Customer Reviews

Yes: Close to the Edge

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

30 years ago Chris Welch was, through my formative musical years, one of the rock journalists I looked up to! But now, 30 years on and looking back, I found this biography more consistent with my adolescent literary needs of 30 years ago! While containing many facts, it also has much irrelevant nonsense and somewhat twee statements most annoyingly followed by exclamation marks (about one per page)! So much so that I got tired of the 6th form style of writing very quickly! E.g. P41 on the longevity of the band "...but here we are, still going thirty years later!". P42 on meeting other members "Within a week I had met Chris!". On P43, on early photos, "They would now be of great historical value - if Chris hadn't lost the lot!" On P43 again, on Jon Anderson's autocracy "Everyone was entitled to HIS opinion. That's the best way of putting it!". Note the tiresome and repetetive exclamation marks! Are these supposed convey Wow!? Amazing!? Oh Dear!? Oh Christ!? Or what!? Whatever the intention it becomes annoying very quickly and the text ends up reading like a fan club member's essay full of some kind of mock astonishment, conveyed by endless exclamation marks! There are better Yes books around! (Annoying exclamation marks there to illustrate a point).

...and certainly sophomoric, I must admit that this book is still a better read than the usual supercilious pedantry of the Earnest Aspiring ProgBoy Writer. The best part: Broof decks Squire. God knows Fishy had it coming; don't you agree?

I have to agree with most of the reviews here; mostly personality and business problems, little on the construction of what is some of the most complex music of the 20th century.

The book is best when Welch talks about the early years of the band; how they started, where they came from. After the Yes Album, a lot of the book seems concerned with chart numbers, gold and platinum sales, accounting discrepencies, and first-class trips to Bermuda. A lot of this material reads as if Welch had just boilerplated his original articles into book form with little or no editing.

Paul Stump does better with less, and we get a strong picture of the music. Not here. Funny vegetarian stories and Trevor Rabin's musical awards.

Yes:Close to the Edge is thirty year journey with the English Rock super Group Yes. This insightful piece tells the real stories of how the band came together, the good times and their travails.

The book outlines the strengths and weaknesses of the band members, and gives an indepth background of each of the thirteen band members. From lead singer Jon Anderson to the latest member Igor, Yes:Close to the Edge gives details of the relationships of the band members and how they have learned to appreciate each other after so many years.

Must reading for the true Yesfan.

The product received was exactly what was advertised. It was shipped promptly and in good condition. I have not completed reading the book but I have already learned a few things regarding Yes that I had never heard before. It is a good and quick read with a great deal of insight into the group.

My favorite progressive rock band from the 1970s as money grubbing spoiled rock stars? Yes? No! The author certainly loves the band but reveals them as quite human after all, blowing the lid off the Yes mystique of cosmic peace and mind altering exploration, as they scramble to keep pace with changing public musical tastes and advancing middle age. Even after reading "Close To The Edge, The Story of Yes", the band members remain as strangers coming across as mere participants in the great machine called Yes, and as less than mature men who blame all their troubles on everyone but themselves. The author's narrative rolls along serving Yes information, however tedious to the unadorned, in an enjoyable way until the end when he suddenly dropa out of sight allowing the concluding chapter to serve as a promotion for the band's new album. One wonders if the band's participation for the book was dependent on that promotion.

As a major Yes fan for over 25 years, I've often thought I knew everything there was to know about the band. Well, Chris Welch taught me a few things. His linear approach and comfortable style of writing made the book very hard to put down. I was enthralled by his descriptions of recording sessions; tours; member resignations; firings; and even how much they got paid for each gig in the early days. He delves into each member's personality and you get a feeling for how the members made the band more than a product of the sum of their individual efforts. If there's even just a single biographical book you buy this year, make it this one.