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Yes: Close to the Edge (Symphonic Live) (Patreon)

Published:
2023-07-07 20:30:01
Imported:
2026-06
Tags:

Videos

Content

This is the full reaction to the Symphonic Live version of Close to the Edge with the performance visuals included. The YouTube version just includes audio.

Enjoy!

Files

Yes: Close to the Edge - Symphonic Live | Episode 614

This is "Yes: Close to the Edge - Symphonic Live | Episode 614" by Doug Helvering on Vimeo, the home for high quality videos and the people who love them.

Comments

Jim Reeves

I feel like the orchestra necessarily pulls the tempo down and somewhat crushes the dynamics, unfortunately. I still marvel at Jon's unblemished voice after all these decades.

Randy Hammill

Overall I think the tempo works well. It makes it a bit more majestic, along with the orchestra. However, the post-'80s Howe has lost some of his touch in terms of fast playing and his tone is a bit too clean for my liking. It's lost the edge. In this piece, the opening is supposed start from chaos, and it lacks that feel. However, when seeing this live during the tour, it wasn't as noticeable as it is on the DVD. I agree that from an objective musical standpoint this performance *is* pretty amazing, especially with the orchestra, but I do miss that fire. Other than Steve (who is still significantly better than most), the band is in top form. The slower tempos in general means they won't quite have the excitement of earlier years, particularly the '78-'79 tour where they were really at the peak of their playing as a unit. The second guitar is an electric sitar, so it has a different tone due to the sympathetic strings. Tom Brislin is spectacular on this tour, and I highly recommend Gates of Delirium on this DVD. Of course, Ritual is also a must, and probably benefits from the orchestra even more than Close to the Edge - and the percussion movement is epic. Oh, and for the orchestra, it was a different orchestra for most shows. I seem to vaguely remember that in Europe they may have had the same orchestra for a little while, but in the US the local orchestra would receive the scores the morning of the show, if I remember. Because of cost, they would have a rehearsal during the day, and then they were on stage that night. As a guitarist and rock enthusiast that blows my mind, but orchestral players are more accustomed to performing from a score (and sight-reading), but it's still pretty amazing. But I'm sure that had some impact on each night's performance. There are few bands that I think are better suited to performing with an orchestra. With the exception of something like Pirates and their classical adaptations, I think Yes' music is more symphonic in nature than even ELP.

David Marshall

I first heard them live in 1975, on the Relayer tour. Yes, back when I was that young, I preferred the faster tempo. Now that I'm older (and slower), I do appreciate the slower tempo and the extra space to absorb that it provides. CTTE: also my all-time favorite piece of music, by anyone, in any genre - of course, I was raised on classical music and initially thought rock was awfully boring. For me, CTTE never gets old (even though I have!).

Bill Coonley

While watching the You Tube version (where we couldn't see the video), I wrongly said that Steve was playing a Line 6 guitar to get the electric sitar sound, but clearly he was using the old Coral Sitar!

Mark Brennan

You warmed my heart Doctor! It was indeed this album that first attracted me to your channel all those months ago. And then I went away for awhile, but then I saw you did The "Dark Side Of The Moon". And that's when I joined your Patreon group. And then, Dr., I saw that you had "Abbey Road" and "Close To The Edge" on your wall - and "Dark Side Of The Moon" almost ready to hang... Holy Moley, doctor! You're now 3/4 the way to my TOP 4 ALBUMS OF ALL TIME. I simply couldn't believe it, doctor. Let's see: John, Paul, George, Ringo. 1,2,3,4. a,b,c,d. Beatles, Yes, Pink Floyd... LED ZEPPELIN! It's the natural order of things. It became my mission in life to get you to put up the following on your wall: ABBEY ROAD CLOSE TO THE EDGE DARK SIDE OF THE MOON PHYSICAL GRAFFITI Imagine how excited I was, Dr., to see you put up the LZ poll, and, by synchronicity, Physical Graffiti beat out IV. I was SO SURE you would be hooked... I could almost see that album cover on your wall... so beautifu.... Led Zeppelin... Ha! Ya don't like Robert's voice! Rats! Back to the drawing board. Hmmmmm. Here's my replacement, which I submit only under duress: The Who's 1972 album Who's Next with the excellent songs Baba O'Riley and Won't Get Fooled Again. The Who are no Zep, but whattayagonnado?

Mark Brennan

Oh... and dr... I like the slower tempo. They've done a number of live versions of this song already. so it's nice to hear the song I love changed only by the pacing - it's old and yet new. Fabulous!

