I was 12 in '74, and my older brother had just come back from college with a Yamaha CR2020 Receiver, a Turntable, with 2 Bose 301's and two Bose 601's, and a crate of albums. My parents left to go on a cruise, and my brother left to go hang out with his friends, so I snuck in his room, and for some reason I pulled out Fragile, The Yes Album, and Close To The Edge, I listened to each album, in that order, completely immersed, and dumbstruck with the volume cranked, and thinking I could not be any more amazed, or overwhelmed by what I was hearing, I dropped the needle on Close To The Edge, and lets just say, my mind, was forever altered in a way I just cannot put into words. It was transcendent to me. God must have helped them.
@@LegacyStudio With YES, there is so much going on, and the highs/lows, are almost too much for headphones, their music requires space to let the music unfold into, I will certainly never forget how superb the experience was. Enjoy Brother.
At the beginning of the song the stage goes completely black and the band members stood perfectly still. The mirrored convex disc (not ball) rotates and the spotlights hit it to throw rays of light out into the audience. When the band comes in on cue the light suddenly come on and the band jumps into action. For 18+ minutes the audience is transported to another universe and at the end the lights go back down as the band again stands motionless as the mirrored disc comes back and slowly fades to black. And the audience is back on earth. A truly great performance that I witnessed back on October 1, 1972 at the University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, AL. I saw / heard this before I actually bought the album so it was brand new to me.
Rick Wakeman, keyboards, once said of Jon Anderson, lead vocal and lyricist, that “Jon’s the only man trying to save this planet while living on another.”
YES is a member of the Olympus of musicianship, along with many great progressive rock bands of the 70s and 80s. Bands guided by the desire to achieve music that is not only beautiful, but transcendent.
I saw Yes a few months after this video Yessongs was filmed. A truly amazing concert. The disco ball was hung above the audience and with the lights shining on it the speckled lights flickered across the audience as Close to the Edge began and ended - incredibly atmospheric. Indeed for the time the light show was brilliant with each change in the songs accompanied by appropriate light variations that are not well detected by the film - you had to be there to really experience it.
At the upper branches of the rock tree lives some evergreen mistletoe that took root up there in the late '60s and early '70s, and is often clumped together as "prog", which is the kapitul of checker slovakia (Jack 3:16). Anyways, at the top branches of the top branches sits this song, winner of the best song ever contest in my head. For me, Jon was the spiritual center of Yes, and while it is honorific to carry on without him, it can never achieve the same level of healing that Jon was and is able to produce and transmit as baraka to a thirsty audience...as he did in Manhattan a couple of nights before 9/11. He and they were a preventive medicinal for our spirits as the gates of delirium crashed to the ground all around, clanging clanging as in the song, still waiting for the light.
It's funny how someone's impression of the past is different than the actual era. The Glitter Ball in 1972 was not yet a symbol of Disco because Disco had yet to exist as a style of music so there were no Disco Clubs adopting them for special lighting effects! So when I see the Ball I remember it in it's true context. That's why when REACTORS make comparisons to bands that came about years later, it doesn't make sense quite often
It wasn’t even a ball, it was a flat disc that shot out beams of reflected light all over which ever venue you saw them, and just added to the mystical magical atmosphere of a night with Yes.
Great review! I saw Yes live in 1978 and it was absolutely amazing. Don’t worry too much about the lyrics. I’ve listened to this song countless times over the years and I know the lyrics by heart. They’re as meaningless to me today as they were 45 years ago. ☺️
Ladies and gentlemen Chris Squire and Yes the greatest show on earth. 50 yrs ago Close To The Edge was released. Sadly I only saw Chris Squire and Yes 36 times. 🙏🍁
It must have been in the summer of 1974 - I already had a bit of ELP experience - when my brother came home from a friend's with his tape recorder. He had recorded an album by a band I didn't know yet. The album was called “Yessongs” and the band was YES. A life album, over 2 hours long. It was "love at first sight" and influenced the rest of my life in many ways (... that would be too long). There was also “Close to the Edge” on it (in the version we heard here). A small side effect of the fact that this life album was my first contact with YES: when I later heard the songs in the studio version, I was slightly confused. The recording quality was of course much better and you can do things in the studio that you can't do live, but I was missing a bit of "the soul", not to mention that YES had also further developed the songs compositionally. So for me "the original song" is always the one in the YESSONGS version. I absolutely recommend this album as an "introduction to the music of YES".
