The music of Yes has taken me throughout my life. I’m 65 now. The Yes Album, Time & a Word, Fragile, CTTE, and Relayer, GFTO all have deep meaning to me. The lyrics are only equaled by the startling musicianship from these guys. Magical stuff.
I'm two years late responding to your response, but I must tell you it does my heart good to see two young men (I'm probably old enough to be your grandfather) being so deeply affected by a musical composition that I first heard when I was 21. You are right when you say this is more than a song. It's a statement; it's a journey; it's an experience that will only grow more profound with each listening. I'm so glad you liked it.
Agreed. But, as for myself ? I prefer the previous line up with Tony Kaye. The Yes Album group... Yes, with Wakeman on board ? A bigger range of sounds were bound to up the game of the band.... I just prefer the overall sound with Kaye's involvement. "America", from the Live Is the Word box set, or that whole live set from Crystal Palace Bowl, is a great example of the sound I'm speaking about here. Despite the lesser quality of the recording- it's all right there.... That show was Kaye's last with Yes, btw. 🚬😎👍
Earlier Yes songs (mainly post Peter Banks on guitars) were constructed like classical pieces...one movement after another after another. It's simply amazing.
And good to see the younger guys having the same reaction as we had when we heard this for the first time, says something for the lasting quality of the music.
We have 5 musicians at the height of their musical power doing what they wanted and a record company which let them. Sadly, it will never happen again.
Everything changed that night in New Orleans back in 1972 when, with 12000 other humans practically levitating, they performed this musical movement LIVE. It was wondrously overwhelming.
As mind blowing as it is for you, imagine hearing this in the early 70s. There had been nothing like this. For me it was life changing and led on the path to my love of progressive rock. Glad you enjoyed and appreciated it. It does take a number of listens. Cheers, guys.
There are portions of this song where each and every member seems to transcend greatness - all five of them are just immensely talented and this song is a showcase for every member of this band.
And the bass play by Chris Squire and the drums by Bill Bruford lay a very steady foundation, amazing. They give Steve Howe and Rick Wakeman the chance to shine, as well as Jon Anderson.
13:34.. el momento donde para mi el tiempo se detiene y escucho el canto de los angeles y el organo de rick me lleva a lo mas profundo de mis sentimientos .. cierro lo ojos, dejo caer algunas lagrimas de extasis y luego continuo con mi vida..
Yeh, the sum is orders of magnitude greater than the parts, and the parts are freaking incredible. Of course Bruford and Squire are just frightening, as usual, one of the most tasteful, perfect rhythm sections of all time. But I have to say, Howe's guitar work is just absolutely fierce in places on this tune.
This is perhaps the best rock compositions ever. It flows like a classical music piece, with different movements clearly evident. From the chaotic intro, to the melodic mid portion, to the triumphant pipe organ climax, then to the melodic end, it flows like the stream heard in the beginning. Thanks for your reaction to this masterpiece. Few get to experience it, since it doesn't fit the standard radio format. Please share it, so more can enjoy its grandeur.
I enjoyed the story he told of the beer that he was drinking, making his wife look pretty, being cheaper than her make up. He was with Strawbs for a time before Yes
I saw a You Tube video awhile back of Rick playing the piano and his fingers had to have been among the fastest to ever play that instrument, it was jaw dropping.
I still have the memory of seeing this live when I was 16. Not just there, but standing right up front and center. I had been a major music fan for a decade, but that was another level. Those guys threw out the rulebook and created their own genre from scratch.
@@Jonni1027 Must have been an amazing time for music in the Bay Area ! It probably didn’t surprise you that on hindsight it was the golden age of rock. I had hunch back then when I heard Carly Simon sing that “these are the good old days”. Cool that young people are reviving interest in music of our youth, like last night seeing a young black guy playing early 70’s Genesis and bubbling over with excitement. ( btw, POPENYCO is his channel)
It’s just orchestral/symphonic music from 1880-1960, adapted for a Rock Quintet, including Rock idioms. This is what Tchaikovsky or Prokofiev would have done with these instruments.
@@audionmusic2787 Appreciate the correction. I guess the classical training of some of the band members was a big influence. I was naive to think it was “ from scratch”.
@@tcanfield Well I don’t think you are really wrong. I mean, everything comes from something, but these guys went further than most in imagination. Plus, to be capable of putting together these long themes which somehow always get recapitulated wonderfully is Old Masters level composition skill. These guys are the legitimate heirs of the greats of Western Classical Music. No small feat. Plus, it’s actually harder to write music with so many ideas coming from different people. Tchaikovsky didn’t have to compromise compositionally because there was nobody else contributing, and possibly messing up his flow. There had to be massive respect between these guys, and a willingness to drop their egos for the good of the song. All while in their 20s. There are few more original than Yes. But I think with enough thought you can figure out influences. This music hits you exactly like the Orchestral music of the period I mentioned. It’s Serious Music, requiring attention and imagination to interpret. And yet still accessible partly to a mass audience. At least, a mass audience back then. I wasn’t intending to correct you. I see now it kinda reads that way. I think both our views are simultaneously correct. 😺
It's a pleasure seeing young people listening to music from before their time. I've done that all my life. Close To The Edge is one of the masterpieces of the prog era. Please understand that those of us who listened to this music when I first came out were not "surprised" by it in a way that we'd never heard anything like it before. Some of us were waiting for it to happen...inevitable. I was in high school when this music was happening. A perfect age to be at the time this music came out. We grew up in the 60s when "different" was expected...even demanded. Look at top 40 AM radio in 1966 and OMG what a variety! In my local (metro-Detroit) area we had two great radio stations (WKNR and CKLW) and the music we heard was amazing...especially in it's variety. In one spell in 1964; I Want To Hold Your Hand was number 1 and Louis Armstrong's 'Hello Dolly' was number 2. Eventually Hello Dolly was number 1 and Satchmo shoved The Beatles to the #2 slot. COOL! Point being, this was about MUSIC and we embraced anything musical. As the 60s progressed, music became even more creative and "different". Sgt Pepper changed everything and bands tried to make their own Sgt Pepper in their own way. Yes started making music in the late 60s and were part of this musical evolution. So were other killer bands like Santana, Chicago and Blood Sweat And Tears. Which leads me to what my peers and I were up to at this time. We were kids who joined our school's marching and concert bands. Music by Santana, Chicago and Blood Sweat and tears were easily and readily adaptable for use in marching band...which we surely did...and we loved doing it. Meanwhile, we were playing classical music in our school concert (symphonic) bands. So we were trained in classical sensibilities, "rules" and techniques. At the same time, we had our own rock bands who played at school dances in the gym on Friday nights, etc. Those bands competed in a wonderful way. Depending on which rock bands you listened to and if you were in the school band, your own rock band reflected all of this. So as bands like Yes, ELP, King Crimson, Zappa, etc progressed...so did we. Regarding Yes; we had already been listening to their music for years by the time Close To The Edge came out. As each album preceding CTTE came out, we were delighted by each one...though it usually took several "listenings" before one could catch on to what they were up to...just like classical music. The more "listenings" it took to appreciate any given album, the better it was. We weren't confused by it at all. We were eager listeners trying to improve our own sense of music appreciation and thankful for all the incredible music the prog bands were offering to our young musical palates. Heck, one of my favorite memories of that era was going to my high school band director's house where he CRANKED up his own stereo, playing Fragile. Now understand; he was my dad's age...born in 1922, so he was surely not a babyboomer like me...hehe. Part way through Fragile, he stopped the album and put on ELP, telling me he preferred them to Yes because ELP's music was more obvious in their classical roots and he loved how they blended that classical influence so easily with George Gershwin type composition. I loved the fact that he not only tried to appreciate "our" music, but he really did get it! Sorry I rambled on so long here. Just wanted to share some insight as one of those lucky people who experienced this music in real time.
