<a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="765">12:45</a> - No it's not a lot of synth stuff. It's guitars and bass with volume swells and lot's of plate reverb. Also some mellotron for the background pads and an RMI Electra-piano that comes in at <a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="803">13:23</a>. There were no polyphonic synths in 1972. The mini-moog (which was monophonic) had only been out since 1970. It was the first mass marketed commercial synthesizer. The mini-moog was used on this album though. You can hear it at <a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="1045">17:25</a>. There is also church organ (recorded in real church) at <a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="941">15:41</a> and Hammond B3 at <a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="1103">18:23</a> which is considered to be one of the greatest organ solos of all time. The seventies was the best decade for keyboard technology. Nothing was digital. It was all analog and electro mechanical.

“The drummer wasnt really giving me any hints”. Thats Bill Bruford. Absolute legend.

One thing about this song is you can listen to it over and over and not get sick of it. That's Progressive or Classical Based Rock.

Also the absolutely LEGENDARY Chris Squire on bass.

Close to the Edge by Yes was in 1972 Supper's Ready by Genesis was in 1972 Thick as a Brick by Jethro Tull was in 1972 So far all three songs you reacted to for Prog week was from the same year.

Close to the Edge is an absolute classic. The best of the 70s prog rock epics

I was 18 when this LP came out. At that moment it became my favorite album in my collection, having traveled many of the lyric and musical journeys in these 48 years. It is still my favorite. Watching a younger person hearing and appreciating this, makes me choke up a bit.

Over the past several months I have had quite a pleasant journey wandering around KZfaq, watching and listening to the multitude of reactions being offered by younger listeners. I can't tell you how much good it has done my heart to know that "Yes" and especially this particular masterpiece is being discovered, critiqued, and most importantly, being fully appreciated for the musically creative force it represents by a new, wide-eyed audience. I just felt the need to write a note of thanks. You, along with all of the other "reactors" have put such a huge smile on this old man's face. PS (a suggestion): Please look into the band "Gentle Giant" for more adventures in layered time signature and textured "sound-scaping." I am certain you will be pleased!

Loved YES! Chris Squire was my favorite bassist of all time! Still missing him. RIP Chris.

One of the most exciting moments in live music was seeing Yes (with the classic lineup) playing this song. I was stunned. Amazing!

The emotion this music evokes is what brought true love from fans. It’s derived from melody. Melody actually dictates the pulse. And everything else. Yes and Genesis fans from this era loved this music by how it moved them. That is the gold standard.

Ladies and gentlemen Chris Squire and Yes the greatest show on earth. This symphonic masterpiece will be listened to for centuries. Saw Chris Squire and Yes 36 times.

To me, Yes is the greatest prog band because they 1) were very early in on the style, helping to define it, 2) were one of the most innovative and exploratory bands, and, up until a certain point did everything to service the music. They were never into things like notes per minute, key changes per minute, etc. They do do them, but not just for their own sake. They didn't pad songs just to make them long, but went as far as the inspiration took them (paraphrase from Rick Wakeman about CttE and Awaken). All songs sounded like Yes, but the songs didn't sound the same. And they understood moods, light, dark, up, down, tempos fast and slow. Plus loud and soft. Today's prog, especially metal, doesn't have that kind of variety and for many it is about speed and complexity for their own sake.

The song Awaken is only mentioned here four times but in my view the best.

Gates of delirium is one of their best.

As I understand it the production of this album was actually spinal tap levels of insane. They set up like a live show in a soundstage and recorded the track in 30 sec.-1min long pieces. Then, they pieced it together in the studio later with their live sound guy and studio producer Eddie Offord. Sounds pretty trivial today with our modern DAWs, but remember this was all done on tape and analog equipment. That fast 16th note part in the beginning is synthesizer. It's playing the same ascending kinda stacked line the guitar is doing right before the 2nd vocal stab, just in double time. The whole section is polyrhythm central, everyone is playing a different time signatures! Also, the beginning of this track is a rare example of the use of Locrian mode, and probably the longest most involved use of it in rock music period.

'Awaken' is the best Yes composition ever.

