That's the best description of Yes I've ever seen!

Brilliant...I would add each one was a prodigy that wanted to expand awareness and push boundries...similar to ELP

YES have produced some amazing music over the years, don't forget that Jon was also in a church choir during his school boy years, so singing well was something he learnt early on. The nature sounds at the start of this track is indicative of Jon's roots in his home town where him and his school mates only had to walk two blocks and be in hilly country side that is similar to that of 'Withering Heights', this would lead him on to base his solo album Olias of Sunhillow upon (if you walk over the hill today you can clearly see where the ideas come from). Jon tells me that he disliked the poppy sounds of The Warriors, and it was only after leaving and joining Mable Greer's Toy Shop did he start to develop the progressive rock sound that is pure YES and that practice makes perfect as when compared to there early contemporaries they were not as polished.

Yes was vegan no drugs!

@@ricardomartinelli2992 That not what I have been told.

_Yes,_ indeed!

It took me over 40 years to figure out this section (at 6:05). The guitar and vocals are continuing in that 12/8 - 3/4 meter from the first verse, while the bass and drums are playing in a much slower 4/4. Polymeters in prog rock!

Always did Chris squire is unreal!

I so much wanted a bass like Chris Squire - before the age of the internet there was really no way to find out what it was - I tried reading with a magnifying glass the photos off of the inside of Fragile - it looked like "Mickletwirker" - of course it was Rickenbacker - I love the way that if you use the bridge pickup, that the tone changes amazingly across the strings - seems to me that no other guitar actually does this ? anyone?

@@irw4350 That line of Rick has the pickups wired to 2 different channels out. You send the neck to one channel, and the bridge to another... from owning one for a time, you ALWAYS have the neck channel going(for the low boomy end), and when you want that bright overdriven sound, you run in the middle switch position(both). If you use bridge only, it sounds very thin and un-bass-like. If you run both pickups thru a single channel(this is an option), it loses it's distinctiveness and punch. I am mostly a guitar player, but honestly, when you set a Rickenbacker up properly, few things sound as beautiful.

Have always loved that Church organ coming through after the beautiful melody.

And again when the pipe organ first gives way to the Moog... "okay we're not in church anymore!"

When I first heard this in '72, I remembered being very challenged, due to them taking, what felt like such a huge leap from everything that they'd done before. But, as you said, after a few listenings.... boom! Every album had obviously been leading to this height in their work! Sadly, I lost interest after this album, though I still listen with pleasure to this and all its predecessors.

bro...that's exactly what i've been experienced...

Topographic was harder to listen to until you got the score. Awesome music, too.

@@danbernard4227 Totally agree. As a teen it used to take me 5-6 listens to crack open their complex pieces due to the interwoven musical motifs that they often moved around within the pieces and used as themes or even counterpoints. You start to look into the chaotic forest and recognise the branches woven through it.

I’m not so sure the introduction was written note for note. It sounds to me like there is improvisation from multiple players resulting in randomness.

In my case: 30 years I dont understand how a guy (from my age: 44) master in music....dont listening this before!!!

shit aint that the truth.

@@antoniocarlin5026 I think perhaps you become a master in your chosen field of music by ignoring other types until you master the one you want.

that's the feeling

I am also one of those 50 year listeners, though the lyrics of Yes were never the appeal for me. Hearing then compared to the Beach Boys was quite painful for me. It belittles the music IMO.

Isn't it awesome and mind blowing that something as fragile as music has powers to hit people strong and affect us for that many years? I've had similar experience with Mike Oldfield's Amarok in the 90's. Changed my perception of music forever and set a bar that only a few other works could come close to ever since for me. Cheers.

Yup. I was 15 in 75 when I first heard it. This song has been a touchstone of sorts for me ever since. The song that lead me to Yes is by Argent called: Music of the Spheres. This song changed the course of my life and l would later co-found a progrock band. Another epic song is Tod Rundgren's Utopia and their song Ikon. I highly recommend checking them both out.

I was 16 at the time, and it blew me away. I'd not heard the Fragile or Yes album, and was soon on my way to loving this band and all their work. CTTE is by far, the best two sides on vinyl, period.

