Welcome to the first edition of the Classic of the Month. As you can see, this section in Phaedrus features a combination of audio and text. This allows you to take the program with you and listen to it at your convenience. Then, you can always come back to the text section and continue your exploration of each classic.

Audio Program

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And yes, exploration is a key word. Imagine that you went to visit the pyramids some years ago. You were astonished by what you saw, took some pictures and purchased a tourist booklet with general information. Every now and then, you revisit your photos and read the booklet. Now a friend invites you to visit them again but this time, you form part of an expedition guided by an expert. You see the same pyramids, but now the guide unveils details that had gone unnoticed in your previous visit. The guide zooms in on special details and provides complementary information at every step of the way. At the end of the trip, you feel as if this was your first visit to the pyramids. Because you now see them under an entirely different light.

This is the purpose of this section. I will assume that you are already acquainted with each classic, and have enjoyed repeated listenings throughout the years. My aim is to provide you with a new insight, a better understanding of each work and, to benefit from my investigation on relevant information in the Internet. The “Resources” section provides links that will give you a more comprehensive view of the classic. Going back to the pyramids example, it is as if at the end of the visit, the guide gave you a paper full of references on articles, books, videos, and links that he believes are the best source to get you fully documented.

So now that you have a good understanding of what this section is about, before moving on let me tell you briefly what this section is not:

• This section is not about reviews. You can find tons of good reviews of these classics in the Internet.
• This section does not pretend to present a rigorous musical analysis. Although I will talk a lot about the underlying structures of each piece.
• You do not have to be a music expert in order to enjoy these articles. Whenever some music notion is required to make a point, it will be preceded by a simple explanation.
• Finally, I want to insist in my role as a guide. I will not make an attempt to discover or break new ground. Although I may work on some of these classics from scratch, whenever possible I will rely on work already done. I will of course give full credit to the original sources.

Let me tell why I’m starting this section with a complex piece like Close to the Edge. Those who are familiar with my artistic work, will know that I have always approached progressive rock from a classic-academic perspective. So far, the pinnacle of that effort is the Concerto for Piano and Electric Ensemble, where I wrote a concerto following rigorous academic guidelines in terms of structure and treatment of the instrument, but embedded in a rock quartet, full of rock elements.

Nowadays, more musicologists and scholars insist that there is enough evidence in some progressive music works, to consider them Art Music. In other words, they are valuable artistic expressions (as opposed to commercial ones) that will resist the passage of time and are worthy of appreciation and further study.

In the late 60’s and early 70’s the drive in progressive rock to create Art Music and to embrace elements from the classical world are evident. In some cases, the approach to this integration was to revisit classic works. The perfect example is ELP’s “Pictures at an Exhibition”. In other cases, by incorporating the orchestra within a rock esthetic like Moody Blues “Days of Future Passed”. But to me, the most interesting approach is when this integration is achieved at the very core of the composition. In its underlying structure. And this is where “Close to the Edge” shines and creates a true reference for subsequent works in the genre.

This guided tour will be based on analyzing CTTE from three perspectives:

1. Musical Structure – based on the excellent article written by John Covach in 1997
2. Lyrics – based on the extensive analysis by Pastor Ahyh
3. Its relation to the novel Siddhartha by Herman Hesse

This program will be devoted to the Structural Analysis strictly from a musical point of view. On a future program I will come back to the Lyrics and Siddharta.

So let’s get to it….

Structural Analysis

Before starting with CTTE, we need to go through some basics related to Form in music. In essence, form is an archetype that regulates how music is constructed. There are quite a few of these in classical music, and these forms have evolved through the centuries. A well-known form is the Fugue, which is based on counterpoint imitation of a main theme in two or more voices, following a predefined set of rules. Another good example, closely related to progressive rock, is the Sonata form. The structure of this form is based on three major sections called “Exposition”, “Development” and “Recapitulation”.

During the Exposition, a theme A is presented, followed by a contrasting theme B in a related key. During the Development, these themes are expanded, sometimes mixed, sometimes new material is presented. Finally, in the Recapitulation, both themes A and B are presented again but this time theme B is presented in the same key as theme A. Sometimes the Sonata form includes a Coda, where new material and/or a short development is presented at the end of the piece.