dont worry about the lyrics, Jon says that his voice is just another instrument in the band and his lyrics are often written more for their sound rather than their meaning
This great 72 imperfect recorded LIVE should be the 2nd First. Listen, that way you get to hear all the incredible individual details clearly of the masterpiece. It takes KNOWING the song to capture everything in this complex song. This is unequivocally one the GREATEST ROCK SONGS & Bands EVER CREATED. The LYRICS are as INTRICATE as the music. They are very METAPHORICAL and words geared towards their sound rather than charity but it does have meaning from a SPIRITUAL self-realization COSMIC VIEWPOINT. 70s YES LIVE put ALL inside a Transcending VORTEX of experiences, textures and moods. Their groundbreaking stage sets then became more grand & elaborate from 72-79. Their concerts were LIKE NO OTHER Live event. You'd leave completely exhausted in BLISS, WONDER & AWE. LIsten to the Studio version with NOOOOOO breaks (UGH) for your own TRANSCENDENT ADVENTURE.
Mid 90's Birmingham UK Union tour .. two drummers two guitarists two keyboards besides Jon and Chris .. played "in the round" non stop for 3 hours including close to the edge.
I prefer watching first time Yes reactions to the studio albums first, but as far as their live performances go, you picked one of the best. I liked your reaction, and your silliness.
The lyrics were inspired by the book Siddartha by Herman Hess according to Anderson. The book is about one man's journey to find enlightenment which he seems to achieve at the end by life on a river. Sometimes the lyrics John wrote just fit the music. This Is my favourite prog rock song of all time, a masterpiece!
I saw YES 5 times, 4 times with Jon singing and the other with Trevor Horn on vocals... very similar sounding. I heard "Close to the Edge" at each show, always great. Never a bad concert, always an experience. The best thing about a YES concert was that you could show up an hour late and only miss about 2 songs.
This is a perfect live Yes, and the lyrics in that band are more sounds and poetry then actual meaningful, so not paying too much attention to them isn't too bad. I saw them 5 times and each time it was incredible. yes is complexity, power, beautiful melodies. Yes is Light.
Been to about a dozen or so live Anderson, Howe, and Squire YES concerts. A couple with Wakeman. The audio on this live version does not do the justice of the accuracy and sharpness of the greatest musicians ever put together on the same stage. Howe plays guitar so clean, pure magic. Squire's bass and Anderson's vocals, nothing comes close. Great reaction.
let me just say yes is spirtual music..they were never about sex drugs and rock and roll..they again a band way out there on their own ..to this day really nobody has put together orchestrations like they did...thats the live version...take a listen to their studio version as well...no remaster necessary..yours is no disgrace is my favorite song by yes...by gods grace ..yours is no disgrace you must listen to ELP emerson lake and palmer as well..more ochestra rock from them
The song is about Buddah's spiritual awakening. The middle section is about a martyred Saint. Close to the Edge is a ĺayman's term for madness or manic depression, which often leads to spiritual enlightenment. The amazing thing is how these virtuosos transcend emotion through music.
"Close to the Edge", while arguably Yes' greatest song, is definitely not the one I would recommend to someone unfamiliar with their music, and that's especially the case for live version. For your next foray into Yes, give the studio version of "Roundabout" a try.
Experienced this concert in Chicago ‘73. I’ve seen hundreds of concerts since then. This is still my favorite. Audio/visual beauty unmatched. Nothing compares to the majesty and humility of this album and to their perfect performance of specifically imo, this title piece.
I’ve seen Yes liner over 40 times….every experience different as they evolved through the years. Close to the Edge remains a fixture in my top 3 Yes albums.
40 well, I thought I was a bit of a yes freak but you rock lady....once I took my vacation to hound the tour bus, met wee lil Jon , Steve and Rick along the way to 8 different cities...meeting many Yes lovers along the journey that some I still have as Long Distance runarounds, arrivederci mio amico
Sorry you didn't have the experience of the studio version first... but nonetheless! You should take the 18 minutes to hear it at its most amazing... the studio version widely regarded as the best prog rock ever... EVER
Tim, I’ve seen the band about 14 times. The earliest being the Tales From Topographic Oceans tour in early 1974, and the most recent in late 2008. When things were right in the band and the stars aligned, when they were “on”, there was nobody else like them. I’ve been to my share of live performances. Yes at their best were the pinnacle. An absolutely stunning live band. As many others have said here and elsewhere, Yes live were a spiritual experience that carried you forward into life for days, weeks and months afterward. ❤
Yes, I have been to many concerts of These awesome guys… it was always magical and I would be on a natural high for days after… definitely takes you on a journey…. A stop and listen … over and over it gets better as you listen……
Okay you dived in the deep end and survived your first Yes experience. Many classic Yes fans regard Close to the Edge as their Magnus opus, as a next suggestion you could visit "Awaken". The ability of these guys to perform intricate and difficult music like this live is/was extraordinary - the early stuff suffered a little from less than perfect mixing and mastering, but hey, we're fifty years ago. Surely this is more appetising than most of the overproduced stuff of today. Drummer Alan White (recently deceased) seen here, wasn't in the group when they recorded the studio album CTTE, bassist Chris Squire who is also deceased inspired a generation of bass guitarists with his forward approach to the instrument as a lead instrument - in the John Entwhistle of The Who vein. Keyboards magician Rick Wakeman made an orchestral style of rock possible in a five piece, playing 8 or more different keyboards at any gig - a real tour-de-force. Steve Howe (guitars) and Jon Anderson (vocals) were the songwriting force of the band, Steve's incredible virtuosity on any stringed instrument would be on display any night, Jon Anderson's voice and lyrics are totally unique in the history of rock. Today they call it progressive (prog) rock, back in the day we just called it great rock music - and it stands the test of time. If you want to immerse yourself in the best Yes music you'd start with their 3rd album "The Yes Album" through to "Going For The One", their 8th, each an absolute masterpiece. Sadly they never toured my country.