Yes has a new single released today called, "Cut From The Stars. " New song from the legendary Progressive Rock band, YES. Their new album will be released in May 2023.
This has been my favorite group of musicians since I’m 12 years old and had the pleasure to see them live in Hollywood, Florida. Each member of the band is a master at their craft. Jon Anderson has an angelic voice to lead the sensational YES!
This music takes you on a journey. I felt the same way that you commented when I first heard it. How can anyone make music like that. It's from another another world! A big part of it was Eddie Offord's genius engineering!
"This song changed my life" : no more words needed, you said it all. George, your words are the best compliment possible, and it shows passion, respect and dedication to art. I feel connection because this song never ceased to floor me and many others changed or, dare I say, saved my life...
Part of the genius in the opening is that Steve Howe tears blindingly fast runs, followed by slower sections that allows the explosion of notes to soak in.
The lyrics were inspired by Hermann Hesse's 1922 novel "Siddhartha", which charts a journey of self-discovery. It opens with the peaceful sounds of nature, followed by the chaos of individual life in human society, the search for spiritual enlightenment, the notion that it cannot be found in human society ("Then according to the man who showed his outstretched arm to space, He turned around and pointed, revealing all the human race, I shook my head and smiled a whisper, knowing all about the place"), and ending with the sounds of nature one again (the Buddhist idea of enlightenment as being one with nature). And, remarkably, this song was released in 1972 - 50 years after the novel, which is now nearly 50 years ago.
You are right. And I share that knowledge with you. Boy, we are lucky! Can you imagine anybody now even knowing what Siddhartha, or Hermann Hesse, means? I'm sad, depressed about what I see and hear, and almost ready to leave the planet now! I wish I could see any light at the end of the tunnel., but right now I can't. Everything is so mediocre and grey.
@@Aldoborzoni I share your pain, friend. When I hear what is popular today, I cannot avoid strong feelings of loss and regret. We have lost SO much. There is very little worth even listening to now. I try hard to like some of it. But I usually fail. Try to compare Close to the Edge with ANY rap thing. Its embarrassing to even try. But thank God that we do still have the greats available to us. YES is the supreme emperor of Prog Rock and Prog Rock is the highest form of musical expression, IMO.
Well it goes to show that the pathway you thought the human race was set on , wasn’t . Yes was the product of popular culture , it was nothing more than this business we call show and the hippie long haired tune in turn on drop out culture of the 60’s and 70’s was solipsistic dreaming. Hesse was adopted by this culture 50 years after he’d written it so if something is recorded it can be discovered et invented re packaged and re sold . I’m always dismayed when I hear Rick Wakeman retrospectively sneer at his endeavours, the ridiculous outfits and the yearning sentiments it was nothing if not earnest and we kinda believed in them , these were valid radical statements life style statements and a rejection of the war generations values, this is boomer music . I’m very proud of my generation , we did have it all , but what grew out of us is now, the Trump the Farige the Johnson . We grew our very own megalomaniac in Branson but he sold us cheap records so he was given a free pass, he paved the way for Beazos and Zuckerberg. It’s worth remembering that this music is best appreciated while stoned off your gord and however much they protest this is drug influenced music, they were psychedelic influenced bands but as someone observed while a generation lay dreaming of velvet valleys and sapphire seas Lucy’s in the sky with diamonds and interstellar overdrives there were a bunch of second rate also rans who fitted swiftly into the driving seats . See Jay Stevens LSD and the American dream
It thrills me to no end to see young people hearing CTTE for the first time. A young audiophile/musician that I used to work with listened to a ton of modern-day Prog, and then found THIS. Putting it mildly, he had a similar religious experience, and then found out that Yes played this LIVE.. Mind blown.
All the musicians were at the top of their craft and the writing was inspired by a mystical journey from day to day chaos, realizing there was beauty hidden just round the corner and eventually escaping to find peace and love with nature. I get up, I get down. Getting up in the morning and getting down because you have to face the sh!t the world gives you. The organ piece blows me away each time I hear it and I've been listening to this for 50 years.
Guys, I am 62 and my first concert was Yes. I had just turned 13 and fell in love with the radio version of Roundabout. I have seen Yes 16 times in concert. EVERY Prog-rock band was influenced by Yes. Most rock bands were influenced by Yes. They are the quintessential Prog-rock band of all time.
Rick Wakeman on keyboards who on stage literally surrounds himself with more keyboards than a music store sells. Organs, synths, moogs, pianos, mini-moogs, You name it he's got it on stage and he can play one on his left side, with outstretched arm, while playing one on his right with outstretched arm as he stands in the middle. He was classically trained so can play Beethoven or any of the greats with incredible precision as well as compose his own on solo albums or with other artists inc' his main group "Yes". A Virtuoso on the keys....& add to that an amazing sense of humour. His anecdotes are legendary and utterly hysterical. There is noone quite like Rick. Love the man sooo much ! - Well you did ask who is on organ ? Lol
And amazingly, Wakeman's forte is just to sit alone at a grand piano and play. His piano-only albums are absolutely wonderful. Absolutely, he is masterful on any keyboard and any style of music.
@@stpnwlf9 I remember seeing him on tv on The Old Grey Whistle Test doing a section from his first solo album "The Six Wives Of Henry V111" and being blown away. I bought the album the same week. The way he just moved around this circle of keyboards playing them separately either side of him. How does he do that ? - & on the live YES album "Yessongs" he has a solo spot that's just stunning, and this was in the 70's.
Rick also famously deconstructs his keyboard when he buys a new one, and sets it up from scratch with his own sounds, making his music unique. YES is a phenomenon in music that compares with any other musical genius who ever produced a masterpiece, but the sum of the five guys here is much, much more than just five individual talents.... it's the chemistry and the alchemy.... sheer magic.
And even after 100's of listens, you will still be amazed. Every time you hear it, you will memorize it more completely, then when the entire song is able to be heard in your mind, you can still appreciate it, even more with each listen. Now I get to watch so many experience it for the first time, and relive, what happened to me in 1974 when I was 12. Can't wait until you two experience Siberian Khatru. Before Rush was Yes Is. There is so much goodness to come.
Siberian Khatru is one of their songs I would lean toward listening to a live version where they play an extended jam. It’s the show opener on the 1978/9 tourmato video found here on YT. They play the Hell outta it and the recording is very good. There’s even fan filmed footage edited to it from multiple shows and POVs.
A little over a week ago I saw Jon Anderson, the lead singer, now 76 years young, perform Yes music with the Paul Green Rock Academy, about 20-25 teenage boys and girls. The most of which are multi-instrumentalists. So Yes music is still inspiring the youth of today. Not the first time Jon has toured with the students over the last 10 years or so. There are a lot of videos of them performing on TH-cam.
One of the funnest concerts I've ever been to In my 58 years. Those young people truly knocked it out of the park that night. Just kept blowing my mind how good they all were for their very young age.
