Close to the edge of the Yes represents with The Dark Side of the Moon of Pink Floyd e Foxtrot of the Genesis perhaps the more point of progressive. It is not only the record of a band at the top of creativity, but perfectly summarizes the Ethos of the prog, its ideals, its natural propensity to the whim and the theater. In the best moments, the 1970 prog was aimed at developing a universal musical language capable of drawing in equal measure from classic and blues, folk and jazz, psychedelia and oriental mysticism.
Like the Beatles before them, the Yes redefined the very nature of the pop song, expanding their boundaries and launching it towards the unknown. The title track of their fifth album lasts 18 minutes and covered the entire first side of the vinyl released in 1972 evoking the structure of a symphony, between dissonances to Stravinsky, one of the favorite composers of the singer Jon Anderson, and the orchestral phantasmagoria of a Ravel. He was assembled in a chaotic way, putting together pieces of songs by Anderson and guitarist Steve Howe, with the addition of a Jam in the first part, which begins with the sound of water and chirping swept away by a psychedelic rock played at the speed of light. In the central section the keyboardist Rick Wakeman evokes Bach playing a barrel organ recorded in a London church.
On the second side there were only two other pieces. One is the folk elegy And you and i On the search for truth and purity, with its pastoral atmosphere, the high vocal harmonies of Anderson and acoustic guitars. The other is the acid funk Siberian Khatrua sound hurricane launched by Bill Bruford's Drumming and Possible Love Lines by Chris Squire. Overall, the three pieces sound vital as they would not expect from music that dates back to 53 years ago.
It is a phase of the history of the Yes that has been well documented in the past and therefore the super deluxe version recently published by Rhino is intended for completions and audiophiles. Steven Wilson had already remixed the album in 2013, in the new box set there is an additional remaster and another of his mixes, also in Dolby Atmos. If nothing else, only instrumental mixes are revealing, especially that of And you and i: without the stratification of vocal harmonies, they emerge as it is right that it is the lines of low acrobatic sunflower.
The study tests of the various pieces are also a delight. Here and there there are roughness and vocal improvisations that add a touch of authenticity to the music of a band known for the obsessive search for perfection. Radio versions, those published on individuals and “Steven Wilson Edits” are instead irrelevant.
Photo: Neal Preston
In the box set there is also the legendary performance at the Londonse Rainbow of December 1972 of which they had come out in pairs in the triple pieces Yessongs. The box Progene Of about ten years ago it contained seven entire concerts of that same tour and therefore, although the show to the Rainbow is good, it is a more. In any case comes out the youth enthusiasm with which the Yes put together virtuosity and impact. Heart of Sunrisewho closed Fragileis pure fire and sounds like an omen of Close to the edgewhile Wakeman's curtain, which sounds extracted from his solo debut The Six Wives of Henry VIIImakes a smile on the lips for its bombastic blooms.
Just before the start of the tour of Close to the edge Bruford left the Yes to go and play with King Crimson and then at the Rainbow on the battery, Alan White sits, who faces hours of time changes with a certain aplomb. He remained with the group until he died in 2022.
The Yes no longer managed to touch the peaks of Close to the edgebut also the three albums that came later are all to be listened to, starting from the epic, grandiose and underestimated Tales from Topographic Oceans of 1973 Relayer of 1974. Going for the One of 1977 was a celebration of the beauty of form and proportions, with a vague hint of definitive farewell.
With the exception of Drama From 1980, a dizzying experiment between New Wave and Prog, the other records of the band seem to relic by a shipwreck, the vain attempt to recover some of the old glory. That's why this box set sounds like the declaration of love for the era in which the Yes made a spark of pure genius slip, setting on everything.
From Rolling Stone Us.
Daniel D`Amico for SANREMO.FM
