Yes – Close to the Edge

Close to the Edge is the fifth studio album by English progressive rock band Yes. It was released on 13 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 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 in 1998 for selling one million copies.

In 2020, Close to the Edge was ranked at #445 on Rolling Stone‘s list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time.