Close to the edge

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Close to the edge
Studio album by Yes

Publication
(s)

September 13, 1972

Label (s) Atlantic Records

Format (s)

CD, LP

Genre (s)

Progressive rock

Title (number)

3

running time

37:56

occupation

production

Yes and Eddie Offord

Studio (s)

Morgan Studios, London

chronology
Fragile
(1972) 		Close to the edge Yessongs
(live album 1973)
Tales from Topographic Oceans
(studio album 1973)

Close to the Edge is the fifth studio album by the British progressive rock band Yes from 1972 . At the time of release it became the band's biggest commercial hit, but reviews at the time were mixed. It is now considered to be the band's artistic pinnacle and one of the best albums in the genre. To date, it has influenced many other bands in the genre.

Track list

  1. Close to the Edge (Anderson / Howe) - 18:50
    • The Solid Time of Change
    • Total mass retain
    • I get up, I get down
    • Seasons of Man
  2. And You and I (Anderson; subject by Bruford / Howe / Squire) - 10:09
    • Cord of Life
    • Eclipse (Anderson / Bruford / Howe)
    • The preacher the teacher
    • Apocalypse
  3. Siberian Khatru (Anderson; authored by Anderson / Howe / Wakeman) - 8:57

The album was remastered and re-released in 2003 by Rhino Records . This edition contains the bonus tracks:

  1. America ( Paul Simon ) (Single version) - 4:12
  2. Total Mass Retain (Anderson / Howe) (Single version) - 3:21
  3. And You and I (Anderson / Bruford / Howe / Squire) (Alternate version) - 10:17
  4. Siberia (Anderson / Howe / Wakeman) (Studio run-through by Siberian Khatru ) - 9:19

In 2013 the album was released as a Definitive Edition in the form of a CD / DVD or CD / Blu-Ray double album. For this edition the English producer and musician Steven Wilson has mixed new stereo and 5.1 surround versions. Several alternative versions and accessories are also included.

admission

The concept of the album was mainly developed by Anderson and Howe, while Bruford and Wakeman in particular were little involved (Wakeman later referred to them as "innocent bystanders"). The first recordings began on February 1st in the Advision Studios in London. All in all, the recording sessions were lengthy and very perfectionist, with an idea being developed and refined until no one found anything wrong with it. This ultimately led Bruford to leave the band after the album on the one hand because of the working atmosphere and on the other hand because he said Yes could n't surpass Close to the Edge and followed an offer by Robert Fripp to switch to King Crimson . In order not to forget the arrangements discussed over the weekend, all rehearsals were recorded, resulting in a large number of recording snippets that were put together at the end.

music

There are only three songs on this album. All three songs will appear on stage alternately or together over the next 35 years (for example, a contemporary live recording that contains the entire album is the following album, Yessongs ).

Close to the edge

The title song, which takes up the entire first page of the LP for over 18 minutes, has some characteristics of a sonata . It is divided into four parts with exposition, development, recapitulation and coda, which are also written in different keys. But apart from that, it takes up composition techniques of classical music in various places. The piece contains various musical themes , which are repeated and varied in the course of it. It is loosely based on Hermann Hesse's story Siddharta . The individual parts represent different stages in the life of the protagonist, which is represented both textually with the help of many metaphors and musically. This is also the reason why - contrary to the classical sonata form - the key at the end is not the same as at the beginning, because this would not represent any progress in the life of the protagonist.

The song begins with an intro made of natural sounds, in which the individual instruments begin. This is followed by The Solid Time of Change, the close-to-the-edge theme , which occurs four times in the entire song. The Solid Time of Change is structured like an independent song with verse and chorus. Total Mass Retain is a variation of the previous section, but in which, for example, the chorus is played at double speed, which can be seen as a sign of the protagonist's inner restlessness. With I Get Up I Get Down a completely new topic is introduced. On this theme, Anderson sings one line of text and Howe and Squire sings another. In between an "I Get Up / I Get Down" is interspersed. This is followed by an organ, which is then replaced by a Moog, which is ultimately followed by a Hammond solo. This can be seen as a criticism of institutional churches. By turning away from them one can find one's own higher faith in oneself, which is a basic statement of the piece: By the rivers it is meant that ultimately every faith flows into a syncretic sea . The last part, Seasons of Man , is again a variation of the first part, but it seems less hectic than the other two parts, so it ends with bass, vocals and background vocals in unison. At the end there are sounds of nature again.