Something interesting about this track is that they started recording the beginning before they had finished writing the song. They would write maybe a thirty second section or a minute section and they would paste it on to what they had already recorded. It was literally written and recorded linearly as they went along over days or weeks. They had no idea what it was going to sound like until it was finished. It sounds so thought out and constructed. Like it had been composed before hand. But there was no master plan. They were actually winging it as they went along. Imagine that.

The Revealing Science of God is another great piece of theirs as well that also is an epic

The keyboards are by Rick Wakeman, demi-god of the Keys.

Back in the early 70's when this was new, I had friends working in stereo shops who used this album to test new systems and speakers for quality and sonic range!

It’s crazy how you spoke right through my favorite part. Like it didn’t move you at all. I’ve seriously had very great experiences at that part of “I get up” and the first time that crescendo happened I got some serious chills. Anyway good analysis.

Found you and subscribed because of this vid. Its fun to see someone hear this for the first time. I’m looking forward to watching more of your videos and making a few suggestions once I have a better idea of what you’ve enjoyed.

Hey man, no worries about the release schedule. Life happens, don't burn yourself out!

I was up there twice! One for my Patreon and one for my KZfaq lol. This was in my possible Patreon picks list I've been throwing around in my head so you can imagine how psyched I was for this video. Man I hope one day (doesn't need to be anytime soon as there's so much great music out there that needs checking out and discovering) we revisit Yes, these other classic prog bands we're checking out, and check out the many other killer classic prog bands like Gentle Giant, VDGG, Zappa, Camel, etc. So many absolutely amazing songs and bands.

I was 16 when I saw this LIVE 1972 and became a fanatic instantly! Remember this is beyond Rock and was still a BRAND NEW music experience at the time. It's post 60's psychedelic/jazz, British, folk/Westcoast FUSION. METAL just took Prog but contaminates Prog's unique sophistication. YES IS THE QUINTESSENTIAL PROGband . YOUR HEAD IS ABOUT TO EXPLODE & you're struggling. But you FELT a lot of why this deeply ATMOSPHERIC work of art is Progs Holy Grail . THIS MUSIC IS MAGIC & FULLY COMPOSED The Tension is ALWAYS juxtaposed in SO MANY ways but is derived from A VERY SPONTANEOUS CREATIVE FLOW! EACH BAND MEMBER HERE in this lineup were the best of their kind on their instrument!!!! This band is interweaving texturally, instrumentally, theatrically, dynamically tonally and more. As an Artist & "wish to be" a musician with a great ear, it's nice to here the clinical analysis. YES takes several listens to truly appreciate the pure genius magic of their compositions during the 70's and to ride it. PLEASE ....YOU MUST.... Here YES's GATES OF DELIRIUM & REVEALING SCIENCE OF GOD.....then Put GENTLE GIANT (Cogs n Cogs) on your major Progband list. MORE PROG MORE PROG!

Yes has sooo many bangers: Roundabout, Heart of the sunrise, I've seen all good people, starship trooper, Siberian Khatru, Machine Messiah, Tempus Fugit, and the list goes on. ps. funny enough all the songs you listened to came out in the same year, 1972.

Yesband - The Gates Of Delirium (live from the YesShows album) Yesband - Sound Chaser

Thank you for covering Yes!! I first saw Yes live in 1973 on the Close to the Edge tour, and most recently Anderson, Wakeman and Rabin of Yes in 2016 at the Austin City Limits Theater (so yes, they're still playing as is the Steve Howe faction of Yes). Jon Anderson is in his 70s now, and still hits the high notes perfectly!! Unbelievable show!!! If you are looking for recommendations, from the 70s I would recommend "Roundabout" and "Heart of the Sunrise". From the 80s I recommend "Owner of the Lonely Heart", "Rhythm of Love", "Hold On", "Leave It", "State of Play", "Shock to the System". I could recommend tons more.. And RIP to the phenomenal Chris Squire on bass 🙏

Check out Yes “Gates of Delirium “ off the Relayer album.

That was a very interesting review. I appreciate when knowledgeable people share their opinions. Thanks for doing it! Happy New Year!

I have been waiting for this one!!!

If you wanna check out a DIFFERENT sort of prog band, look up Spock's Beard "The Light". Beautiful album and song!

