Progressive rock at it's finest! All fantastic musicians.

Steve Howe is on another level of top tier guitar mastery. but it's all the cute little melodies he plays that makes it oh so special.

Everything is perfect, all instruments played masterfully, fantastic composition.

One of the most well constructed rock songs ever, musically speaking, in my book

YES!🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥❤️

Bill Bruford's snare drum, Steve Howe's guitar and Chris Squire's bass unleash themselves in harmony. Tony Kaye's raucous Hammond organ joins in, then gives way to a Moog synth break. Surprisingly, 'Yours is No Disgrace' takes the band to a new musical peak without a word being sung. When Jon Anderson and the chorus of Chris Squire and Steve Howe begin the first verse, you can't help but think it's close to perfection, allowing each voice and instrument to be separate and distinctive without sounding off. Chris Squire's bass sound is unlike anything else in rock, and allows the song to gallop along with Bill Bruford's unique drumming. The solo deserves a special mention, Steve Howe evoking elements of jazz and psychedelia. His use of volume pedal and distortion adds an extra element to the solo, a Hammond/Moog powered final verse is added and, before you know it, nearly 10 minutes have passed. Yours is No Disgrace' is a classic! Thanks Zennofobic for that request and thank you for that reaction!!!!

You were clearly enjoying Steve Howe's amazingly fluid guitar work... every instrument is fantastic on this

Excellent comments made. It’s important that you’re having fun hearing these songs for the first time, being a younger listener.

This was Steve Howe's debut in the band, and they especially showcase his guitar here.

my favorite YES song, Steve Howe's guitar playing is simply mesmerizing. Sweet!!!

hah! great reaction to the end... I feel the same

Their first album, Yes, was released in 1969, followed by Time And A Word in 1970. This album was in 1971. Chris Squire was a big influence on Geddy Lee. Chris had passed before Yes were inducted into the R&R HOF and they asked Geddy to play bass when they performed Roundabout.

Cool😎

If you hear this as from the future, then Close To The Edge will bring you to a whole other future, you never could believe existed. And much much more.

Heart of the Sunrise!

Listen to the live version on YesSongs from 1973… they mellowed over the years but in 73 they were young and very aggressive . They blow the roof off with the live version. In fact, they blow the roof off every song on YesSongs. Chris Squires bass solo still makes my jaw drop with what he does with his rickenbacker.

Best band ever .

Woot! Your hitting the Classic Songs YES became known for! Progressive Rock-time changes, phenomenal expressions from each band member! YES lead the way for much music that followed them! Close to the Edge, Relayer and Tales of Topographic Oceans are there Most Progressive projects…so these songs you hear first-prepare you to appreciate what those 3 albums have to offer! Have you listened to: I’ve seen All Good People Wondrous Stories And You and I AWAKEN is one of FAVORITES on Going For the One!!❤❤ Looking forward to you hearing these ! You’ll be glad you did!!!

Great reaction. You were just the same as I was when I first heard this tune. They do make you put on a big smile upon your face

Reasons why I love YES during this period: 1) Chris Squire's dominating Industrial-Melodic bass line inspirations. Over their first 5 albums, Chris absolutely dominated The YES Sound. The 3rd, 4th, & 5th of those albums were hands down the greatest albums YES ever recorded. His contributions received the emphasis in the mix during that period that is normally accorded to the lead guitarist in typical rock bands. And he played that role outstandingly, often contributing a lot of melody to the song while holding down the bottom end groove. Thanks to Chris, YES' songs during this period (& even later) could get downright funky at times. Like you said, the way he played that bass, it grabs you by the gut & pulls you along throughout the song while sound engineer Eddy Offord would, at the mixing board, introduce each of the other musicians contributions _in their time._ The result was marvelous, mostly because: 2) YES's masterpieces were incredibly _dense,_ absolutely packed with complexity. Quite often Squire would present a melodic groove during which the lead guitarist & keyboard were pumping out another melody that was somehow complimentary. Upon repeated listenings, you'll hear them both being played simultaneously & it's quite wondrous. Masters of Complexity, their studio albums offered such a presentation of sound that no live performance can ever imitate (as pleasing as they may be to see). Remember the panning effects from one channel to the other you heard in this song? You never get that from the live recordings. Also, the live recordings' quality is often poor, & Chris' bass lines are de-emphasized. Further, their vocal harmonies never stand out as they do in the studio versions. 3) YES loved to SING! On top of all their outstanding musicianship, they differed from all the other Progressive Rock groups in their absolute love for singing as a band. Starts with lead singer Jon Anderson's raspy tenor, the most _fragile sounding voice_ among all lead vocalists in the rock genre. What other bands lacked was a back up singer like Chris Squire, who had sung in some fancy church choir as an adolescent, whose high-range falsetto perfectly matched Jon's unique voice. While they preferred 3 part harmonies that included the lead guitarist, it was always Jon & Chris' voices you'd usually hear matched together

This was my first YES song that I ever heard 1973 been a fan since.

