Reviews (page 7 of 8)
not for me
Not for me
Can't in good conscience rate this higher than music from the penguin cafe, had to take the rating from 3 to 2.
Fine. 2/5
2,4 Highlights: Close to the Edge, Siberian Khatru
A pity the song "Close to the Edge" is not available on Spotify. Good album with a distinct sound.
The complexity of the music smothers the joy for me.
Sorry, but I'm with the punks on this one. I'm a fan of plenty of music that many (most?) people would consider "difficult", but this is just a mess to me. Too many cooks.
I got Fragile earlier in this project and really, really didn't like it. This is... Moderately better. The title track is the excess I hate, and the version I listened to had a cover of America which... yeah, less said about it the better. But I guess And You and I was bearable so this gets one more star than Fragile.
Just had Fragile less than two weeks ago and I wasn't particularly impressed. Seeing that this is only 3 tracks and goes for almost 38 minutes, I am not excited... Yeah, I was right. There were some cool bits but they quickly disappeared as the track meandered on. It's like being at a potluck dinner where the person who brought the mac & cheese didn't bring nearly enough. My plate has a bunch of random stuff on it but only one small spoonful of mac & cheese.
Nearly had a heart attack when I saw a four and a half hour runtime. Thankfully Wiki assures me the original album is only the first “disc’ which is blissfully short at 37 minutes and three tracks - so that’s all that will be played. Run of the mill prog.
..
Litt mindre ille prog.
Not bad, but not my cup of tea
Liked the organ bits on the title track, everything else was meh
An 18 minute first track really capped how well this was going to be received.
It was sure a strange one
Siberia, the saving grace.
Not for me
ok I’m done
I think I like the album cover more than the album itself. A little too much for my tastes.
Non mi ha convinto per nulla, é da qualche giorno che avevo da ascoltare a quest'album ma tutte le volte che iniziavo non riuscivo a continuare Non il mio genere
Yes has better albums than this by far
Prog rock has to be one of my least favourite genres of music, but I can appreciate why people like it.
A little too much speedy synth for me
the guitar is impressive but why does his voice have to be like that 😭
hm, ne. Nicht mein Fall
The middle bit in America was alright
Honestly not averse to a bit of prog rock but Yes are just not it for me. There are good wee snatches but then they just go off on one and they lose me. There is no heart to the technical showing off. I’m not a fan of Jon Anderson’s voice or Rick Wakeman wibbling away on his organ. Better than Fragile but that’s not saying much
Opening 60 seconds or so are among the best angular math rock I've ever heard. The last 60 seconds or so are heady, jammy, super dope prog firing on all cylinders. The other 36 minutes are somewhat garbage and bloated and I can't for the life of me find it interesting.
No.
Yes’ music is sometimes pretty and at times they have a good variety of instruments. However their songs are too long and have too many squiggly quotas.
I understand the musicianship that goes into prog rock and the different experiments that come out of it, but most of it is a miss for me. Including this.
1.5 stars Not really for me. Forgettable, like a foreign language. Not offensive but not interesting. Glad it was under 40 min.
naw
Maybe a little bit more than the last one from these guys, but still a No from me
Un poquito largas las canciones. Not really my cup of tea, peeero siento que sería un buen soundtrack para darse un buen viaje
A pretentious album where I feel the artist thinks they are smarter, better at instruments, and more good looking than the listener. All of which is probably true but I didn’t like it that much
Some cool tunes sprinkled here and there, but gotta be honest don’t think I’ll ever consciously put it on, maybe idk it’s a tough one
I'm unsure if it's missing soul, depth, or something else, but it's definitely missing something.
Los 1ros 10 mins de close to the edge del disco 1, me gustaron pero se hizo larguísimo. Temporalmente top And you and I, Siberian Khatru tamb esta buena. Me gusta que experimentan con sonidos pero no es tan el otro extremo. Inclusive algunos usos de ciertos sonidos me hacen acordar a la onda de la maquina de hacer pajaros y charly garcia. Total mass retain god.
Oh boy, a YES album! This is the musical equivalent of a Bob Ross painting that's been fussed with too much. It's an album written for musicians by musicians. "Siberian Khatra" starts off with an amazing groove, and then it gets "Yes-ified" 20 seconds in. It's like they're in the studio patting each other on the back "Did you hear that bit where we switched from 15/17 to 7/9 and then back to 15/17? That was genius, right?' And they put in a harpsichord and what sounded like a theremin. I appreciate these guys are extremely talented musicians, but I didn't need to hear this album at all. AND... Spotify gave me the "Deluxe Editiion", so I got EXTRA Yes which I absolutely didn't need. My Rating: 2/5 Not bad music, but I don't see how this is commercially viable.
I had a pretty great music discovery yesterday with the surprisingly very gay Handshake Song from the Great British Bake Off musical. On the other hand, Close to the Edge by Yes was not a great music discovery for me in any way
Yes? No thanks. Close to the edge of unlistenable.
I prefer songs that sound good. However, I will admit this album sounds way better through headphones than my tiny tinny cell phone speaker.
Átti mitt progg tímabil í denn og hef smá soft spot ennþá fyrir því. Rush, Gentle Giant, King Crimson og fleira. En þetta fannst mér ekki skemmtilegt. Plús fyrir titillagið samt, það er fínt.
2,4/5
So. First song. It starts off annoying. Like a broken musical box where everyone's noodling away at their own thing and it doesn't work. Then the guitar line is really nice. Not a fan of the vocals much, too reedy and airy, sounds weak. It seems like everyone is playing a different intricate-for-the-sake-of-showing-off instrumental line and it only works half of the time. Not much to really grab hold of so far. The song progresses (ha) but doesn't really develop, since there's no consistent part to develop from, just independent bits playing simultaneously. There's a bit where everything cuts out and he gets up and he gets down a lot, interspersed with big classical church organ passages as if the song deserves it. Now we're back to the whole band doing some proggy stuff. It doesn't like, lead up to them dropping back in very much, just gives me the impression they decided to start playing again instead of it being a big build up. It ends and it's instantly left my mind. I am thoroughly unimpressed by this song and a bit annoyed because you can tell they really thought they did something with this. Second song, I'm halfway through it and I'm struggling to think of anything to say about it. It sounds.. pretty? It's very boring. Nothing happens in it. God I hate his grating little voice. And it just ends? Okay. What a pointless boring song. NEXT. SONG. Okay this actually has some substance. It actually feels like a SONG. Like an actual thought out piece of music instead of some annoying, pretentious noodling with an asthmatic seagull bleating over it. This feels like an actual band doing actual band shit. It's actually good! It's cool! It's interesting and enjoyable! It develops, it sticks in my mind, it's fun. It's probably the only thing on this album that's worth it. So due to the fact there's only one interesting and enjoyable song on this album of three.. I'm rating the album 1/3. Or rather 5 divided by 3. 1.6666. Lets round it up to two stars.