@@mrnobody3161 almost the same story except for starting the band part. I knew about Roundabout through listening on the radio, but I'll say my curiosity piqued about Yes and what must their other songs sound like? Well, I've seen them 5 times live, even with Yes West. All were great oerformances.

For me, it's either Supper's Ready or the Gates of Delirium.

Best lineup

Affirmative, the most!

For a little while, they filled the universe with a mighty noise, unprecedented in all history.

@@osvaldo8966 - the best line up, full stop! 👍👍

My favorite Yes lineup! Tony Kaye on the Yes Album was my other favorite. On CTTE Squire and Bruford are so supportive of each other :) Happy Bruford laid down the percussion on this piece cause it wouldn't be the same if another played cold. Music like this was my escape from University Studies :)

ELP, did you mean ELO?

ELP...Emerson, Lake, and Palmer

I would put also king crimson, van der graff generator and soft machine (third is a masterpiece).

@@tuskact4overheaven873 I completely agree with those. I would add even a few more, like Genesis, Gentle Giant, and yes Frank Zappa too. There is also a big scene people often ignore. I am talking about Krautrock. Bands like Birth Control, Nektar, Eloy, Amon Düül and Tangerine Dream belong to that scene, and most of them had a big impact on the early days of Symphonic Rock.

Pink Floyd is actually really famous. It's usually what Nirvana is for grunge: everyone knows Pink Floyd as prog but when you ask about any other prog band they can't respond

FISH RISING.

THERE'S A LOT OF REALLY GOOD PROG THAT'S SELDOM HEARD. NEWER BAND WOBBLER. BUT GONG, SPOCKS BEARD QUIET SUN HAPPY THE MAN.

Yea clos2thrdge I’m 67 and have been listening to this from the beginning.I’ve never heard a song that comes close to this not even other Yes songs.Absolutely one of the classics and always will be!

Starship Trooper does that to me.

@@donnafriedson7347 Just saw Jon Anderson. Acoustics were horrible but great to see the legend one more time. Made me feel old, but in a satisfying way

Same here... then I realized, Yes: Close to the Edge speaks only to those who know how to listen... and feel alive.

Same here - then my mum added “it will all be forgotten in 6 months” ! How wrong it was. Such powerful music.

Why do I keep hearing turn that down oh that's in my head

sorry, but your mom is deaf

My mum always loved the blond girl who played piano.... LOL

Nail. Head. Hit.

I loved Mr Doug's astonishment when he understood that he was hearing a REAL church organ - rows and rows of metal pipes of various lengths and bores. A pipe organ requires a big (VERY big) room. A wooden building does not properly cut it - the sound has to bounce off stone. I realised this many years ago when i walked into Winchester Cathedral and found I had the place pretty much to myself and the organist was up in his loft practising. And I realised that, when he stopped playing (i.e. there were no sounds coming from the pipes), the music was sustained by the reverberations. A good composer can write for the reverberations as well as the instrument.

@@mauricestevenson5740 Very true. I took my sister to see King's College Chapel for the first time recently. The organ was playing...kinda. A tuner was working on it. The sound was still awe-inspiring, even though they were playing only single notes or pairs.

I visited it and did a video of it close-up: kzfaq.info/get/bejne/pJxxla6WrKjUXaM.htmlsi=Bm1oWOB5w-vNGtCk

The build up is so sublime. The overlapping melody and countermelodies on the vocals, the introspection of the verse, the gradual, crystalline ascending line of the chorus, and his immersed, celebratory fists overhead, the expression of glee on his face, AND THEN... Enter the massive, enigmatic voice of an ages old pipe organ in a great hall! The sheer gravitas of it takes your breath away, puts a lump in the throat, arm hairs on end, and Doug's quizzical eyebrows sieze as his mind processes the stunning shift from the crystal glass of the vocal line to the densely commanding call of an ancient organ. And he is utterly taken up in the current of a tsunami. Brilliant! (Fun trivia - I think there had only recently been some repairs to the organ which might have inspired them to include it for added importance. It's a calculated risk since one can never really achieve that kind of impact live unless one holds the concert in a very old church with a 200-300 year-old pipe organ.)

Same here!!

Same here. This album, including and you and I, defined my musical taste for the past 50 years.