YES and Jethro Tull actually toured together at one point...

Awesome and honest reaction. Thanks mate! You got it.. they let every musician have influence. SO.. if you loved this.. you'll flip over Close to the Edge, as mentioned by your viewers :) Cheers.

I think they are called yes because they never said no to any of the band members... lol!

And your comparison to The Who in THAT part of the song is spot on. And now that you mention it... the Bassist in both bands...Chris Squire and John Entwistle have very similar approaches to their BASS SOUND.. so...I agree with you.

Rory love- i don’t believe you’ve done YES’ CLOSE TO THE EDGE. The entire album of three cuts is 🔥🔥🔥!!!. The title song is almost 19 minutes. The other 2 are like 10 and 8ish. You need this in your life as we all learned who became YES fans. I really appreciate your style.

Listen to all the cool sounds!! Heavy bass 🎸🔥 MUSIC IS MY LIFE!!

You should check out these next... Long Distance Runaround/the Fish And you and I Perpetual Change A Venture Siberian Khatru Then culminating in...Close to the Edge Then if you really want more the double album Tales from Topgraphic Oceans (only 4 songs on the double album)

Lots of creativity then. Jon uses his voice like an instrumant

You present some interesting ideas here: Jethro Tull as being medieval and Yes as being Space Age. Songwriting being best in the 60's, musicianship in the 70's. If one considers pop/rock to be in its infancy in the 50's, adolescence in the 60's, early adulthood in the 70's etc. It probably holds true. Instrumentalists in the 70's were not only looking to develop on the rock that came before them but also looked toward other influences: (jazz, classical, etc) so they were more mature.

Love your reaction. YES are one of the greatest bands ever assembled. We seem to share a lot of the same interests. Noticed you like Zappa and also saw you react to Jesse Lee Peterson. Good taste is a breath of fresh air in this strange age. Kudos from a new subscriber.

In 77 I saw Jethro Tull, then Super Tramp and then YES!! I was high for a week…. Seattle rocked back in the day!!! You will love Yes Rory and I love your reactions… you know what you r talking about. Thank you! Made my day!!!❤

👍

I love your reactions to this band. Keep going! You're going to be amazed at what they produced. Pick virtually anything from early 70's to mid 80's. But I would recommend the "Close to the Edge" album (3 songs in order, please) to anyone who loves music. Thanks.

Close to the Edge, a wonderful album.GIve it a spin sometime.✌️

Excellent reaction!! YES!❤ As many others have urged you, Close to the Edge album is gonna make you super happy! (Studio version...)

Before Close to the Edge, I would suggest Roundabout and South Side of the Sky from Fragile if you haven't done so already.

They were a very good band I liked all their music Oh and I found a good live Zappa concert you might want to react too ( 10/31/81 Live at the Palladium in N.Y.)

Prog rock at it's very best. Love this song.

your head is going to explode with close to the edge

This song and a few of the others on this album, are best live because they really extend the jams. Close To The Edge will blow your mind out the back of your head, but in a good way.

I had a friend, now long dead, who said he didn’t like the later Yes stuff because Chris’ dirty bass had been tamed. I disagreed but the bass is so strong on this album, so I saw his point. You must listen to his solo album Fish Out Of Water sometime - it is a masterclass in bass playing.

You'd love the entire album,Rory. Thanks for this one,bro--keep going! T PS: if you dig the classic prog vibes, try reacting to something more updated by the Neal Morse Band. Your jaw will drop! :-) T

Before you hit up Close to the Edge, I recommend listening to the other great songs on this album, Starship Trooper, Perpetual Change and I Have Seen All Good People. Get a feel for how versatile YES is and then you will really appreciate Close to the Edge and the other epic 15 plus minute compositions they created. Another great reaction, really like how you laugh in amazement.

In my opinion, many of the songs from YES's early studio albums only received their final polish (less abstract, but more fluid and lively (with modest sound quality)) on the Close To The Edge Tour (1972/73 -> Yessongs album). The live version from the Union tour (1991, 8 musicians) is also quite interesting because of the guitar solos. If you are interested, here are the links: 1972: kzfaq.info/get/bejne/abOYqc6nmLa0Yps.html 1991: kzfaq.info/get/bejne/aJ15o9KHmZnHlXU.html

Thank you for reaction sir! Yes are amazing. Favorite band after Zep. These gentlemen are consummate magicians. No matter the lineup.