My younger brother bought this album just a week after it was released. We wore it out with constant use and had to replace it. Fifty years later it still retains the power to inspire me.
The first time I ever heard this song was live at a Yes concert. They opened with it, and my reaction was quite similar to you guys. I was in shock. They were one song into the concert and I felt like I already had to go home and think about what I had just seen and heard. It really is a special piece, and I’m not sure any musician or music lover is quite the same after hearing it!
YES always _packed so much_ into their masterpieces...that it's impossible to fully appreciate it on the first listen. That's one reason why I was such a huge fan of YES, their masterpieces always stayed so fresh for a long, long time, cuz with each additional listening, you'll notice something you missed before. Seeing how they put something together with such complexity, but so skillfully that you are able to recognize its overall wonderfulness on that first listening. Enjoy, guys!
I remember the time I snuck into my older brothers bedroom wile he was out. It was in 1973 and as a young teenager, I just wanted to listen to some great tunes on his great sound system. I was immediately drawn to the "Yes" logo that is on the "Close to the Edge" album cover. So I placed the disc on his very, very expensive and "top of the line" Thorens TD-160 turntable. He would have beaten me "Close to the Death" if he walked in wile I was messing with his stereo. (We were not rich by any standard, but he saved all the money he ever got from birth and splurged on truly a fantastic 4 component system when he turned 18. He still has it and it still kicks any stereo ass I have ever heard till this day.) As the first pristine sounds of a flowing river and birds chirping came across his Quad ESL-57 speakers, (they cost more then a 13 year olds life was worth at the time), little did I know that I was being drawn in and addicted to a band that would have a tremendous impact on my life. Every sound and every little tiny nuance in this masterpiece has been ingrained in my spirit and soul ever since. Some 49 years later. It will never die, just like my brother Michael's stereo.
The coolest part of how your minds were blown in the chaos of the instrumental introduction is that EVEN YES didn't know where they were going as they built the piece. Listen to Jon's description with Rick Beato.
I don't think that you can even begin to name all of the bands that YES influenced. “To my mind, Yes may be the single most important of all the progressive rock bands,” said Rush’s Geddy Lee, who calls Close to the Edge “among my favorite rock albums of all time.” You should listen to the other two songs on this album, "And You and I" and "Siberian Khatru". They are both masterpieces as well IMO.
Of all the incredible PURE PROGBANDS almost as unique & mind-blowing as 70's YES, someone has to unfortunately mention RUSH when THE GREAT UMATCHED YES is on. Mush can't hold a candle to YES and not even in the same league or realm.
Although "Roundabout" and "Close to the Edge" are two of Yes' most popular songs, they are only a gateway to the profound world of music that Yes creates. Enjoy "The Gates of Delirium," "Ritual," and more Yes!
My fave is Awaken and the entire album. I think it has the most variety and beauty. We used "Wondrous Stories," transcribed to harp, for our processional. That said, each song is my fave as I listen to it.
Close To The Edge(Master Piece of Prog Rock and the Album to) It's in me 🔝 10 of my Favorite Tracks from this Iconic Band!! Forever Love YES!! ❤️❤️❤️❤️
The very definition of prog rock. Roundabout was actually one of their more mainstream songs. This defines them, glad you're doing the album version. You must also do Yours Is No Disgrace, a true banger. Thanks bros!
This album was actually number one in England. That tells a lot about the taste of the British. It has such a great, classical-like structure. It has true movements, variations on themes, recapitulation, dynamics (fast/slow, hard/soft, complex/ simple). Love it so much.
The BEST LP EVER RECORDED! All 3 songs are great works of art and great feelings ☮️😎❤️. And Yes performes/performed this live to perfection every time!
DUDES! So funny when you said "ah Nature" and right then the craziness started! too funny! Amazingly beautiful and complex! One of my Top 5 albums ever! Thanks boys!
everything is happening... very complex data... it takes a few times for your brain to adapt it properly, its the lack of order, but once your brain sorts it out.. it gets better and better, like all great works of art... Well done chaps!
This is one of the best Prog Rock songs ever. All the musicians playing on it and who composed it were the very best. Rick Wakeman is one of the best keyboard players ever. Has had great success as a session musician , playing on other people’s records like Bowie and Cat Stevens, his time in and out of Yes and many marvellous solo projects he has undertaken. You will need to listen to this song many times to really appreciate and understand it .I have been listening to it since 1973 and still get a kick out of it today !
@@ashleydarby3652 Band Geek (featuring Richie Castellano of Blue Öyster Cult fame...his pet project) has covered this song with amazing musicianship. It will blow your mind how accurate it is. I'm not exaggerating either. th-cam.com/video/aG-x1VbHRFg/w-d-xo.html
This is when we played real analog instruments. No digital anything. This music saved my life as a teenager. It still does to this day. I was just in tears listening along with you. This is the music of my life. This was made with guitar, vocals, bass, drums, and organs, piano, the mellotron, and synthesizers.. Yes influenced nearly ALL progressive rock. Listen to the Steven Wilson band, and Porcupine Tree (2000's)
Masterpieces don’t come around often. They charged me many year ago and when I’m driving down the road and suddenly a Yes song comes on the radio I go right back to that time and place in my mind and I crank up the volume.
They are untouchable . Genius. I saw this live several times, once in quadraphonic stereo. Chris Squire , the bassist sadly has passed away but he lives forever in our hearts.
Thank you guys for a great reaction. For nearly 50 years YES has been a favourite band of mine. In The 70 they where far ahead of their time. Crazy tallented people.
YES are extraordinarily good. Their music sounds as fresh as when I listened to it for the first time, around 50 years ago!!! Please, do Siberian Khatru.
The Fathers of Prog. I love them, not only because of their musicianship, but because they raised the bar. They inspired so many others. Rush is one example. Starship Trooper should also be inhaled. Thanks Bro's.
I was a teenager in the 70s and my favourite bands were Yes, Zep & Floyd. I pretty much wore out Relayer, especially Gates of Delerium. I well remember my dad often coming into my room telling me to "turn that row down".
Can't get into it. Tried to like it in 1987 when I bought Relayer. Tried again this year. ( Dusted off the Album). Liked ' Soon' at the very end. That's about it.
Hi guys, you just experienced what I discovered at 12 in 1972. It has always been my favorite. Then I was blessed to see Yes for the first time in 1975 in Philadelphia. The Roger Dean stage affects during this song had white fog going over the stage like a waterfall with lit breaks at the mic stands. I will never forget that night. It started 30 years of going to as many concerts as I could with any band I wanted to see, My ticket to that show was $7.50. That’s what made the 70’s so great. It was also very competitive. Bands then to be different and so musically talented to survive. So many bands came and went. I still went and saw some version of Yes for those 30 some years. They stayed for their fans. Always sold out in Philly. Close to the Edge went almost 25 years not being performed live. I didn’t see it again until AWBH tour that was the best musically performance I ever heard live. Yes is so good because they are perfectionists. There are few bands that sound great live. Yes is one of those bands. I love watching reactions to this song most. It has been my favorite even though I have a very large music collection. Welcome to the club.
@@bobsmith7161 Hi Bob, it was my second concert saw Elton John the year before. But I flipped about 6 months before to a complete Yes fan. When I saw them perform CTTE with the Roger Dean stage. As they pumped the fog out and the what I say big mic stand bases that lit up and the waterfall affect it created. It is still after hundreds of concerts still the thing that amazed me most. You’re not a WINGS fan too are you? I used to have a friend I would see there that was a big Yes fan too named Bob. Do you ride bikes? Lol I’m taking a big. Chance here.
