If you click and enlarge the picture you can see good ol’ Charlie Brown pulling out his well-worn vinyl copy of Close to the Edge.
Eddie [Offord] roused himself sufficiently to play back one of the album tracks called ‘Total Mass Retain’.
“What does ‘Total Mass Retain’ mean!” protested Bill [Bruford].
“What’s wrong with ‘Total Mass Retain’?” demanded Jon [Anderson]. “I had to think of something quickly.”
“Why not call it ‘Puke’?” asked Bill.[1]
—
“In 40 years’ time, along with three or four other albums from that era, people will pick out Close to the Edge and say, ‘That’s what progressive rock was all about.’”[2]
Close to the Edge – Yes (released in 1972)
Few bands personify the worldview and ethos of progressive rock better than the band Yes. The band formed in 1968 around a nucleus of bassist Chris Squire, guitarist Peter Banks, vocalist Jon Anderson, and drummer Bill Bruford. Keyboardist Tony Kaye was added a bit later and the first version of the band was complete.
Yes began their career as a cover band performing tunes by The Beatles, Simon & Garfunkel, and The 5th Dimension. Instead of performing the hits of these artists verbatim, Yes would add long instrumental sections of their own composition, extending the songs to epic lengths.
The first incarnation of Yes proved to be short-lived. After two largely unsuccessful albums, Banks was out of the band in 1970. He was replaced by Steve Howe. Kaye would leave the band a year later and was replaced by Rick Wakeman. The Yes of Anderson, Squire, Bruford, Howe, and Wakeman would comprise what many fans consider to be Yes’ greatest lineup.
Over the span of eighteen months (March 1971 to September 1972) Yes released three of the finest albums of the first wave of prog: The Yes Album, Fragile, and their masterpiece, Close to the Edge. Close to the Edge contained the perfect storm of three dynamic songs, performed by the right five musicians, recording under the oversight of the right producer and engineer (Eddy Offord), and everyone performing at the peak of their potential. The album also featured a brilliant album cover and gatefold sleeve by graphic designer Roger Dean.
As for the songs, Close to the Edge is an album full to overflowing with beauty and goodness. The songs also might be overflowing with lyrical truth. However, vocalist Jon Anderson’s lyrics are notoriously cryptic and quite difficult to interpret. Guitarist/keyboardist Kerry Livgren of the band Kansas summed up the ambivalence that many fans have with Yes’ music when he wrote, “Yes…should have been everything I liked, but for some reason they weren’t. They made use of esoteric and quasi-religious themes, but they sometimes went so far with their lyrics that it struck me as almost corny. But The Yes Album, Fragile, and Close to the Edge were musically excellent.”[3]
Dr. Brad Birzer has stated that he has heard Close to the Edge is about the Protestant Reformation. Although I have been unable to find any scholarly works or papers to verify Birzer’s assertion, he very well may be correct. Most of the scholarly commentary on the album’s title track point out that the lyrics are influenced by Hermann Hesse’s book Siddhartha. Regardless, we can certainly say that the album contains some images and concepts that may be biblical. I’ll point those out as we explore all three of the songs on this classic album.
Note: For the purposes of this review I used the 2013 Steven Wilson remix of Close to the Edge as a reference. Wilson spoke recently about his approach to remixing this iconic album here. If you can spring for the Wilson remix (especially the Blu-Ray version) it is well worth the money.
Close to the Edge: I. The Solid Time of Change, II. Total Mass Retain, III. I Get Up I Get Down, IV. Seasons of Man
The song begins with nearly a minute of nature sounds such as birds and water. Suddenly the music explodes in a manner that is quite chaotic. This is the section entitled “The Solid Time of Change.” After the introduction of the “Close to the Edge theme” (at 2:58) the lyrics begin in typically cryptic Anderson fashion: “A seasoned witch could call you from the depths of your disgrace/And rearrange your liver to the solid mental grace.” The first line that hints at a Christian theme is at 5:33 where Anderson sings, “We relieve the tension only to find out the master’s name.” What does this mean? Who knows. Is it about God? Maybe. In the words of Yes biographer Chris Welch, Anderson’s lyrics mean whatever you want them to mean.[4]
Next up in the song is the infamous “Total Mass Retain” section, the object of ridicule by Bill Bruford quoted at the beginning of this post. One of the interesting parts of this section is the way that Anderson’s vocals are not exactly on the downbeat and don’t necessarily line up with the accents that Squire and Bruford are playing in the rhythm section. If you have ears to hear it, it is a fascinating bit of arranging by the band.
The next section of the song (at 8:28) is called “I Get Up I Get Down” although this is a lyric that Anderson has been singing throughout the song. The lyrics to this section are as cryptic as always but the music leads beautifully to one of the most spine-tingling moments on the album–Rick Wakeman’s organ solo played on a cathedral organ located in Vevey, Switzerland. The solo actually happens twice with the second time leading to a fanfare and a recapitulation of the main theme.