And you and I

The second page starts with And You and I , this piece is quieter and is dominated by the acoustic guitar. It is divided into two clearly distinguishable parts. For a long time they were unsure whether to combine them, and if so, how, or to publish them as two separate pieces. While Anderson and Howe thought about the concept and individual motifs in one afternoon, it took a whole week to put the individual passages together harmoniously. Thematically, it is about politicians who only have their own power and not the good of the people in mind. In this piece, too, complex polyphonic figures were used and individual themes were repeatedly modified. At the beginning these are presented and then, for example - as can be heard in The Preacher the Teacher - varied in country style.

Siberian Khatru

The album closes with the rocky and fast track Siberian Khatru . Anderson explains the term “khatru” with “as you wish” from the Yemeni language. Elsewhere, however, he has already translated it as “winter”. "Siberian" because it seemed very far away due to the existence of the Iron Curtain and this huge piece of land was very sparsely populated, but the people there just live like here. The song is vaguely about dreams on a warm summer day, but unlike the other two songs, it has no deeper meaning. The song begins with a guitar riff, to which incoherent but interesting-sounding words are sung after a while. Then a new part begins with guitar, harpsichord and sitar, followed by the opening theme again, followed by a modified version of the refrain and then again individual, disjointed words. The song ends again with the guitar motif from the beginning. Siberian Khatru is probably the most played opening title for Yes .

Cover

The fold-out cover consists of a green running from top to bottom from dark to light, the album title on top and the curved Yes logo below. On the back there are photos of the five band members and, as an addition, the picture of Eddie Offord, who produced the third Yes album in a row. The whole thing was supplemented with another Yes logo only with outlines, a list of the band members with the instruments and further album information. Inside there is a Roger Dean picture, a high plateau consisting of a sea with islands, a ship and a building on an island. The water flows down steeply on all sides. The viewer himself stands on a remote mountain that is only connected to the plateau by a bridge. The cover of the LP becomes the carrier of the texts. Internationally, there are practically no differences; only in the 1974 album in Czechoslovakia was the title translated as Na samen kraji útesu .

reception

While the album Close to the Edge is now considered one of the best and most important albums in progressive rock, the contemporary reviews have been less exuberant. In retrospect, after the previous albums, it is widely viewed as the band's artistic pinnacle. Many progressive rock bands from the 1970s to the present day have been influenced by him. In June 2015, the music magazine Rolling Stone selected the album as number 5 of the 50 best progressive rock albums of all time .

Chart placement

Chart positions
Explanation of the data
Albums
Close to the edge
  DE 36 11/15/1972 (3 weeks)
  UK 4th 09/23/1972 (13 weeks)
  US 3 07.10.1972 (32 weeks)

The album entered the German charts in the week of November 15, 1972, a good two months after its release, and stayed there for three weeks, reaching a high of 36 in the second week. In Austria and Switzerland, the album did not make it into the local charts. In Great Britain , the album hit the charts on September 23rd and stayed there for 13 weeks, reaching 4th place at the top. In the USA, the album moved into the charts at position 79 in the week of October 7th and reached the top 10 after 4 weeks and three weeks later with 3rd place, its highest position there. It was represented on the Billboard 200 for a total of 32 weeks . The album reached the highest ranking in the Dutch Dutch Charts , where the album was represented for 11 weeks and reached number one placement.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Jacob Albano: Review of the album. In: classicrockreview. September 13, 2017. Retrieved November 7, 2017 .
  2. ↑ a b Nik Brückner: 12th review. In: Baby Blue Pages . Retrieved November 7, 2017 .
  3. ^ Will Romano: Yes's Close to the Edge. In: moderndrummer. October 2017, accessed November 7, 2017 .
  4. ↑ a b Joe Bosso: Interview with Jon Anderson about the album. In: yesworld.com. December 2, 2012, accessed November 7, 2017 .
  5. ↑ Rock Hard No. 277, June 2010, p. 84
  6. ↑ Review on the 45th anniversary. In: Rhino.com . September 13, 2017. Retrieved November 7, 2017 .
  7. ↑ Dave Thompson: Review of the album. In: Allmusic . Retrieved November 7, 2017 .
  8. ↑ Review. In: Discogs . Retrieved November 7, 2017 .
  9. ↑ Will Hermes: 50 Greatest Prog Rock Albums of All Time - Yes, 'Close to the Edge' (1972). In: Rolling Stone . Wenner Media, June 17, 2015, accessed on September 22, 2015 .
  10. ↑ a b chart data DE. Media Control , accessed November 8, 2017 .
  11. ↑ a b UK chart data. Official Charts Company , accessed November 8, 2017 .
  12. ↑ a b US chart data. Billboard , accessed November 8, 2017 .
  13. ↑ Chart data Netherlands. Dutch Charts , accessed November 8, 2017 .