01	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						18:42
	02	And You and I I.Cord of Life II.Eclipse III.The Preacher The Teacher IV. Apocalypse						10:08
	03	Siberian Khatru						09:00
	04	America [Single Version]						04:12
	05	Total Mass Retain [Single Version]						03:21
	06	And You and I [Alternate Version] - I.Cord of Life II.Eclipse III.The Preacher The Teacher IV. Apocalypse						10:17
	07	Siberia [Studio Run-Through of "Siberian Khatru"]						09:19

Tracks 1-3 from original release in 1972. Tracks 4-7 added to reissue in 2003.

Yes - Close To The Edge

Released: 1972 / 2003
Label: Atlantic / Rhino Records
Cat. No.: 7244 / 73790
Total Time: 64:19


Reviewed by: Keith "Muzikman" Hannaleck, August 2003
My first thought when I think of Yes music is "musical genius." Their music has always pulled me out of my reality and right into a completely different zone, and I like that.

Rhino Records has been steadily remastering and reissuing the Yes catalog with bonus tracks and insightful liner notes that put each period of time the band recorded a particular album into proper perspective. Close To The Edge is no exception when it comes to the consistency of excellence that the label demands of itself. The sound on this CD is quite simply, magnificent.

This album is arguably one of the first true progressive rock albums ever recorded. It was 1972 and music was on the brink of many changes and Yes was right in the middle of it all. The opening suite "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," which lasts for nearly 19 minutes, set the precedence for this genre of music and for the band for many years to come. Their ability to record such complex compositions such as the title track and release a pop flavored single such as the bonus track "America," gave them a cross over appeal that most bands that played music along the same lines simply could not hope to accomplish. How can you go from one distinctly intricate symphonic prog-rock piece of music and switch over to a rock-pop format with songs that had a hit single appeal and still sound the same but different all at the same time? It sounds crazy but that is exactly what this band has been doing for over thirty years now. With Jon Anderson's one-of-a-kind vocals, Steve Howe's striking guitar, Rick Wakeman's built in orchestra with his keyboards and Chris Squire (bass) and Bill Bruford (drums) the anchors of the ship, they were ready to set sail. The good ship Yes would get underway time after time but some of the sails would change as each album was recorded, which never stopped their creative flow. This album kept the stream of creativeness going that the two previous albums The Yes Album and Fragile had begun. The best part about it was that there was a lot more to come.

Rating: 5/5

More about Close To The Edge:

Track Listing: 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 (18:36) / And You And I: I. Cord of Life II. Eclipse III. The Preacher The Teacher IV. Apocalypse (10:13) / Siberian Khatru (8:57) / Bonus Tracks: America (Single Version) (4:03) (Atlantic single #2899 (7/17/72)) / Total Mass Retain (Single Version) (3:20) (Atlantic single #2899 (7/17/72)) / And You And I (Alternate Version) (10:21) (Previously Unissued) / Siberia (Studio Run -Through of "Siberian Khatru") (9:19) (Previously Unissued)

Musicians:
Rick Wakeman - Keyboards
Jon Anderson - Vocals
Bill Bruford - Percussion, Drums
Steve Howe - Guitar, Vocals
Chris Squire - Bass, Vocals

Contact:

Website: yesworld.com
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Discography

Yes (1969)
Time And A Word (1970)
The Yes Album (1971)
Fragile (1972)
Close To The Edge (1972)
Yessongs (1973)
Tales From Topographic Oceans (1974)
Relayer (1975)
Going For The One (1977)
Tormato (1978)
Yesshows (1980)
Drama (1980)
Classic Yes (1982)
90125 (1983)
90125 Live - The Solos (1985)
Big Generator (1987)
Union (1989)
Yesyears (1991)
Yesstory (1991)
Highlights: The Very Best Of Yes (1993)
Talk (1994)
Keys To Ascension I (1996)
Keys To Ascension II (1997)
Open Your Eyes (1997)
Yes, Friends And Relatives (1998)
The Ladder (1999)
House Of Yes: Live From The House Of Blues (2000)
Yes, Friends and Relatives - Volume Two (2001)
YesSymphonic (ep) (2001)
Magnification (2001)
Keystudio (ep) (2001)
The Ultimate Yes - 35th Anniverary Collection (2004)