you should have listened to the studio version first, but amazingly, they do a superb job recreating this Masterpiece Live, I saw them on this tour, unmatched musicianship.
One of my channel members Tony Allen actually suggested that as well so I made a reaction for our members listening to the studio version :0) It was excellent!
@@LegacyStudio An inspired piece of music, which i have listened to many 100's of times. The depth, and complexity is astonishing. Yes IS the finest Prog Rock band I have ever heard, IMO. You will have such a wonderful time exploring their catalog.
@LegacyStudio if you want all us silver tops to sub release the studio version and start from the beginning of their library. To see Yes was spiritual, the pure talent was amazing. The closest talent I've seen was Gentle Giant. 🙏🍁
@@lesblatnyak5947 ^^^^ What he said. Les knows whereof he speaks. Having myself seen both these bands in their prime, I wholeheartedly concur with his opinion.
In the 70s would have meant near insanity. The river is the Thames in London. It also refers to Siddhartha, the story of Buddah's enlightenment. The middle section refers to a martyred French female Saint. Happy listening. People say the lyrics don't mean anything with this band, but if you dig, it makes perfect sense. The song is about how manic behavior often precedes spiritual enlightenment.
If the Bee Gee's are playing, it's a "disco ball". If Yes is playing, it's a "mirrored ball"😀 Although there have been many members through this band, Trevor Horn ( a much sought after producer and engineer) and keyboardist Geoff Downes (both formerly of The Buggles and had the 1st music video on MTV with "Video Killed The Radio Star"), Steve Howe and Rick Wakeman (who had very successful solo careers) and Chris Squire (winning numerous bassist awards), Jon Anderson (lead vocals) probably gave Yes the most distinct sound. It's a lot easier to find musicians who can duplicate a sound than distinct vocalists. Steve Perry of Journey is another example (it took 20 years to replace him). I would like to make a couple of suggestions: "Roundabout" is one of their most recognized early songs. th-cam.com/video/kmZoQFYYx8U/w-d-xo.html "Owner of a Lonely Heart" is their highest charting single and probably most recognized being a 1980's hit and their only #1 hit. It also has a music video since MTV had been invented (see above note for their relevance). th-cam.com/video/SVOuYquXuuc/w-d-xo.html "I've Seen All Good People" is one of my personal favs! th-cam.com/video/PB49uadFgYw/w-d-xo.html and "Starship Trooper" (I believe this was shot in the 80's and is of better quality than the 70's performances) th-cam.com/video/zpDF2M7n3gM/w-d-xo.html For what it's worth... Cheers!!
@Teedentoddo I need you over on Discord brother, you have a lot of great suggestions and we just got the discord voting system set up and running, All the votes get tallied in there for the next songs I will be checking out. Would love to have you over there and help with it!
Dont try to figure out all of Jon Anderson's lyrics... some words are used just for the sounds they make. He once said he "painted" with words. His lyrics are more like "Tone Poems."
While this version has far less pristine sound quality than the masterpiece studio album, I've always argued that the playing is even better. Especially those vocal punctuations at the beginning - much more crisp, and somehow more on-key than the original. And the guitar solos are superior too. The remastered version of Yessongs has much better sound quality, but this one has the film, so you can't beat that for fun.
My friends and I saw them live in 1978 at Madison Square Garden. It was a fantastic concert, I only wish we wouldn't have indulged in so many substances at the time.
YES es gut....`75 tour was the one that put me on the path...Jon`s lyrics for this piece went right with the times...I tagged along with my hippie older brother`s (Nam vet) gang and was thrown into the deep end of taking liberties with reality for the next 5 hours or so...of course it has been a long journey with Yes since then and along the way I`ve found peace with enlightenment of what`s out there in that vast universe which surrounds our little disco ball...
