#445 Yes, 'Close to the Edge' (1972)

New Entry

No puns intended, but when I saw this album on the list my reaction was a loud exclamation of “YES!” This is one of my all-time favourite prog rock records and it was noticeably missing for me on the last list. Justice prevails and for every Bad Bunny there’s a Yes.

Side A features just one track; the title track. An 18-minute symphony with four parts. It’s 4 minutes before you hear Jon Anderson’s vocals for the first time. The song begins with a tape loop featuring keyboards and nature sounds and for its 55 seconds, it took 2 days and 40 feet of tape to record.

Side B includes two tracks, shorter in length, but between the two of them they match the length of Side A. This album is the blueprint for prog rock. Everything you could want in a prog rock album is included on this – intricate drums, extended solos in all forms, soaring vocals and thematic melodies.

11 years later, Yes would release the more accessible and commercially successful album, ‘90125,’ with ‘Owner Of A Lonely Heart.’ For all intents and purposes, a different band, much like Genesis of the ‘80s was different to Genesis of the ‘70s. And while I do love that album, this remains my favourite Yes album, an album I often return to.

#rs500albums