Just listened to YES for the first time. Best sounding YES s/t vinyl?

Hello everyone. I just finished listening to YES for the first time ever and It was amazing!!! I picked up a copy for $1.00 this weekend..first U.S. pressing on Atlantic...it is listenable and enjoyable with a light touch of surface noise but this is an LP I want to own in the best condition and best audio possible. Could someone please tell me what I should look for and what I should expect to pay. Also, what next? Should I get their second LP? Thanks

 

If you think the first album is amazing, your head is going to explode when you get to the third album and beyond!

 

I don't think you're gonna go wrong with a good U.S. Atlantic pressing. I have a German pressing of Relayer that sounds pretty good.

As for what you can expect to pay, most used record stores practically give Yes albums away. The one I used to work at had a zillion copies of every Atlantic album from The Yes Album onwards for between three and five bucks.

 

i second that wholeheartedly!
i can't speak for the vinyl pressing aspect, but definitely grab 'Time and A Word' forward. i love everything up to and including Relayer.

 

Thanks. I'm pretty excited...discovering something and knowing there is more! I thought maybe a UK pressing would be the way to go for a British band, no? If not, sticking with an Atlantic pressing would be less expensive and perhaps easier to find. But if the UK sounds better I wouldn't mind paying more and spending some time finding a copy.

 

Glad you discovered Yes. Just curious... what is your age? The first concert I ever went to was a Yes concert at MSG back in '72. I was a mere lad of 16 then. One of my favorite Yes songs is Yours is No Disgrace.

 

As were their Atlantic labelmates Led Zeppelin, Yes were for all intents and purposes an American band. At least when it came to touring and selling records. I suspect they put a lot of effort into the U.S. pressings, because that's where their bread was buttered.

 

I'm 45...I know what your thinking...why haven't I listened to Yes until now. I'll explain. Growing up..from about 1972 to 1977 all I listened to was The Beatles, The Kinks the Who and a few other mid 60's British bands. I heard and fell in love with the first wave of British punk bands at an early age and pretty much listened to nothing else...any punk/new wave/power pop band...this was "my" music and everything that came before was old and tired. So, while friends were listening to Aerosmith, Led Zeppelin, AC/DC, YES etc. I refused to listen to what I thought was long hair stadium rock..funny huh? I finally listened and admitted to liking these bands in the mid to late 1980's and as I get older I've become open and listen to everything from the Carter Family to The Bay City Rollers to new bands like The View. I began to suspect that I would like Yes when I started listening to The Flaming Lips. Also I bought and fell in love with The Pretty Things "Parachute" and when I mentioned liking this LP to a friend I was told that I would probably like early YES. I just didn't know where to start and it's taken a few years to stumble upon the first LP and finally listen. I'm glad I did!

 

Why don't you just jump right in and buy a copy of 'Tales From Topographic Oceans'? But seriously folks! It is my favourite Yes album.

 

I saw Yes perform that concert also. (I've seen them something like 4 times). The show consisted of the TFTO album, 4 songs and then 2 encores. 6 songs total, something like a 2+ hour show.


To the original poster, glad you finally got around to Yes. Better late than never, right?

 

Since you've started with the first album, just buy the rest in chronological order and watch them grow.

 

Tales is my favorite too, by far. I like the Yes Album through Tales, but have trouble with anything after Tales.

 

Funny how that works isn't it?

A couple weeks ago I was in a large local record store and over heard the guy working there talking with his buddy, who'd just walked in. They're about 29-30 or so - long hair, metal band t-shirts, jeans, etc. I can't remember specifically who was playing at the store - the guy working there put it on - something like early Genesis or Yes or King Crimson, very proggy. Anyway the buddy says 'Oh this is a killer album, blah blah blah...' and they agree about this and that. Then the buddy goes, 'Man, you remember when we were like 18 and we swore we'd never listen to anything but punk and hard core?' "Yeah like we thought we'd listen to just one type of music forever, like it'd never get old..." and they're laughing.....so it was an entertaining moment over hearing that.

