Just Say No... To Yes

I took a listen to the new Yes Fragile remaster at my local Ma + Pa old time outlet. I'm very familiar with the sound of his system. What can I say other than this is an all time low for the music industry. Thin, zippy top end, almost no bass. A total zero. The worst ever.

 

I thought somebody said that the mastering on the last box was amazing. What happened? Is this true?
Opinions please those who have heard. We need them now!!!

 

Is this a different one than the (94?) remaster?

 

How about the DVD-A's that are coming out? I saw Fragile in the store the other day. Anybody listen to these yet?

 

The Japanese remasters are pretty bad. Very bright and thin and narrow. Fragile is the worst of the bunch. Some of the discs are so heavily limited they actually distort.

I'm waiting for the new Rhino discs. The box set sounds GREAT! They're the best versions ever put out on CD. They sound full and natural and I can't hear any added compression or limiting. The digital levels aren't pegged at zero. Bill didn't do his usual top end extension either. Can't wait to get the full albums.

 

Fragile and CTTE on Japanese HDCD are not very good. Overloading distortion abounds.
TFTO and Yessongs are way better than the US 1994 remasters.
The new Rhino discs came out on Jan 14th and I've got Fragile and TYA on order. We shall see if they are better than the 1994 versions.

 

Ain't you telling the truth! I have the East/West Japanese HDCD of Fragile and it's an ear-buster for sure. Keep away from these guys!

 

Heard the Japanese 90125 was pretty good--only one other to compare it to, the original US, as there was no '94 Gastwirt remaster for that one. Thoughts?

Mark

 

I'm keeping my old Yes CDs, meaning the last round of remasters..

 

The original 90125 CD is stellar. Great transfer. The new Rhino has a very similar sound to it. Very clear and transient but the new version is a little wider and has a bigger low end.

Joe did do some of the 90125 songs on the Atlantic box set. They have a lot more EQ on them and are more compressed.

Generally, the Gastwirts were improvements over the original CDs. Some of the old CDs were sourced from questionable tapes, especially Fragile and parts of Time and a Word.

 

I went through the Japanese CDs from The Yes Album to Drama, and FWIW, the ones I kept were Topographic Oceans, Relayer, Yesshows and Drama.

 

This is the set that just came out on Tuesday in a Digi-Pak w/bonus tracks. It's on Rhino done by Inglot. The previous remasters were by Joe Gastwirt and sound good to me- although they are just a tad extended- but musical.

 

There are some more remasters due for release in Japan on the 13th of February with bonus tracks - are they yet another variation or are these the latest US Rhino releases ?

The future Japanese releases have the following bonus tracks

Fragile
1. America
2. Roundabout [Early Rough Mix]

The Yes Album
1. Your Move [Single version]
2. t.b.c.

Time And a Word
1. Dear Father
2. No Opportunity Necessary
3. No Experience Needed [Original Mix]
4. Sweet Dreams [Original Mix]
5. The Prophet [Single Edit]

Yes
1.Everydays [Single Version]
2. Dear Father [Early Version #2]
3. Somethings Coming
4. Everydays [Early Version #1]
5. Dear Father [Early Version #1]
6. Somethings Coming [Early Version]

How do these bonus tracks compare to the latest round of Rhino bonus tracks

Dazed and Confused - Andrew

 

I recently purchased their first four albums on Atlantic. I was amazed by the dynamics that were on these records.

 

i will not buy the yes catalog for a fourth time (lp, cd, remaster). and there is talk of the yes catalog in SACD, that will be a fifth time.

not me. never.

renny

 

Where'd you see this? That's great news. I thought we'd be stuck with only DVD-A's.

 

Are the people in this thread showing dissatisfaction with the Japanese Yes remasters listening on HDCD capable converters? Because to my ears, these remasters definitely use peak and low level extend, which might make them sound truly horrible in regular cd players - especially older models.

The Fragile master definitely sounds a little ragged as of late - perhaps a questionable copy. There is certainly a heap of analog overdriven distortion going on in the transfer of some tracks. I haven't compared the HDCD with later versions; but when there's a chance I will.

Josh

 

I have an HDCD converter.

The original Fragile CD was awful... very distorted. The Atlantic remaster is one of my favorite sounding Yes CDs. The Japanese HDCD disc sounds weird to me. Even on the Japanese 'Classic Yes' those Fragile tracks sound worse than the others. Right now, the Gastwirt version is the one to have. The Fragile tracks on the Rhino box sound really great too... maybe a little better.

 

I just got two of the four remasters, The Yes Album and Fragile. These are the expanded editions on Rhino released Jan. 14. I did an A/B comparison of The Yes album and to my ears I thought the new one had a slight edge over the previous Gaswirt remasters. They seem to have a more solid bass and a little bit cleaner vocal sound to them. And the extra tracks are nice. They still seem to retain the superb dynamics of the earlier Gaswirt remasters so I don't think they've been maximized to death, but I don't have the software to do a technical comparison. To my ears though, the new ones seem to have a very slight edge.

Dan

 

You're right, Bill Inglot doesn't use a digital limiter.

I think your assessment of the sound is right on. Very nice description.

 

Well I am still gonna buy them!! I love Yes! I have endured the "uncool" years (when it was uncool in the public's eye to like them). Now because of fans like us; the ones that didn't desert them, and public awareness by new filmakers (ie. "Heart of the Sunrise" used in Buffalo 66. "Your Move" being used in ((I think)) Almost Famous) they are finally starting not to be the brunt of the joke again - why at my job while I was playing "Classic", two young guys came up and pointed at the display copy and commented on how "acid" (yeah - that acid) the cover looked. They were being totally complimentary. It warmed my heart. They recognized Yes' music and came to check out more.
That felt good!!

By the way people of Toronto. I think we will see them here within a week or two. (according to all good people at "Soundscapes" - the coolest cd shop in North America!!)

 

Oh yeah, forgot to congratulate you on your first post Dan! You've been here since August? Join in the fun.

 

The DVDA of Fragile is very good. The Japanese mini-lp version that came out last year is terrible. Sounds like a scratchy old record.

I'll pass on this new cd of Fragile. I'll keep my Gaswirt for now.

 

Yes, and I've just bumped up the FRAGILE DVD-A thread. For those who want to check it out, I've included Ken Richardson's review from the new Stereo Review Sound & Vision. Interesting reading!

ED

 

Agreed...I get the same results with and without HDCD.