The reason why I say that the Sonata form is closely related to progressive rock is that most pieces in our dear genre are built by presenting several themes and then go through extensive developments. The form is much freer because the themes don’t have to be presented in related keys, and the recapitulation may or may not exist. Sometimes pieces are built based on a succession of themes and developments, with no apparent connection.

In popular music, most songs (including rock and pop) are built upon a very simple form

AABA

Where theme A is usually referred to as the “verse”. “B” is a contrasting theme known as “Bridge”. The verse is usually followed by a Chorus. So, a typical song will have a format usually known as a 32 bar form:

Intro – (Verse-Chorus) (Verse-Chorus)- Bridge – (Chorus)-(Chorus) – Outro

For a more detailed discussion, read this.

So, armed with the notion of form, we can now proceed to the structural analysis of CTTE.

The structure, as presented in the album, is based on 4 parts:

1. The Solid Time of Change
2. Total Mass Retain
3. I Get Up, I Get Down
4. Seasons of Man

As we will see later, parts 1, 2 and 4 share the same thematic material and 3 presents a contrasting theme. Therefore, from a structural point of view, we could make a first layout:

A – The Solid Time of Change

A’ – Total Mass Retain

B – I Get Up, I get Down

A’’ – Seasons of Man

So, from an overall structure point of view, the piece follows the AABA structure of a typical rock song. But, as we will see in a moment, each section A and, to a certain extent section B, also follow a song structure. So we can see that the piece is built upon a song format, and as we zoom in, we find each section also following a song pattern. Song structures, within a song structure.

However, this structure is incomplete because there is a very important Introduction, before section A. So, a more comprehensive structure would be:

Intro-A-A’-B-A’’

For the time being, I will use this structure. But in a future program, and in coincidence with John Covach’s appreciation, I will show how a 2-part structure better represents the connection with the Lyrics and with Siddharta:

Where Part A: comprises the Introduction + A + A’

And Part B: includes B + A’’

A great composition teacher I had in the early 90’s, the late Roman Alís, would always tell me: “Give me 2 notes and I will write you a Symphony”. This is the case with “Close to the Edge”.

This empire is built around 2 notes, separated by a half-tone:

Notice how this 2-note pattern appears in different moments throughout the piece:

Now where these 2-note motif is fully developed is in the cathedral organ solo, where the melody is based on groups of 2 notes, always separated by a half-tone:

Now let’s analyse the structure of the A sections. As stated before, they follow the typical song format of verse, chorus and bridge, very closely.

• Instrumental Intro to the Verse
• Verse (2 times)
• Chorus (2 times)
• Instrumental transition to the Bridge
• Bridge (2 times)
• Chorus
• Outro : which presents the theme for part B. This is a great departure from the Song Structure and a hint to the overarching classical form of the piece!!!

Let’s listen to the whole section A and notice again that the verse is based on the 2-note figure.

Part B also follows a song structure pattern, but this time it has a very interesting departure. Instead of a verse and a contrasting bridge, what we have here is 2 themes, a principal theme and a secondary theme, and a chorus. The secondary theme appears first, followed by the chorus. Then the principal theme sung by Anderson is presented followed by the chorus. The third time around, the principal and secondary themes are overlapped, creating a polyphonic texture. The secondary theme is expanded as Anderson continues with the principal theme. This happens twice before ending with a modified version of the Chorus that leads into the instrumental keyboard interlude (which, as shown before, is based on the 2-note pattern). Let’s listen to the entire section:

• Instrumental Intro
• Secondary theme
• Chorus
• Principal Theme (alone)
• Principal Theme (with secondary theme overlapped)
• Chorus (with secondary theme overlapped)
• Principal Theme (with secondary theme overlapped) (2 times)
• Chorus modified (with secondary theme extended) leading to instrumental interlude

It is interesting to note that the Chorus of part B appears within the instrumental interlude.