As long as you'll be listening to YES, I'll be listening to you. I (like most here) would suggest you listen to the studio versions...remastered, (if available) first. OK...my YES suggestion next...finish the next 2 songs on the album..."And You and I" and "Siberian Khatru". And, Do yourself a favor...go back and listen to "Close to the Edge" studio.
I agree with many comments here. With this song you need to hear the studio version first, even several listens before you watch and listen to a live version. Personally, I never watch Yes (or many live videos from any band live filmed in the 70's with some exceptions), they never sound or look good which is typical of 70's videos when it comes to live performances. Close To The Edge is composed like a classical piece of music with many time signature changes and various musical elements which makes it necessary to get familiar with the studio version first, then if you want you can view it live. Hearing the studio version first allows you to be familiar with how complex the song is and what it sounds like which allows your brain to fill in the gaps as to what the song should sound like. Not to mention hearing the real church pipe organ Rick Wakeman plays on the heavenly studio version. Close To The Edge is considered by most as the seminal progressive rock album, comprised of just 3 songs, all of which are prog masterpieces. I strongly suggest reacting to the studio version now to see what I and others have been commenting. Close To the Edge (the entire album) will be musically life-changing for you, the album will never leave your soul and will become a substantial part of your regular listening for the rest of your life. I have heard that album at least 100 times in my life and it still hits me to this day. Please treat your mind and ears to this piece of musical mastery and celebrate humanity's ability to create such complexity and beauty.
When you first listen to a yes piece, don't focus on the lyrics to much. Jon Anderson has stated that he chose words that sounded good and not as much for specific meaning. He was using his voice more as an instrument then a vehicle to convey a specific message. By the end there is an overriding broad theme that comes through, but it's vague enough for you to personalize it. So the moral to the story with yes is, just let the whole musical experience wash over you as a whole.
There were no click tracks when this was recorded lol. Only pure TALENT!! otherwise known as YES!! I’ve seen every YES tour since 1975. The first show literally changed my life. It was the same feeling as going to the symphony when I was 6. Took my soul on journeys. ☮️❤️
Thanks for pointing out the dissonance. Music shouldn’t always be sweet. Ya need a little sour. I can’t help you financially cause I’m poor, but can give you a Like 👍 And if that actually your house, you seem to be living well. Far beyond me. Peace ✌🏼
Lol! I love your comment and completely agree. And lol! Love your comment about the fancy house. I use a green screen so it hides my messy art studio. ;0)
IThis is a terrible version. The sound quality is really bad. This is a very difficult song to replicate. Nothing beats the studio version but this one is a lot better: Yes ~ Close to the Edge Part 1~ Symphonic Live [2001] th-cam.com/video/8SGVPi5J2Nw/w-d-xo.html Yes ~ Close to the Edge Part 2 ~ Symphonic Live [2001] th-cam.com/video/w_5TpVhgFSo/w-d-xo.html
SUGGEST AND VOTE ON FUTURE VIDEOS ON OUR DISCORD! Free to the public and we even have a Members Only Lounge! discord.gg/tRzUB566sW
I was 12 in '74, and my older brother had just come back from college with a Yamaha CR2020 Receiver, a Turntable, with 2 Bose 301's and two Bose 601's, and a crate of albums.
My parents left to go on a cruise, and my brother left to go hang out with his friends, so I snuck in his room, and for some reason I pulled out Fragile, The Yes Album, and Close To The Edge,
I listened to each album, in that order, completely immersed, and dumbstruck with the volume cranked, and thinking I could not be any more amazed, or overwhelmed by what I was hearing,
I dropped the needle on Close To The Edge, and lets just say, my mind, was forever altered in a way I just cannot put into words. It was transcendent to me. God must have helped them.
I LOVE that story dude, thanks for sharing it. Seriously makes me want to find a proper HiFi system somewhere and get some proper records :0)
@@LegacyStudio With YES, there is so much going on, and the highs/lows, are almost too much for headphones, their music requires space to let the music unfold into, I will certainly never forget how superb the experience was. Enjoy Brother.
🙏🍁
At the beginning of the song the stage goes completely black and the band members stood perfectly still. The mirrored convex disc (not ball) rotates and the spotlights hit it to throw rays of light out into the audience. When the band comes in on cue the light suddenly come on and the band jumps into action. For 18+ minutes the audience is transported to another universe and at the end the lights go back down as the band again stands motionless as the mirrored disc comes back and slowly fades to black. And the audience is back on earth. A truly great performance that I witnessed back on October 1, 1972 at the University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, AL. I saw / heard this before I actually bought the album so it was brand new to me.
