YES’ ‘Close To the Edge’ Gets Super Deluxe Edition

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YES in 1972 at the Hyatt House in Hollywood, L-R: Rick Wakeman, Bill Bruford, Chris Squire, Jon Anderson, Steve Howe (Photo © Neal Preston; used with permission)

A robust new Super Deluxe Edition of YES’ massively influential fifth full-length album, Close To the Edge, will be released on March 7, 2025. This definitive version, featuring what many consider to be the band’s classic lineup of Jon Anderson, Chris Squire, Steve Howe, Rick Wakeman, and Bill Bruford, comprises 5 CDs, 1 LP, and a Blu-ray. It’s available to pre-in the U.S. here and in the U.K. here.

A newly remastered version of the original album graces both CD-1 and LP; the Blu-ray houses 2025 mixes by Steven Wilson in Dolby ATMOS and 5.1 Mix DTS-HD MA for the very first time; Wilson’s remix and instrumentals also adorn CD-2. A bevy of rare and previously unreleased recordings for the Super Deluxe Edition is featured on disc 3, with an epic 1972 live show on discs 4 and 5.

The Rarities disc features rough mixes, alternate versions, and edits of staple tracks from Close To the Edge, offering another perspective on the opus originally issued in 1972 by Atlantic Records. Three previously unreleased Steven Wilson tracks—“Siberian Khatru,” “Cord of Life,” and “Total Mass Retain”—grace this collection. Also included is a 10+ minute version of YES’ brilliant cover of the Paul Simon composition “America” and a single version of the song.

The Live at the Rainbow, London, England concert recording from Dec. 16, 1972, spans two discs and captures the group in what many call their classic lineup, while on tour supporting the album. [Many of their live performances at the same venue from one night earlier were originally released on 1973’s triple album, Yessongs.] See the complete track listing below.

To coincide with the January 14 announcement, the band have released the transcending performance of “Siberian Khatru” of their performance at The Rainbow.

The collection boasts liner notes penned by Syd Schwartz of Jazz & Coffee as he dives into the process and story behind the seminal Close To the Edge, reflecting the spirit at the heart of “the ultimate Yes album.” Howe shares that “Close To the Edge is YES’ most miraculous album; it has our first 20-minute epic, the template for many large-scale tracks that followed, accompanied by two ten-minute tracks, similarly recorded with the highest musical and technical integrity. Recording Fragile was an experience that enabled us to make Close To the Edge YES’ career-defining album.”

The original reached #4 in the U.K. and became the group’s highest-charting album in the U.S. at #3.

This photo of YES receiving Gold records in the U.S. appeared in the Dec. 2, 1972, issue of Record World.

From the SDE announcement: Howe, Anderson [lead vocals], Squire [bass], Wakeman [keys, piano, organ], and Bruford [drums, percussion] entered Advision Studios in London in June 1972 to bring Close To the Edge to life alongside trusted cohort and longtime producer Eddy Offord. Together, they conjured magic with the likes of the multi-part progressive suites “Close To the Edge” and “And You and I” as well as “Siberian Khatru.” The record arrived on September 8, 1972, and vaulted into the Top 3 of the Billboard 200, going RIAA Platinum. [Bruford departed the band shortly after completing the album. He was replaced on drums by Alan White for the tour that followed.]

Of its sprawling title track, Anderson told Best Classic Bands in a 2019 interview, “[One night] right in the middle of the Fragile tour, I said, ‘Steve, come here. Bring your guitar, quick! I’ve got this idea!’ I remember we had a break in London and I went over to his house in Hamstead and he’s singing ‘Close to the edge, round by the corner…’

“And I said, ‘No… Down at the edge, round by the river… Seasons will pass you by.’ And I said, ‘Another chord: ‘I get up, I get down…’ And we spent all afternoon scribbling out the structure ideas.”

The packaging features artwork by the band’s longtime album cover and stage designer Roger Dean.

Related: Our interview with Roger Dean

YES – Close To the Edge (Super Deluxe Edition) Track Listing

[It’s available for pre-order in the U.S. here and in the U.K. here.]