This is the music of my youth. I've seen them in concert many times. While it brings me joy witnessing new generations being introduced to and appreciating such magnificence, why has your generation accepted such lower standards of music today? Where are the emerging future composers classically trained like Rick Wakeman, to take the lead in even higher standards for musical greatness? "My" music makes me proud, but the reality makes me sad, that there isn't anything even better to add for future generations.
Take all the time you need. I’ve been listening to it for 50 years this year and it’s still sensational. I bought the Album the day it was released, in 1972. And saw it ‘Live’, aged 17, in my hometown venue, in 1973. ‘Yes’, the masters. Pure genius, Magical. 🎶❤️🎶
So glad you reacted to this Musical Piece of Art!! I as a young 10 year old back in 1972 was drawn to this band when I first heard Roundabout. In 1975 (13 years old) actually walked for miles during a Snowstorm trying to find the Fragile album which I eventually found after four hours of walking and looking in which most stores did not have. My Toes Frozen in that Buffalo NY weather But I FINALLY found it and So Loved the Entire Album!! Despite my frostbitten Toes, Was well Worth it!! When I first heard THIS SONG!!! I was Blown Away!! What a Musical Masterpiece!! All I can say!! Thanks SOOOOOO much for reacting to this song!!
I'm watching this on the morning of 1st Jan 2023; a New Year..listening to (in my opinion) the single greatest composition and arrangement by 5 musicians that I shall hear in my lifetime. And to see the love between two brothers experiencing this, gives me hope. Blessings, peace and love to you both, and to all watching and hearing this music, as for me, it's as close to heaven on earth as musically possible; to share in your reaction, and the words in the comments too, has given me some much needed spiritual nourishment
Hola chicos! me sorprendió la reacción a esta obra de arte de Yes... soy de Buenos Aires, Argentina, tengo 63 años y tuve la experiencia de verlos en vivo en mi país 2 veces! Vivir la experiencia Yes es un antes y un después... disfruté verlos, ver sus emociones durante el tema.. llega al alma esta música! Si ustedes lo disfrutaron por primera vez, imaginen lo que sentimos los que los escuchamos miles de veces en los años 70, 80 y luego en vivo!! (tengo el disco de vinilo) Es alucinante! en Argentina hay mucho talento musical... les recomiendo artistas como Luis Alberto Spinetta, Charly García y Soda Stereo! Gracias por compartir esta reacción!
I agree with you you’re never the same after you hear yes they’re magical people need to listen to this kind of music then the nonsense that’s on the radio have a great day
I have found that the key to understanding the intro musically is with the bass part. Listen to what Chris Squire is playing, he is playing through the root intervals in a slow ascending pattern at first and then in rapid, ascending triplets while Steve, Rick and Bill are going crazy. Now I get the intro section from just listening to Chris..Lol!!
Everything about this piece is spot on. No overplay, no ‘See out what I can do’. The very definition of Prog; never equalled, much less bettered. A timeless masterpiece.
Yes was 5 musicians: Jon Anderson on vocals and main writer, Steve Howe playing Gibson ES 175, Electric Sitar, Steel Guitar, and acoustic Guitar, Rick Wakeman playing Hammond organ, grand Piano, 2 mini moog synths, 2 Mellotrons, and RMI Electric piano, Chris Squire playing Rickenbacker Bass, and Bill Bruford playing Drums and percussion his kit was made of different pieces he acquired through his early career including two timbales. This album is considered the maximum opus of progressive rock. Geddy Lee from rush picked up the bass after hearing yes for the first time and he stood in line overnight waiting to see them in Canadá in 1971 that inspired him to found Rush
Arguably, the greatest song in rock history.
No argument from me. It is
It's like a modern Mozart concerto.
The more times you listen, the better it gets, I'm 81 this year and still rocking mainly in my rocking chair. 🎵🎶🎶🎵😎🖐✌
Me too!
@@noway73 Absolutely !
The music of Yes has taken me throughout my life. I’m 65 now. The Yes Album, Time & a Word, Fragile, CTTE, and Relayer, GFTO all have deep meaning to me. The lyrics are only equaled by the startling musicianship from these guys. Magical stuff.
If I get to your age I'll be doing the same....I'm not far behind....experience heaven before we die
Welcome to the ‘YES’ rabbit hole!!!
People who are listening to Yes give me a little hope for this planet. thx guys
I'm two years late responding to your response, but I must tell you it does my heart good to see two young men (I'm probably old enough to be your grandfather) being so deeply affected by a musical composition that I first heard when I was 21. You are right when you say this is more than a song. It's a statement; it's a journey; it's an experience that will only grow more profound with each listening. I'm so glad you liked it.
56 years of listening and tears come everytime
Never have there been five more talented guys in the same room at the same time. Never
Thank you. I thought I was the only one who thought that.
Agreed. But, as for myself ? I prefer the previous line up with Tony Kaye. The Yes Album group...
Yes, with Wakeman on board ? A bigger range of sounds were bound to up the game of the band....
I just prefer the overall sound with Kaye's involvement.
"America", from the Live Is the Word box set, or that whole live set from Crystal Palace Bowl, is a great example of the sound I'm speaking about here. Despite the lesser quality of the recording- it's all right there....
That show was Kaye's last with Yes, btw.
🚬😎👍
Earlier Yes songs (mainly post Peter Banks on guitars) were constructed like classical pieces...one movement after another after another. It's simply amazing.
"This is Beyond Masterpiece level production" Yes yes it is. Oh my gosh. It's so great.
Warms my heart to see this generation finding this great music. Well done boys.
You get it! You get Yes! Congratulations and welcome!
Thank you I agree! This is pure art! Thank you!!!
There are thousands of people around the world whose listening to Close to the Edge changed their lives. I'm one of them
They wrote that piece almost 50 yars ago... Jon was 28, Chris was 25, Steve was 26, Rick was 24 and bill was 24 too...They made history...
I'm 66, been listening to this piece for 50 years and yes, it's a Divinely inspired masterpiece.
It is God's music 💚
Glad to see young guys appreciating music I’ve loved for close to 50 years.
It was special then and it has been preserved untouched.
Given what modern “music” has been reduced to, one really should not be surprised.
Music you've loved for close to... the edge
And good to see the younger guys having the same reaction as we had when we heard this for the first time, says something for the lasting quality of the music.
@@Fergal283 Exquisite taste and musicianship exist outside of the bounds of time. (Yeah, I listen to Jon Anderson a lot. :)
We have 5 musicians at the height of their musical power doing what they wanted and a record company which let them. Sadly, it will never happen again.
Everything changed that night in New Orleans back in 1972 when, with 12000 other humans practically levitating, they performed this musical movement LIVE. It was wondrously overwhelming.
"Awaken" boys.
As mind blowing as it is for you, imagine hearing this in the early 70s. There had been nothing like this. For me it was life changing and led on the path to my love of progressive rock. Glad you enjoyed and appreciated it. It does take a number of listens. Cheers, guys.
My older brother took me to Louisville Ky to see Yes live in the early 70s
So True!
There are portions of this song where each and every member seems to transcend greatness - all five of them are just immensely talented and this song is a showcase for every member of this band.