Rick Wakeman, keyboards, once said of Jon Anderson, lead vocal and lyricist, that “Jon’s the only man trying to save this planet while living on another.”
YES is a member of the Olympus of musicianship, along with many great progressive rock bands of the 70s and 80s. Bands guided by the desire to achieve music that is not only beautiful, but transcendent.
How lucky are we that this little gem was filmed 😊😊?
5000 listens later, I'm still hearing new things and liking it more each time.
Close To The Edge and it's LIVE?? Must be Christmas already!!!!
I saw Yes a few months after this video Yessongs was filmed. A truly amazing concert. The disco ball was hung above the audience and with the lights shining on it the speckled lights flickered across the audience as Close to the Edge began and ended - incredibly atmospheric. Indeed for the time the light show was brilliant with each change in the songs accompanied by appropriate light variations that are not well detected by the film - you had to be there to really experience it.
At the upper branches of the rock tree lives some evergreen mistletoe that took root up there in the late '60s and early '70s, and is often clumped together as "prog", which is the kapitul of checker slovakia (Jack 3:16). Anyways, at the top branches of the top branches sits this song, winner of the best song ever contest in my head. For me, Jon was the spiritual center of Yes, and while it is honorific to carry on without him, it can never achieve the same level of healing that Jon was and is able to produce and transmit as baraka to a thirsty audience...as he did in Manhattan a couple of nights before 9/11. He and they were a preventive medicinal for our spirits as the gates of delirium crashed to the ground all around, clanging clanging as in the song, still waiting for the light.
It's funny how someone's impression of the past is different than the actual era. The Glitter Ball in 1972 was not yet a symbol of Disco because Disco had yet to exist as a style of music so there were no Disco Clubs adopting them for special lighting effects! So when I see the Ball I remember it in it's true context. That's why when REACTORS make comparisons to bands that came about years later, it doesn't make sense quite often
It wasn’t even a ball, it was a flat disc that shot out beams of reflected light all over which ever venue you saw them, and just added to the mystical magical atmosphere of a night with Yes.
@@Astraltraveller05 LOL, I was there & loved it! but forgot that it was flat when responding to the REACTORS disco ball comment
Great review! I saw Yes live in 1978 and it was absolutely amazing. Don’t worry too much about the lyrics. I’ve listened to this song countless times over the years and I know the lyrics by heart. They’re as meaningless to me today as they were 45 years ago. ☺️
I saw Yes play this song live in '75 or '76. The Relayer tour. They played for three hours. It was mind-blowing.
Ladies and gentlemen Chris Squire and Yes the greatest show on earth. 50 yrs ago Close To The Edge was released. Sadly I only saw Chris Squire and Yes 36 times. 🙏🍁
It must have been in the summer of 1974 - I already had a bit of ELP experience - when my brother came home from a friend's with his tape recorder. He had recorded an album by a band I didn't know yet. The album was called “Yessongs” and the band was YES. A life album, over 2 hours long. It was "love at first sight" and influenced the rest of my life in many ways (... that would be too long).
There was also “Close to the Edge” on it (in the version we heard here). A small side effect of the fact that this life album was my first contact with YES: when I later heard the songs in the studio version, I was slightly confused. The recording quality was of course much better and you can do things in the studio that you can't do live, but I was missing a bit of "the soul", not to mention that YES had also further developed the songs compositionally. So for me "the original song" is always the one in the YESSONGS version.
I absolutely recommend this album as an "introduction to the music of YES".
dont worry about the lyrics, Jon says that his voice is just another instrument in the band and his lyrics are often written more for their sound rather than their meaning
The lyrics have meaning
I would rather take the word of the guy who wrote them than some random internet expert@@GES8215
The song is about LIFE... "I get up, I get down, seasons will pass you by"
This great 72 imperfect recorded LIVE should be the 2nd First. Listen, that way you get to hear all the incredible individual details clearly of the masterpiece. It takes KNOWING the song to capture everything in this complex song. This is unequivocally one the GREATEST ROCK SONGS & Bands EVER CREATED. The LYRICS are as INTRICATE as the music. They are very METAPHORICAL and words geared towards their sound rather than charity but it does have meaning from a SPIRITUAL self-realization COSMIC VIEWPOINT. 70s YES LIVE put ALL inside a Transcending VORTEX of experiences, textures and moods. Their groundbreaking stage sets then became more grand & elaborate from 72-79. Their concerts were LIKE NO OTHER Live event. You'd leave completely exhausted in BLISS, WONDER & AWE. LIsten to the Studio version with NOOOOOO breaks (UGH) for your own TRANSCENDENT ADVENTURE.