David Bence

I think that Jon was listening to Sibelius 3 and 6 at the time. Listening to these two symphonies gives an insight into the moods, emotions and use of melody on CTTE. Blomstedt with the San Fran are good versions.

John Baird

One of the first albums I bought that I didn’t have wait to hear, previous stuff could only be played on a friend’s stereo as at the time I didn’t have one. I waited for almost 2 years to hear “The Yes Album on my own system. All those years ago. This to my simple mind was the best version of Yes minus of course messers Wakeman and Bruford. The orchestral stuff is a superb listen, even with the slower tempo. I have seen many versions of Yes through the years including the Buggles inclusion. All very different and always exciting. The saddest thing about Yes now is that they are more karaoke than anything. I had seen previous comments about the band saying that Yes music would continue well into the future with different and differing musicians. All well and good but at least the Buggles version of the band did not attempt to copy John’s voice or inflection where as now, as stated previously, they sound more like a karaoke band. Sad but I think true. The best thing I think, is that we will always have the original music and lineups that produced wonderful albums that can be relied on to bring a smile to an aging fans face. RIP Chris and Alan

Walking the Path with Chris Ramsbottom

A word on the words, so to speak. Just think of them as being in another language, like Italian or German, and you are listening to a choral work by Verdi or Bach. You don't have to understand the words! I think Rick Wakeman once said that as far as he knew, Jon didn't understand them either!

Fort-Man

BTW the "Overture" heard at the open was an adaptation of Larry Groupé's orchestral intro to "Give Love Each Day" from the album _Magnification_. (Larry himself conducted the orchestras at a few of the early live dates on the tour, but later on handed off the duties to others because of schedule conflicts.) Glad you enjoyed the video, hope you like the rest of the DVD as much!

Howaard Hughes

As I recently commented on your Selling England show, I was 18 when these albums and especially this piece lodged deeply into my mind and has remained my favorite piece in the universe. A constant presence in my ID accompanying the events of my life for the last 50 years, it once again brought me to tears. I was afraid the orchestra might detract from the powerful keyboard parts, but they were wise not to let that happen. I was thrilled that the sound of the B3 was not updated to something else but disappointed not to hear a Moog on the synthesizer solo parts. (Nothing less will do!) I was lucky to hear it live for the first time on the Yessongs tour although the P.A. systems of that time were primitive and shrill, and the one they used was really much too big for the venue I saw them in. I no doubt sufferred damage to my ears and the acid probably didn’t help either. lol Doug, thank you for sharing this with us.

Bill Brinkmoeller

I hope your DVD has a 5.1 mix available on it, because I'll bet that would sound magnificent. This was really wonderful to see and hear, and I can personally vouch that the hairs on my arms and the back of my neck were standing on end many times during this. I agree with you about the tempo. Because they're taking their time, there's more room for the orchestra in the music, and they utilize it well throughout the piece. (Also, in live performances, this is the one Yes song, more than any other, that Alan White tries to duplicate Bill Bruford's original brilliant drum part, even down to the sound of his snare.) I've seen Yes three times, and the first was that "Fragile" tour, where this album was thought up, and the rest also in the Seventies. They never disappointed, which is why I can't bring myself to see either of the feuding Yes "franchises" of today. Early on, I latched onto the verse where Jon sings "Getting over all the time I had to worry / Leaving all the changes far from far behind / We relieve the tension / Only to find out the Master's name." I thought he might have been talking about his ideas of an afterlife. Using that as a fulcrum, I can lever the rest of the lyrics into some sort of sense, but that is as much a construct of my own mind as anyone else's interpretation, I suppose. Thanks, Doug. This was a blast!

Jeff Norman

I love how, in latterday appearances, Jon does whatever he can to contribute to the musical textures: percussion, keys, acoustic guitar, harp... He was never JUST the singer!

Juan Ignacio Quesada

The overture is the opening for Magnification studio album which you MUST react to

Don Mal 1

YES YES....5th time in 3 days and will ........thankx Doug...this song still gives me HOPE.................love for over 50 + years........Yes yes......dk

Don K Mal 1

Jon's voice...what more can you say....dk

MrWondrous David Beckwith

The band, orchestra and audience do not show the residual shock from 9/11 which was only a couple of months old, and in the very city they had played a couple of nights before, and which I happened to see. The version at Radio City was far more exuberant and at the correct speed, I believe. That said, this is a great performance and video, the entirety do I recommend. It ends wondrously with the girls from the orchestra dancing Roundabout with them. It's the Siddhartha story in music, and tops in my book.

Duff

I am not a big live recording fan but WOW ! I think I will have to get this especially the video . Magnificent.