Close to the Edge [Bonus Tracks]
Artist Yes
Date of Release Aug 26, 2003


With 1971's Fragile having left Yes poised quivering on the brink of what friend and foe acknowledged was the peak of the band's achievement, Close to the Edge was never going to be an easy album to make. Drummer Bill Bruford was already shifting restlessly against Jon Anderson's increasingly mystic/mystifying lyricism, while contemporary reports of the recording sessions depicted bandmate Rick Wakeman, too, as little more than an observer to the vast tapestry that Anderson, Steve Howe, and Chris Squire were creating. For it was vast. Close to the Edge comprised just three tracks, the epic "And You and I" and "Siberian Khatru," plus a side-long title track that represented the musical, lyrical, and sonic culmination of all that Yes had worked toward over the past five years. Close to the Edge would make the Top Five on both sides of the Atlantic, dispatch Yes on the longest tour of its career so far and, if hindsight be the guide, launch the band on a downward swing that only disintegration, rebuilding, and a savage change of direction would cure. The latter, however, was still to come. In 1972, Close to the Edge was a flawless masterpiece.Poorly treated by the first decade and a half of CDs, Close to the Edge's 2003 remaster is initially most notable for a positively shimmering remastering job - the title track's "I Get Up I Get Down" section has a warmth and depth that past CDs were simply unable to capture, while the intricacy and delicacy of "And You and I" - pound for pound, the apex of Yes' achievement - is revealed in all the glory that must have attended its original studio playback. The slipcased packaging, meanwhile, restores Roger Dean's original artwork in all its (albeit miniaturized) glory, and a booklet offers up a tidy document of the sessions. Finally, four bonus tracks all but double the length of the original album. The single mix of "America," of course, should be familiar to all, but its B-side, a three-minute edit of "Close to the Edge"'s "Total Mass Retain" section, is startlingly punchy. "Siberia," a studio runthrough of "Siberian Khatru," is best left for connoisseurs, being little more than a lightly more ragged interpretation of the regular performance, but an alternate version of "And You and I" fascinates with its slightly slower pace, lower register, and a distinctly hesitant Anderson vocal. Several of the familiar changes, too, are absent and, while it will never replace the original in the heart of fans, it does remind listeners that the members of Yes really were human after all. For there are moments elsewhere on the disc where they truly seem somewhat beyond that. - Dave Thompson

1. Close to the Edge: The Solid Time of... (Anderson/Howe) - 18:42
2. And You and I/Cord of Life/Eclipse/The... (Anderson/Bruford/Howe/Squire) - 10:08
3. Siberian Khatru (Anderson/Howe/Wakeman) - 9:00
4. America [*] (Simon) - 4:12
5. Total Mass Retain [*] (Anderson/Howe) - 3:21
6. And You and I: Cord of Life/Eclipse/The... (Anderson/Howe) - 10:17
7. Siberia [#/*] (Anderson/Howe/Wakeman) - 9:19

Rick Wakeman - Keyboards, Group Member
Bill Bruford - Percussion, Group Member
Steve Howe - Guitar, Vocals, Group Member
Chris Squire - Bass, Vocals, Group Member
Yes - Producer
Roger Dean - Photography, Cover Art
Greg Allen - Art Direction, Design
Dan Hersch - Remastering
Bill Inglot - Producer, Remastering
David McLees - Reissue Supervisor
Eddie Offord - Producer
Neal Preston - Photography
Steven Chean - Project Assistant
Michael Putland - Photography
Steve Woolard - Reissue Supervisor
Pieter Mazйl - Photography
Karen LeBlanc - Project Assistant
Randy Perry - Project Assistant
Martin Adelman - Photography
Ginger Dettman - Project Assistant
Leigh Hall - Project Assistant
Cory Frye - Editorial Supervision
Tim Scanlin - Project Assistant
Marc Salata - Product Manager
Jon Anderson - Vocals, Group Member
Mike Tilano - Liner Notes
April Milex - Project Assistant

2003 CD Rhino 73790