Editing Close to the Edge (section)

== Recording and production ==
By June 1972, Yes had worked out songs for the album and returned to Advision to record it.{{sfn|Welch|2008|p=123}} [[Eddy Offord]], who had worked with Yes since ''[[Time and a Word]]'' (1970) and had mixed their live sound on the ''Fragile'' tour, assumed his role as audio engineer and producer, sharing his production duties with the band.<ref name=LPsleeve/> Having worked on the band's live sound, Offord wished to recreate, in the studio, the high feeling the band had on nights when they performed well in concert. To attempt this, he got their road crew to construct a large stage in the studio for the band to perform on; he noted that Bruford's drums resonated with the wooden platform and made the band sound "more live".{{sfn|Morse|1996|p=35}} The studio also housed a booth-like structure constructed of wooden boards which Howe performed in to enhance his sound further.{{sfn|Morse|1996|p=39}} In one incident, the band decided to use a particular take for a track, but realised that the studio's cleaning staff had put the tape in the rubbish. A scramble in the bins outside the studio ensued, and the missing piece was found and inserted into the master.{{sfn|Bruford|2009|p=57}} Around halfway through recording, Anderson decided to walk home from the studio after one exhausting session ended at dawn. He broke down in tears upon arriving, because he decided that he could "officially call myself a musician now", and wrote it on the occupation section of his passport which he had previously left blank until that point.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.innerviews.org/inner/jon-anderson.html|title=Jon Anderson: Harmonic Engagement|first=Anil|last=Prasad|date=2005|website=Innerviews|access-date=16 July 2022}}</ref>

[[File:Bill Bruford in Groznjan 2009 2.jpg|thumb|right|upright|Drummer [[Bill Bruford]] left the band after the album was recorded.]]
During their month at Advision, ''[[Melody Maker]]'' reporter and band biographer [[Chris Welch]] paid a visit to observe the group at work. Welch described a stressful atmosphere, coupled with "outbursts of anarchy" from Bruford, Howe, and Wakeman and disagreement from each member after one mix of a song section was complete.{{sfn|Welch|2008|p=123}} Welch sensed that the band were not a cohesive unit, with Anderson and Howe the only ones who knew what direction the album was to take, leaving the rest adding bits and pieces "to a vast jigsaw of sound", to which Squire and Offord were the two who helped put their idea into shape. Wakeman and Bruford, to Welch, remained "innocent bystanders" in the matter.{{sfn|Welch|2008|p=123}} In one instance, Welch arrived at the studio to hear a preview of a completed passage that took several days of round-the-clock work to produce. He heard a dull thud, to find that Offord had fallen asleep on top of the mixing console from exhaustion, "leaving music from the spinning tape deck blaring at an intolerable level".{{sfn|Welch|2008|p=124}} Howe later disagreed with Welch's description, and said his report might have been based on Bruford's comments at the time. Howe said that the main source of tension was between Squire and Bruford, particularly when Squire suggested that Bruford alter his drumming to accommodate bass parts that Squire wanted to play.<ref name=CAR22/>

Bruford found ''Close to the Edge'' particularly difficult to write and record with the rest of the band, calling the process torturous and like "climbing [[Mount Everest]]".{{sfn|Morse|1996|p=35}} He became frustrated with the band's happy, [[diatonic]] music and favoured more jazz-oriented and improvisational compositions.{{sfn|Morse|1996|p=34}}{{sfn|Morse|1996|p=40}} This became an issue with the group's way of composing and recording, as each section of a track was played through and discussed section by section. Bruford said: "Every instrument was up for democratic election, and everybody had to run an election campaign on every issue. It was horrible, it was incredibly unpleasant, and unbelievably hard work".{{sfn|Morse|1996|p=34}} Squire became a growing source of discontent for Bruford, citing his frequent lateness for rehearsals and his way of working. In one instance, Bruford fell asleep on a sofa in the studio control room while Squire was "poring over a couple of knobs on the [mixing] desk" to determine how much [[Equalization (audio)|equalisation]] should be applied to his bass tracks, only to wake up several hours later, finding Squire "in the same place, still considering the relative position of the two knobs".{{sfn|Bruford|2009|p=57}}{{sfn|Morse|1996|p=37}} Bruford was constantly encouraged by Anderson to write, something he felt grateful for years later,{{sfn|Morse|1996|p=121}} but by the time recording was complete, he felt he had done his best on ''Close to the Edge'' and could not offer better arrangements. "So then I knew I needed a breath of fresh air", and left the group.{{sfn|Morse|1996|p=40}}