Why do you have to start with a 18-minute long song? Their take that they can be like Queen with long and unusually-built songs? I don’t know.. The whole album mainly sounded like an outdated chaos and not in the best way - like a messy room.
Sadly didn't hit the spot for me
I can tell that they are all amazing musicians but it’s a little too prog at times for me.
Nicht gut
Good musicians and I’m glad I listened, just not for me.
1972. Last album before the drummer Bill Bruford quit the band to join King Crimson. They found it challenging to record.
Ik heb dit album vaak in een bak met platen gezien, maar ik ben blij dat ik het nooit heb gekocht Ik hou van nummers die lekker lang zijn en niet refrein couplet refrein zijn, maar dit lijkt mij niet de manier om het te doen. Sommige geluidjes zijn leuk, sommige tenenkrommend. De baspartij was soms hard en niet echt fijn. De stem was ook niet leuk
Dit album van Yes klinkt alsof Meat loaf, sting en pink floyd een baby krijgen en erg ongelukkig precies van iedreen de nare eigenschappen erfd. Als muziek richting musical gaat begint het bij mij een beetje te jeuken. Alsof ik er een allergie voor heb. Ik kan mijzelf hier niet overheen zetten. Technisch heb ik er niks op aan te merken en hoor je dat het aardige muziekanten zijn. Maar ik wil die gozer zo graag in z'n gezicht stompen zodat het stopt en dan direct sorry zeggen omdat hij het eigenlijk niet verdient.
Ik was enigszins verrast dat dit dezelfde band was van owner of a lonely heart. Ik moest het even dubbel checken. De eerste keer luisteren wist ik niet zo goed wat ik ervan moest vinden, tis duidelijk een band wat wil experimenteren en wil laten zien dat ze meer kunnen dan pophitjes maken. Het is wel aardig maar ook heel hoogstaand. Na het een tweede keer te hebben geluisterd te hebben vond ik het eigenlijk minder leuk. Het komt bij vlagen een beetje Disney-achtig over.
Not impressed. Tiring
Did not finish it. Really don’t listen to this type of music for fun. The sound itself is not pleasant.
I can see the appeal, but not my favorite. Didn't like the singer's voice, and the music little too trippy for my taste. Felt like if Pink Floyd and Rush were combined. I'm not just not the biggest prog rock guy, and I don't see myself returning to any of the songs from here.
Prog I can do without
I didn’t like this one as much as the other two I’ve heard on the list. I know so little about Prog so can see my opinion changing on this one. It was just the elements of Prog I don’t like unfortunately. Rating: 1.9
mais do mesmo, muito longo para não apresentar nada de novo
Feels fairly generic. Does not really move the needle for me. Decent sound at least. 2/5
There were some bits that I dug. It’s too bad their somewhere buried within a 10 minute meandering song
Strange. Hard to get into. Made me almost quit this challenge.
Ok organ
Just split the tracks up Too long overall, why repeat a track? Some nice sounds
I really enjoy Yes, but not so much this album. Too disjointed, noisy and all over the place. The introductory 4 minutes (of a nearly 19 min song) is too much to suffer through before you get to Anderson singing. It's like 12 songs, all with different soundscapes, mixed into one long track. Is that cool or not, I don't think so, it was like being trapped in one of those rides where centrifugal force slams you to the wall as you go around at mach barf speed. It has only 149K listeners in 50 yrs, there's a reason for that. The second "song" was 10 mins long and much easier to listen to but I'd never listen to it again. The final track "Siberian Khatru" showed glimpses of what they'd do in the future that was more mainstream and connected. 2 stars. I literally hated the entire first 19 minutes. Too artsy for this guy
Homie’s voice is just grating to me. Undeniably good musicians, but not my cup of tea.
Its 70's prog. Its ok but not likely to be remembered by me tomorrow.
Three songs, 38 minutes, and approximately 400 ideas, none of which know when to leave. Prog’s original sin wasn’t ambition—it was bloat, and Close to the Edge treats the LP like a doctoral thesis defense scored for capes. The title track alone lumbers through enough time signatures to qualify as cardio, all in pursuit of a mystical revelation that sounds suspiciously like a warm glass of pond water. Jon Anderson chants, the band pirouettes, Rick Wakeman raids the keyboard aisle at Harrods, and somewhere a roadie is still untangling the Moog cables. Credit where it’s due: these guys can play, and when they lock into something resembling a groove, it’s almost human. Best of the lot is “Siberian Khatru,” where the CSNY harmonies collide with funky bass pops and a slab of rawk guitar—busy, yes, but at least it moves like it means it. If excess were enlightenment, this would be scripture. As it stands, it’s a very ornate door in search of a room.
I'm finished with prog rock thank you
Even Yes know that they're taking the piss with a track that's almost 19mins long.....
I'm not the biggest fan of loooong tracks. musically it's fine but i do wish it had been broken up into some shorter songs. the organ music bit goes pretty hard though.
I am not a "yes" man!
this is undoubtedly made with skill and parts of it are fun, but parts are also intensely pretentious. It’s less egregious to me that other prog, but it just doesn’t move me. I think the singing takes me out, as do the unnecessary music theory dalliances
Noooooo. I wasn't sure about an 11 minute song, but I AM sure about this 18-minute song: it's bad. I understand that people who play guitar might like to listen to other people jam out &c, but I am not those people. The 10 minute song is much better, but maybe that's just because it's 8 minutes shorter. The 9 minute song is bad. Just think, before I started this project, I didn't know a single thing about Yes. How good I had it then. Highlight: 'Cord of Life' (not a song, but a part of a song... OK Mozart)
Yes? No? Maybe...Close to the Edge is a less interesting Rush album. Like 2112, it drags on a bit too long with prog rock experimentation. I do like the usage of acoustic guitar on Side B though. I am not a huge Yes fan. They only have a few tracks that I like but those are strong ones. Not their strongest album but for the 70s, maybe it was cool. I think they peak in in the 80s and this record just edges in at 1.98 stars.