Disc 1: Original Album Remastered
Close To the Edge (2025 Remaster)
I. The Solid Time of Change
II. Total Mass Retain
III. I Get Up I Get Down
IV. Seasons of Man
And You and I (2025 Remaster)
I. Cord of Life
II. Eclipse
III. The Preacher The Teacher
IV. Apocalypse
Siberian Khatru (2025 Remaster)

Disc 2: Steven Wilson 2025 Remix and Instrumentals
Close To the Edge (2025 Steven Wilson Remix)
I. The Solid Time of Change
II. Total Mass Retain
III. I Get Up I Get Down
IV. Seasons of Man
And You and I (2025 Steven Wilson Remix)
I. Cord of Life
II. Eclipse
III. The Preacher The Teacher
IV. Apocalypse
Siberian Khatru (2025 Steven Wilson Remix)
Close To the Edge (2025 Steven Wilson Remix) [Instrumental]
I. The Solid Time of Change
II. Total Mass Retain
III. I Get Up I Get Down
IV. Seasons of Man
And You and I (2025 Steven Wilson Remix) [Instrumental]
I. Cord of Life
II. Eclipse
III. The Preacher The Teacher
IV. Apocalypse
Siberian Khatru (2025 Remaster) [Instrumental]

Disc 3: Rarities
America (Single Version) [2025 Remaster]
Total Mass Retain (Single Version) [2025 Remaster]
And You and I (Promo Radio Edit) [2025 Remaster]
Siberia (Studio Run-Through of “Siberian Khatru”) [2025 Remaster]
Close To the Edge (Rough Mix) [2025 Remaster]
I. The Solid Time of Change
II. Total Mass Retain
III. I Get Up I Get Down
IV. Seasons of Man
And You and I (Alternate Version) [2025 Remaster]
I. Cord of Life
II. Eclipse
III. The Preacher The Teacher
IV. Apocalypse
America (“Dry” Mix)
Siberian Khatru (Steven Wilson Edit)*
Cord of Life (Steven Wilson Edit)*
Total Mass Retain (Steven Wilson Edit)*

Disc 4: Live at The Rainbow, London, England, 12/16/72*
Siberian Khatru (Live at The Rainbow, London, England, 12/16/72)
I’ve Seen All Good People (Live at The Rainbow, London, England, 12/16/72)
a. Your Move
b. All Good People
Heart of the Sunrise (Live at The Rainbow, London, England, 12/16/72)
And You and I (Live at The Rainbow, London, England, 12/16/72)
I. Cord of Life
II. Eclipse
III. The Preacher The Teacher
IV. Apocalypse
Close To the Edge (Live at The Rainbow, London, England, 12/16/72)
I. The Solid Time of Change
II. Total Mass Retain
III. I Get Up I Get Down
IV. Seasons of Man

Disc 5: Live at The Rainbow, London, England, 12/16/72
Excerpts From “The Six Wives of Henry VIII” (Live at The Rainbow, London, England, 12/16/72)
Roundabout (Live at The Rainbow, London, England, 12/16/72)
Yours Is No Disgrace (Live at The Rainbow, London, England, 12/16/72)
Starship Trooper (Live at The Rainbow, London, England, 12/16/72)
Life Seeker
Disillusion
Würm

Blu-Ray
Close To the Edge
I. The Solid Time of Change
II. Total Mass Retain
III. I Get Up I Get Down
IV. Seasons of Man
And You And I
I. Cord of Life
II. Eclipse
III. The Preacher The Teacher
IV. Apocalypse
Siberian Khatru

LP: Original Album

Side 1
Close To the Edge
I. The Solid Time of Change
II. Total Mass Retain
III. I Get Up I Get Down
IV. Seasons of Man

Side 2
And You and I
I. Cord of Life
II. Eclipse
III. The Preacher The Teacher
IV. Apocalypse
Siberian Khatru

*Previously unreleased

CTTE‘s predecessor, Fragile, received its own expanded reissue in 2024. It’s available in the U.S. here and in the U.K. here.