I don't know how anyone can listen to any of the music today

Agree and so happy to listen them with my vinyls

Same age also. Weren’t the 70s an amazing time to be a teenager listening to music. It seemed like great new albums that became classics were being released once a week. My memory of close to the edge and a lot of music is they I was turned on by my brother who had returned from Vietnam the year before. He left listening to Motown (not knocking that) wearing sharkskin suits and came home with albums like blind faith and Yes. Grew out his hair and beard and was a totally different person

The studio version and the one on Yessongs are just too much. Same with And You & I. Such Beauty. Grew up in the 70s. Yes is deeply ingrained in my physical and spiritual being. love and "light"

I’ve heard it once now..here, moments ago, carved up by ads and breaks.Sounds a bit crazy and chaotic at first listen but worth trying again without all the stops and starts.

@@tubamajuba this and songs like Starless by King Crimson are trascendental pieces of music. Just take your time and they will reveal themselves to you, and maybe even stay with you for life. Good listening, my friend!

Amen. For any lover of music or art in general. This is stirring stuff.

Two million people barely satisfy Two hundred women watch one woman cry, too late The eyes of honesty can achieve How many millions do we deceive each day? probably some of the greatest lyrics penned...

Refreshing to see a woman appreciate how great Yes was

I’m 63 you and me both listening to something we shouldn’t have been listening to at our age. Made a big impression

Yep....64 here....headphones in the bedroom....🎉

The pipe organ was done in an actual Church...

67 and yes, headphones in my bedroom

Where in Scotland is that said? I'm Scottish, from Glasgow, and I've never heard it or seen it written anywhere.

I think, the band Focus is better

@@DungeonBossTipsundTricks Horses for courses.

What a collective! Five virtuoso players!

@@DungeonBossTipsundTricks I’m actually just discovering Focus. Any suggestions?

@@MrSpankee02 sure Hamburger Concerto Moving Waves Anonymous 2 House of the King Mother Focus Jannis Maximum

That's what Geddy Lee said!

Chris 101 dude. And I’ve owned a Rick since I could afford my first in 1977.

Not me. I was *literally speechless,* having trouble picking up the pieces of my then recently blown mind. I won't describe the experience, but it was an awakening. I was little and all I knew was either "normal music" or classical music. This is the interesting thing: _I had no idea, not in my wildest imagination, that music could be like that._ My immediate assessment of Yes was: "this is the music of another planet. It's about somewhere else." It was a rationalization necessary to preserve my sanity. Oh, almost forgot to mention: the truck that ran me over that day was Heart of the Sunrise.

@@davizitopa7252 I couldn't have said it better, except for me it was Close To The Edge. Then one evening my girlfriend and I dropped some acid and went to see them in the round on their Tormato tour. It was as if beings from another world had come down to Earth to introduce us to a new reality for a couple of hours and left us changed. I know you get it.

My favorite introduction to Yes for people unfamiliar is Heart of the Sunrise for this very reason.

Ach! Motzart ! grosse Mutzik !

I love watching people to react to Yes for the first time.

What was nice, was knowing what delight would come next!

I feel the same way about Rush.

Were we ever warmer on that day/a million miles away/it seemed from all eternity---ah!

Me too! It wasn't very long ago for me but it makes me remember the first time I listened to this... :) I wasn't an instant convert like a lot of other people, Heart of the Sunrise had already hooked me in though so I gave it a few more listens, The Solid Time of Change started to just make "sense", I knew where the time changes were (but I was used to that from Dream Theater haha), I appreciated I Get Up much more... and the closing really started to hit me hard, when the song ends I still feel like something big just closed, like I'm at the real and true end to a beautiful story. Incredible song. Incredible band.

no pants were harmed in the making of this video...

It's all about the balance, the scale between upbeat and depression, during the process of creating a composition of original art and if you've ever created a piece of art you'll understand both the frustration and elation of the process

To think this guy hears everything in the key of.... I think it’s great!