And the bass play by Chris Squire and the drums by Bill Bruford lay a very steady foundation, amazing. They give Steve Howe and Rick Wakeman the chance to shine, as well as Jon Anderson.
13:34.. el momento donde para mi el tiempo se detiene y escucho el canto de los angeles y el organo de rick me lleva a lo mas profundo de mis sentimientos .. cierro lo ojos, dejo caer algunas lagrimas de extasis y luego continuo con mi vida..
Yeh, the sum is orders of magnitude greater than the parts, and the parts are freaking incredible. Of course Bruford and Squire are just frightening, as usual, one of the most tasteful, perfect rhythm sections of all time. But I have to say, Howe's guitar work is just absolutely fierce in places on this tune.
@@deanroddey2881 Yeah some of Andersons best singing is here too. This masterpiece is incredible.
This is perhaps the best rock compositions ever. It flows like a classical music piece, with different movements clearly evident. From the chaotic intro, to the melodic mid portion, to the triumphant pipe organ climax, then to the melodic end, it flows like the stream heard in the beginning. Thanks for your reaction to this masterpiece. Few get to experience it, since it doesn't fit the standard radio format. Please share it, so more can enjoy its grandeur.
Thank you for connecting with us on this level, as well as happily taking us back to the first time we heard this...
Nothing else sounds like that. No one ever approached that.
They stand alone
Supper's ready by genesis and close to the edge are both my favourite songs. I cant decide which one i like the most
Rick Wakeman on keyboards - one of the greatest. He still tours, putting on his fabulous shows of comedy and virtuoso keyboards.
I enjoyed the story he told of the beer that he was drinking, making his wife look pretty, being cheaper than her make up. He was with Strawbs for a time before Yes
@@barriegibson6411 Yes, Strawbs were excellent, 'From the Witchwood...'. And they're still going!
Thank God (and He does all the time!) that, in spite of having a heart attack at age 25, He's still going strong!
I saw a You Tube video awhile back of Rick playing the piano and his fingers had to
have been among the fastest to ever play that instrument, it was jaw dropping.
Grumpy old man tour starting soon. Hoping to catch a show near Chicago.
You’re open minded and that’s what makes you so enjoyable to watch.
Yes opens up a hole to another dimension with this piece of music. There is nothing quite like it in the history of artistic expression.
I still have the memory of seeing this live when I was 16. Not just there, but standing right up front and center. I had been a major music fan for a decade, but that was another level. Those guys threw out the rulebook and created their own genre from scratch.
Me too! I was 15, at Winterland in San Francisco, standing way up close to the stage
@@Jonni1027 Must have been an amazing time for music in the Bay Area ! It probably didn’t surprise you that on hindsight it was the golden age of rock. I had hunch back then when I heard Carly Simon sing that “these are the good old days”. Cool that young people are reviving interest in music of our youth, like last night seeing a young black guy playing early 70’s Genesis and bubbling over with excitement. ( btw, POPENYCO is his channel)
It’s just orchestral/symphonic music from 1880-1960, adapted for a Rock Quintet, including Rock idioms. This is what Tchaikovsky or Prokofiev would have done with these instruments.
@@audionmusic2787 Appreciate the correction. I guess the classical training of some of the band members was a big influence. I was naive to think it was “ from scratch”.
@@tcanfield Well I don’t think you are really wrong. I mean, everything comes from something, but these guys went further than most in imagination. Plus, to be capable of putting together these long themes which somehow always get recapitulated wonderfully is Old Masters level composition skill. These guys are the legitimate heirs of the greats of Western Classical Music. No small feat.
Plus, it’s actually harder to write music with so many ideas coming from different people. Tchaikovsky didn’t have to compromise compositionally because there was nobody else contributing, and possibly messing up his flow. There had to be massive respect between these guys, and a willingness to drop their egos for the good of the song. All while in their 20s.
There are few more original than Yes. But I think with enough thought you can figure out influences. This music hits you exactly like the Orchestral music of the period I mentioned. It’s Serious Music, requiring attention and imagination to interpret. And yet still accessible partly to a mass audience. At least, a mass audience back then.
I wasn’t intending to correct you. I see now it kinda reads that way. I think both our views are simultaneously correct. 😺
It's a pleasure seeing young people listening to music from before their time. I've done that all my life.
Close To The Edge is one of the masterpieces of the prog era.
Please understand that those of us who listened to this music when I first came out were not "surprised" by it in a way that we'd never heard anything like it before. Some of us were waiting for it to happen...inevitable. I was in high school when this music was happening. A perfect age to be at the time this music came out.
We grew up in the 60s when "different" was expected...even demanded. Look at top 40 AM radio in 1966 and OMG what a variety! In my local (metro-Detroit) area we had two great radio stations (WKNR and CKLW) and the music we heard was amazing...especially in it's variety. In one spell in 1964; I Want To Hold Your Hand was number 1 and Louis Armstrong's 'Hello Dolly' was number 2. Eventually Hello Dolly was number 1 and Satchmo shoved The Beatles to the #2 slot. COOL! Point being, this was about MUSIC and we embraced anything musical.
As the 60s progressed, music became even more creative and "different". Sgt Pepper changed everything and bands tried to make their own Sgt Pepper in their own way. Yes started making music in the late 60s and were part of this musical evolution. So were other killer bands like Santana, Chicago and Blood Sweat And Tears. Which leads me to what my peers and I were up to at this time.
We were kids who joined our school's marching and concert bands. Music by Santana, Chicago and Blood Sweat and tears were easily and readily adaptable for use in marching band...which we surely did...and we loved doing it. Meanwhile, we were playing classical music in our school concert (symphonic) bands. So we were trained in classical sensibilities, "rules" and techniques. At the same time, we had our own rock bands who played at school dances in the gym on Friday nights, etc. Those bands competed in a wonderful way. Depending on which rock bands you listened to and if you were in the school band, your own rock band reflected all of this.
So as bands like Yes, ELP, King Crimson, Zappa, etc progressed...so did we. Regarding Yes; we had already been listening to their music for years by the time Close To The Edge came out. As each album preceding CTTE came out, we were delighted by each one...though it usually took several "listenings" before one could catch on to what they were up to...just like classical music. The more "listenings" it took to appreciate any given album, the better it was. We weren't confused by it at all. We were eager listeners trying to improve our own sense of music appreciation and thankful for all the incredible music the prog bands were offering to our young musical palates.
Heck, one of my favorite memories of that era was going to my high school band director's house where he CRANKED up his own stereo, playing Fragile. Now understand; he was my dad's age...born in 1922, so he was surely not a babyboomer like me...hehe. Part way through Fragile, he stopped the album and put on ELP, telling me he preferred them to Yes because ELP's music was more obvious in their classical roots and he loved how they blended that classical influence so easily with George Gershwin type composition. I loved the fact that he not only tried to appreciate "our" music, but he really did get it!
Sorry I rambled on so long here. Just wanted to share some insight as one of those lucky people who experienced this music in real time.
Yes has a new single released today called, "Cut From The Stars. " New song from the legendary Progressive Rock band, YES. Their new album will be released in May 2023.
This has been my favorite group of musicians since I’m 12 years old and had the pleasure to see them live in Hollywood, Florida. Each member of the band is a master at their craft. Jon Anderson has an angelic voice to lead the sensational YES!