I saw Chris 36 times.
Mid 90's Birmingham UK Union tour .. two drummers two guitarists two keyboards besides Jon and Chris .. played "in the round" non stop for 3 hours including close to the edge.
Toronto
Albany NY
I prefer watching first time Yes reactions to the studio albums first, but as far as their live performances go, you picked one of the best.
I liked your reaction, and your silliness.
The lyrics were inspired by the book Siddartha by Herman Hess according to Anderson. The book is about one man's journey to find enlightenment which he seems to achieve at the end by life on a river. Sometimes the lyrics John wrote just fit the music. This Is my favourite prog rock song of all time, a masterpiece!
I saw YES 5 times, 4 times with Jon singing and the other with Trevor Horn on vocals... very similar sounding.
I heard "Close to the Edge" at each show, always great.
Never a bad concert, always an experience.
The best thing about a YES concert was that you could show up an hour late and only miss about 2 songs.
This is a perfect live Yes, and the lyrics in that band are more sounds and poetry then actual meaningful, so not paying too much attention to them isn't too bad. I saw them 5 times and each time it was incredible. yes is complexity, power, beautiful melodies. Yes is Light.
This Band was one of the most underrated ever, but not buy is that grew up with this, the whole band was beyond talented. 😊
Been to about a dozen or so live Anderson, Howe, and Squire YES concerts. A couple with Wakeman. The audio on this live version does not do the justice of the accuracy and sharpness of the greatest musicians ever put together on the same stage. Howe plays guitar so clean, pure magic. Squire's bass and Anderson's vocals, nothing comes close. Great reaction.
With the YESSONGS Album it is their purest form of YES Unplugged and Raw!
let me just say yes is spirtual music..they were never about sex drugs and rock and roll..they again a band way out there on their own ..to this day really nobody has put together orchestrations like they did...thats the live version...take a listen to their studio version as well...no remaster necessary..yours is no disgrace is my favorite song by yes...by gods grace ..yours is no disgrace you must listen to ELP emerson lake and palmer as well..more ochestra rock from them
Studio version is in our members only exclusive video content :0)
The song is about Buddah's spiritual awakening. The middle section is about a martyred Saint. Close to the Edge is a ĺayman's term for madness or manic depression, which often leads to spiritual enlightenment. The amazing thing is how these virtuosos transcend emotion through music.
Thanks for sharing the background story! Love that!
"Close to the Edge", while arguably Yes' greatest song, is definitely not the one I would recommend to someone unfamiliar with their music, and that's especially the case for live version. For your next foray into Yes, give the studio version of "Roundabout" a try.
Experienced this concert in Chicago ‘73. I’ve seen hundreds of concerts since then. This is still my favorite. Audio/visual beauty unmatched.
Nothing compares to the majesty and humility of this album and to their perfect performance of specifically imo, this title piece.
I’ve seen Yes liner over 40 times….every experience different as they evolved through the years. Close to the Edge remains a fixture in my top 3 Yes albums.
40 well, I thought I was a bit of a yes freak but you rock lady....once I took my vacation to hound the tour bus, met wee lil Jon , Steve and Rick along the way to 8 different cities...meeting many Yes lovers along the journey that some I still have as Long Distance runarounds, arrivederci mio amico
Sorry you didn't have the experience of the studio version first... but nonetheless!
You should take the 18 minutes to hear it at its most amazing... the studio version widely regarded as the best prog rock ever... EVER
Tim, I’ve seen the band about 14 times. The earliest being the Tales From Topographic Oceans tour in early 1974, and the most recent in late 2008.
When things were right in the band and the stars aligned, when they were “on”, there was nobody else like them. I’ve been to my share of live performances. Yes at their best were the pinnacle. An absolutely stunning live band. As many others have said here and elsewhere, Yes live were a spiritual experience that carried you forward into life for days, weeks and months afterward. ❤
Yes, I have been to many concerts of These awesome guys… it was always magical and I would be on a natural high for days after… definitely takes you on a journey…. A stop and listen … over and over it gets better as you listen……
Nice live performance but should listen to the studio version, different sounding but still great.
Okay you dived in the deep end and survived your first Yes experience. Many classic Yes fans regard Close to the Edge as their Magnus opus, as a next suggestion you could visit "Awaken". The ability of these guys to perform intricate and difficult music like this live is/was extraordinary - the early stuff suffered a little from less than perfect mixing and mastering, but hey, we're fifty years ago. Surely this is more appetising than most of the overproduced stuff of today.