@@Doug.Helvering I really enjoy your classically trained ear analysing and appreciating rock musicians work.. Yes really were a class apart musically.. Steve Howe and Rick Wakeman and Chris Squier ( RIP) possibly the best ever

It was a joy to watch this video. Seeing someone so excited about it (especially the church organ part) made my day! I’m blown away every time I listen to it. A bit of trivia about Yes: They’ve been around so long that by the time the band disbanded, none of the original members were left. In fact, there was a bit of a row over the name when the original 4 members wanted to release an album in the 80s under the name Yes. They got shot down by the current Yes members and eventually released an album titled “Anderson Buford Wakeman and Howe.”

Apparently, I haven't just discovered you. I've just seen a few of your other videos recently, and worked my way back to this one. While I still don't like the way you keep pausing this to attempt to analyze it (which is a difficult task when it comes to 1970s Yes), I appreciate that you recognize genius when you hear it.

🌞larls🌞

I agree and A Plague of Lighthouse Keepers.

@@biraoliverio Oh yes. I'm sad nobody reacts to VdGG and, when one finds prog, he sticks with Yes, Genesis, Rush, Pink Floyd but rarely goes deeper to Gentle Giant, Van der Graaf Generator, Camel etc.

hes is almost ready to listening the "Red" full album from King Crimson!!

@@antoniocarlin5026 Doing King Crimson reaction might be tricky because of copyright issues. Maybe KZfaq and DGM are not so strict these days, but there's a decent probability for KC reaction to be blocked. Although I would love it, Red is my number two album of all time.

Supper's Ready Would be Phenomenal!

Thanks, Bill.

Oh man oh man I remember those days when rock concerts had classical music before the concert

That tour was my first concert. Blew me away. They encoded with Yiurs is no disgrace when I saw them.

Saw Kansas in Philly in 83, with a similar surprise opening, though I'm not entirely sure how they pulled it off. The show started with an empty stage, 4 stools front and center. An apparent string quartet, in formal clothing, walks out and sits. They begin to tune up, like we were about to see a string recital or something. Then the stage exploded in light and fog, as we were blinking from the sudden flashes of light and trying to peer through all the smoke/fog, we could hear the opening guitar notes to a Kansas song (don't recall what song). As the smoke cleared and we could see the stage again, the "string quartet" were gone, and Kansas was on stage, jamming. One of the most memorable show openings of my (65 year) life.

@@brolinofvandar very cool. Kansas actually fronted for Yes in about 1996. What a concert. Cheers.

All I know is 50 years later ,,,,still love it

F ‘ yea!!

There live work will be remembered forever period. "One of those"(all too many) "Musical acts i wish I had seen." Pink Floyd being the other big miss. But of course I had to make my own music back on the day, too sooooo...

@@doolittlegeorge I managed to see Floyd at the infamous Cleveland concert where their jet flew low and slow over the stadium to open it. People were so distracted by it no one noticed the band come on stage as the sound of the receding jet reverberated through the sound system. I never went to another concert after that. How could anybody beat that...

If it can be performed by mixed voice choirs it will be.

You can't mistake the sound of a Rickenbacker 4001 bass guitar, nor the way Chris plays it, through distortion and all!

@@jawoody9745 Indeed!

Must fully agree

Chris Squire's solo album "Fish Out of Water," holds up so well over the years. It's been way neglected.

@@drdalewisely I love Fish Out Of Water. Wore out the vinyl copy. Bought it on cd. That got ruined and had to buy a digital copy. Still have the vinyl, but it’s pretty scratchy.

Yes were bigger than Pink Floyd until Floyd put out Dark Side of the Moon. After that nobody could catch them. However, Yes were still as big and maybe bigger than Floyd in Philadelphia PA where Yes had the most sell outs of any band up until around 2005.

If you had ever seen them live you would have been blown away and lost your socks!

@@BraddersMusic saw them in Pittsburgh after the release of Relayer.

You are so lucky to have been able to experience the Relayer lineup firsthand. I think Moraz' abilities lends itself better towards the manic chaotic energy of some of their songs than Wakeman's approach.

@@rodrigoodonsalcedocisneros4419 I used to have all the lyrics memorized from Gates of Delirium. Stand and fight we do consider. Took my girlfriend to the concert and she got a contact high and it freaked her out.

Well I am (was) a jazz hater; but this is fantastic and I now get how this drum sound can be musical

Ain't it so, Sean.

Absolutely! Somehow, Squire drives this song. He tended to do that a lot.

