This is the reissue of original 1971 release (according to discogs), an excellent sound edition. I invite you to compare with other issues (This reissue is quite scarce.)
Essential: a masterpiece of progressive rock music.
Close to perfection
I know it's all been said before, but this really is the pinnacle. The title track in particular is pure prog perfection.
With 1971's Fragile having left Yes poised quivering on the brink of what friend and foe acknowledged was the peak of the band's achievement, Close to the Edge was never going to be an easy album to make. Drummer Bill Bruford was already shifting restlessly against Jon Anderson's increasingly mystic/mystifying lyricism, while contemporary reports of the recording sessions depicted bandmate Rick Wakeman, too, as little more than an observer to the vast tapestry that Anderson, Steve Howe, and Chris Squire were creating…