It’s the time of year for saving money!
Some will hate this review comparing /
contrasting four digital editions of Yes’ 1972 classic Close To The Edge (CTTE): the 2003 remastered CD, a 2006 LP-replica
special edition CD, Audio Fidelity’s new SACD and HDTracks’ 192 kHz /24 bit
download.
All sound good with degrees of subtle difference;
so subtle that I am inclined to believe all were sourced from the same copy of
the master mixdown. This dense and sometimes compressed sounding album could
really benefit from a remix from the
multitrack masters.
The SACD sounds nice with deeper bass, some
warmer edges, and a bit more definition on the chiming acoustic guitars. The
HDTracks 192/24 version sounds about the same, maybe better actually. Both CD
versions are surprisingly good, albeit with less bass detail.
Track by track:
•
Close to the Edge: HDTracks’ version sounds
fuller in the low end, particularly on the church organ section. The CD sounds
pretty good all things considered — sure, there are some digital edges on
vocals and such, but its not terrible.
•
And You And I sounds better than the title
track on all versions. The CDs sound
boxy on the rocking parts, yet the acoustic bits fare pretty well. The SACD
delivers brighter acoustic guitars making me wonder if forensic EQ was applied
in mastering, especially on The Preacher
and The Teacher section. Overall, I liked the HDTracks version of this song
best.
•
Siberian Khatru sounds murkier and compressed
on all versions, especially in comparsion to And You And I.
The Bottom Line:
Audio Fidelity’s SACD is OK but I feel it is
overpriced given what you get; the CD tray/back cover is an embarrassment that
looks like one of those grey market albums with faked Yes logos. Come on guys
— you couldn’t get the album art for the CD tray? For $30+, as a Yes fan, that
is a major fail in my book. The booklet cover art seems dark and doesn’t even
attempt to recreate the feel of the original album (lyrics are generic black on
grey text instead of the green found on the original).
The 2003 Rhino CD is housed in a nice deluxe
tri-fold digi-pack with full color original artwork, slip case and an
informative booklet on the making of the album. I expect this and more from any deluxe edition release. The 2006
“Rhino Replicas” edition is just that — a very well done miniature version of the
album cover done on thick stock cardboard. Boasting high production values,
they even reproduce the original innersleeve with (admittedly small but legible)
lyrics. I don’t know what these were selling for originally but I got mine at
Amoeba for $10, so for that price I am OK with it.
HDTracks probably sounds the most true and
genuinely high fidelity of the batch but they really should work on their
visual presentation of this album — giving the fans only a PDF of just the
front cover art is pretty lame, when there is a whole booklet available with an
important back story to tell about the music as well as the fantastic Roger
Dean gatefold — an important visual complement to this work.
Dollar for dollar, the 2003 CD is still the best
deal — you get the full album plus bonus tracks, alternate takes and
rehearsals. If you have that CD already, then go for the HDTracks high
resolution download.
As I said at the beginning of this piece, some
people are going to hate this review but I have to say what is in my heart as a
life long Yes fan and what my ears are hearing and what my eyes are seeing.
This album deserves better treatment.
Mark
Smotroff is a freelance writer and avid music collector who has worked for many
years in marketing communications for the consumer electronics, pro audio and
video games industries, serving clients including DTS, Sega, Sony, Sharp,
AT&T and many others. Mark has written for EQ Magazine, Mix Magazine, Goldmine/DISCoveries
Magazine, Sound+Vision Magazine and HomeTechTell.com. He is also a musician / composer who’s songs
have been used in TV shows such as Smallville and Men In Trees as well as films
and documentaries. Mark is currently rolling out a new musical he’s written.
www.smotroff.com
The HDTracks download wipes the floor with the CD. You can keep the booklet; I’m here for the music.
Agreed! I did say I liked the sound of the HD Tracks version the best…. but it may not be worth it for everyone… some people (particularly the band one would think) do care about the other stuff that makes the package complete… Truth be told: completists (like me) will have multiple versions. 🙂
Hi Mark. I’m a big Yes fan too, and also a musician and audio engineer. When the album first came out, I had a high-quality 8-track machine (as high quality as they got, that is :), in my Dodge van with a pair of good quality bookshelf speakers. I bought a commercial 8-track copy of the album as opposed to, say, recording it from the LP on my quite-rare 8-track recording machine that I got at ‘Two-Guys’ for about $150. Long story short: the snare hits and kick on “Close to the Edge” and “And You and I” were absolutely spectacular on the tape. There was no compression on the tape, as there was on the vinyl version – which you wouldn’t know unless you had the tape to compare it to.
Everything else was not as good, as one might expect, but man….those snare hits were unreal. After listening to the 8-track version for a few days on a trip, then coming home and listening to the album (played on an AR turntable, two Dynaco Mark III’s, and a set of Altec 604’s), it would almost make me ill to hear the compression used in mastering the album. So, I agree with you that digging up the old 2″ and re-mixing / re-mastering would be a gift to all Yes lovers. The Close to the Edge album is truly wonderful, musically. A hundred years from now it will be studied like we study Mozart, Bach, and Beethoven today. Eddie! I’m calling you! Dig out those tapes dude, and re-master it! It’s one of *your* finest works. Mr. Offord, as well as the band’s. Best to all! -Ken DeLoria
I once wrote about this album, and I still stand by it a 110%
I’m a big Yes fan! All their albums are fantastic with just a few minor exceptions throughout their career spanning plus 40 years. But with Yes you have to accept how Yes deliver their music. Long intros, perhaps without a genuine musical point, long instrumental passages, solos that goes on for miles and lyrics that can be described as nothing but psychedelic drivel. We hard core fans accept this and it’s a part of what we love about Yes! But if hard pressed I wouldn’t take a stand for this being the ultimate way music should be. If you can’t stand it? Fine! It’s not for everyone.
BUT!!
One album! And one song in particular contains all I described above but executed to such perfection that if you don’t “get” this it’s YOUR shortcoming as a music listener! The song, of course, Close To The Edge! Clocking in at 18.43min WOW! This is where the musical collective of Howe, Bruford, Squire, Wakeman & Anderson totally peak. Never before and never again has this constellation delivered such intense performance totally free form all pretensions and ego fixation regarding each and everyones virtuosity. An example is Rick Wakemans keyboard playing is for a large part of the song just picking frenetically on one key in a sort of morse code pattern. Not what you’d expect from the guy behind “The myth and legend of King Arthur and the knights of the round table” which synth solos are longer and more pretentious than the title. Squires bass playing is simply extraordinary with rhythmic slides instead of melody. The other musicians deliver a performance of a lifetime equally magnificent to complete the whole of this masterpiece! An evening spent with this 18min 43sec song is an evening spent in the greatest of musical company!
This is one of the best albums in my collection!