Drummer Alan White (recently deceased) seen here, wasn't in the group when they recorded the studio album CTTE, bassist Chris Squire who is also deceased inspired a generation of bass guitarists with his forward approach to the instrument as a lead instrument - in the John Entwhistle of The Who vein. Keyboards magician Rick Wakeman made an orchestral style of rock possible in a five piece, playing 8 or more different keyboards at any gig - a real tour-de-force. Steve Howe (guitars) and Jon Anderson (vocals) were the songwriting force of the band, Steve's incredible virtuosity on any stringed instrument would be on display any night, Jon Anderson's voice and lyrics are totally unique in the history of rock. Today they call it progressive (prog) rock, back in the day we just called it great rock music - and it stands the test of time. If you want to immerse yourself in the best Yes music you'd start with their 3rd album "The Yes Album" through to "Going For The One", their 8th, each an absolute masterpiece. Sadly they never toured my country.
Thanks so much! I added your suggestion to our discord voting system! Love all the insight you got here and your knowledge of these guys! AWESOME!
Imperfect!?!?!?!?!
Yessongs is probably the best live album ever!!!!!!!!!!!!
The best band...ever. From the best album...ever. And the best song...ever.
you should have listened to the studio version first, but amazingly, they do a superb job recreating this Masterpiece Live, I saw them on this tour, unmatched musicianship.
One of my channel members Tony Allen actually suggested that as well so I made a reaction for our members listening to the studio version :0) It was excellent!
@@LegacyStudio An inspired piece of music, which i have listened to many 100's of times. The depth, and complexity is astonishing. Yes IS the finest Prog Rock band I have ever heard, IMO. You will have such a wonderful time exploring their catalog.
@LegacyStudio if you want all us silver tops to sub release the studio version and start from the beginning of their library. To see Yes was spiritual, the pure talent was amazing. The closest talent I've seen was Gentle Giant. 🙏🍁
@@lesblatnyak5947
^^^^
What he said. Les knows whereof he speaks.
Having myself seen both these bands in their prime, I wholeheartedly concur with his opinion.
In the 70s would have meant near insanity. The river is the Thames in London. It also refers to Siddhartha, the story of Buddah's enlightenment. The middle section refers to a martyred French female Saint. Happy listening. People say the lyrics don't mean anything with this band, but if you dig, it makes perfect sense. The song is about how manic behavior often precedes spiritual enlightenment.
If the Bee Gee's are playing, it's a "disco ball". If Yes is playing, it's a "mirrored ball"😀 Although there have been many members through this band, Trevor Horn ( a much sought after producer and engineer) and keyboardist Geoff Downes (both formerly of The Buggles and had the 1st music video on MTV with "Video Killed The Radio Star"), Steve Howe and Rick Wakeman (who had very successful solo careers) and Chris Squire (winning numerous bassist awards), Jon Anderson (lead vocals) probably gave Yes the most distinct sound. It's a lot easier to find musicians who can duplicate a sound than distinct vocalists. Steve Perry of Journey is another example (it took 20 years to replace him). I would like to make a couple of suggestions:
"Roundabout" is one of their most recognized early songs.
th-cam.com/video/kmZoQFYYx8U/w-d-xo.html
"Owner of a Lonely Heart" is their highest charting single and probably most recognized being a 1980's hit and their only #1 hit. It also has a music video since MTV had been invented (see above note for their relevance).
th-cam.com/video/SVOuYquXuuc/w-d-xo.html
"I've Seen All Good People" is one of my personal favs!
th-cam.com/video/PB49uadFgYw/w-d-xo.html
and "Starship Trooper" (I believe this was shot in the 80's and is of better quality than the 70's performances)
th-cam.com/video/zpDF2M7n3gM/w-d-xo.html
For what it's worth...
Cheers!!
@Teedentoddo I need you over on Discord brother, you have a lot of great suggestions and we just got the discord voting system set up and running, All the votes get tallied in there for the next songs I will be checking out. Would love to have you over there and help with it!
@@LegacyStudio I've never used Discord, so I'll need to👨🎓
I'ts not a ball ...It's a flat disc that pre-dates disco
@@bobcorbin3294 Oh. I was just making a joke about something Tim said.
@@TeedentoddoTV It's cool ...It was funny... I take stuff waaay too seriously sometimes.
Just discovered your channel.
Love your style.
Try Chicago, 25 or 6 to 4. Yes, that's the name of a song, and it is 🔥.
Thanks so much for the complement!!! I'll add that to our discord voting system! Thanks Buck!
Dont try to figure out all of Jon Anderson's lyrics... some words are used just for the sounds they make. He once said he "painted" with words. His lyrics are more like "Tone Poems."