Yes Band - The next track, And You And I is a very nice song with lots of great melody, but if you want a masterpiece then Gates of Delirium will blow your socks off. It is their 1812 Overture, describing the chaos of battle instrumentally.

Another brilliant Yes album to react on would be RELAYER.

Yes Band: Perpetual Change

It’s great listening to your “first time” reaction. I forget how differently elements can be interpreted, e.g. your feeling of subtle tension to me feels relaxed/serene (after listening for 30 years). I don’t remember how I felt listening for the first time.

As much as I love Steven Wilson, I can't say I'm a huge fan of the mix he did for this album. A lot of the odd section transitions, mistakes, and even splices in the tape are more obvious, whereas those were buried in what I feel was a more cohesive mix in the Eddie Offord version. Specifically, the transition out of the church organ/moog run, and what should be the explosion of sound coming out of Wakeman's Hammond solo, fall kind of flat with the more even volume balance of Wilson's mix, whereas Offord was riding the tape machine mix into the red in some parts of the original. Don't get me wrong, Steven Wilson is a hell of a mix engineer, but Offord's role in really gluing the disparate pieces of this song together led to what I feel is a stronger whole, whereas the clarity of the Wilson mix is good for picking out individual instruments, but it loses the tour-de-force feel of the original.

Welcome to Yes. As a bassist, I friggin love them. Chris Squire was way ahead of his time in a lot of ways when it comes to his playing. I was introduced to "Yes" via the song "Roundabout" as I'm sure many were. And while that's a really "played out" song, MAN, does it have a FAT bass line. That album has an interesting idea behind it as each member has a "Solo song" they put together themselves. Neat stuff. But I'm glad you listened to this one. Solid pick!

My third Yes album, after the Yes Album and Fragile. I have a really vivid memory of returning home on the bus after buying Close To The Edge in a record shop [ask your dad, kids!] in Slough. I was sat at the back doing my best to fathom the lyrics on the inner sleeve. It was my favourite Yes album until Tales From Topographic Oceans came out. The wonderful harmonies, the awesome guitar, the fantastic bass, the incredible keyboards and the enigmatic lyrics, every element of the song is simply sublime. No matter how often I listen to it I hear something fresh and for the first time. It’s one of those tracks I know note for note.

Glad you appreciate Rick's soloing. He was doing sessions in London while still a student at the Royal College. He was known as "one take Wakeman" and he was often used because he didn't sound like any of the other more conventional keyboard players. You can hear him on early Bowie albums and even guests with Elton John.

I've seen at least a dozen different 'first listen' videos on this composition. It's telling that Yes seems to finally be coming into their own as one of the seminal bands of the early seventies. There is nothing else out there like Close to the Edge, or like most of Yes' catalogue. If you're discovering it for the first time, enjoy.

I've been listening this song for nearly 50 years. It's a master piece. Yes are among the musicians who produced the best music in history.

Thanks, Bryan, I got a lot from your comments. I'm not a musician myself, so it's very interesting to hear a composer/musician articulate what we "felt" (but were perhaps unable to articulate or explain) as teenagers in the '70s when listening to the early-'70s progressive rock music.

Some more YES-BAND to check out would be -Heart Of The Sunrise -South Side Of The Sky -Astral Traveller -Gates Of Delirium -Starship Trooper -Machine Messiah

The amazing thing is they are just as good live! It's very complex and yet so smooth!

Yessssssssssssssssssssssssss! I think you have almost covered all of my favourite bands now! :-) Highly recommend checking out the Yessongs version of this song as well.

I love your process as you go through the song. You're the only one on KZfaq I've seen break down the structure to this extent. It's taken me until current year to figure out my own interpretation of the meter. I think most of the song (aside from I get up/I get down) is actually kept in strict 12/8 with different pulses to move the meter intentionally. The drums are providing the "feel" first. while the time kept is immaculate it's not there to keep time *for* you. You're along for the ride.

_Heart of the Sunrise_ has always been one of my fave Yes tracks.

All band members are rock legends. Awesome stuff.