I wouldn't call Close To The Edge a miss for me, but I also wouldn't call it a hit or solid entry for 1001. As Close To The Edge wrapped up I was a pretty underwhelmed. The first side with the title track was a mostly empty piece-meal of a long jam prog rock song. It was disjointed and didn't really have any segments that stood out. I enjoyed Side B a little more. The folk-slanted first song was OK, the second more rock-oriented song was definitely the highlight of the album but even that was still middling. I was looking forward to seeing what Yes was about and didn't come away with much. In the wake of a couple Rush albums I enjoyed maybe I built up my expectations a little too high for another longform prog-rock album. Or perhaps Yes's Close To The Edge just isn't the best example of it. I guess we'll find out as I run into more of them but this one will go back to the shelf. 1.72 stars
Whoever thought combing rush and the greatful dead was so very wrong.
I know this is good quality music but I didnt enjoy it. 2 stars
Yes is cool but they tend to do a lot of nothing on a long runtime at their worst. The first song got really cool and grandiose but the others sounded like rejects from other projects. Disappointed as it could have been so much more than it is.
Look, when Rick Wakeman is playing about 6 different types of piano, you know you’re into prime knob-twaddling territory. I suppose I tolerated the first half of “Close to the Edge” (please don’t try and make me pinpoint what act that was, I have no idea. Also, songs shouldn’t have “acts”). I also quite liked the almost funky undertones in “Siberian Kahtru”. Has I had to listen any longer than 38mins to this album, I suspect my tolerance of both of those things would have diminished. It’s sort of between a 1.5* and 2* but, seeing as I did tolerate-to-like small parts, it edges a 2*.
Third, and final for this project, Yes album. After getting over the shock of the extended version being over 4 hours, I listened to the first 3 tracks* of the Deluxe album so I could hear the album as the artist originally intended (and only have 37 minutes to get through). For me, it's very much like the other Yes albums on the list: I quite like the singing bits, I don't have patience for the non-singing bits. This album also didn't have the same nostalgia factor for me either, as there was only one part I think I recognised from my Dad playing it around the house. A chunk of the modern music I've been enjoying recently is being described as prog rock, which I find bizarre based on my complete indifference to 70s prog rock, but maybe that's what listening to a lot of my father's record collection in my youth has done for me. 2/5 * Which because it's Yes, are actually like 9 tracks squished together.
Half of this list seems to be prog and britpop. Anyway, I fully expected to enjoy this one, certainly more than I did Lamb, but I'm walking away with the same feeling. Incredible musicianship but just leaves me cold. There are some parts I enjoyed more than others but it's just not my genre. I'm officially that guy who only likes The Yes Album and Fragile (ok 90125 too)
Just not for me. At first, the first song sounded a little like Squid and I thought they were going to be cooler than it ended up being. I know they’re prog staples, but it just sounded like a weird mix of 70s bands and genres.
More meh. Let’s get to the good stuff.
No.
Opening track very ‘Phantom of the Opera-y’ but got better. Wouldn’t say it’s the best Yes album; meh. 2.5 rating.
Was like Pink Floyd but longer songs and not as melancholy.
Couldn’t finish it but would again listen to it in the bg
Jon Anderson's voice has always grated on me. I think given the instrumental talent this band had, they could have been much bigger with a better lead. That said, this album just strikes me as mostly experimental noodling and the brain child of someone way too high his own supply and overly impressed with their musical and compositional abilities.
Mostly didn't like, but there were a few little sections I liked. Prog rock is not for me.
weird in a bad way.
Not my kind of music again, it's probably in the hippy category for me.
Meh. Prog nonsense. Track 2 was OK, though.
looooong
I'm not a prog rock girly. I tried so hard. Didn't hate the cover of S&G's America but the rest was a bit of a struggle. In the end, I fall much more on the Punk Rock side of the late 70s musical divide, and I'm okay with that.
Siberian Khatru is a bop. The other two songs (yes, an album of 3 songs somehow made this list) are just... meh. It's an album that takes itself far too seriously for the first 2 tracks. If this album had just been Siberian Khatru, it's probably a 4 or 5 star affair. The first two tracks hurt it for me.
The songs were not good and it sounds like all the band members recorded their parts separately and then mailed them to the producer to stitch everything together, doesn't feel organic at all.
It's tough.
ugh. Prog. Why do lists like this rate prog so highly? It's because these lists are written by pretentious white-boy, pseudo-intellectual rock snobs who have blighted the pages of rock magazine and bookshelves with their critical musings on rock music for decades now. They love this kind of shit because it is sooooo clever and they are soooooo clever and if you don't appreciate prog then that's because you aren't clever enough to get it. This 1001 list, with its focus on 'albums' -- the preferred format of "we don't even do singles" pretension-- is inherently biased towards pompous white male and their musical wankery. Prog often forgets to just rock, you know? Too much talk, not enough trousers. Some good moments, but just too clever clogs for me. This album is the epitome of a too-clever-for-their-own-good band disappearing up their own orifice of self-indulgence. As the initial NME review said, this album is "an attempt to overwhelm us which resulted in only unmemorable meaninglessness". I would rather open a vein than suffer through the title track again. That is 19 minutes of my life I will never get back, even if it felt like hours. (Checks notes) I seem to own a copy of this record. I better give it to my son, Hal, who likes prog more than I do. (Interestingly, the deluxe version I listened to tacked on the studio run-through guide track for Siberian at the end. I MUCH preferred the more straightforward playing approach)
No
I'm not sure Yes is for me. There were bits that I appreciated. It's not a No, but a Maybe? 2.5 rounded down to 2 because it felt a bit longer than it was.
