Having listened to and enjoyed Close To The Edge and Fragile, where should I go next with Yes...

Having listened to and enjoyed Close To The Edge and Fragile, where should I go next with Yes? Which of their albums are worth listening to and which aren't?

Also I suppose this can also be a prog thread

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The Yes Album.

Do you want another album that plays out like CttE Part 2? Listen to Relayer.

Do you want Fragile but with less filler and arguably better overall? Listen to The Yes Album.

Also 2 weeks until new Big Big Train, who /hype/?

This. Also check out Going For the One. Criminally underrated but it's of my favorites. Turn of the Century and Awaken are GOAT.

The Yes Album and Relayer. Tales From Topographic Oceans is somewhat divisive but it's an incredibly proggy album so you may enjoy it, I know some people love that record.

Unfortunately Yes had a really amazing streak from 1971-1972, three albums, but after that they were patchy as fuck and never quite recovered outside of bits and pieces here and there.

Also, their live album Yessongs is worth a listen.

The Yes Album is what you want next, Relayer is also really great.

Then listen to Tales from Topographic Oceans, that will help you decide if you really love them or not.

Once you have listened to CttE, TFTO, and Relayer I would recommend you to listen to other artists instead.

Relayer
The Yes Album
Tormato
Drama
in that order

Tales From Topographic Oceans is not worth it. Don't get tricked by the side long tracks. It's the complete opposite of Close to the Edge. There's nothing natural or effortlessly beautiful about it. It pretends to be way more important than it is. Yes made a huge mistake in trying so hard to top Close to the Edge when what they should have done was gone back to basics and reassess what they were capable of. Just look at how the album Close to the Edge is structured; After the glacial finale of the closing track, the first thing you hear is a six string guitar being tuned and strummed. It assumes no huge amount of importance right off the bat, but it gradually builds to something beautiful and magnificent. That's how Yes should have followed up this album, but they fucked up by being like, "Oh my god, look how important this is, we're totally topping Close to the Edge right now."

>closing track
I meant the title track.

Oh, and to be clear, you wont find a Yes album, or even a prog album, that even TOUCHES close to the edge, that is unless you liked Fragile, the Yes album might be your cup of tea, but then I'd move onto Gentle Giant or Gong

Relayer is my favourite. For me it improved everything about CttE. As they said, Yes album is also great. Topographic Ocean is great too. It's just long and incredibly proggy. Going For The One is the best outside of them. Has poppier moments but nothing like 80s Yes. Parallels and Awaken are fantastic.

Can we end this "X-Yes-Album is better than CttE" meme because its just wrong. CttE is Yes's best album and its not even close.

the yes album

but desu if you're expecting more stuff quite on the same level as close to the edge you might be a little disappointed

>Relayer>Ctte
>going for the one is better than Fragile
wow just wow

He's already listened to Fragile. And basically I just think To Be Over is way better than Siberian Khatru and Gates is marginally better than CttE title track. There's not much in it but I do really prefer Relayer.

Not him but Fragile's filler really drags the album down.

Are there any non-Yes prog albums that are at least comparable to CttE in terms of scope and quality? Classic prog is completely new to me so I'm looking for more shit to get into.

2112, Farewell To Kings, Hemispheres.

and CttE has no filler

not really, unless you like Rush or something. Larks Tongue in Aspic by King Crimson is pretty ambitious (there are rhythms and melodies that persist throughout, its actually really impressive once they are pointed out to you specifically) but as is the main problem with KC, they aren't able to make the album build and release properly.

While not neccessarily Symphonic Prog like Yes, In the Court of the Crimson King (King Crimson) and Thick as a Brick (Jethro Tull) are also considered keystones of the genre, so try looking there.

Big Generator has some really good tracks.
Shoot High Aim Low is the shit.
youtube.com/watch?v=ibC3usuo9Pk

I mean it doesn't have Cans and Brahms, We Have Heaven, and Five Per Cent for Nothing so...

Fucking love Tales. Level with CTTE for my favorite Yes album. Goddamn the synth wankery just wanks me right off.

which ones bb

People will disagree but Nursery Cryme is even more superior imho

I don't consider those filler either, I enjoy Cans and Brahms, We Have Heaven should be on an Anco album (i like it a lot), five percent for nothing is pretty much filler yeah

I guess We Have Heaven is debatable, but Cans and Brahms could've been something so much better than just a classical cover if Wakeman's record company wasn't fucking him over.

Per un Amico by Premiata Forneria Marconi is CttE but better.

Anything

Personally, Foxtrot > Selling England... > Nursery Crimes.

>Per un Amico by Premiata Forneria Marconi
u got a link

I'll leave out and Pink Floyd...
In the Court of the Crimson King - King Crimson
Larks Tongue in Aspic - King Crimson
2112 - Rush
Farwell to Kings - Rush
Hemispheres - Rush
4 Visions - Eskaton
Camembert Electrique - Gong
Thick as Brick - Jethro Tull
Banco del mutuo Soccorso - Banco del mutuo Soccorso
Wierdoje - Wierdoje
this guy is wrong but Per un Amico is still pretty good

Drama!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

this is a good idea. if you like this also time & a word is super good
for more like CttE, Relayer is closest, then Tales From Topographic Oceans is good, though i'll admit it took me a few listens to really "get into it."

underrated, i still dont' understand why 90125 and Going for the One are considered better than this

rick wakeman is also really good and his solo stuff isn't too different from yes. the albums i know of his & enjoy are journey to the center of the earth and myths and legend of king arthur and the knights of the round table which is not a short name for a thing

Gates of Delirium isn't nearly as intense and beautiful as Close to the Edge. Close to the Edge feels like this journey from the darkness to the light, and reflects the transitory nature of life, in everything from the reoccurring mantra of "I get up, I get down," to the synth solo that comes crashing in after the middle section of the track, where the melody sounds both light and happy, and sinister at the same time. Just listen to the first few minutes of the track, where this rush of ambiance brings in this doomy, chaotic, intense chord, and how the whole track takes you from this dark realm to the very end of the track, which feels like trust-falling into your existence. Gates of Delirium is a cool song - better than anything on Tales at least - but it still doesn't touch Close to the Edge.