The main music from “The Solid Time of Change” is restated and Wakeman chimes in with another organ solo, this time on the Hammond B3. The music progresses to one final round of “I get up, I get down” and then the song fades as it began, with birds and stream sounds.
Although “Close to the Edge” lasts 18:42 the song seems to last half that long. There isn’t a wasted moment in the composition as the band masterfully states musical themes, transitions at just the right time to just the right new music, beautifully recapitulates earlier music, all with just the right amount of mood changes for a prog epic. Although the band would attempt extended epics in the future–most notably on the albums Tales from Topographic Oceans and Relayer–they would never ago come close to catching lightning in a bottle the way they did on “Close to the Edge.”
And You and I: I. Cord of Life, II. Eclipse, III. The Preacher, the Teacher, IV.The Apocalypse
Side two of the vinyl LP begins with the song “And You and I.” The song opens with the “Cord of Life” section to the sound of Steve Howe tuning his 12-string acoustic guitar and then some open harmonics. He finally begins an understated acoustic guitar figure at the :31 point. Squire adds several thumping low D notes, Howe strums the official opening chords, and Wakeman offers a stately synthesizer solo. As is his custom, Anderson begins his vocal with words that seem to defy logic and interpretation: “A man conceived a moment’s answers to the dream/Staying the flowers daily sensing all the themes.” The “Cord of Life” section continues with the band operating as a quartet of Anderson, Howe, Squire, and Bruford. Except for his synthesizer solo early in this section, Wakeman is curiously absent.
The band comes to a halt at the end of the “Cord of Life” with just Howe’s 12-string strumming and Anderson singing the haunting lyrics, “And you and I climb over the sea to the valley/And you and I reached out for reasons to call.” Howe pauses just before the word “call” and Squire adds a subtle harmony in what sounds like a nod to yodeling. As the word “call” is sustained by the vocalists, one of the most stunning moments in the entire Yes canon takes place as the rest of the band (plus Wakeman on Mellotron and synthesizer) ushers in the “Eclipse” section of the work. This section is surely one of the most stately, emotional pieces of music in all of prog rock. Even Anderson’s lyrics seem to take on an added depth and clarity as if to rise to meet the glorious level of this music. Anderson ends the section with the lyric, “All complete in the side of seeds of life with you.”
Next up is “The Preacher, The Teacher” section. This section is quite folky in its way and contains the most unequivocally religious lyrics on the album as it speaks of a “sad preacher nailed upon the colour door of time” and “the preacher trained in all to lose his name.” Again, fairly cryptic and in keeping with the rest of Anderson’s lyrical output, but closer to more standardly religious than not.
“The Preacher, The Teacher” section ends with the words, “A clearer future, morning, evening, nights with you” and then heads directly into the “Apocalypse” section. This section is actually a recap of the music found at the end of the “Eclipse” section. The song ends with Anderson singing, “And you and I climb, crossing the shapes of the morning/And you and I reach over the sun for the river/And you and I climb, clearer, towards the movement/And you and I called over valleys of endless seas.”
As a whole, “And You and I” moves from strength to strength, offering one shatteringly beautiful moment after another. The lyrics seem to be speaking about two people–hence the title “And You and I.” But these are Jon Anderson lyrics after all and so just about any interpretation is possible.
Siberian Khatru
At 9:11, “Siberian Khatru” is a model of brevity on this album. It also features one of the Squire/Bruford rhythm section’s nastiest grooves, some slinky guitar lines from Howe, and an electric harpsichord solo from Wakeman at the 3:15 mark. Howe’s main guitar riff is notable in that it is built upon a G blues scale. One of the main hallmarks of English progressive rock is in its rejection of blues scales and chord progressions. However, English prog rockers would add them back in for dramatic effect. The guitar riff here is one example.
Toward the end of the song Anderson begins singing one and two word phrases that, again, are vaguely Christian as they invoke things like, “Luther,” “Christian,” “changer,” “called out,” and “Saviour.” The song fades out with one of Howe’s most beautiful guitar solos on a Yes recording.
Overall impression
It is difficult to overstate the greatness of this album and its impact upon the progressive rock community. For an album that was composed and recorded little bits at a time and then pieced together, all three songs are remarkably cohesive and hang together flawlessly. This method of recording little bits of music at a time and then assembling complete songs from pieces and parts exasperated Bruford and was the impetus for his departure from Yes after the completion of Close to the Edge.
Yes had already achieved massive international success with their previous album Fragile and the hit single from that album, “Roundabout.” Close to the Edge managed to climb to number 3 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart (one spot higher than Fragile) and is beloved by fans and critics alike.
