Close to the Edge

Close to the Edge
Studio album by
Released8 September 1972 (1972-09-08)[1]
RecordedApril–June 1972[2][3]
StudioAdvision, London
GenreProgressive rock[4]
Length37:51
LabelAtlantic
Producer
Yes chronology
Fragile
(1971)
Close to the Edge
(1972)
Yessongs
(1973)
Singles from Close to the Edge
  1. "And You and I (Part I) / (Part II)"
    Released: October 1972 (US)
Alternative cover
Cover of the 2018 Steven Wilson remix
Cover of the 2018 Steven Wilson remix

Close to the Edge is the fifth studio album by English progressive rock band Yes. It was released on 8 September 1972 by Atlantic Records, and is their last album of the 1970s to feature their original drummer Bill Bruford. After scoring a commercial and critical hit with Fragile and touring the album, Yes regrouped to prepare material for a follow-up, ideas for which had been put down some months before. The album's centrepiece is the 18-minute title track, with themes and 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". Bruford found the album particularly laborious to make, which culminated in his decision to quit the band after it was recorded to join fellow English progressive rock band King Crimson.

Close to the Edge became the band's greatest commercial success at the time of release. It peaked at No. 4 on the UK Albums Chart and No. 3 on the Billboard 200 in the United States, the highest position Yes has reached on the latter chart. A two-part edit of "And You and I" was released in the US which reached No. 42 on the Billboard Hot 100. Yes supported the album with their 1972–1973 world tour which comprised over 90 dates and marked the debut of drummer Alan White, who replaced Bruford three days before the tour started. Close to the Edge was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) in 1998 for selling one million copies in the US. It was reissued in 1994, 2003, and 2013; the latter includes previously unreleased tracks and new stereo and 5.1 surround sound mixes by Steven Wilson. In 2020, Close to the Edge was ranked number 445 on Rolling Stone's list of the "500 Greatest Albums of All Time".[5]

  1. ^ "Yes Discography".
  2. ^ Welch 2008, p. 120.
  3. ^ Howe 2020, p. 91.
  4. ^ Macan 1997, p. 116.
  5. ^ "The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time". Rolling Stone. 22 September 2020. Retrieved 14 March 2022.

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