@@davidhughes4448 I was lucky to see one of his last shows near the end of the 2014 tour. Yes played both Fragile and Close to the Edge in their entirety. Damn that was a good show.

I made the same comment while I was still watching. The lines, the performance, and the sound he got were all perfect.

@@JoeHamelin Excellent, Joe! I lost track of how many time I saw them after a dozen shows. I just missed their Fragile tour here in the US, but was totally on board from Close To The Edge onward.

I have, the music, not the phrase.

Nice.

You have not been going to the right parties..

😂🤣

@@paznewis107 Took the words right out of my mouth. Yes, Rush, Genesis, Crimson, Kansas, and so on were always played at the parties I went to.

Track down his solo (yes a bass solo) where he plays Amazing Grace.

Best bass guitarist of his generation. Sadly lost to us too soon.

there is a very tight synth double for that brief passage - the nature of the line doesn't lend itself to Taurus pedals, tho Chris used them live on the CttE tour. I had to revisit my analysis from '73 (i was stuck on Fragile throughout '72, and that year was the first time i saw them live,) as didn't seem possible to so faithfully stay in unison with Squire's Rickenbacker line, but we're talking about Wakeman, y'all. Had chalked it up to a distortion pedal originally, but gonna go with Rick doubling for the win.

Chris did use a set of organ pedals to extend the range of the bass, I think.

@@funqsta It sounds like there may be a synth double, which I had never heard until now. I'm pretty sure he's also running his bridge pickup through a fuzz pedal for that section, though.

Right another level...the beta level of consciousness. I like some of the music other pro bands (Focus) but they didn't have alter states of consciousness, the Beta Sciences. And hypnosis.

I had a friend who knew a friend who claims Jon Anderson always contacted him when he came to Los Angles for pot.

100%. For me, it's Beatles, Yes, and The Stones. There's a lot I love, but those are my top three. Well, top four if I include my band..!

And shrooms. Lots of shrooms. They talk a little about it in interviews.

@@poststructuralisthero9290 We played a gig at Golden Gate Park opening for Kantner Balin Cassady & Santana. I had some acid and thought "I'll take this right before we go on, and by the time we're done I'll be ready for a nice trippy walk home across the city and whatever else happens...". I took the hit, and was almost immediately informed that our set time had been pushed back 45 mins. It was a very interesting set for me!

Amazing. You should have made a copy of that tape for yourself...:-)

That must've been pretty incredible to hear. There are some clips on KZfaq of outtakes from the Close to the Edge sessions. Mostly mixed-down stems or versions without effects or doubled vocals. Just makes it even more amazing to think how Yes and Eddie Offord spliced all these sections together so seamlessly. kzfaq.info/get/bejne/j9WfhcR5x7LUnqs.html

sssoooo... You found the Dead Sea Scrolls AND The Ark Of The Covenant.... In Los Angeles....

Thanks for the recollection. Being a musician from 6 years old, hearing Yes at 15, co-founded a progrock band at 19, Close the Edge at 61 yrs old is still a touchstone for me. It reconnects me to "the muse" of music 🎶 where there are no limitations. To play what one feels, without the fear of others preconcieved expectations. An amazing rush it must have been.

Wow

The same happened to me when the album was released. I was 10 years old. I am already 57 and keep listening to this masterpiece.

As Sir Paul says, Will you still love me when I'm 64, answer: Yes! We Do!

so before and beyond haha

I was 16 when it came out…I am still listening.

Robert Fripp also mentions stravinsky and bartok as main influences on his musical style

I thought it was Sebelius. That's one he mentions a lot anyway.

Yeah was just gonna mention Zapp my self.

Wow- I never knew that they were influenced by modern classical composers (Is that a contradiction in terms?)

@@TheAmazingSpaghetti he and Howe loved them both.

Jon Anderson has often spoke of his love of Beach Boys harmonies.

He also rewired his Rickenbacker with stereo outputs from the pickups, then ran one output to a bass amplifier and the other to a treble amplifier for a unique sound. Another part of his unique sound was one of his favored playing techniques. He often played with a stiff pick held between the thumb and forefinger and would strike the string with the pick with the thumb striking the string just after.