But as for the Yes self titled - some of the late 70's pressings were cut by George Piros. I had a 1841 Broadway original in NM shape and I got rid of it after comparing it to a clean AT/GP cut. I also had a 1970's i.e. later UK cutting that while clean and quiet, just didn't have the same oomph. Yes is like Cream and Led Zep - a UK band you want the US pressings of.

 

Concerning the Yes albums with Bill Bruford, I prefer the very best US Atlantic pressings to the UK Atlantic Plums, except for Fragile. --possibly because I have not yet found a top quality US Fragile pressing.

A forum member just sold me an 1841 Broadway of The Yes Album, which is essential listening. It's a George Piros cut, and wow!

(handwritten)ST-A-712139A AT/GP (little letters)PR

(handwritten)ST-A-712140A AT/GP (little letters)PR

 

Yeah, my 1841 Broadway Yes Album is pretty impressive sonically.

These are as common as dirt, and should be available readily and cheaply offline as well as on.

 

Since Yes was an English band who recorded in England, but was signed to an American company, the earliest US pressings seem worthy of being considered the "original first pressings". For example, the US WLP pressing I have of Time and A Word is really smokin'.

The UK Plums, although very collectible and good sounding, are technically export pressings. Maybe they were not even always cut from the best sources.

For Relayer, I really like that German pressing you mentioned. My fav, though, is the UK Porky, but isn't it cut from the same master as the US 1st press?

 

As Raunchnroll mentioned, I think this holds true for Zeppelin as well.

 

The UK Plum is my favorite.

 

+ 1

 

The Yes journey begins for another. Enjoy the ride. Some of the greatest music ever made!

I've had all of my Yes vinyl (every album) for about 30 years or so . They are standard US pressings that for the most part sound very good to this day. Many of them were bought used in the late 70's early 80's. It's hard to go wrong with the US vinyl if you cab find clean copies.

I second the posters that say go in chronological order and that it's gets truly amazing at the 3rd album when Steve Howe joins the band.

Also. a lot of people slag the recording quality of the live Yessongs set but my triple vinyl sounds great to me and it's an absolutely essential Yes document.

 

I slightly prefer my less than perfect shape UK pressing (an A2) of the Yes Album over my Rhino reissue and my US Atlantic pressing that has GP on side one and another US Atlantic copy. The UK pressing sounds warmer in tone to me.

I have a Fragile George Piros on its way in the mail and am looking forward to hearing that pressing and to complement my Steve Hoffman pressing. (Does anyone else think the vocals on Heart of the Sunrise seems slightly softer on that pressing? I've had that debate with one of my friends and we've never agreed to agree.)

Finally, my US George Piros Close to the Edge is my favorite version (over a recent reissue), and I'm trying to find a George Piros Tales but haven't had any luck yet.

 

Thanks for the tip. I have a 1841 pressing that I thought sounded great, but I'll look for one of these and compare.

 

This is my opinion as well. I have a US Atlantic copy with GP on both sides which sounds quite good but my "go to" copy is the UK (A2/B3). Never heard the Rhino.

 

Excellent! Get psyched...there is some more amazing music waiting for you! I would agree with the others who suggest trying them in chronological order. In some ways I wish I could start all over again myself and do it that way, it would be pretty exciting.

 

Cool that you've discovered Yes, IMO one of the best bands of all time (see avatar ). As advised by many of the experts here, just continue on in chronological order and you can't go wrong. Be prepared for a mind-expanding trip, as Yes grew, matured and stretched out their artistic vision with each album. (If interested in exploring another great band, King Crimson, approach in the exact same way...)

I've got a few sealed early (first?) U.S. Atlantic pressings sitting on the ol' vinyl shelf: Time and a Word, The Yes Album, Fragile, CTTE (textured cover) and Topographic Oceans. The debate has raged around here whether or not to open sealed vinyl...but I just can't get myself to do it!

As to your question pertaining to their debut album, I've got a French Atlantic pressing that doesn't sound all that great and should probably be avoided (although it does have the cool UK gatefold cover).