The line up for the album was Chris Squire (bass, vocals), Rick Wakeman (mellotron, moog, Hammond organ,), Steve Howe (electric, acoustic guitars), Bill Bruford (drums and percussion) and Jon Anderson (vocals).
According to Jon Anderson, Close To The Edge lyrics is inspired by Hermann Hesse's book Siddhartha which tracks the awakening of Hesse's character "close to the edge" of a river and, symbolically, of the serial lifetimes of his soul,("I get up I get down" is apparently death and rebirth ) where he experiences a spiritual awakening.
The album was well received commercially it peaked to number three on the Billboard charts There have been many remastered and extended versions for this album apparently the Rhino remaster is good sounding i was listening to a hybrd dvd version 5.0 surround sound which delivered nicely.
Also check out the album inlay art by the legendary Rodger Dean it is beautiful indeed and suits the theme of the album perfectly, underneath that you will find my song by song synopsis i hope you enjoy this wonderful album
Tracklist Duration
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1 "Close To The Edge" - This track weighs in at over 18 minutes an absolute pleasure to behold , it starts with a fade in of ambience with running water and birds chirping , after the birds and water wakeman blends his keyboard addition to the intro then the guitars kick in and a cosmic alignment music wise takes place, a Squire ,Wakeman and Howe free for all comes into existence which makes you cringe on first listen its out of synch its like each member has been told to out do each other and then when this all over the place jam seems to be going for about 4 minutes they just all of a sudden decide to blend together to start the next phase of this epic masterpiece. There are lots of different tempos to this piece To me Wakeman's playing is the standout i do love his organ solo i think Bach would of been very impressed , but hell i am impressed with all of them , usually someone always drowns out someone in a recording with this album and especially this song all get to shine and believe me you need more than five listens to absorb this , its very complex for its time the ending on the track comes quickly and you know the ride is over when the sound of water and birds fade from existence like you are entering your body again after astral traveling to a Brazillian rainforest waterfall .Close To The Edge was later revamped into four pieces so it was more radio friendly but i think it actually would take the icing off the cake only hearing parts of it compared to the whole. 2 "And You And I" - A very beautiful ten minute song that starts out with like a rough--even experimental--rehearsal sounding with a nice guitar and autoharp intro then it kicks in with a catchy guitar riff that is repeated for most of the song. I really enjoyed this track Anderson did a fine job up front although it was hard to conjure up an emotion, i didn't get a feeling at all its not a break up song nor a dancing song and if it was a love song i didn't catch the transfer of emotion into the song its the polar opposite from the first track its structured and cohesive but to me doesn't have the divine majesty of the opener. It's separated into 4 parts: Cord of Life, Eclipse, The Preacher The Teacher, and Apocalypse.( i am unsure for the reason ). One hell of a track and it has the incredibly hard job of being the next inline after progressive rocks most loved song and yet it still delivers and stands tall but will always fall short of the opener | ||||||||||||||||||
| 3 " Siberian Khatru" - This is a great funky track which has has great drumming and guitar, the bass guitar gets a really good workout. It's just under 9 minutes but it certainly does not feel like it , its very upbeat and energetic. You hear Chris Squire's basslines, Steve Howe's scaling guitar work, Rick Wakeman's keyboards and Jon Anderson's upbeat vocals. Bill Bruford (drums) has a subtle solo somewhere near the end of this track. It also features a nice musical duel between Howe on sitar and Wakeman on harpsichord. The ending is dominated by a stop start vocals then comes another complex instrumental ending. I can hear touches of The Doors and Rivieras influences maybe because they are bands with great keyboard sounds also , but to think these guys probably listened to the Beatles and the Stones just puts me in more awe Conclusion : I don't think i have heard a recording where the whole imput of the band is clearly heard they all play tight and although Anderson's vocals ain't exceptional it does add beautifully like a fifth instrument to the free for all expression that is unleashed in this recording. For me Close To The Edge perhaps should of been the last of the three songs , its epic and ends in ambience which makes a great album finalizer . The other two songs are great pieces by themselves but its a tough act to follow after the opener, to say that they are at the same level is a hard one i guess they are just different . This album does need a few listens to grasp it but you will come out of it a richer person, its beautiful on so many levels the cohesion between band members is sublime and is just about perfect even with the over the top complexity , actually this album commanded me to sit and listen instead of dance and sing ( "i get up i get down "excluded ) which not many albums do It is a must for any person that does not have it yet , the first song is worth the album buy just for itself, it took me to three places sonically a rainforest a dripping subterrainian chamber and a gothic cathedral . Overall a great listening experience this is what every group aspire to do leave their mark sonically. With Close To The Edge five individuals confirmed their music immortality, a utmost masterpiece 8.8 / 10 Highly Recommended |