Rickosound was a Rickenbacker invention. Two outputs one in stereo were the pick up signals are separated and can be fed to separate amps. The other is standard and works like a normal out put. Chris Squire is the Godfather of all prog rock bass players. His influence can be heard in almost all modern prog rock. I’ll name Jonas Reingold (mashed his surname there) of the Flowerkings as someone who has taken Squires “reachings” and really run with them. A very musically gifted bass player. Very sadly missed.

Rickenbacker sold a LOT of basses because of that sound lol. Squire and Wakeman are gods of their respective instruments within the genre.

Yup, that's THE one that all of today's bassists are inspired by in some way or form

@@VegasSongwriter don' t tell me....I bought 4 ricks (the 4001 Chris Squire Limied edition included) Squire's fault t

And the reaction AFTER...

Hahaha and the one I timestampsd at the top of this thread it's so good!

LOL. That's hilarious. I think I'll join you.

@@AlobytesOgniddove Exactly! When that pipe organ kicks in Doug is fully (and unexpectedly) mesmerized.

OMG. Best comment ever. Loving his field goal reaction to Anderson's last note, and THEN his hysterical reaction to Wakeman's church organ. Slams him back in his chair. Funny.

Indeed, it's amazing the roll of masterpieces these guys put out in a short amount of time: The Yes Album, Fragile, CTTE, TFTO (some think it's overblown but totally complex and difficult to put nonetheless), Relayer and GFTO

Add ABWH to that and take away Tales and I would agree with you!

dont forget karn evil nine!

Recording CttE in 1972 they were: JA 28 SH 25 CS 24 RW 23 BB 23

And how old when they did Owner of a lonely heart?

4:00 “what the hell is that?” That’s Steve howe being a genius as usual.

@@veryfriendlyok I really REALLY dislike that album

Eddie Offord had a lot to do with this Album/song

I've been listening to this for decades and there is always something new to find 💚💚💚

I think this is what makes this song in particular so great..you really can just focus on those things you mentioned and you can have several songs to listen to..every one of the members each contributes a whole bunch and nothing is left in the background..tremendous song throughout 👍

100%

And the lovely harmonies here. CHRIS being an ex chorister and pupil of Haberdashers

Absolutely. Also the one with the best-sounding bass guitar ever.

Yes greatest bassist listen to their earlier albums like fragile

Long distance runaround from The Fragile album

Every time.

Anticipation almost did me in……..

Absolutely!!

:D

The church organ part is a pure nirvana!

Exactly!

I view most of Jon's lyrics as a collection of concepts and ideas...they're not *entirely* nonsensical.

I've always enjoyed lyrics that we're not linear.

The letters of YES are like a magic spell. They do not make sense to our logic but they have an immediate effect on the spirit of the listener.

Me too! When he said that I thought "Nooooo, don't go there!" But Doug's take did seem very reasonable. I've never even stopped to think about it. I keep seeing Siddhartha on people's 'best book ever' lists. If it's that special a book you have to have quite a nerve to think you can write a piece of music worthy of it. Well they certainly nailed it!!!!

There's still grand stuff out there - just not coming from any major labels. Check out Neal Morse's "Similitude of a Dream"... then keep going.

Odd then that I, a boomer from that era, have left it behind. Check out the Cocteau Twins and Sigur Ros, for a start. They've truly gone beyond my boomer music.

1965-1975 has always been my decade as well. The era of classic rock.

May I interest you in some Captain Beyond or Cactus?

@@TheRKae will do that thanks

It sounds like we're going into a Gregorian chant

Yep, like a lot of prog this song seems to be all over the map, but the band are masters at tying it all together.

Prog is still going on it’s just underground hard to find but masterpieces are released every year

@@jackhanson3333 give me examples please

@@jackhanson3333 Any suggestions?

