Yes – The Yes Album

Picked up the 2021 repress - 50th anniversary. Quality is excellent and sound is exceptional. Gatefold with two discs fitted tight in the box. Would have been nice to have a booklet or insert included but can't really complain because this album sounds the best I have ever heard.

I won’t go into how exceptional this sounds since that’s been stated quite well already, but I will caution those who are purchasing the 2021 reissue to check the vendor’s return policy. I had to return the first copy because sides one and three were pressed far enough off center to create an audible wobble. The second copy still has the same issue but isn’t pronounced enough to be noticeable. Make sure you can return or exchange defective pressings!

What this release may lack in packaging it more than makes up for in dynamics and clarity. I don’t think there is any debate about the quality of the music itself, but this pressing brings Chris Squire’s bass front and center like I’ve never heard before! Completely flat + dead silent pressing! Highly recommended!

This release’s packaging is pretty underwhelming. You get a flimsy gatefold jacket loosely sitting inside a cardboard box with replicated artwork. The records are stored in mediocre PVC inner sleeves and in my case both records busted through the inners and created top and bottom seam splits on each side of the gatefold. This package should’ve just had a nice tip-on jacket and ditched everything else.

A reissue of this 2x45" is coming out in a few months

Two words missing from this reissue to be even better to brain exploding.... Mr. Joe should of hired Kevin Gray to master this as he does these days. Depends on the artist/recording. But I think with this it's too late to redo it again using Kevin's mastering services.

The Yes Album is the third studio album by the progressive rock band Yes. It featured the classic lineup of Jon Anderson (lead vocals, percussion), Chris Squire (bass guitar, vocals), Steve Howe (electric and acoustic guitars, vocals), Tony Kaye (piano, organ, Moog) and Bill Bruford (drums, percussion). The album was the first by the group to not feature any cover songs. The band spent mid-1970 writing and rehearsing new material at a farmhouse at Romansleigh, Devon, and the new songs were recorded at Advision Studios in London that autumn. The material featured new styles including jazz piano, funk and acoustic music, with all band members contributing ideas. The tracks were also significantly extended in length.

The album was a critical success and a major commercial breakthrough for Yes, who had been at risk of being dropped by Atlantic Records due to the commercial failures of their first two albums. It reached number 4 in the UK and number 40 in the US. It was certified gold on March 17th, 1973 and later platinum on April 10th, 1998.

This record came in a very nice box containing a double 180g 45 rpm LPs in a gatefold jacket. The record was wonderfully produced (Eddy Offord & Yes), mastered (Joe Reagoso) and pressed (Rhino Entertainment Company). The credits state that the record was “mastered by Joe Reagoso from the original Atlantic Records tapes at Friday Music Studios, Surf City, CA and Capitol Records, Hollywood, C A”. The re-mastering process on this recording does not appear to be plagued by the excessive dynamic range compression (loudness war) that is so prevalent in so much modern re-mastering. The recording had a very good signal level (-1.5 dB) and was dead whisper quiet with virtually no surface noise, clicks or pops.

I, of course, gave this record 5 out of 5 stars—a masterpiece indeed!

//Paul Rolan Perkes