This music takes you on a journey. I felt the same way that you commented when I first heard it. How can anyone make music like that. It's from another another world! A big part of it was Eddie Offord's genius engineering!
"This song changed my life" : no more words needed, you said it all. George, your words are the best compliment possible, and it shows passion, respect and dedication to art. I feel connection because this song never ceased to floor me and many others changed or, dare I say, saved my life...
Part of the genius in the opening is that Steve Howe tears blindingly fast runs, followed by slower sections that allows the explosion of notes to soak in.
The lyrics were inspired by Hermann Hesse's 1922 novel "Siddhartha", which charts a journey of self-discovery. It opens with the peaceful sounds of nature, followed by the chaos of individual life in human society, the search for spiritual enlightenment, the notion that it cannot be found in human society ("Then according to the man who showed his outstretched arm to space, He turned around and pointed, revealing all the human race, I shook my head and smiled a whisper, knowing all about the place"), and ending with the sounds of nature one again (the Buddhist idea of enlightenment as being one with nature).
And, remarkably, this song was released in 1972 - 50 years after the novel, which is now nearly 50 years ago.
I believe nailed the meaning of C2TE!
You are right. And I share that knowledge with you. Boy, we are lucky! Can you imagine anybody now even knowing what Siddhartha, or Hermann Hesse, means? I'm sad, depressed about what I see and hear, and almost ready to leave the planet now! I wish I could see any light at the end of the tunnel., but right now I can't. Everything is so mediocre and grey.
@@Aldoborzoni I share your pain, friend. When I hear what is popular today, I cannot avoid strong feelings of loss and regret. We have lost SO much. There is very little worth even listening to now. I try hard to like some of it. But I usually fail. Try to compare Close to the Edge with ANY rap thing. Its embarrassing to even try. But thank God that we do still have the greats available to us. YES is the supreme emperor of Prog Rock and Prog Rock is the highest form of musical expression, IMO.
Well it goes to show that the pathway you thought the human race was set on , wasn’t . Yes was the product of popular culture , it was nothing more than this business we call show and the hippie long haired tune in turn on drop out culture of the 60’s and 70’s was solipsistic dreaming. Hesse was adopted by this culture 50 years after he’d written it so if something is recorded it can be discovered et invented re packaged and re sold .
I’m always dismayed when I hear Rick Wakeman retrospectively sneer at his endeavours, the ridiculous outfits and the yearning sentiments it was nothing if not earnest and we kinda believed in them , these were valid radical statements life style statements and a rejection of the war generations values, this is boomer music . I’m very proud of my generation , we did have it all , but what grew out of us is now, the Trump the Farige the Johnson . We grew our very own megalomaniac in Branson but he sold us cheap records so he was given a free pass, he paved the way for Beazos and Zuckerberg. It’s worth remembering that this music is best appreciated while stoned off your gord and however much they protest this is drug influenced music, they were psychedelic influenced bands but as someone observed while a generation lay dreaming of velvet valleys and sapphire seas Lucy’s in the sky with diamonds and interstellar overdrives there were a bunch of second rate also rans who fitted swiftly into the driving seats . See Jay Stevens LSD and the American dream
@@lupinbrabablebix9840 tl;dr. At least try paragraphs next time if you want people to read your post.
It thrills me to no end to see young people hearing CTTE for the first time. A young audiophile/musician that I used to work with listened to a ton of modern-day Prog, and then found THIS. Putting it mildly, he had a similar religious experience, and then found out that Yes played this LIVE.. Mind blown.
Two lives. One before Close to the Edge. And one after Close to the Edge.
A transition moment.
Saw Yes for the first time in 1974, great to see the younger crowd listening to this great music.
All the musicians were at the top of their craft and the writing was inspired by a mystical journey from day to day chaos, realizing there was beauty hidden just round the corner and eventually escaping to find peace and love with nature. I get up, I get down. Getting up in the morning and getting down because you have to face the sh!t the world gives you. The organ piece blows me away each time I hear it and I've been listening to this for 50 years.
Guys, I am 62 and my first concert was Yes. I had just turned 13 and fell in love with the radio version of Roundabout. I have seen Yes 16 times in concert. EVERY Prog-rock band was influenced by Yes. Most rock bands were influenced by Yes. They are the quintessential Prog-rock band of all time.
Rick Wakeman on keyboards who on stage literally surrounds himself with more keyboards than a music store sells. Organs, synths, moogs, pianos, mini-moogs, You name it he's got it on stage and he can play one on his left side, with outstretched arm, while playing one on his right with outstretched arm as he stands in the middle. He was classically trained so can play Beethoven or any of the greats with incredible precision as well as compose his own on solo albums or with other artists inc' his main group "Yes". A Virtuoso on the keys....& add to that an amazing sense of humour. His anecdotes are legendary and utterly hysterical. There is noone quite like Rick. Love the man sooo much ! - Well you did ask who is on organ ? Lol
And amazingly, Wakeman's forte is just to sit alone at a grand piano and play. His piano-only albums are absolutely wonderful. Absolutely, he is masterful on any keyboard and any style of music.
@@stpnwlf9 I remember seeing him on tv on The Old Grey Whistle Test doing a section from his first solo album "The Six Wives Of Henry V111" and being blown away. I bought the album the same week. The way he just moved around this circle of keyboards playing them separately either side of him. How does he do that ? - & on the live YES album "Yessongs" he has a solo spot that's just stunning, and this was in the 70's.
Rick also famously deconstructs his keyboard when he buys a new one, and sets it up from scratch with his own sounds, making his music unique.
YES is a phenomenon in music that compares with any other musical genius who ever produced a masterpiece, but the sum of the five guys here is much, much more than just five individual talents.... it's the chemistry and the alchemy.... sheer magic.
And even after 100's of listens, you will still be amazed. Every time you hear it, you will memorize it more completely, then when the entire song is able to be heard
in your mind, you can still appreciate it, even more with each listen. Now I get to watch so many experience it for the first time, and relive, what happened to me
in 1974 when I was 12. Can't wait until you two experience Siberian Khatru. Before Rush was Yes Is. There is so much goodness to come.
Well said.
Siberian Khatru is one of their songs I would lean toward listening to a live version where they play an extended jam. It’s the show opener on the 1978/9 tourmato video found here on YT. They play the Hell outta it and the recording is very good. There’s even fan filmed footage edited to it from multiple shows and POVs.
"I'm a different man from 18minutes ago" - Yes - Stay the same difference Man » You Bro's Rock & Shine!
HI , Wakeman is the Wisard ,yes you need many listen to catch the entire song ,YES it change the way to look life and our life ,welcome to the club
"I'm not the same person I was 18 minutes ago..." Neither was I the first time I heard this song
A little over a week ago I saw Jon Anderson, the lead singer, now 76 years young, perform Yes music with the Paul Green Rock Academy, about 20-25 teenage boys and girls. The most of which are multi-instrumentalists. So Yes music is still inspiring the youth of today. Not the first time Jon has toured with the students over the last 10 years or so. There are a lot of videos of them performing on TH-cam.
Thanks Dave! I just found them doing Heart Of The Sunrise from this week. I love that Jon does stuff like that with kids!❤️
One of the funnest concerts I've ever been to In my 58 years. Those young people truly knocked it out of the park that night. Just kept blowing my mind how good they all were for their very young age.
My younger brother bought this album just a week after it was released. We wore it out with constant use and had to replace it. Fifty years later it still retains the power to inspire me.