This track and this whole album is amazing. Yes is one of the classic prog bands that managed the complexity and accessibility mix the best imo. Their songs are impressive but still have hooks and don't lose emotion in favour of techincal prowess. Great reaction and commentary as always!

Day one fan. Fave prog band. Time sigs galore, harmony, cryptic lyrics, chaos, order - OMmmmmmmm... One day back in '74, we had a big YES 🍄 tea party. It was my first time partaking of the holy 🍄. I melted away in the headphones that day. Never been the same since... Thnx for diggin deep in the crates for this particular remastered version of this masterpiece. Sounds great! Btw, Roger Dean, the prolific album cover artist who created their logo & many album covers for them, has an illustrated book containing all of his album cover art from the prog rock era. Worth peepin. 👌

This was composed as a collaboration with engineer Eddy Offord in the studio. They later performed this almost note for note on stage! They are legends.

Yes!! This is the album that made me truly appreciate Yes. My first ever listen of it was on an old vinyl I found in a used bookstore a few years ago and I was absolutely blown away. If you want to see Yes at their absolute peak of "how prog can we get", check out Tales From Topographic Oceans (imo). I don't love that album like I do some others but it's definitely a lot to take in.

When you said the future of Yes is Between the Buried and Me I got chills! Those are like my two fav bands and o think you’re the only reaction channel that’s done both, much less draw a parallel between the two!! Some other great yes songs are Yours is no Disgrace, Roundabout, Heart of the Sunrise, South Side of the Sky, Siberian Khatru!!

I still remember where I was when I listened (borrowed) my brothers album and heard close to the edge (my first yes song. I was maybe 12). I loved in hindsight so much music but wow nothing hit me like this song. Problem was I waited a month or so to turn the album over to one of my 3 favorite songs in my life (and you and I ) I still go back and I still move forward. Thank you yes sooo much for these feelings gods speed to CS and AW.

Yes band: Tales from Topographic Oceans

It’s definitely Prog week...the videos are LONG! Haha. Thanks for still doing them even though you’re busy. Do what you gotta do for yourself!

That fast 16th note thing during the guitar solo in the beginning is keyboardist Rick Wakeman playing the bass line, only twice as fast.

This was from a time when musicians had the time and budget to produce lavishly, and listeners had the patience to listen closely and deeply.....

Hopefully you do more classical prog I suggest that you listen to Gentle gaint Camel Mahavishnu orchestra King crimson Elp

Love Yes (band), probably my favorite classic prog rock band. If you want to go on a journey, listen to Awaken on the album Going for the One. It's one of those you can just close your eyes and experience. Another good track is their cover of America originally by Simon & Garfunkel

It has been said - “to Truly Appreciate a Yes song ..you must listen to it at Least 3x! Yes they switch up times- but each member of Yes is a master of their instrument..including Jon and his voice and lyrics to achieve a certain sound. As a composer are u capable of turning off the dissection and JUST LISTEN TO THE SONG? All of its bits make up an experience!!❤️

Close to the Edge - aptly named, edge of reason or madness maybe, the music suggests that at times? Great reaction and analysis Bryan. The emotional landscape of this track is so intricate, at times intense, at times laid back and chill, with shocks and surprises along the way and all delivered by superb musicians. I love their music and it always takes me back to my schooldays in the '70s, ah those English summers of my youth when it was always sunny.......(in my mind anyway!)

Saw them in the late 70s. Gorgeous, complete musical experience. Besides the musicianship, can we talk about the vocals/melody alone? Beautiful.

'what time signature is this?' The songs opening section is in 3/4. After that bombastic section, when Chris starts playing longer notes, they've switched to 6/8. Near the end of this section there's a bar of 9/8 then three bars of 4/4 while they hold out whole notes then into 12/8 for the section where the singing starts. When they come to the lyric 'close to the edge, down by the river', it's a bar of 4/4 a bar of 2/4 then they hold the note over 3 bars of 3/4. There's a coda there where they repeat that 'close to the edge..' section again. At bar 156 which is a pretty syncopated section they move into 6/4. At the end of the section they go back into the 'close to the edge' with again if the bar of 4/4 then a bar of 2/4 then they hold the long note over 3 bars of 3/4, repeat it. So we're up to about bar 185 there. So yeah, there's a buttload of time signature changes in this piece of music. There's a web page out there with it written and performed by strings where you can follow along and read the music and hear the string ensemble play it, it's pretty cool. It really demonstrates how complex this piece is.