@@jackhanson3333 Probably the greatest prog release of the '80s was Marilion's "Misplaced Childhood," an album-length exploration of lost innocence and nostalgia. Marilion were products of what was then dubbed the neo-prog scene, but I prefer to think of it as second wave prog. King Crimson, reconstituted with guitarist/vocalist Adrian Belew and bassist/Chapman stick player Tony Levin joining percussionist Bill Bruford and The Crimson King Himself Robert Fripp, made three of the band's most expansive and adventurous albums during the '80s: "Discipline," "Beat," and "Three of a Perfect Pair." The '80s was also when we started getting the first inklings of progressive metal, with Queensrÿche's release "Operation: Mindcrime" being a standout early work. Going into the '90s you start to see the real beginnings of the prog renaissance, both with bands from the '80s prog revival hitting their stride (of note are "Ever" and "Subterranea" by IQ) and the rise of the superstar prog bands of the '90s, with groups like Dream Theater and Porcupine Tree dropping landmark albums like "Images and Words" and "The Sky Moves Sideways." NGL this area is a bit hazy because I'm a real child of the '00s. The new millennium is when prog really started becoming a hit commodity again. Prog started filtering to the indie scene, with groups like The Decembrists wearing their Jethro Tull and Gentle Giant influences on their sleeves: their early EP "The Tain," consisting of one 20 minute track based on the Irish epic poem the Táin bó Cúailnge, and their 2009 rock opera "The Hazards of Love" are of particular note. Pop mega-producer Gem Godfrey launched a prog side project called Frost, and their debut album "Milliontown" was an absolute bolt from the blue, with their follow-up "Experiments in Mass Appeal" being a worthy successor. The group Big Big Train, which pardon the pun had been chugging along in the background since the '90s, had their big break with 2009's "The Underfall Yard," followed that with the bangers that were "English Electric Parts 1&2" and the "Far Skies Deep Time" EP, and just haven't let up since. Plenty of the bands that got big in the 90s like Dream Theater, Porcupine Tree, The Flower Kings, and IQ are still going strong, and more importantly the prog ethos has seeped into more genres of music than ever before. One of my favorite prog-in-spirit bands is the Finnish symphonic metal band Nightwish, who's release "Endless Forms Most Beautiful" is an album-length paean to the biological sciences with a 24 minute closing track based on Richard Dawkins' book "The Greatest Show On Earth." Anyway hopefully this gives you a starting point. Prog will never die.

OH THAT RICKENBACKER TWANG BEST SERVED LIVE

RIP Chris. I first saw Yes at Winterland in 1972. Since then I've seen them at venues all around Northern California. But most recently on Cruise to the Edge in 2014. Ahhh

I can second this. I have seen Yes perform this song many times live. It always astounded me how this Yes lineup, with Alan White on drums later, could sound as good live as they sounded on the studio albums. Chris Squire is the best rock bassist. RIP Chris

AS did I

Agreed. I've seen them so many times!

Agreed. My first approach to this song WAS the live version on the tripple vinyl yessongs live album as a teenager in the late 1980s. No need to say that it blew me right away. I was into early Genesis then. But this was beyond anything I've ever heard ... to this day.

They were the only band I saw that was better live.

me too

@@martinreed5964 me three

@@barrycowen627 me four

Me five.

At sixth

Starship Trooper has always been a favorite of mine. Though I like Bill Bruford's drumming on the studio version, I prefer the live versions with the Wakeman Howe duets during Wurm. Well, really more like dueling solos than duets, but you get what I mean. :^)

Chris Squire was a big influence on Geddy Lee so it's highly likely it happened the way you described.

@@MrBruinman86 Correct. From what I recall, Squire was the main reason Geddy uses a Rickenbacker bass for nearly everything. And of course, Geddy filling in for the deceased Chris Squire at Yes' Hall of Fame induction was probably a bittersweet dream for him.

Not sure how much Floyd Rush were playing in their formative years. Genesis for sure. The LLDOB concert at Massey Hall was a watershed evening for them as Neil Peart told us.

Rush wasn’t influenced by PF. Only Yes 👍

😆

Lol. Yep.

I had to keep an eye on Doug just to enjoy the reactions .

Best Yes song in my opinión.

Saw this tour, had never witnessed anything like this before or after

Never gets old

Me too

Yup, This was the first album I ever bought, I was 14 my best friend bought Dark side of the moon. We'd smoke a j then go to his house when his parents went out at night. His marine Corp dad had just returned from overseas with a 135 watt Sansui receiver ,4 huge Sansui speakers. I've had a blessed life.

