interweaving. Then follows the rhythmic singing of Anderson up to the end of the second part. With the third part, "I Get Up, I Get Down", the atmosphere calms down, and the singing slowly becomes almost a dream, a mental state with a fading effect in the sound of the voice. But the reflection is shattered by the sound of a spectral organ (vaguely reminiscent of ELP), and it is Wakeman in this part of the piece ("Seasons of Man") who unleashes, along with the classic choral intertwining, in an excellent finale, followed once again by the initial calm.

And as with the "progressive script", following a very dynamic track, comes the suite "And You and I", which opens with a slow and relaxing acoustic guitar melody, followed by a more compelling folk-rock rhythm. The interlude is perhaps one of the best produced by the progressive genre, simply moving. In the last part, Anderson performs a notable exercise of vocal rhythm on Howe’s guitar notes, and the piece slowly fades out. But it is surely the third track, "Siberian Khatru", in my opinion the best on the album, that is one of the most entrancing tracks by Yes. A track that presents a decidedly more blues imprint and, thanks to a progressive acceleration, gives the impression of experiencing a long run across the natural expanses described in the lyrics. The group's fantastic choral vocalizations overlap perfectly with the music's pace. The organ and guitar-dominated interlude is epic, with a very oriental flavor. Then the main melody returns, increasingly faster, until the end of all. In short, for me, this song doesn't just evoke emotions but creates a mental state of exhaustion.

Perhaps this is the last of Yes's works worthy of ascending to the Olympus of progressive rock; "Tales from Topographic Oceans" and "Relayer" will have lesser impact and decidedly inferior quality compared to their predecessors.