Yes – Close To The Edge

A reissue, at least from 1976 by Hed Arzi = the general co.

How is this a reissue through text when other releases in 1972 had the exact same labeling? (Pitman and Terre Haute are the only different ones, but they were a separate series of factories compared to Presswell, Richmond, Specialty, etc.)

Неплохо. Звучит вовлекающе. Басов не хватает на этой голове. Надо сравнить на другом проигрывателе

Very good sounding Barry Diament mastering- I love it! „““““““

Sounds much MUCH better than my 2003 CD edition. The difference is outstanding. Fantastic mastering.

Don't mind the review below. I have got several pressings of this record, as well as the blu-ray/DVD surround audio. Compared and checked each version. This Chris Bellman pressing doesn't sound too bright. The separation of instruments is extreme and sounds spectacular. Great balanced and clear bass. Chris Squire sounds awesome. This record is very well recorded in the first place and it shows. Only flaw is the cover print, and that it only comes in paper cardboard inner sleeve. Imo it is much better than the Steven Wilson mix. Bellman's mastering is an audiophile worthy.

Equipment used: Pair of Quested V2108 monitors, one center, and two Quested VS2108 (old type) for rears and as second stereo option. Quested SB10" Subwoofer - crossover set to cover 19-40Hz. Rega RP40 with Ania Pro stylus, Aria Mk3 RIAA, Mackie VLZ1202Pro mixer - balanced XLR to the monitors.

Surreal. Live. Cathartic. These are some of the words that came to mind as I experienced this pressing of Yes’s beloved classic album Close to the Edge for the first time, although by the time the album was done, they had been replaced with some decidedly less flowery linguistic descriptors, haha. The album starts out with an avant-garde jam that leads into the title track…and even these first couple minutes of what sound to be unscripted noodling are sublime. By the time the verse kicks in, it’s apparent that this is intended to be a true audiophile pressing. But does it live up to that intention? As far as the music goes, this is one of Yes’ all time best and most well-known records. The epic, enthralling journey of Close to the Edge even makes this the favorite Yes album for many fans. Personally, I prefer Fragile and The Yes Album, especially when introducing others to Yes for the first time, but Close to the Edge is still an incredible, beautiful, and captivating album, with its three compositions, Close to the Edge, And You And I, and Siberian Khatru. Jon Anderson was clearly experimenting with vocal layering more than ever before, achieving quite interesting results. Some of Rick Wakeman’s best keyboard playing ever is on this album. The rest of the band members all sound fantastic as always. If ever there was a rock band made up of absolute virtuosos of their instruments, that band was undeniably Yes, and their skills are on fully display here.

Now, as for the mixing/mastering, this is where I find greatest fault with this release. I am typically a huge fan of Chris Bellman’s work, but with this particular release, the high end of the frequency spectrum came over as being excessively shrill and bright. The album sounded as if it was trying so hard to be an audiophile pressing, but it just sounded overly bright instead. Soundstage was not as wide as I would have hoped, and this release was just missing a warmth that I was hoping for. I am a very big fan of the One Step of Fragile, and that particular pressing had almost identical instrumentation as Close to the Edge, but with a much wider stereo image and much warmer EQ choices. There are also some muddy segments in Close to the Edge, which I did not encounter on the One Step of Fragile. I realize that this pressing of Close to the Edge is not on SuperVinyl and costs a fraction of the price of the One Step, and I also know these are different albums, but just for comparison’s sake, I mentioned it here. I feel that an EQ in the playback chain might help, but I do not have one to try, although I would like to invest in a decent one some day.

As for the packaging, it is average. Nothing special, nothing terrible. A little flimsy, but it’ll do. The pressing itself was well done, save for a few sibilant portions that I think are in the recording itself. The record is heavy, flat, and I heard no clicks or pops throughout the entirety of both sides. All in all, this is a fairly worthwhile release of this classic album, but I feel that it could have been much better with some different EQ choices in the mastering process. That being said, while I don’t agree with the incredibly glowing reviews here, I imagine it would be very hard to find a better pressing of Close to the Edge that is this affordable.

Music: 4/5
Mixing/mastering: 3.5/5
Packaging: 4/5
Pressing: 4.5/5

Equipment used: Pro-Ject The Classic SB SuperPack turntable, VAS custom wood-body Shure M91 MM cartridge with ML stylus, Pro-Ject Tube Box DS2 Preamp, Reisong Tube Amplifier, Klipsch RP-8060FA floor tower speakers

-Review by Linc Bradham

Sounds very good but i'm pretty sure this was a digital cut master by joe regasso but overall still sounds pretty good

outstanding pressing very good mastering by chris bellman AAA cut and it shows!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

very bad master on this release, go for an older release