“It was like we’d climbed the mountain. My head was spinning every time I sang it”: Yes created longer songs than Close To The Edge, but none with as much impact

Yes in 1972.

In 2022 the makers of Prog and Classic Rock presented Yes: The Complete Story, a special-edition magazine dedicated to the progressive rock giants and their five-decade history. It included the story of the title track from their definitive 1972 album Close To The Edge.

Right from the start, Yes were driven by a desire to push their music toward the grand or epic, through startlingly reimagined cover versions or through their own compositions. Although the likes of Van der Graaf Generator, Caravan, Pink Floyd, ELP and Jethro Tull got there before them, an extended composition had been on Yes’ to-do list for quite a while. “We knew we were going to do a long-form piece, something that would take up the side of an album,” bassist Chris Squire recalled in 2013.