Litt for lange sanger for meg, de er flinke osv, men det passet meg ikke særlig. Var greit å høre på da imens jeg studerte
Bit odd
There cant be more than one Yes album on this list, can there? Surely nobody would put multiple albums by Yes on this list of important releases. That would have to mean that more deserving albums wouldn’t make the list so that multiple albums by Yes could be on it. And that wouldn’t make any sense at all.
Prog rock gives me a headache.
It's Yes. It's prog rock. If you like prog rock, you'll like this, and if you don't you won't. In all seriousness, I think I liked side 2's "And You and I" more than side 1's "Close to the Edge." But prog rock is really hit-and-miss for me.
Maybe I was just having a bad day when I listened to this but I found it less than what I expected, and a bit of a drag to boot.
Ohhh look and me and my fancy prog rock. We get it dude. Some parts I like but the problem is it's on 12 minute songs with parts I really don't. Damn. 4/10
Wasn't looking forward to this, but when it started off a bit like Trout Mask, I thought "hello, have I misjudged it?" But then it went to the endless twiddly nonsense shit I was expecting. And then a church organ came along. I like Rick Wakeman because he knows how preposterous this stuff was, but that doesn't make it a pleasure to listen to. Overblown nonsense can be good when done with humour, this ain't doing it for me.
Nope. I just can't get into this type of prog.
Of the last seven albums generated, six have been from the seventies. So the last thing I wanted was to get some prog, and it didn't start well. I quite liked the different passages of the second piece though.
I'll never be entirely confident that prog rock wasn't an elaborate and long-running practical joke. Second star because some of this is so absurdly noodly that I chuckled.
I love DMB. I like Phish. I hear the obvious influences here. But I didn’t enjoy it.
Not my cup of tea, but the cover of 'America' was fun
A lot of slow and almost instrumental songs from a band I had only heard one song from before. Not at all what I expected. Its good old-school rock with a lot of experimental parts. Not something I would listen to every day but not inherently bad music that I would turn off either.
Some songs were ok but they lost me 9 minutes into the first 18 minutes song...
Non-stop wankery.
I genuinely didn’t dislike this anywhere near as much as I thought I would. A three-track album lasting almost forty minutes is never a good omen and the opening passage of noodling did nothing to dispel my feelings of dread. There were some listenable moments, although these sounded very much of their time and were too few and far between.
Having a collection of proficient musicians and some grand ideas of what music should be does not necessarily a good album make. This has probably been a significant influence of the prog rock that followed but it was long, meandering, and I felt little emotional connection after listening to it. It probably benefits from repeated listens but I’m not sure when I would otherwise decide, “right, today I fancy listening to a bit of ‘yes’”.
Long tracks were interesting but the album didn't interest me.
Nope.
Worse than I remember, and I didn't like it then. By turns dull and exhausting.
I saw the 18 minute song and rolled my eyes. Then I listened to it and rolled my eyes harder. No thanks.
The kind of music that makes me appreciate silence. No.
2.5
Track 1 is awful. 18 minutes is a very long time to listen to something you can't stand. Track 2, I liked. To my complete surprise! Will listen to all 10 minutes again some time. Track 3 and I'm struggling. The formula of starting busy with quite groovy guitars, then slowing with keyboards, then back up with guitars is becoming clear. Track 4 and a surprise cover version! They murder a great song though. Both stars are for track 2. 'And You and I' which I'm listening to for a second time already!
Trying to do too much, to the extent that this is mostly nonsense. Just because you can, doesn’t mean you should. Superfluous.
I put this on but didn't really listen to it. I just couldn't get into the jam band feel.
Wanky long songs but they weren't terrible.
Pretentious and long winded and uniquely YES. Piercing and complicated and occasionally engaging.
Knew there'd be more Yes. Grow up. I think this is the good one though
Undrade just när vi skulle behöva utsättas för symfonirock. Det positiva är att originalvinylen enbart består av 2 spår, tyvärr innebär det ändå 37 minuters musik. ...och nej jag tänker inte helt plötsligt recensera en deluxe utgåva bara för att det är den på bilden, det är originalalbumet som gäller. Detta är oerhört schizofrent och visst det ligger i genrens dna men min huvudvärk är densamma för det. 17 taktbyten på 45 sekunder, ena stunden låter det som en funkrocklåt och i nästa som Bo Hansson på MDMA, hur recenserar man det? Det finns ingen rim och reson nånstans. Men jag tänker inte slentrianmässigt avfärda det här. Det finns också korta partier som jag är musikaliskt tilltalande, helt okej eller rentav bra, som t.ex. när en vilsam orgel bara får ligga å puttra en liten liten stund i något som nästan blir ambient och innerligt, Det finns också nåt där när det i partier musiken liksom bara tar ny ansats mellan solon och taktbyten och bara blir ren kraft. Dessa partier är korta men också återkommande. Jag har hört värre saker, men jag har också hört betydligt bättre symfonirock. Med näbbar och klor håller det här sig över godkäntstrecket men det är verkligen en hårsmån. Lyssna hellre på Bo Hansson - Mellanväsen, Genesis - Selling England by the pound
Önskar att mer hade låtit som avslutningsspåret. Även om den Beach boyska mittenfasen i öppningsspåret och avslutningsstycket i andra spåret också har en poäng. Vacklar mellan tvåa och trea, men magkänslan säger till slut två.
Bara en av tre spår är över 15 minuter. Hade de andra också varit det plus om bandet varit finskt eller italienskt (gammal kvalitetsmärkning vid backarna hos vinylpågarna) hade det blivit en 5:a. Nu är det inte så. (Emellertid inte heller värdelöst hela tiden).
Enligt skrönan kommer ett gäng apor med skrivmaskiner och oändligt tid till slut att skriva ned Shakespeares samlade verk. YES jobbar enligt samma princip. Om bara låtarna är tillräckligt långa så kommer till slut någon ton som går att lyssna på att fastna på band. Det finns element här och där som har potential till att bli något. Men överlag går de vilse i sin iver att vara progressiva. Sången är ingen höjdare. Efter tre låtar på 18, 10 och 8 minuter så slänger de in en meningslös cover på Simon & Garfunkels America.
I understand that this is a very good prog rock album. But it’s just so not my thing, that I couldn’t get into it. Might be one I need to come back to again.