The first time I ever heard this song was live at a Yes concert. They opened with it, and my reaction was quite similar to you guys.
I was in shock. They were one song into the concert and I felt like I already had to go home and think about what I had just seen and heard.
It really is a special piece, and I’m not sure any musician or music lover is quite the same after hearing it!
I know the feeling! I'm like the guy on the left while experiencing this brilliant song.
Listen many many many times to get it. It’s the number one progressive rock album ever made!
YES always _packed so much_ into their masterpieces...that it's impossible to fully appreciate it on the first listen. That's one reason why I was such a huge fan of YES, their masterpieces always stayed so fresh for a long, long time, cuz with each additional listening, you'll notice something you missed before. Seeing how they put something together with such complexity, but so skillfully that you are able to recognize its overall wonderfulness on that first listening. Enjoy, guys!
I remember the time I snuck into my older brothers bedroom wile he was out. It was in 1973 and as a young teenager, I just wanted to listen to some great tunes on his great sound system.
I was immediately drawn to the "Yes" logo that is on the "Close to the Edge" album cover. So I placed the disc on his very, very expensive and "top of the line" Thorens TD-160 turntable.
He would have beaten me
"Close to the Death" if he walked in wile I was messing with his stereo.
(We were not rich by any standard, but he saved all the money he ever got from birth and splurged on truly a fantastic 4 component system when he turned 18. He still has it and it still kicks any stereo ass I have ever heard till this day.)
As the first pristine sounds of a flowing river and birds chirping came across his Quad ESL-57 speakers,
(they cost more then a 13 year olds life was worth at the time), little did I know that I was being drawn in and addicted to a band that would have a tremendous impact on my life.
Every sound and every little tiny nuance in this masterpiece has been ingrained in my spirit and soul ever since. Some 49 years later.
It will never die, just like my brother Michael's stereo.
The coolest part of how your minds were blown in the chaos of the instrumental introduction is that EVEN YES didn't know where they were going as they built the piece. Listen to Jon's description with Rick Beato.
You guys got it: Yes with great headphones and eyes closed! Hard to beat
You are lucky to have the whole back catalogue of 'Yes' still to discover.
I don't think that you can even begin to name all of the bands that YES influenced. “To my mind, Yes may be the single most important of all the progressive rock bands,” said Rush’s Geddy Lee, who calls Close to the Edge “among my favorite rock albums of all time.” You should listen to the other two songs on this album, "And You and I" and "Siberian Khatru". They are both masterpieces as well IMO.
Ummm ELP
Of all the incredible PURE PROGBANDS almost as unique & mind-blowing as 70's YES, someone has to unfortunately mention RUSH when THE GREAT UMATCHED YES is on. Mush can't hold a candle to YES and not even in the same league or realm.
Emerson Lake & Palmer
Love the change at 5:14
Geddy's favorite was Relayer.
Although "Roundabout" and "Close to the Edge" are two of Yes' most popular songs, they are only a gateway to the profound world of music that Yes creates.
Enjoy "The Gates of Delirium," "Ritual," and more Yes!
Ahhhhhh RITUAL, I heard that one LIVE...Phila Spectrum & JFK Stadium
"AWAKEN""
My fave is Awaken and the entire album. I think it has the most variety and beauty.
We used "Wondrous Stories," transcribed to harp, for our processional.
That said, each song is my fave as I listen to it.
Close To The Edge(Master Piece of Prog Rock and the Album to) It's in me 🔝 10 of my Favorite Tracks from this Iconic Band!! Forever Love YES!! ❤️❤️❤️❤️
Hehehe. Minds rightfully blown. 1978 and still loving it!
The very definition of prog rock. Roundabout was actually one of their more mainstream songs. This defines them, glad you're doing the album version. You must also do Yours Is No Disgrace, a true banger. Thanks bros!
Roundabout is a good "gateway to prog" song.
@@davep8221 Yep
It took me more than 1 months to be able to enjoy this epic song when I was a teenager.
Wow!!! YOU GOT IT, ITS ALL ABOUT LIFE!!!
you guys made me cry..honestly.....I still cry all these years , it just brings out so many emotions...this song helped me heal...it is a gift..
Yep. Close to the Edge is the most epic song EVER! I love it. Great reaction guys.
Sublime.... eterno.... incomparable...... definitivamente glorioso.....
Know what we had back then?
Total freedom of expression..
Unfortunately now gone
So glad we still have the music to remember (: YES
Great video Guys
My favorite band ever!!! Thanks, guys.
What Scot said.
This album was actually number one in England. That tells a lot about the taste of the British.
It has such a great, classical-like structure. It has true movements, variations on themes, recapitulation, dynamics (fast/slow, hard/soft, complex/ simple). Love it so much.
don't forget that less than a decade later the Brits brought us Punk Rock.
The BEST LP EVER RECORDED! All 3 songs are great works of art and great feelings ☮️😎❤️. And Yes performes/performed this live to perfection every time!
Best piece of music I've ever heard in my life.
DUDES! So funny when you said "ah Nature" and right then the craziness started! too funny! Amazingly beautiful and complex! One of my Top 5 albums ever! Thanks boys!
Oh were we so lucky to be around in the 70’s when all this was happening ❤
everything is happening... very complex data... it takes a few times for your brain to adapt it properly, its the lack of order, but once your brain sorts it out.. it gets better and better, like all great works of art... Well done chaps!
Well said and spot on.
This is one of the best Prog Rock songs ever. All the musicians playing on it and who composed it were the very best. Rick Wakeman is one of the best keyboard players ever. Has had great success as a session musician , playing on other people’s records like Bowie and Cat Stevens, his time in and out of Yes and many marvellous solo projects he has undertaken. You will need to listen to this song many times to really appreciate and understand it .I have been listening to it since 1973 and still get a kick out of it today !
Agreed! Steve Howe played on may albums too - Queen, Frankie Goes to Hollywood, Animal Logic, etc etc
Agreed. Shame this song gets experienced by so few. I'm so glad I had friends growing up that had great taste in music and exposed me to it!
And Bill Bruford said it broke him recording this - so no mortals would have stood a chance to drum it then!
@@ashleydarby3652 Band Geek (featuring Richie Castellano of Blue Öyster Cult fame...his pet project) has covered this song with amazing musicianship. It will blow your mind how accurate it is. I'm not exaggerating either. th-cam.com/video/aG-x1VbHRFg/w-d-xo.html
This is when we played real analog instruments. No digital anything. This music saved my life as a teenager. It still does to this day. I was just in tears listening along with you. This is the music of my life.
This was made with guitar, vocals, bass, drums, and organs, piano, the mellotron, and synthesizers..
Yes influenced nearly ALL progressive rock. Listen to the Steven Wilson band, and Porcupine Tree (2000's)
The thing that blows your mind is, they could do this all LIVE!
I BOUGHT THIS ALBUM THE YEAR IT CAME OUT AND IT STILL AMAZES ME... I'M 64...ROCK ON GUYS,YOU TWO ARE PRICELESS...ALL MY BEST,KENT IN OHIO {USA}
Ditto. I did the same and same age.
@@johng.8517 - Likewise, gentlemen. I'd just turned 16 and used my first earned money to buy it. ($3.99).
Masterpieces don’t come around often. They charged me many year ago and when I’m driving down the road and suddenly a Yes song comes on the radio I go right back to that time and place in my mind and I crank up the volume.
