ALBUM: Close to the Edge (1972)
MVC Rating: 4.0/$$$
I’ve never been much of a Yes-man but I do appreciate their chops. I have what is considered by many fans their best (of more than 20 albums).
I have to say, I like its predecessor ‘Fragile’ better mainly on the strength of the song ‘Roundabout.’ But I can see how fans like Close to the Edge with its powerful guitar performance by the underrated Steve Howe.
This is commercial progressive rock which — as I have mentioned before is not my cup of cognac.
I like blues-based rock and roll and some folk, country, jazz and soul. Progressive rock is a long way from the blues. It often uses classical music as its lens. Sometimes it works as in this case with Bach lurking in Rick Wakeman’s organ fills and solos. And, hey, I’d be remiss if I didn’t say: Just listen to that bass by the criminally underrated Chris Squires.
But much of the time Yes and its prog brethren — Emerson Lake and Palmer, Genesis, and King Crimson to name but a few of the bigger names — sounds to me like a mish-mash.
Here, there is superb playing, but I don’t really know what Jon Anderson is singing about. “I get up, I get down.” That lyric sums up the listening experience.
And you can’t dance to it.