The latest episode of the syndicated radio show In The Studio with Redbeard: The Stories Behind History's Greatest Rock Bands features a first hand account from Yes current and former members Jon Anderson, Rick Wakeman, Steve Howe and Bill Bruford about perhaps the pinnacle moment for progressive rock with the 1972 release of Yes Close to the Edge. The show sent over these details:
Coming off the breakthrough success of the band's Fragile album just nine months earlier, YES had now gained a level of commercial capital that they intended to spend. It wouldn't come in the form of three and a half minute pop songs, instead appearing as an album of only three songs. Close to the Edge would debut at # 3 on the Billboard Top 200 Album Chart and crown Yes as progressive rock royalty for decades to come. Jon Anderson tells In The Studio host Redbeard that the band did not intentionally aspire to create complex lengthy songs.
Jon Anderson: "We were making music and we'd stop when it was finished and look at each other and say, "Well that's great, what is it?" And (producer/engineer) Eddie Offord would say,' its twelve minutes long.' Wow, well, we'll just tighten that up a bit and it's ten minutes long. Wow, we were more surprised than anybody that it was long. We just made music until it was finished." Stream the episode here.
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