Best band ever . Even Led Zeppelin can’t do what Yes did
Apples and oranges
@@ednicholson7839 True . Close second . Pink Floyd is my second favorite band .
Best album by the best band ever.
No need to ✌🏻
Led Zeppelin was more palatable to the general population. YES was reserved for genius class.
They are untouchable . Genius. I saw this live several times, once in quadraphonic stereo. Chris Squire , the bassist sadly has passed away but he lives forever in our hearts.
Yes found a time machine and went back in time from 2080 to 1970 and created this song 😁
Mark your calendars. September 13, 2022.
50 years since the release of this masterwork. I'm going to be cranking it loud all day long!
That "insane organ player" is one of the greatest rock keyboardists in music history.
This makes me happy to see young folks appreciate this BAND...❤
Thank you guys for a great reaction. For nearly 50 years YES has been a favourite band of mine. In The 70 they where far ahead of their time. Crazy tallented people.
Not 3 minute songs anymore! Listening to Yes always is an experience, a travel inside.
One of my favorite songs of all time. A Masterpiece.
"Awaken" Yes! WOW!!!
YES are extraordinarily good. Their music sounds as fresh as when I listened to it for the first time, around 50 years ago!!! Please, do Siberian Khatru.
The Fathers of Prog. I love them, not only because of their musicianship, but because they raised the bar. They inspired so many others. Rush is one example. Starship Trooper should also be inhaled. Thanks Bro's.
The first time I heard this live was the week it was released
"The Gates of Delirium" is an unbelievable masterpiece
I was a teenager in the 70s and my favourite bands were Yes, Zep & Floyd. I pretty much wore out Relayer, especially Gates of Delerium. I well remember my dad often coming into my room telling me to "turn that row down".
Can't get into it. Tried to like it in 1987 when I bought Relayer. Tried again this year. ( Dusted off the Album). Liked ' Soon' at the very end. That's about it.
Hi guys, you just experienced what I discovered at 12 in 1972. It has always been my favorite. Then I was blessed to see Yes for the first time in 1975 in Philadelphia. The Roger Dean stage affects during this song had white fog going over the stage like a waterfall with lit breaks at the mic stands. I will never forget that night. It started 30 years of going to as many concerts as I could with any band I wanted to see, My ticket to that show was $7.50. That’s what made the 70’s so great. It was also very competitive. Bands then to be different and so musically talented to survive. So many bands came and went. I still went and saw some version of Yes for those 30 some years. They stayed for their fans. Always sold out in Philly. Close to the Edge went almost 25 years not being performed live. I didn’t see it again until AWBH tour that was the best musically performance I ever heard live. Yes is so good because they are perfectionists. There are few bands that sound great live. Yes is one of those bands. I love watching reactions to this song most. It has been my favorite even though I have a very large music collection. Welcome to the club.
Tom, we're the same age and I saw them in Philadelphia in 1975 at the Spectrum. My first rock concert and Yes has been my favorite group since.
@@bobsmith7161
Hi Bob, it was my second concert saw Elton John the year before. But I flipped about 6 months before to a complete Yes fan. When I saw them perform CTTE with the Roger Dean stage. As they pumped the fog out and the what I say big mic stand bases that lit up and the waterfall affect it created. It is still after hundreds of concerts still the thing that amazed me most. You’re not a WINGS fan too are you? I used to have a friend I would see there that was a big Yes fan too named Bob. Do you ride bikes? Lol I’m taking a big. Chance here.
This is the music of my youth. I've seen them in concert many times. While it brings me joy witnessing new generations being introduced to and appreciating such magnificence, why has your generation accepted such lower standards of music today? Where are the emerging future composers classically trained like Rick Wakeman, to take the lead in even higher standards for musical greatness? "My" music makes me proud, but the reality makes me sad, that there isn't anything even better to add for future generations.
Take all the time you need. I’ve been listening to it for 50 years this year and it’s still sensational.
I bought the Album the day it was released, in 1972. And saw it ‘Live’, aged 17, in my hometown venue, in 1973.
‘Yes’, the masters. Pure genius, Magical. 🎶❤️🎶
I swear the more I listen to this song the shorter it gets. It felt like about 5 minutes long this time.
I was JUST thinking that after pressing the screen to see how far into it they were.
So glad you reacted to this Musical Piece of Art!! I as a young 10 year old back in 1972 was drawn to this band when I first heard Roundabout. In 1975 (13 years old) actually walked for miles during a Snowstorm trying to find the Fragile album which I eventually found after four hours of walking and looking in which most stores did not have. My Toes Frozen in that Buffalo NY weather But I FINALLY found it and So Loved the Entire Album!! Despite my frostbitten Toes, Was well Worth it!! When I first heard THIS SONG!!! I was Blown Away!! What a Musical Masterpiece!! All I can say!! Thanks SOOOOOO much for reacting to this song!!
I'm watching this on the morning of 1st Jan 2023; a New Year..listening to (in my opinion) the single greatest composition and arrangement by 5 musicians that I shall hear in my lifetime. And to see the love between two brothers experiencing this, gives me hope. Blessings, peace and love to you both, and to all watching and hearing this music, as for me, it's as close to heaven on earth as musically possible; to share in your reaction, and the words in the comments too, has given me some much needed spiritual nourishment
Hola chicos! me sorprendió la reacción a esta obra de arte de Yes... soy de Buenos Aires, Argentina, tengo 63 años y tuve la experiencia de verlos en vivo en mi país 2 veces! Vivir la experiencia Yes es un antes y un después... disfruté verlos, ver sus emociones durante el tema.. llega al alma esta música! Si ustedes lo disfrutaron por primera vez, imaginen lo que sentimos los que los escuchamos miles de veces en los años 70, 80 y luego en vivo!! (tengo el disco de vinilo) Es alucinante! en Argentina hay mucho talento musical... les recomiendo artistas como Luis Alberto Spinetta, Charly García y Soda Stereo! Gracias por compartir esta reacción!
I agree with you you’re never the same after you hear yes they’re magical people need to listen to this kind of music then the nonsense that’s on the radio have a great day
And You and I, Starship Trooper
I have found that the key to understanding the intro musically is with the bass part. Listen to what Chris Squire is playing, he is playing through the root intervals in a slow ascending pattern at first and then in rapid, ascending triplets while Steve, Rick and Bill are going crazy. Now I get the intro section from just listening to Chris..Lol!!
Great description. I know exactly where you are talking about.
There is an amazing isolated bass track of this on YT. Check it out! th-cam.com/video/OAoy4FjSUzE/w-d-xo.html
Everything about this piece is spot on. No overplay, no ‘See out what I can do’. The very definition of Prog; never equalled, much less bettered. A timeless masterpiece.
Yes was 5 musicians: Jon Anderson on vocals and main writer, Steve Howe playing Gibson ES 175, Electric Sitar, Steel Guitar, and acoustic Guitar, Rick Wakeman playing Hammond organ, grand Piano, 2 mini moog synths, 2 Mellotrons, and RMI Electric piano, Chris Squire playing Rickenbacker Bass, and Bill Bruford playing Drums and percussion his kit was made of different pieces he acquired through his early career including two timbales. This album is considered the maximum opus of progressive rock. Geddy Lee from rush picked up the bass after hearing yes for the first time and he stood in line overnight waiting to see them in Canadá in 1971 that inspired him to found Rush