Close to the Edge

Close to the Edge
Studio album by Yes
Released	8 September 1972 (1972-09-08)[1]
Recorded	April–June 1972[2][3]
Studio	Advision, London
Genre	Progressive rock[4]
Length	37:51
Label	Atlantic
Producer	Yes Eddie Offord
Yes chronology
Fragile (1971) Close to the Edge (1972) Yessongs (1973)
Singles from Close to the Edge
"And You and I (Part I) / (Part II)" Released: October 1972 (US)
Alternative cover
Cover of the 2018 Steven Wilson remix

Close to the Edge is the fifth studio album by English progressive rock band Yes, released on 8 September 1972 by Atlantic Records. It is their last album of the 1970s to feature original drummer Bill Bruford, who found the album particularly laborious to make and felt unable to contribute better ideas, which influenced his decision to join King Crimson once recording had finished.

After scoring a critical and commercial hit with Fragile and touring the album, Yes regrouped with engineer Eddy Offord to record a follow-up. The album's centrepiece is the 18-minute title track, with lyrics inspired by the Herman Hesse novel Siddhartha. Side two contains two non-conceptual tracks, the folk-inspired "And You and I" and the comparatively straightforward rocker "Siberian Khatru". The album's cover, designed by Roger Dean, marked the debut of the band's "bubble" logo.

Close to the Edge became the band's greatest commercial success at the time of release, reaching No. 4 in the UK and No. 3 in the US, where it sold over one million copies. The album's 1972-1973 tour comprised over 90 dates worldwide and marked the debut of drummer Alan White, who joined the band three days before it started. It was reissued in 1994, 2003, and 2013; the latter release includes previously unreleased tracks and new stereo and 5.1 surround sound mixes. Close to the Edge has since received widespread critical acclaim; in 2020, it was ranked 445th on Rolling Stone's list of the "500 Greatest Albums of All Time".^[5]