With regard to the lack of repetition in the organ solo: Rick Wakeman's background was classical music and he studied composition at the Royal College of Music (in London, UK) before joining a rock band. So if his solos don't follow conventional "rock" patterns, that's possibly why. If you're looking for recommendations of more prog from this era, you could try Wakeman's solo work Journey to the Centre of the Earth, recorded a couple of years after this. But it's a 35-minute piece of music, so that might be a bit much for a reaction :)

I heard this song for the first time last year and its the song that got me into Yes, even though I've been listening to a lot of prog metal and prog rock for over a decade. I just never really dived into the old school stuff and I couldn't believe I went so long without hearing it.

In terms of a time-line, these 3 albums were all released in 1972 in the following order: Jethro Tull - Thick as a Brick Yes - Close to the Edge Genesis - Foxtrot All these bands started in the late 60s, but the pivotal moment was the release of "In the Court of the Crimson King" by King Crimson in 1969, which as to my knowledge, influenced their contemporaries like Yes and Genesis to pursue this "progressive" path. And trying to push another band, Gentle Giant, they had probably the widest array of instrumentation of all the 70s bands, they all were multi-instrumentalists and most were competent singers, and that can be clearly heard in their songs. Another prominent aspect of their music was the use of counterpoint. A point in their favor for reaction value is that their songs are fairly short, some recommendations would be: On Reflection, Knots, In A Glass House, Experience, Playing the Game

This song could single highhandedly instigate world peace. Love one another.

I saw this production live in 1971(or 72), in Lincoln Nebraska. This composition was so ahead of R&R of its time. I was hooked 2 years earlier from first LP'S. This group pioneered long-play music.

The Hammond organ was a polyphonic keyboard capable of sustaining tones and fast passagework. Polyphonic synths weren't yet available. The Hammond could also be played through a Leslie speaker for that lovely big swirly sound, and it could be overdriven for some thick distortion effects. Some Hammonds also had "percussion stops," which would add higher harmonics with a swift decay to the foundation so the sound would cut through a full band (the Hammond solo on this track has the percussion stop enabled, which helps the solo to be heard more easily).

<a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="387">6:27</a> i said almost the same thing 1st time i heard it... "i needed to hear this theme. this melody needs to exist!" Hearing the whole record for the 1st time was just too mindblowing... one of my FAVs The thin line between CREATIVITY and VIRTUOSE(sis)

Jon Anderson, THE VOICE of prog rock.

You mentioned the keyboard sound showing up in all 3 songs. That’s largely down to Robert Moog (rhymes with rogue). He was friends with many of the keyboard wizards of early prog, particularly Rick Wakeman (playing on this track) and Keith Emerson of Emerson, Lake, and Palmer. Yes And ELP were two of the most commercially successful prog acts at the time, so lots of others wanted those sounds. And though it sounds dated now, no one had ever heard anything like it. en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Moog

The beginning of this song creates so much intentional tension then flows like the masterpiece it is.

Steve Howe is one of those rare guitarists whose sound is almost always "clean", instead of using heavy distortion and fuzzes.

What about some Frank Zappa? The album Apostrophe would be a good start, or maybe Inca Roads.

Another really fantastic Yes song that was from their more "modern" range of songs is the song "Homeworld" from "The Ladder," which was both a more accessible song, yet it also has throwbacks to their earlier, more "proggy" sounds. It also features a second guitarist, Billy Sherwood, who has taken over for Chris Squire since his death (at Chris's request.) There's also a video of the song on KZfaq.

I bought this in '73 when it was first released, I was 16, back then we didn't talk about transitions, key changes, time signatures etc, we just enjoyed the music.

From what I've been told, the polyrhythmic sound often comes from Bill Bruford changing the emphasis on the drums. Actually, now that I think about, it was some apparent basic time signature changes are done by the drums. As you can tell, I am pretty musically mute, which is frustrating. But I can click (and even, as in the olden days, press) play.

