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I've always been a fan of the band Yes (in fact, one of my my first vinyl purchases, at age 13, was "Going for the One" in 1977). I remember it sounding great.Since getting back into vinyl, I've been interested in albums from what has been called Yes's "main sequence" ("The Yes Album" to "Tormato" inclusive). Here's my (limited) experience thus far:
"The Yes Album": I bought the Rhino reissue and was a bit disappointed. I read M. Fremer's article where he praised the virutes of the pre-Warner Atlantic presing and, failing this, anything by George Piros and containing his initials in the dead wax. I found a Warner "GP" pressing and sure enough it was superior to the Rhino version.
"Yessongs": Fantastic on vinyl - picked up for .50 in mint shape at a thrift.
"Relayer" and "Going for the One" - Both sound terrible on vinyl with every pressing I've tried...tinny and treble-y to distraction. This is one of the rare instances where I find the CD Rhino reissues to be superior to original vinyl pressings.
My questions are thus:
1. When did the Warner acquisition of Atlantic take place? Would there be any other Yes releases beyond "Thre Yes Album" that would be pre-Warner?
2. Did George Piros work on any other Yes album pressings? How about non-Yes records?
3. What should I look for in ideal pressings of "Fragile, "Close to the Edge", "Tales...", "Relayer", "Going for the One" and "Tormato"?Thanks!
Follow Ups:
With respect to the Big Three YES albums ¡V ¡§Yes Album¡¨, ¡§Fragile¡¨, and ¡§CTTE¡¨ there is really no substitute for UK first-pressings (or any YES LP, for that matter). If you¡¦ve the money and patience to wait for a really good quality copy, you will be rewarded, in spades. I have very strongly held opinions about these LP¡¦s and make the disclaimer that is just that, MY OPINION. Others may have a different ear, but this is what I have found. I have equally strong opinions about other YES LP¡¦s and anyone can e-mail me, if interested. I only speak to the ¡§Big Three¡¨ so as not to bore anymore than I already will!For ¡§Album¡¨ hold out for the Atlantic red/plum label (Atlantic 2400-101), released Jan. 1971, if at all possible. While the Atlantic green/orange label (Atlantic; K40106) is also good, it is second-issue, released Aug. 1972 ¡V but still better than any US pressing. My next favorite is a West German pressing (Atlantic/Metronome MLP15-403), released Jan. 1971. The first US pressing is (Atlantic SD8283), released Mar. 1971. I have heard many copies of this LP, and the first UK and German pressings are the best, by far. IMHO, the Japanese version bloats the bass on this one and pumps the higher frequencies. Almost brittle to my ear.
As for ¡§Fragile¡¨, again, the original issue UK red/plum (Atlantic; 2401-019), released Nov. 1971 is killer. You¡¦ve not heard The Fish or Heart of the Sunrise unless you¡¦ve heard this one. Contrary to popular belief, the red/green UK (Atlantic K50009) version was not released until Aug. 1972. The first US pressing is (Atlantic SD7211). Here is an oddity. I find that the UK first pressing is superior in every way to the first US pressing EXCEPT FOR South Side of the Sky which, for some unexplained reason, sounds much more dynamic on SD7211. Go figure. BTW, the second US pressing (Atlantic SD 19132) absolutely sucks. As for the Japanese version, all I can say is OY. They, IMHO, ruined this masterpiece by rolling of the bass (a sin given Squires¡¦ many phat and intricate chords on this LP). A real shame.
For Close to the Edge, it is easy. The search begins and ends with the original UK pressing (Atlantic K50012). No other pressing comes even close to this one, IMHO, and I¡¦ve heard about 15. Here, the IS a Japanese issue (Atlantic P-8274), released Sept. 1972 which comes close to the edge of the UK pressing, but not quite over the edge. ƒº The original US pressing is (Atlantic SD7244), released Sept. 1972, and is to be avoided unless it is all that is available.
FWIW, I found the Rhino re-masters to be an abomination. Maybe OK in comparison to other CD versions, but not even a third as good as the original vinyl.
I will close before launching in to Yessongs, Topographic, Relayer, etc., etc., except to say that most all Yessongs pressings put Bruford to far forward in the mix (if that is actually possible) because he is brilliant on this live LP.
as Far as I know, Relayer is just badly mixed from the start,,,the best one I found is the Japanese HDCD..Seems to add some clarity and less mush....
Me being a Yes fam also, I bought the main sequence in the HDCD's and they all sound very good in my system...I have a Fragile vinyl early pressing and it sounds very good,,,,the covers and label should have the 1814 broadway address for Atlantic plus the GP/AT scribble...
I found some GP in ELP albums as well.
I have been lucky enough to find the Japanese pressings (with OBI)
of Tormato, Fragile, and Yessongs. Never was a big fan of Tormato (still cannot listen to Don't Kill The Whale without yorking) but the Japanese Fragile is amazing. Has a lot of detail at least compared to my old knackered original Atlantic. And quiet as a mouse.I paid $35 for the Japanese Yessongs but considered it a great buy.
Inmate Frank Locke, in the not too distant past, did a survey of the various pressings of Fragile. Search the archives, it's a good read.
Frank - you ought to check out the Japanese Fragile.Lastly, I also purchased the HDCD remasters of the "main sequence". Each track on Fragile, Tales, & The Yes Album has about 1 second (or less) of music clipped off the front of each track - anyone else experience this or did I just get lucky?
More lastly, there is a digital remaster by Joe Gastwirst (Oceanview Digital) of Tales From Topographic Oceans that is ace. Endorsement of digital? Heresy! But it's all about the music! No it's about the hardware! No wait it's all about...
Right. I'll get me coat.
JC
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