For an explanation of CoronaVinyl, click here.
Today's CoronaVinyl category is "Y," and I only have a few albums by "Y" artists left, one of which is Yes's fifth studio album, 1972's Close to the Edge.
England's Yes was one of prog rock's pioneering bands, and Close to the Edge is pure prog. Side 1 is one long, 18-minute title track, with four suites within it. Side 2 is a whopping two songs, with "And You and I" clocking in at over 10 minutes and "Siberian Khatru" coming in at a meager 8:55.
As I've said before, I've never been a huge fan of prog rock, though I don't dislike this album. With lots of instrumental sections and some songs with parts that were funkier than I expected, it was a good album to have on in the background while I worked. And, of course, the musicianship is excellent. I also think the reptilian album cover has an understated coolness about it.
Close to the Edge was the band's second consecutive Top 5 album on the Billboard album chart, reaching #3 -- making it their highest-charting album in the U.S. as of today -- and it was also their third consecutive Top 10 album on the UK album chart, reaching #4. It was also #1 in the Netherlands and #7 in Canada. "And You and I" also charted on the Billboard Hot 100, barely missing out on the Top 40 at #42.
The band has continued to make music and tour in the nearly 50 years since then. All told, including studio, live, and compilation albums, Yes has had 12 albums that charted in the Top 20 of the Billboard album charts, including 7 Top 10 albums. In their native UK, they have had 15 Top 20 albums on the UK album chart, including 11 Top 10s and 2 #1s. Prog doesn't always lend itself to radio-friendly songs, but the band did have six Top 40 hits on the Billboard Hot 100, including the #1 song "Owner of a Lonely Heart" in 1983. Yes was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2017.
Since the album has only three songs on it, I'm not going to pick a favorite from each side.
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