>that organ part out of nowhere
>I GET UP, I GET DOWN
>organ part gets more dramatic, more dissonant
>that bass synth/low moog riff that goes lower and lower
>that abrupt change in tempo and style
i came

isn't gates of delirium based on war & peace or something? i wouldn't discredit it a lot, it's still super good, and the "war" section around the middle is pretty crazy and intense. i do prefer close to the edge still, but they're both my favorite 20min yes songs for sure

I feel like you could quite easily write a similar piece in praise of Gates of Delirium. The way it evolves from its shimmering opening to intense madness and crescendo, and finally the 'Soon' section. Feels just as much as an evolving journey as Close to the Edge.

Close to the Edge just feels way more profound and inspired. It's the point in their discography where their ambitions and their capabilities were completely matched, and they were able to fully execute what they had within them to it's fullest.

Also, true, you could easily praise Gates of Delirium similarly to how I praised Close to the Edge, but you'd be limited to what Gates of Delirium achieves, and in short, I don't think Gates of Delirium ever reaches the amazing heights that Close to the Edge does.

Whilst I fully understand your opinion (and looking at their discography chronologically, you could argue that if you feel Topographic Ocean is too bloated and overindulgent (although I can imagine people arguing that it's the pinnacle)), but I feel like Relayer was the point where ambition met execution. Especially when taken as a whole album. Making track 2 the chaotic centre, and the finale the moment of seren calm echoes the structure of the 'main' ~20min track and suits much more than closing with Siberian Khatru. That said, And You And I is possibly my favourite Yes track because it does feel so effortlessly profound. But if we're merely talking about the centre-pieces, I personally think Gates of Delirium is both more impressive and more enjoyable. But again, it's a close call because CttE is absolutely fantastic too.

fuck this thread is reminding me of how fucking dope yes were, goddamn what a rock band

All the times Rick Wakeman would go get fucked up with Black Sabbath, and get curries delivered onstage and shit.

Listening to Topographic Oceans now, what don't people like about this album? The sprawling tracks, measured pace and synth noodling are god tier so far.

It's completely nonsensical and meaningless. It's nothing like Close to the Edge, where everything is logically building to a dramatic conclusion. It's just thrown together with no purpose. There's nothing sensible in any of the tracks' development. It all just exists to exist, and tricks you by pretending to be 'epic' or 'dazzling.' This is why punk rock had to happen.

90215 and Big Generator
rhythm of love is amazing
Leave it from 90125

It also completely flies in the face of Close to the Edge on a philosophical level. They had been progressively building up to Close to the Edge, so the logical thing to do would be to top Close to the Edge, right? Wrong. Tales From Topographic Oceans is them trying to tackle something that wasn't within them. They were able to steadily top themselves with each album leading up to Close to the Edge because that was their natural progression, and they tried to deny that with Tales. It's really almost an insult to Close to the Edge if anything.

I was hyped until the title track dropped. Slightly less hyped now because it sounds like Make Some Noise with a couple of good instrumental sections tacked on. Its a little cringey. I hope its a grower and nothing else on the album is that cringe.

'Sound Chaser' alone is nearly a funner track than the whole 'CttE' album, and 'Gates' are obviously greater than 'Sound Chaser'.

I... I don't even have the energy.

I don't really relate to the devotion for 'Close to the Edge' devotion in this thread and elsewhere. 'CttE', very good as it is, is putting the story, the spiritual ect. message, before the music to a degree. When I listen to the title track, I have the feeling that... the composition is indeed still straightforward. Yesyes, the piece 'evolves', is tasteful, it fits the concept tightly, and so on, but I miss the all-out abandon of 'Gates' + 'Sound Chaser', that outweighs the odd solo on 'Close'. 'CttE' is just done a bit too much by the book... even if that book is a scripture.

In other words, 'CttE' to 'Relayer' is what 'The Yes Album' is to 'CttE': a more formulaically song-y younger sibling.

Just reminding you all that Yes put out a great album in 2011.

In the Court of The Crimson King and any of the 70's King Crimson albums with Bruford on drums are worth a listen.

literally any king crimson album shits on close to the edge

With a guy from a Yes cover band.

Why is this album so underrated/underappreciated?

>Nobody's recommended Selling England by the Pound

In my opinion Genesis at their peak were clearly superior to Yes at theirs, and Selling England by the Pound is "symphonic prog" to boot. Try that.

youtube.com/watch?v=k9X2QtzCvBQ

I GET UP

King Crimson, Gentle Giant, Henry Cow, Van der Graaf Generator all have albums superior to CttE.

Also I prefer Relayer to CttE. :3

I GET SAGED

>why doesn't everyone have the same opinions

I also prefer Relayer,, Gates of Delirium is imo one of the single best prog tracks ever made

>trying to introduce Gentle Giant to women

is it even possible? It seems like "Music women will NEVER understand" territory

I've introduced a girl to an ELP piece, 'A Plague of Lighthouse Keepers', and a Magma live performance, and she enjoyed them for all I know.

introduce her to this, see how she reacts

youtube.com/watch?v=yUpREizsftU