Hammond organ and mellotron are the most unifying prog keyboards. Moog synthesizer deserves a mention too.

Here I am trying, again, to play the bass line at the end of Tubular Bells and wonder why I've never seen a reaction to it. Imagine a teenager with a bit of talent, access to a studio and a range of instruments. Sold squillions of copies and the opening was lifted for The Exorcist. Would love a reaction to Tubular Bells (side one) PS Enjoying all your reactions

Awaken-studio version and Gates Of Delirium -from YESSHOWS live album are the two for me, my joint all time fav tracks----maybe On The Silent Wings Of Freedom or South Side Of The Sky great slightly shorter songs..

My first concert was Yes in 1972. Hard to believe it's been nearly a half century

That low stuff that you mentioned in the slow part was probably Chris Squire on the bass with effects.

I heard Bill Bruford (the drummer here) make a comment about how in YES they would argue over an F# 13 or G flat 12 (sorry if I got that wrong) and in King Crimson you were just supposed to know ( Fripp) Thanks for posting 🍻

I like your comment about instrumentation being a key giveaway for the genre during this era of progressive rock. I would say the classic or defining keyboard set up in most bands from the genre during this era was Hammond (or some other similar) organ, mellotron, and some form of lead synthesizer such as a minimoog. While there were lots of other keyboards used in prog bands at the time, this constitutes sort of the core of the most classic prog keyboard sound.

Great reaction, loved the interpretation and break down of the structure. You HAVE to react to Gates of Delirium and Awaken. Gates is an interpretation of Tolstoy's War and Peace. Both are epic.

You talk about the back and forth of the tension and calm swells and if it was paralleling the lyrics. Take the title "Close to the Edge" and the repeated lyric "I get up, I get down", to me it was always a analogy to life... ups and downs. Yes is still making music and touring. Though not in their prime, they are tight, and still well beyond the prowess of most current bands. Some songs/albums to check out... Albums... The rest of Close to the Edge Relayer Tales from Topographic Oceans Fragile The Yes Album Songs... Awaken To be Over Sound Chaser Yours is no Disgrace Starship Trooper... a must listen And so many others I have listened to them since the early 70s. Changed my life, saved my life. Seen them 10 times. A band different from all

The other 2 tracks on the album, "And You and I" and "Siberian Khatru" are 'must listens' too! Amazing songs! This album is frequently ranked as the best prog album of all-time! Yes themselves are THE prog group. Unlike some other 70s prog, most of their material has held up really well. :)

For King Crimson, do either Larks' Tongues In Aspic Part I, Fracture or Red

Damn, dude, I learned a ton listening to your analysis.

In the modern prog rock era, for me, the Scandinavian bands stand out most, in particular for their typically woodsy, organic and often dark sound. I would recommend checking out the following for modern Scandinavian prog: 1. Anglagard - Sorgmantel 2. Wobbler - The River

Wow the drums are so much more audible in this remaster. I need to look into the SW remastered stuff. It's just that most of these albums, I've already bought so many times in different formats I've been reluctant to buy them yet again.

The gates of delirium and Awaken, two masterpieces.Pure gold,awesome music.

"The Gates of Delirium" by YES is my favorite but this is an extremely close second.

Thank you for diving into one of my all-time favorite albums by one of my favorite bands. I appreciate the technical knowledge you bring to the reaction, more than just a "wow" and "hey, that's cool." Here are some more songs you should consider next time you dive into Yes (or Yesband): Starship Trooper, Yours is no Disgrace, Perpetual Change, Siberian Khatru, Southside of the Sky, Heart of the Sunrise, The Revealing Science of God, Ritual, Gates of Delirium, Going for the One, Awaken. That will get you started. And for any song recorded before 1973, try the live version from the Yessongs album. The versions are not radically different, but they are about 10% better. A little more energy, more punch, and more Rick Wakeman.

I find your channel very fascinating! I will diligently view your other selections. This is great because I’m the only one I know who likes prog. Somehow, I feel less lonley! Lol! Greetings from Illinois!

The face at <a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="1063">17:43</a> when they transition to the final section is still the face I make after listening to this song thousands of times. Easily my favorite transition in any song ever, like being suddenly shot out of a cannon lol.