As for the spiritual aspects of the album, things are much murkier. Scott O’Reilly has stated, “Despite the obvious Christian imagery that runs through Close to the Edge, I think you’d be hard pressed to interpret the band or the album as either promoting or advocating a traditional Christian perspective.”[5] O’Reilly may be correct. However, I believe that the music itself contains enough beauty and goodness to overcome whatever truth confusion the lyrics suffer. Close to the Edge is a bona fide prog rock classic, one that deserves to be heard and loved by even the most ardent prog rock naysayer.
I’ll let Bruford and Yes biographer Dan Hedges have the last word on the album Close to the Edge:
[T]hat album is absolutely my favourite. No doubt about it. To me, everything I did with the group was leading up to Close to the Edge.For that matter, everything everybody had done over the previous four years had been setting the stage for Close to the Edge. That enormous feeling of space and power they’d been chasing was suddenly there. [Rick] Wakeman had found his creative niche. [Jon] Anderson’s vocals were mature and sure, and the band as a whole positively roared.[6]
Here is a YouTube link for listening to the entire Close to the Edge album (probably illegally) online:
1. Welch, Chris (2009-11-11). Close to the Edge: The Story of Yes (Kindle Locations 2617-2621). Music Sales. Kindle Edition.
2. Bill Bruford, as quoted in Smith, Sid. “Close to the Edge: The Making of a Masterpiece.” Prog Oct. 2013: 43. Print.
3. Boa, Kenneth, and Kerry Livgren. Seeds of Change. Westchester, IL: Crossway, 1983. p. 61.
4. Welch, Ibid. Kindle Location 140.
5. O’Reilly, Scott (2011-12-07). Yes and Philosophy: The Spiritual and Philosophical Dimensions of Yes Music (Kindle Locations 992-993). Kindle Edition.
6. As quoted in Hedges, Dan. Yes: The Authorised Biography. London: Sidgwick & Jackson, 1981. p. 68.
Recommended track(s): The whole album. C’mon! There are only three songs.
Purchase a copy of the Steven Wilson remix (on CD/Blu-Ray) of Close to the Edge on Amazon
bill bruford, chris squire, close to the edge, fragile, jon anderson, peter banks, rick wakeman, steve howe, the yes album, tony kaye, yes
The genius of Yes is that it is gloriously edifying music. I don’t really give a damn about the meaning of the words. What is more important is the sound of Jon’s words and voice and how they play with the instrumentation. Yes lifts higher and higher and higher and higher and even higher and then sets you down like a falling feather. After 45 years, I still feel the joy, the power, and the emotion and I couldn’t be more grateful for these gifts.
Soon the light.
Thanks for the analysis and reminiscing. Listening again for the first time in several years with some new perspective (http://goo.gl/AN4z1B).
Hi J.O.,
I do agree that the musical aspect of Yes is glorious enough to carry the day in terms of beauty and goodness. It does seem to me, however, that Jon Anderson (as the primary lyricist) is of two minds on the topic of lyrics. On the one hand Anderson goes to great lengths to cite how “Close to the Edge” (the song) is influenced by Hesse’s “Siddhartha,” the Shastric Scriptures influence “Tales from Topographic Oceans,” and Tolstoy’s “War and Peace” inspired “Gates of Delirium.” On the other hand, Anderson wants to have the way the words rhyme and their rhythm to determine what they are and however the hearer wants to taken them is up to them. It is an odd way of going about things, that’s for sure.
I would also say that when Anderson digs in and works to tell a coherent, understandable story, his lyrics can and do rise to the level of the gloriousness of the music. An example I have in mind is “South Side of the Sky.” The music is glorious and the words are equally grand. Anderson’s words capture what an ascent up Mt. Everest must be like. There are also parts of “Awaken” that lyrically rise to the dizzying heights of the music. The ending lyrics on “Awaken” (“Like the time I ran away/Turned around and you were standing close to me/Like the time I ran away/Turned around and you were standing close to me”) are quite powerful.
Thanks a bunch for your comment. I’ve been a Yes ever since I heard “Roundabout” on the radio as a kid. They are a fascinating group and, like you, their music always moves me deeply.
Hi Jon,
You are very welcome. As I said in the album review, if you can save your pennies and get your hands on the Steven Wilson remix of “Close to the Edge,” your jaw will be on the floor. Especially if you have a Blu-Ray player and can listen in 5.1 surround. It’s like hearing the album for the first time, especially Bill Bruford’s drums.
I started to read this article but when I realized where it was going, I stopped. I think sometimes over-analyzing music can kill it, and Close to the Edge is way too precious to me just as it is. That it speaks to my soul is all the info I need…that and my two ears! 😉