A few fun moments, but way too much jam band for me. The third track is the strongest.
If I was in the mood for it I would probably listen more thoroughly, but all the "widdly widdly" keyboards put me off
Yes has always been a No for me, and this album just solidified it. I’ll give them credit for keeping it a tight 37 minutes instead of some double-LP endurance test, but that’s about as generous as I can be.
No.
Parts of this album were okay, and parts were downright insufferable. Upon reading some reviews for this album, it seems others find it quite polarizing as well. This ultimately falls into the "that's a no for me, dawg" category. My tolerance for prog rock is just sooo low. Yes has some material that I enjoy, but this definitely isn't it. This album brought me one step closer to the edge, and I'm about to break.
Rating: 1.7 Boring old boomer rock, but not a cool boomer like one that drinks beer and Monster who you’d catch out on the riding lawnmower. More like a creepy boomer who has 3 pet parrots and wears a bathrobe with no underwear all day.
As mentioned in my first Yes album review, it’s hard to imagine the band said ‘no’ to any idea for a song, not just for their namesake, but because they seem to follow any musical whim that came to mind. But here we are, with an album of some ideas that had apparently been put on hold previously. So how does it work out? Yeah this still isn’t totally hitting for me. Much like the last Yes album, there are moments. But only moments. The 13 minute mark of “Close To The Edge” is nice (crazy thing to say), when things get softer and more atmospheric. The “America” cover is interesting, but nothing more than just interesting. My pick from this album is probably “And You And I” for its most memorable motifs and lyrics. Strong 2/5, I can be done with Yes.
J - 2/5 Best Track - "America" (From Deluxe Version)
I didn’t give this a fair go but it was so unappealing from first couple of songs that I just couldn’t face it.
It was ok but for me it's a oncer of an album. It felt like one of those albums you have to work to appreciate. Music from the head not from the heart.
Honestly, this album was a slog. I'll start by saying that performance from the musicians are absolutely top drawer. The level of skill is very clear. They can sing, they can play and they have obviously spent a long time throwing this together. But, that's what it feels like; thrown together. Each song is broken up into small pieces of songs that span across a wide range of genres. I know, I know! That's prog, right? However, I found it hard to latch onto any one of the four songs I found on this album (and I was gutted to find out that there were bonus tracks on the version I located!). It's disjointed for a verse/chorus/verse/chorus simple mind like me, and frankly, I didn't enjoy this. There's a lot of 70s stuff that I'm sure they pioneered, but we've heard heaps of since then and I don't really like. I did enjoy the 70s synth, I'm a big fan of that sound. 'And You and I' is probably the one take away from me, probably because it has some melody that sticks, amongst all of the randomness. And, personally, I preferred the bonus track version (so, I'm not even sure it counts!). I cap my song length at about 8 minutes. Sorry, Prog. 2 Stars.
Mostly just noise
Prog rock musicians Spent so long wondering if they could they never stopped to think if they should
Dad music
This was mediocre for me.
Not my thing
Yes, but no actually. I know this band is loved by many, but they aren’t doing much for me. Lots of organ, that’s different… otherwise it was pretty bland to me.
I don't get it. Like, even a bit. I can tell they are all amazing instrumentalists, but it doesn't sound like they were making music together. It sounds like everyone recorded some music in a studio to some beat (seemingly not always the same beat) and then put it altogether into 1 package.
la cançó de 18 minuts? 🧍🏻♀️ àlbum correcte però les cançons duren massa m'he avorrit un poc
and yet another too psychedelic album.
The musicianship is excellent 2/5
Actually liked the other songs but the 17 minute whopper was too much. A lot going on without direction and couldn’t get behind it
No song needs to be over 18 minutes long.
Not my jam.
Reminded me that Prog Rock does not do it for me
3 20 minute songs a lot to process
It's time to just say no to Yes. This is the third album of theirs I've listened to, and they're obviously the flat Diet Coke version of Genesis, and Pink Floyd. Favorite Track: "And You And I".
Maybe
I was filled with mild horror when this showed up as today’s album because I have a general aversion to prog rock. However, I endeavoured to listen to it and was quite surprised by what I heard. Not to the point that I enjoyed it, because I didn’t, but it was kinder on my ears than I thought it would be. The 3 tracks on this album are typically inflated and baroque, and the title track is an 18 minute play in 4 acts. However, it feels less self-aggrandising than a lot of progressive rock. There is relatively little showboating on the whole album, and there is a definite commitment to brevity. The entire album is under 40 minutes. That said, I cannot connect to the pomposity of the album, the pipe organ or the themes a in book I have no desire to read. It reminds me a lot of early Pink Floyd, without the whimsy, because it has that smug “Art” vibe on it. This album is the musical equivalent of reading Kafka in the original language. I will not deliberately listen to this album again.
Not really my type of music
Not their best.
Listened Before? N I'm usually a fan of prog rock, especially older stuff, but this one didn't resonate with me much. I don't like the 3 song format, and I don't really like the musical style. It's skillfully made, it's just not for me. Added to Library? N Songs added to playlist: And You and I
Meh, I much prefer their 80s stuff.
Yes .... No! Alright in parts but all too long winded for me. This from someone who likes Pink Floyd. Go Figure. Passable 2/5
That will push me over the edge
Wow. Back to back Yes albums. The other one I did not like (2). But maybe this one will hit me differently....................................... ............... It did not hit me differently. I'm not saying this is bad music. But I don't like synthesizer and I don't like high voices (generally).
I appreciate the experimentalism, and I like his voice. Songs are a little too long for me, when most of it is instrumental, and honestly a little noisy. Stand out songs: You and I
Yes. I’m not enjoying the prog albums. Unsure why these are so iconic and therefore making this list. Not terrible - but will never revisit
It was hard for me to stay focused
This felt like half an album. Just kind of ended abruptly, which seems weird for indulgent prog-rock.
Sometimes a bit cringe but otherwise great
Love the idea of exploring a song but if you have 4 songs, make 4 tracks
No
good but im not high enough to fully appreciate
Ville bara skriva "no" men är nog närmare ett "nja"
I do not like prog rock
So much faffing about. Would be so much better if they just took some of these ideas and parceled them into songs.