In addition to the themes presented as verse, bridge and choruses in parts A and B, the song has a Main theme that appears throughout the piece:

This theme appears throughout the piece with different modifications, including a “fugato” form and a full instrumental development section. Let’s listen to them:

This time the theme is presented in “fugato” mode:

The last time the theme is developed in an instrumental section that leads to the climax of the song:

There is also an interesting relationship between this main theme and the 2 note motif. Note that the melody starts with 2 notes separated by a halftone.

This would not be significant because many melodies start with such a figure, but listen to what happens in the instrumental interlude that precedes section B. Within a static soundscape in a rich sea of reverb, the guitar, keyboards and bass suggest the initial notes of the main theme, but instead of playing the whole theme, they put the accent on the first two notes and then play a few more before fading out. This clearly shows that starting the main theme with the 2 note motif was intentional:

Now, as stated at the beginning, the overall structure of the song is A-A’-B-A’’. Let’s take a closer look at the difference between the A sections. But, in order to do that, we need to digress for a moment in order to introduce the concept of time signature and measure.

Most progressive rock fans are acquainted with this concept because we usually have a lot of fun trying to count “odd-tempos” and finding out when these changes occur in the song. Progressive rock composers (including me) have some sort of obsession with odd-rhythms and poly-rhythmic structures.

A time signature in music defines its rhythmic structure or pattern. This pattern is repeated consistently and usually coincides with a measure, which is the basic unit when writing music. The most basic patterns are the binary (a strong beat followed by a weak beat) and the ternary (one strong beat followed by two weak beats). Compound time signatures are made by combining binary and ternary. Some theorists include the quaternary (strong-weak-semi strong-weak) as a basic pattern, but it can be considered as 2 binary ones.

Rhythms are usually classified as binary (groups of 2) or ternary (groups of 3). The most popular ones are 4/4 and 3/4

Tempos are usually represented as a fraction. The number in the denominator defines the duration of the beat. 4 stands for quarter note, which means that the duration of the beat is a fourth of the duration of a whole note. Half the duration would be a 2. An eight of the duration would be an 8, and so forth. The number in the numerator indicates the number of beats. So, on a 2/4 there would be 2 beats, each lasting a fourth of a whole note.

In 4/4 each measure has 4 beats:

In 3/4 each measure has 3 beats. Viennese waltzes are a good example.

Things get a little tricky when you start subdividing the beat. These are several subdivisions in 4/4:

Now in 3/4:

Another common metric is 6/8. Although arithmetically it is the same as 3/4, it is not the same because we have an accent every 2 beats.

Things get a lot trickier when we start to use compound measures and introduce “odd” or “strange” rhythms where the beat is a prime number; for example: 5/8 and 7/8 (widely used in progressive rock) or other less frequent like 11/8 or 13/8.

One other important concept that I need to explain in order to continue with the analysis of CTTE, is the relationship between metrics and phrases. A phrase in music is very similar to a phrase in English. Think of it as a succession of notes that, together, portray a coherent idea. Poorly written music does not take phrases into account and you see pieces written in measures of 3 beats when they should have been written in measures of 6 beats, coinciding with the phrases. The best way to explain this is to hear it.

This is a straightforward example in 4/4:

In order to understand the importance of aligning the metric with the phrase, let me give you this example that is not so straightforward:

You probably counted this as a 4/4, after all, that’s what the bass and the drum are playing. But you better think twice: look at the phrase and you will see that the phrase is in groups of 8, not 4:

So in this case a metric of 8/4 is more accurate than a 4/4.

Now let’s see some examples in 5/4 and 7/8. First, 5/4:

7/8:

Now here’s a really hard one for you. See if you can figure out what the metric is, and put your answer in the comments section.

Ok, now we can proceed with CTTE. The reason why understanding metrics is so important is because this is a key feature that differentiates the A sections. In addition, a poly-rhythmic pattern is used and I want to make you aware of it.

Let’s begin with the first verse in section A. Listen to the melody being sung by Anderson and try not to pay attention to the bass and drums:

If you counted correctly, you will have heard that there are 12 beats in each measure. Because of the number of notes, it is easier to count in units of eights, therefore the measure is 12/8. Let’s listen to it again:

Usually a 12/8 is considered a compound binary rhythm. It is usually subdivided in 4 groups of 3 beats instead of the other way around. That is why you heard me putting an accent in each group of 3 beats.