While this version has far less pristine sound quality than the masterpiece studio album, I've always argued that the playing is even better. Especially those vocal punctuations at the beginning - much more crisp, and somehow more on-key than the original. And the guitar solos are superior too. The remastered version of Yessongs has much better sound quality, but this one has the film, so you can't beat that for fun.
More YES, please 🎉🎉🎉
My friends and I saw them live in 1978 at Madison Square Garden. It was a fantastic concert, I only wish we wouldn't have indulged in so many substances at the time.
YES es gut....`75 tour was the one that put me on the path...Jon`s lyrics for this piece went right with the times...I tagged along with my hippie older brother`s (Nam vet) gang and was thrown into the deep end of taking liberties with reality for the next 5 hours or so...of course it has been a long journey with Yes since then and along the way I`ve found peace with enlightenment of what`s out there in that vast universe which surrounds our little disco ball...
"Are we going to the world of disco?" Um, no. 😎
Studio version.🤩
YES! 😁
As long as you'll be listening to YES, I'll be listening to you. I (like most here) would suggest you listen to the studio versions...remastered, (if available) first. OK...my YES suggestion next...finish the next 2 songs on the album..."And You and I" and "Siberian Khatru". And, Do yourself a favor...go back and listen to "Close to the Edge" studio.
I agree with many comments here. With this song you need to hear the studio version first, even several listens before you watch and listen to a live version. Personally, I never watch Yes (or many live videos from any band live filmed in the 70's with some exceptions), they never sound or look good which is typical of 70's videos when it comes to live performances. Close To The Edge is composed like a classical piece of music with many time signature changes and various musical elements which makes it necessary to get familiar with the studio version first, then if you want you can view it live. Hearing the studio version first allows you to be familiar with how complex the song is and what it sounds like which allows your brain to fill in the gaps as to what the song should sound like. Not to mention hearing the real church pipe organ Rick Wakeman plays on the heavenly studio version. Close To The Edge is considered by most as the seminal progressive rock album, comprised of just 3 songs, all of which are prog masterpieces. I strongly suggest reacting to the studio version now to see what I and others have been commenting. Close To the Edge (the entire album) will be musically life-changing for you, the album will never leave your soul and will become a substantial part of your regular listening for the rest of your life. I have heard that album at least 100 times in my life and it still hits me to this day. Please treat your mind and ears to this piece of musical mastery and celebrate humanity's ability to create such complexity and beauty.
Studio versions are generally the best examples.....
This is one you for which you should have used the studio version.
That's a Corel electric sitar on the stand.
one of the best bands/pieces of live and profound music and youre going on about hair and drinking pepsi..
Why the live version and not the studio?
When you first listen to a yes piece, don't focus on the lyrics to much. Jon Anderson has stated that he chose words that sounded good and not as much for specific meaning. He was using his voice more as an instrument then a vehicle to convey a specific message. By the end there is an overriding broad theme that comes through, but it's vague enough for you to personalize it. So the moral to the story with yes is, just let the whole musical experience wash over you as a whole.
There were no click tracks when this was recorded lol. Only pure TALENT!! otherwise known as YES!! I’ve seen every YES tour since 1975. The first show literally changed my life. It was the same feeling as going to the symphony when I was 6. Took my soul on journeys. ☮️❤️
No click tracks back then.
Only musical talent
STUDIO VERSION PLS
We have that in our Member Only Exclusives: th-cam.com/video/XpKwNwF5tUo/w-d-xo.html
Forget the studio version
No "click tracks" in the early '70s.
Corel electric sitar, on the stand
You
Should do the studio version first.
Thanks for pointing out the dissonance. Music shouldn’t always be sweet. Ya need a little sour.
I can’t help you financially cause I’m poor, but can give you a Like 👍
And if that actually your house, you seem to be living well. Far beyond me.
Peace ✌🏼
Lol! I love your comment and completely agree. And lol! Love your comment about the fancy house. I use a green screen so it hides my messy art studio. ;0)
By the way, it’s about the contemplation of suicide
That is a very interesting assumption 😮
That is a very interesting assumption 😮
Dude, stop with the stupid comments.
IThis is a terrible version. The sound quality is really bad. This is a very difficult song to replicate. Nothing beats the studio version but this one is a lot better:
Yes ~ Close to the Edge Part 1~ Symphonic Live [2001]
th-cam.com/video/8SGVPi5J2Nw/w-d-xo.html
Yes ~ Close to the Edge Part 2 ~ Symphonic Live [2001]
th-cam.com/video/w_5TpVhgFSo/w-d-xo.html
Sorry, You interrupted almost constantly. Buh-bye.
Bye! Thanks for stopping in and giving it a shot!