Editing Close to the Edge (section)

{{short description|1972 studio album by Yes}}
{{About}}
{{EngvarB|date=September 2013}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2024}}
{{Infobox album
| name         = Close to the Edge
| type         = studio
| artist       = [[Yes (band)|Yes]]
| cover        = Yes-close.jpg
| alt          = 
| released     = 
8 September 1972
| recorded     = April–June 1972{{sfn|Welch|2008|p=120}}{{sfn|Howe|2020|p=91}}
| studio       = [[Advision Studios|Advision]], London
| genre        = [[Progressive rock]]{{sfn|Macan|1997|p=116}}
| length       = 37:51
| label        = [[Atlantic Records|Atlantic]]
| producer     = {{hlist|Yes|[[Eddy Offord]]}}
| prev_title   = [[Fragile (Yes album)|Fragile]]
| prev_year    = 1971
| next_title   = [[Yessongs]]
| next_year    = 1973
| misc         = {{Singles
 | name        = Close to the Edge
 | type        = studio
 | single1     = [[And You and I|And You and I (Part I) / (Part II)]]
 | single1date = 13 October 1972 (US)
}}
{{Extra album cover
| cover =Close to the Edge The Steven Wilson Remixes.jpg
| caption =Cover of the 2018 reissue of the [[Steven Wilson]] remix
| type =studio
}}
}}

'''''Close to the Edge''''' is the fifth studio album by English [[progressive rock]] band [[Yes (band)|Yes]], released in the UK on 8 September 1972<ref name=releasedateUK>{{cite web|url=http://forgotten-yesterdays.com/discography.asp?qrtypeid=1&ftype=1&qreleaseid=5|title=Yes Discography}}</ref> and in the US on 13 September 1972,<ref name=releasedateUS>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.worldradiohistory.com/hd2/IDX-Business/Music/Archive-Cash-Box-IDX/70s/1977/CB-1977-09-17-OCR-Page-0058.pdf|title=Yes albums|magazine=Cash Box|page=30 Y26|date=17 September 1977|access-date=22 October 2024|via=World Radio History}}</ref> by [[Atlantic Records]]. It is their last album until ''[[Union (Yes album)|Union]]'' (1991) 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 their previous album ''[[Fragile (Yes album)|Fragile]]'' (1971) and touring the album, Yes regrouped with producer and engineer [[Eddy Offord]] to record a follow-up. The album's centrepiece is the 18-minute [[Close to the Edge (song)|title track]], with lyrics inspired by the [[Hermann Hesse]] novel ''[[Siddhartha (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 (artist)|Roger Dean]], marked the debut of the band's [[Yes bubble logo|"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 [[Close to the Edge Tour|1972-1973 tour]] comprised over 90 dates worldwide and marked the debut of drummer [[Alan White (Yes 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 "[[Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time|500 Greatest Albums of All Time]]".<ref name="RS">{{cite magazine |date=2020-09-22 |title=The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-lists/best-albums-of-all-time-1062063/yes-close-to-the-edge-1062788/ |access-date=2022-03-14 |magazine=[[Rolling Stone]]}}</ref>