I thought only Maiden had 18 minute songs. A little weird and all over the map for me. On a different day in a different mood I might have liked it better.
Yes, No thanks. no album should start with a near 19 minute self indulgent wank fest.
This was an indulgent chore to listen to.
After listening to side one, I fully understand the hate for prog. Side two improves a bit, but it’s still largely self-indulgent nonsense.
'A dewdrop can exalt us / Like the music of the sun.' Musically, Close To The Edge is decent, approximating Steely Dan at times, tho less jazzy and far less immediate. 'For the crucifixion of her own domain.' Lyrically, it's all pseudo-literary. Even the refrain 'I get up, I get down' - sung w/ what Jon Anderson would like to be soul but is in reality just taciturn geekiness - is supposed to ultimately mean something DEEP but in fact means they read books (Hesse) and thought they were COOL. 'Emotions revealed as the ocean maid.' I'm not sure what they're getting at, but it seems to me that Yes pooh-poohed 'emotions' and went straight for the cerebellum instead. 'Even Siberia goes through the motions.' The fuck?
Well well well I know that back in the 70s making a more than 10min song was normal but 18 MINUTES THAT'S WAY TOO MUCH !!!! The worst is that you have some enjoyable parts in those way-too-long songs so I can't say that I enjoyed the album but the singing part was most of the time really good and there were some good riffs as well.
Love the cover Gloomy music
01) Close to the Edge - 5,5 02) And You and I - 6,0 03) Siberian Khatru - 6,0 TOTAL: 5,83 (58/100) Current ranking: 404/496 This kind of albums makes me feel kind of stupid. Everyone is talking about what a masterpiece it is, and all I hear is an incoherent collection of music put together under the title of the song "Closer to the Edge" which lasts 18 and a half minutes. And I'm trying to understand the quality of that song but I can't. Which means I must be a bit limited and my understanding of music is not good enough. Which makes me very sad. Then we have "And You and I" which is again ten minutes long and has at least four different songs put together and I still don't get the point. The first part is good, then the second part starts... When the third part starts you don't even remember the first one, but we're still on the same song... I don't care. Call me stupid. This is bullshit.
naja, ist bestimmt "künstlerich wertvoll", hat mich aber nicht begeistert
This is impressive in the way someone making a Lego model of your sleep paralysis demon would be: you can marvel at the technical prowess but the artistic direction is somewhat suspect.
Pure unadulterated prog (not a good thing)
I want my money back <you didn’t pay any money for this> I don’t care.
1st track: 😐🤚 2nd track: 🧐👍 3rd track: 😶🫴 "Yes"? Nope, "no thanks" more like.
I get the concept but it is just not for me. Chris Squire's bass tone is sick, though.
I'd like to listen again. I enjoyed bits of it, or bits of songs, but I'm not sure I get it as a whole yet. Some just didn't really tickle my brain. 4/10
These are, long songs. I feel like this would fit in Guardians of the Galaxy. It was fine, but I kind of got tired of it.
It was tough to listen to some of it - a little bit too prog for my taste at the first song. But then it kind of grew on me.
Meh
I generally like Yes (although not a huge fan), but this listen wasn't up to par to me. Not sure what it was, but they have better.
Went on too much, not a fan
Eh it's proggy. Some of it wasn't too bad.
It's alright. Boring and not really my thing.
My run of albums I can’t get enough is well behind me as this is another in the stream I couldn’t really get into I tried to enjoy this, I’m a fan of progressive rock for sure but close to the edge missed the mark for me . I did like it in parts, it is ambients. I think it’s worth a listen but probably not many more for me
When I finally thought the album was done I checked Spotify only to find that I had only heard the first track and it was 18 min long... Like the music wasn't bad, there were tracks I liked. But I am not just going to revisit 10-18 min tracks because I "kinda" liked them.
Mediocre band.
Not for me
Meh Not horrible, but not great.
Long songs that maybe are best left to their era. Good but Ive never been into prog or drawn out music. Just not for me
Interesting but not really my thing.
Nooooo not for me at all. Prog rock
I did not enjoy this at all. While I never did skip a track, I'm not sure if there's another album on the list that had me looking at the time left in the song as often as this one did.
Was ok. It’s prog rock so not my thing
I'm of the opinion that people listened to Yes and King Crimson because there wasn't a lot of better prog rock at the time. Give me Pink Floyd or Porcupine Tree or Explosions in the Sky any day. (And yes, Floyd was around when this came out, but it wasn't really until '73 that they hit their full stride.) 2 stars
Too proggy for me
Really struggling with the vocals on this one. Musically it's fine.
Easy response to this album. No! An 18 minute track to kick off the album was ugh. I’m sorry but these super long tracks artists like to do back then come off as nothing but pretentious. I gave this album until I was done with breakfast, and there were somehow still 3 songs left. I can’t with progressive rock, and most classic/dad rock as it is, so this was extra annoying.
Det här måste man lyssna mycket på för att det ska bli bra.
2.5 Yeah, I’m not getting the hype behind this one. Granted, I’m not a huge prog rock guy, but I can certainly admit there are some cool offerings from the genre - they’re just not on this album. Nothing here wowed me in any way; it just felt overly long and complex for the sake of being overly long and complex. I do appreciate the fact that the first two songs seem to break off into segments to help with the pacing, but there wasn’t any one chunk in particular that felt unlike anything else I’ve heard from Yes - which is three albums at this point, and this one doesn’t even have Roundabout on it. It’s kind of like pizza - if you were presented with an X-Large pie containing every topping known to man on it, would you really opt to eat that over a simple, well-done medium pepperoni? Cause to me, that sounds like an over-indulgent mess, but I’m sure it would have its takers, just as this album does here. The bright side of this album is that it gave me a further appreciation of punk rock. You don’t hear any of the bullshit in that genre you do here - it’s straight-to-the-point, all killer no filler. While I definitely wouldn’t say this album is bad, it just didn’t succeed in pulling me in at any point across my listening to it. At the risk of getting my music nerd card taken away (jk that thing’s been long revoked), I would probably opt to listen to Owner of a Lonely Heart over anything found here.
Was an alright album. My favorite part happened around 10 minutes into the first song. It sounded alright, and it was catchy, but the first song being 18 minutes long is what initially made me not like it as much. It’s not for me, but it’s definitely not completely horrible as an album.