Right on! I know what you mean! I saw Yes a couple of times. The first time I saw them was also the first time I saw a laser show! It was mind blowing! I remember I was extremely hot because I was down on the floor, in front of the band. So it was packed. But at one point it went all dark and silent. Then a single green light pierced the darkness. Everyone was like, WOW! Then a cool breeze blew all the hot sweat from my skin, because they were making fog with dried ice. Then each successive light beam split, over and over, It was glorious!

Oh my god, I can only imagine Starship Trooper with the Eagles joining in! I saw the Eagles in the Summer of '78. One of my all time best concert experiences....But the 5 YES concerts I attended top the list.

lucky u! 👍🏽✌🏽🖖🏽

I couldn't be more envious of your experience. But what an amazing time to be around for music, both recorded and live. The closest I came was going to the midnight movies at the local theater in the late '70s and watching their live movie.

I was also at that Charlotte show. 2nd row floor, center stage with my girlfriend. My recollection of the show was exactly as above. I had seen Led Zeppelin, Grand Funk, and the Who at the same place prior to seeing Yes. All up close. Yes was so intense and precise. Simply explosive one minute and beautifully harmonic and melodic the next. When they jammed with a couple of the Eagles on Starship Trooper I caught a tambourine thrown into the crowd and still have it in my music room. We were so lucky in the 70s to see these great bands in Charlotte between the old chrome dome Coliseum and Park Center and the outdoor shows at the Shrine Bowl stadium downtown. The list of bands seen I have kept. BTW - the Yes box set of Steven Wilson remixes is simply fantastic - I had original pressings and Friday Music pressings of their lps and sold them all, keeping the Wilson remixes. They are true to the original recordings, but the complex arrangements have space between instruments and highlight the individual players talents very well. Thanks for posting OnlookerDelay!!

Saw them with the Eagles opener 9/22/72 Arie Crown Theater in Chicago After that, Fan for life!

It is the best and most beautiful love song..

BillyBruiser soooo romantic

While I loved the masterpiece of Close To The Edge, And You and I, never fails to bring me to tears every time I hear it!

And You and I is a definite masterpiece.

Every song on this whole album is a masterpiece. CTTE is one of the best progressive rock albums ever. Although it’s my second favorite Yes album (Relayer is my favorite), I still absolutely love it to death!

nah, to bombastic, even though white is a great drummer. This lost to much with his cave man approach. Here is my version soundcloud.com/morbidman/close-to-the-edge-yes-cover

They have done this live multiple times. Amazing experience seeing them live even now. You see these old guys and think they can't pull off some crazy songs and they will prove you wrong!

I was blown away the first time I heard it live all I could do was sit there in disbelief, it truly touched me.

"YESSONGS" was my introduction to YES in 1974, other than "Roundabout" being on the radio; the AM version. "YESSONGS" changed my life. I became a guitar player b/c of Steve, who, IMHO, is the most versatile guitarist in rock. Don't take my word for it, Watch "Steve Howe and Les Paul from the Iridium Club" here on KZfaq. Steve can play all that chord-melody and chicken-pickin' right there with Lester...a phenomenal display of guitar mastery.

totally agree.

Absolutely!What's not to love?

ikr it's like they know how good they are How rude

No one sits and listens to a whole album, over and over, to absorb it. Anyone under about 40 or so is just not used to it, like reading and absorbing lengthy books.

@Shaquille Oatmeal Do yourself a favor - jump back a few decades. The modern classics started in the early 60's (mostly pop/short songs) and slowly, but surely, transformed into amazing works of art. Keep listening, don't give up! Recommend: More Yes, ELP, Moody Blues, all Motown and funk...OK, that's enough. When you need more, call me back!! ;-)

I'll be dropping my second album this year and it's going to open with an almost 26 minutes long song :) It's a sequel to an almost 15 minutes long closing track from my debut, if you're interested, check it out - Iako Bei - Pursuits in 1ife :)

I love that he hears "pet sounds" from the beach boys in parts of this. I think that's 1 of the things that makes this song so brilliant... It pulls from multiple genres: jazz, orchestral music, victorian music (the organ mimicking a harpsichord through parts of it), to late 60s pop music to it's contemporaries. It's a masterpiece!

The music is transcendent. I think it would frighten people today.