However, the bass and drums are doing something very different. Let’s listen to the passage again. Forget the melody and concentrate in bass and particularly the drums:

You will see that they are playing just 6 beats per measure. They are playing in 6/4:

Now, we usually determine the beat by listening to the rhythm section, so we could have concluded that the piece is in 6/4 or 6/8 instead of its real beat which is 12/8. For this reason, the melody and the pattern of the sitar seem to be very syncopated in the context of a 6/4 measure.

On A’, this metric separation is further developed and we end up with a poly-rhythmic section. The melody and the sitar are still playing in 12/8 but now the bass and drums are playing in 4/4. This change creates rhythmic tension because the patterns do not align to the same measures anymore. On section A, the subdivision was different but their measures coincided. But now, the repeating lengths or “cycles” of these two metrics no longer align and parts move in and out of synchronization according to a predictable pattern; that is, after 2 bars of 12/8 and 3 bars of 4/4, the parts once again begin together.

Let’s listen to it. First we confirm that both the melody and sitar are still playing in 12/8:

Now let’s count the bass and drums, in 4/4:

If you can listen to what the sitar is doing, while counting at 4/4, you will appreciate the difficulty of this passage.

After section B, we find A’’ with yet additional developments. The first one is the fact that the verse does not begin with Anderson singing the melody of the verse. Instead, it’s an organ solo what starts the section. Notice that the sitar is now replaced by the electric guitar and once again it is playing in 12/8. The bass and drums return to the initial 6/4 pattern and Mr. Wakeman takes his metrical cue from the bass and drums. But Mr. Howe continues in 12/8 all along this passage. Try to follow the guitar throughout, it is not easy to hear because it is playing in the background:

But the development doesn’t stop here. Now the piano doubles the sitar and together with the vocal and sitar is playing at 12/8. As if to reconcile this metrical dispute, Mr. Squire trims the bass figure used in A’ to make it a 3/4 instead of a 4/4. This change aligns the figure with the beginning of each 12/8 bar and now, for the first time, the 12/8 beat seems to dominate. Let’s listen to it:

This realignment is very important when we consider the lyrics and the relationship to Siddhartha. So we will come back to this in the second part of this program.

With this, we conclude Part I of the Close to the Edge Analysis. I have not forgotten what I said about the piece being really 2 parts instead of 4, but in order to explain this we need to consider the lyrics and the relationship with Siddharta. So, Part 2 will also include a little bit of music analysis that will include the Introduction segment and its relationship to part B.

Resources

The musical analysis was based in this article by John Covach

In this article, Jon Anderson talks about the 4 movements of Close to the Edge

If you need the lyrics of Close to the Edge, here they are.

I recommend a couple of interesting books:

• “Understanding Rock” by John Covach and Graeme M. Boone. Oxford University Press. 1997.
• “Music of Yes” by Bill Martin. Open court Publishing Company. 1996/1997

I thoroughly recommend the symphonic version of Close to the Edge. The DVD is called “Yes Symphonic Live”.

 

Finally, I recommend the alternate mix done in 2013 by Steve Wilson. It unveils some interesting details and includes a rough cut of the initial studio version. You can purchase it here.

Here’s the entire Close to the Edge album remixed version, on a public link in YouTube.

 

Credits

Background Music

Camel – Sahara. From the album “Rajaz”
Genesis – Squonk. From the album “A Trick of the Tail”
Townscream – Így szólt a madár. From the album “Nagyvárosi Ikonok”
After Crying – A Gadarai Megszállott (The Fanatic of Gadarai). From the album “Megalázottac És Megszomorítottak”
The Cellar and Point – Arc. From the album “Ambit”

Music Examples

4/4 tempo. The Beatles – Helter Skelter. From the album “White Album”
8/4 tempo. Genesis – Squonk. From the album “A Trick of the Tail”
5/4 tempo. Jethro Tull – Living in the Past. From the album “Through the Years”
7/8 tempo. Genesis – The Cinema Show. From the album “Selling England by the Pound”
Tempo quiz: Univers Zero – Rouages: Second Rotation. From the album “Rhythmix”