In fairness to this album, I only listened once. Yes' brand of prog rock has yet to click with me, and this album felt the same. Despite my trying to just become engulfed in the music, the 10-20 minute songs weren't for me. Technically good music playing and nothing else. 2/5.
TOO MUCH ORGAN OMFG. lay off the keys my man…i don’t like the guy’s voice—that very 70s strained-sounding style (not sure how else to describe this). i feel like these albums are difficult to rate because i literally don’t feel anything about them but “0 stars” implies i think it’s bad—but i don’t. i don’t think anything.
girl what the hell. i guess i don’t really know the “use case” (for lack of a better/less-nerdy term) for this kind of music. is this something people are listening to just to chill in their house or is it oriented around industrious live performances? it feels too sprawling to be the former but not interesting enough to be the latter. i really don’t want anymore Yes albums… pleek….pleek…….…
I struggled with this one
Close to the Edge “Sad preacher nailed upon the coloured door of time Insane teacher be there reminded of the rhyme There'll be no mutant enemy we shall certify Political ends as sad remains will die Reach out as forward tastes begin to enter you Oooh, ooh’ I mean what can you say about this album? It’s Yes, it’s 18 minute songs consisting of multiple parts, there's lots of technical skill, there's blues and folk influences, the lyrics are shit, the singer enunciates all the syllables at equal length and it’s all a bit lumpen. So it’s exactly what it is - if you are into them and Prog then I imagine this is great. If you aren’t that into them then this all feels a bit pointless. The Close to the Edge Suite - not a great deal to pick out, the guitar intro is immediately aggravating and I don’t think the reggae inspired beat works particularly well. Although I do quite like the bass sound, there is the odd good guitar run here and there and some of the backing vocals are decent. There is probably a great folk inspired song in And You and I, but it gets lost in the rather unnecessary musical changes. This is also probably the worst track for lyrics and vocal style. His voice isn’t particularly interesting and the vocal/melodic style isn’t great either. Similarly there is a decent blues/funk rocker in Siberian Khatru, but, again, the musical changes don’t add to it, they rather dilute the nucleus of something good in that riff and bassline. I think Prog is the genre I’ve struggled most with so far with the list, especially as I feel like I’m now starting to appreciate Jazz (even if I’m not yet fully embracing it). I hadn’t listened to a great deal of Prog before, despite some attempts, so I was looking forward to giving things like this a proper go, but I’m finding it hard going. Not because, I think, I’m struggling with the musical density and difficulty of it, more that I’m struggling with it philosophically. Everything, both musically and lyrically seems to be done for the sake of being complicated or fantastical, with very little sense of either depth or fun, emotional weight or joy, or that it comes from a genuinely different perspective or from actual musical bonkersness or eccentricity - purposefully writing stupid lyrics and overcomplicating songs seems to be the only principle, rather than actually making genuinely interesting music. I gave the previous Yes album 3, as I think it had better songs and ideas and I probably had more of a sense of innocent open mindedness back at album no 82, but this is certainly a 2. It can’t be a 1, as I think, despite the above, there are some decent moments and I can appreciate that if you are a fan then this is good, but it really doesn’t work particularly well musically or emotionally for me. 🥱🥱 Playlist submission: Siberian Khatru
I didn’t listen to the deluxe edition, just the regular. That was enough. Probably a 1.5.
Just way too long and boring for me
2 heavy on the progg, 2 easy on the grogg
Progressive Rock suggests it’s Rock that is better than the Rock that came before, and that is clearly not the case with this album. Progress is an admirable goal, but they fell short here. This is the musical equivalent of Musk trying to build something better than an underground train and ending up with an inefficient taxi service that can only drive one route very slowly. It’s stupid enough trying to reinvent the wheel, but you should at least arrive at something that functions as, you know, a wheel!
No!
let me start out by saying that these guys are very talented. i do like rush and what i have heard from king crimson, so it’s not that i don’t like progressive music, but it’s that yes is just so… boring. the album clocks in at just under 38 minutes. and there are only THREE songs, so i knew going in this would be a challenge. the issue that many progressive bands have is that they tend to lean towards songs being long, grandiose epics full of masturbatory excess. any time a band separates a song into separate “suites”, that’s usually a bad sign. this is one of those albums. but like i said, they’re very talented.
Not my jam.
Starting to think some of these Brit prog acts didn’t have much to say.
Prog is just not my thing. It sounded exactly how I expected it to be; with harpsichords, big riffs and odd lyrics about stuff no one cares about. Then there was the third song with it's funky way-outness. I did like that one so it gets a 2.
Prog Rock ist nicht so mein Ding
This record wasn't as bad as the last Yes record but I wouldn't say it was good. I like the idea here but there has to be SOMETHING to hold onto. Some melody or something.
It's not a Yes from me. Wasn't sure how to rate this one because parts of it were good. But overall, I was begging for the album to end. Songs were way too long. The bird noises at the start threw me off, and theres multiple riffs and genres mashed together on one song. Also wasn't a huge fan of the singers voice. Sorry! 2 ⭐️
Ironically, no.
I wanted to like it more but unfortunately didn’t do much for me
Busy, too much going on. I prefer Emerson, Lake, and Palmer
The nature sounds to start the album off are nice. Very interesting instrumentation, especially the guitar. Really excited for another progressive album. This first song has been a wild ride. Am loving the gothic organ type music 12 mins in! Another vibe change within the same song! Keeps you guessing for sure. And You and I is a really good song. I like the folky bit 6 mins in. The nonsense lyrics sprinkled in are kind of funny to me. So far it has been an ok album, but nothing has gripped me. Some of the instrumentation seems a bit pointless, which I think is a common gripe of progressive music. I am enjoying the song America. This album was fine, but nothing special. That was surprising to me since I enjoy prog so much.
A nothing album
Heard some of it, just to long of songs that didn't really land.
2.5/5
Pompous, fantasy van music. The funny part is, I don't think nights flying dragon or aliens, floating through space would want to listen to the garbage. When it comes to Yes, I say no thanks.
No
prog slog
Not a prog enjoyer
I like two songs by YES. Neither is on this album. But if you've ever heard Roundabout and thought, I wish this song was longer, 10 minutes longer, and more pointless - this may be the album for you. Not for me though.