Starship Trooper-Yours is no Disgrace-Perpetual Change are the classics on this album

Are you interested in an Italian group that took influences from YES... ELP... and Zappa? There is a group called P.F.M. and there is a song called "Is my Face on Straight?" that you should probably listen to.

Terrific reaction, Rory! Love this song so much. I've heard it's about Vegas and corruption and gambling. ("Caesar's Palace, etc") but i always have visions of nuclear war and its unthinkable aftermath when i hear it (might say more about me than the tune, lol) But: "Battleships.." "Silly human race" "If the summer turns to winter..." "crawling out of dirty holes, mutilated...their morals disappeared..." etc. To THAT I must say "NO!" ;)

Give a listen to Gentle Giant. They're more renaissance than Jethro Tull even.

Check this song out LIVE, YES Songs concert 1972

Their first albums Yes and Time and a Word sound was more “60’s”..almost some Beatnik vibes with the Beatles, Beach Boys (and others) influences in their songs! Young Yes…Peter Banks was replaced by Steve Howe after these albums and Yes took off..add Rick Wakeman to replace Tony Kaye…and Progressive Rocks most influential band put out amazing albums….

Maybe you should think of it not that you can hear The Who is YES songs but you hear YES in The Who songs. You think that because you heard The Who before you ever heard YES? YES is the greatest band there ever was or ever will be. In my ever so YES loving opinion.🤩

The first syllable of the first word sung on this album is 'Yes" This is where the album where they were clearly establishing their Prog credentials. They just keep getting better from here on until they are forced to respond to a changing music scene in the late 70's.

Ok I subscribed again. You lost me for a bit. This got me back ❤ Close to the Edge is the life-changer

Really enjoy you reacting to YES. My #1 band and music for about 50 years now. Close to the Edge, Gates of Delirium, and Awaken will absolutely astonish you. I consider Close to the Edge to be the best song...ever, and the Close to the Edge album the best album...ever. Full stop.

Pretty cool eh! Just think you only got 22 more albums to go. Can't wait to hear your yay's to Close To The Edge. 🙏🍁

Awesome track! Memories of the long ride to highschool YES!! Have you reacted to the Yes song Roundabout? It took us an whole hour to get to school. Have you heard of the band Ten Years After? Or Moody Blues? Anyways, Awesome reaction Rory and Thank You Zennofobic for blast to the past awesome request!! 😊🩷🤘✌️

This is the first song from the golden era of Yes that was sparked by the addition of Steve Howe on guitar...This tour de force of guitar came in at an unheard of 9 minutes (albeit, dwarfed by later Yes compositions) and the dense production and arrangement will be the hallmark of this golden era which includes the holy trinity of The Yes Album, Fragile, and Close To The Edge... Rory, I believe you are probably ready for the greatest song in all of progessive rock history... Close To The Edge... and while you're there, you should probably do the whole album, at some point... While not as prolific as the progressive king, Zappa, Yes provides some of the most compelling progressive music of the last century...

I'm not a HUGE fan of Yes... although they are one of the first bands I saw live. And I DO admit that they are great musicians... having said all that...THIS is one of their best songs.

You are not wrong about The Who being an influence on Anderson and Squire, but Bill Bruford ( drummer) hated Keith Moon's playing!! But well....That's Bill...

Steve Howe was voted best rock guitarist for 5 years straight by his peers, not by the public. Chris Squire is only equalled maybe by John Entwhistle of the Who on bass, universally acknowledged. Rick Wakeman on keys was classically trained, Bill Brufford an extraordinary drummer and of course Jon Anderson the mastermind whos inspiration and voice created most of the songs, many with Steve Howe. The word "talented" hardly applies to this level of art.

Sixties music was much more simple. Short catchy songs. Progressive rock from the 70's is complex with many long songs. Do "Roundabout", "Awaken " and a few more before "Close to the Edge".

Great to see younger UK folks appreciating what their country contributed to the world back then. Especially late 60's to mid 70's. The UK gave so much to rest of the world. The best Prog Rock bands on Earth. Yes, Genesis, Pink Floyd, Supertramp, and just alot of creative rock, Led Zeppelin, Deep Purple, Uriah Heep, Queen, David Bowie, on and on. But Yes is my favourite band of them all.

How stoned are you ?

Pause less, listen more.

Rush and most prog bands try to emulate Yes who was one of the first. Yes loved the Beatles -Yardbirds and Hendirix as well as King Crimson

Cool😎