Yes Masterworks - "Close To The Edge" (Part 2)

[telumears]

After 40 years, CTTE still brings a tear to my eye. I'm sure I'll be saying that in another 10. A truly spiritually inspired work that has not seen an equal and probably never will.

[gmuny2010]

I was just remembering when I saw them on my birthday in '04, CTTE is my favorite song by Yes and I've been a fan of theirs since about 1972. I was teasing my wife all the way down to Atlantic City that once I heard those birds chirping I was going to fire up a bowl. Guess what, karma must've been in the air or what but they opened the show with CTTE! Wow! What a birthday present! It's almost like they knew! What a coincidence!

[TasmiaMallor]

Oh god....I just love Jon Anderson....what an angel.

[calebsj]

who was that on keyboard?

[JackBlair2]

@calebsj Igor Krakatovorich or whatever

[JackAngelBlue]

Isso é música elevada à quinta potência!maravilha...

[Jerryrocky1]

Sheer and utter brilliance. When I first got the album in 1972 and listened to the title track, I saw God. These guys with Rick Wakeman on the original LP went beyond the realm. A true masterpiece in every dimension.

[JackAngelBlue]

What a sound! for me, there's nothing like it!!

[bigua1428]

THIS IS A MASTERPIECE ¡¡¡ JON ANDERSON´S RULES ¡¡¡¡ YES WITHOUT JON ANDERSON IS NOT YES ¡¡

[guidenredhawk]

I think my brain just melted... truly amazing live rendition of the studio version. Truly these men are magicians of music.

[agnostick1]

It's hard to realize that they were in their twentys when they wrote and recorded this masterpiece. Do you know what crap people of that age are recording today?

[wigginsdesign]

AllusCats...you get it. YES were a pinnacle of tthe time. And I was a young teen feeding of their perfection and it was magical in every way. YES came at the perfect time and in the most perfect way for me. The music they create then still goes far beyond most artist. We were extremely blessed to have them incarnate during the prime of our lives.

[whatmusic1]

truly amazing composition- this you will find the conflict of your soul within......on eo fthe best songs ever written- period, its ashame its not as popular as Boehemian Rhapsody or White Christmas

[AllusCats]

Yes came along at the culmination of a kind of Renaissance that developed after the early '60's music got its shot in the arm by The Beatles, et al. What they had over all of the others was a really intense talent and work ethic to create/compose music - beyond anything that had existed in popular music up to that time. They took music up like the great musical masters had done. They are on a par with Beethoven, Dvorak, Tchaikovsky and Stravinsky. The Beatles started things; Yes completed them.

[RubiJonRocks]

With a few rare exceptions, there was very little recorded music from my parents' generation (Bing, Frank,. etc,) that had any substantial interest to me. Now, my youngest is 19 y.o. and each of my kids has a relatively deep appreciation of the music from "my" generation. How cool to have been there at the start!!! We were a very lucky generation to see these bands as they evolved, and, more importantly, LIVE!!!

[EndeavorLeadGtr]

As Godly and fast as Wakeman is, he can be a bit sloppy. With ALL due respect to Rick Wakeman (he has written some of the greatest keyboard parts of all-time), Igor is freaking awesome.

[AllusCats]

It's the composition, itself that matters. Wakeman is responsible for having created what Igor is playing here...remember that the next time you make a statement that has to do with art...in this case, music. There is no real shortage of musical technicians only, truly gifted composers - like Rick.

[EndeavorLeadGtr]

And therein lies the true brilliance of Rick Wakeman. He is not the most technically flawless, but he is remarkably characteristic and has contributed some of the greatest pieces of music ever written to the world. I'll take that over a note perfect musician any day, though in the end a note perfect musician is the musician that plays the perfect notes...like all the notes in "And You and I", "South Side of the Sky", and "Awaken", among many others.

[AllusCats]

If he's good enough to play with YES, he's technically competent. YES is not perfect...nobody is. Alan White's timing is all over the map and I wish that Bill Bruford had never left. But, there are songs that Alan probably is better-suited for. So, you accept things. Tony Kaye was wonderful on The Yes Album. The songs weren't more demanding than his level of playing so, he was part of that masterpiece. Hell, Paul McCartney could've covered the bass parts on The Yes Album.

[redgardner]

Par Excellence. These guys just get better.

[ctask633]

I wish Igor had remained with the band longer. Look at him at 4:10, he's just sooo into it!

[ledzep129]

he's no wakeman tho :)