Boring and weird.
Never thought I’d find an album too “progressive”, but hey, if you are a fan of the genre, you’re going to love this album.
If my kids ever ask what 70s prog-rock sounded like outside of radio-edited singles, I feel confident that I can point to this or Jethro Tull’s “Thick as a Brick” as representative examples. I’m equally confident that they will never ask that question. Prog-rock singles are just fine.
Three songs too many Rambling jammy hoopla No hooks, just endless
I'd heard of Yes, but hadn't listened to them. I'm not sure how that had happened but i'm glad it did. time saved
This is overly long and too similar to Roundabout for me
I prefer other Yes albums. Never listened to this one before. Probably won't listen again...
I enjoy an occasional Yes tune but this was a bit overwhelming. Didn’t love it.
I guess I just don’t understand what this adds to the list that the previous two Yes albums that cropped up don’t. 2.5
Day76 - crazy that an album was released with just 3 songs
Meh. I like some other Yes but this didn’t do it for me.
Interesting album. Not terrible but not really my jam. 2.5 stars
no
Amazing musicianship, but I don't come away humming Yes melodies.
Yes? That’s a no from me dawg.
Forgot pretty much everything this album presented to me the second it finished
Как старый неинтересный фильм посмотрел, не понравилось.
5/10
I really can't get into prog. Just so insipid.
I usually like prog...
Weird album. 2
I’m not averse to a bit of prog when I’m in the mood, but to quote Joseph II this really has far too many notes for my taste. It opens with mad, free jazz style guitar noodling and never really calms down at any point. The 18 minute title track has some good parts, but it’s hard work to listen to. Apparently side 2 is supposed to be more folk and rock oriented, but it’s really more of the same, although the songs are a bit shorter. OK, I guess.
No.
Yes? No.
Sehr konzeptionell angelegt. Ein paar nette Passagen dabei, aber dann doch teilweise etwas zu abgehoben für mich.
No. Mere end 18 minutter er over kanten...
I was not expecting a sea of 5 star reviews here. The amount of interesting music summarily dismissed because it isn't straightforward rock music in this list is extremely high. So I naturally imagined this would get a rough ride. I don't know Yes. I haven't ever really heard their stuff, but I know they are largely the reason the music press turned on prog and convinced a young and impressionable me that it was unlistenable noodle wank, and so I didn't listen to any prog for many years. It later seeped in as I delved deeper into the output of crate diggers with niche radio shows and podcasts (and also, World Snooker Champion turned DJ Thundermuscle, Steve Davis, opened my ears to the wondrous Weidorje), and there is so much to love about it. I'm still not sure about Yes though. Some of this stuff sounds like Flaming Lips in places among other things. Particularly the midpoint in the opener. This isn't a bad thing, but my favourite stuff in prog is when a tune builds and builds on a rhythm and goes in different directions, expanding and contracting all the while. This does that, but chaotically, a little like free jazz, which I find a little harder to connect with. The apotheosis of prog? No. Get out. It is definitely 'interesting' however. Thanks, Steve.
Ugh
not a fan of prog. my adhd simply cannot handle an 18 minute song. the shorter songs were more bearable but i just wanted it to be over
Sorry but I really dislike prog rock
Again, not sure why this is considered a top album.
It's not that it's bad or anything, it's just that this is not well-suited to my tastes. It's self-indulgent. It's too dang long. It's got more head than heart involved in the creation of it. It's very clever. And I'm a fan of cleverness in lots of human endeavors, but not really in music all that much. I think it could use an editor. I'd prefer it if it were in two-and-a-half to five minute long chunks instead of in overblown 18 minute long slogs. These guys are incredible musician's. They are capable of greatness. This album is just a little too far up its own butthole for me to really enjoy it.
Well, I guess brilliant if you like progressive rock, but I don't. Okay, the musicians including singer are of course exquisite, legendary line-up, that makes it 2 stars and not 1.
A bit to proggy for me. I thought every song sounded like Roundabout and none were
- Als ich die Laufzeit des ersten Songs gesehen habe, hatte ich direkt wieder Bedenken. Allerdings gefiel es mir bis zum dritten Part tatsächlich gut. Nach einem ruhigeren Übergang, gegen den wenig einzuwenden ist, ging es dann mit dem vierten Part nervig und eintönig zu Ende - schade. Im Song Titel haben sie schon die Unterteilung in vier Parts, dementsprechend hätte man auch vier Tracks daraus machen können (wobei ich natürlich verstehen kann, dass sie hier wahrscheinlich ein Konzept dahinter gibt und diese vier Akte ohne Unterbrechung rüberbringen möchten). - And You and I hat zwischendurch ganz coole Instrumentals, hätte aber auch wieder gerne ab der Hälfte zu Ende sein können - Auch die zweite Hälfte des Albums holt mich nicht mehr wirklich ab Rating: 2 / 5
No to Yes. Songs are series of novels. Some fun lyrics and instruments but nah.
2/5 - Hard for me to judge this properly as I don't like the genre. Not my cuppa.
Puf, sin pies ni cabeza. Puf, encima tienen una versión de América de Simon and Gartfunkel ... que no mejora nada la original.
Group should be called No this was not for me
I like Yes but I have to be in the right mood for this one. The title track might be good for meditation or falling asleep'
Music for pretentious hobbits
I really tried but it’s too meandering and I couldn’t hold my attention for even the length of the shortest track. Great musicianship - mediocre record.
Too much organ synth.
zu stressig
I’m generally feeling kind of meh about this. It’s 70s prog rock, lots of guitar shredding and synth sounds together. It’s just not really hitting much for me beyond a few moments here and there. Not super critical, but the album is stylized in a weird way that wasn’t super clear from the Spotify version. I was listening to the first song (15 minutes long) and I thought “this sounds like multiple totally different songs”. Turns out on the original version each side was one song with sub-songs (plus one more main song on the B side). Spotify doesn’t make this clear though, so it makes the 15 minute song feel a bit odd altogether. The Spotify version also has a few other tracks that weren’t on the original, including an “America” cover (significantly worse than the original). Favorite song: And You and I Other: Total Mass Retain