Close To The Edge Great question. I've never heard it. If someone would like to post a sample, that would be great.
My current copy appears to be this one or very similar. Definitely has the 3 Bs and AT/GP. But the record label has the SD 19132 catalog number. I've gone through several copies of Fragile trying to find one that's sufficiently quiet during "Roundabout", but haven't been successful yet. This one sounds pretty good otherwise.
The five 1977 reissued/renumbered titles I'm glad this has been brought up, as I've been undecided about whether to get into this aspect. My apologies if I've gone too far off-topic in this explanation. All five of the 1977 renumbered YES titles (as well as all the Atlantic catalog titles selected to be reissued as $7.98 list LPs) continued to use the same metalwork just as if nothing had changed. The SD-19XXX series certainly was stamped after the earlier $6.98 list versions, but until the supply of stampers ran out, everything else stayed the same. The jackets and labels showed the new catalog #'s, and the wholesale cost went up about 65 cents, but everything else was the same. This is because the Atlantic family of labels didn't use catalog #'s in their deadwax. This differed from WEA's other two major label groups who had dozens of $6.98's going to $7.98's at the same time. Since the Warner family of labels, and the Elektra/Asylum family of labels showed both prefix and catalog # in their deadwax, their 1977 reissued catalog titles had to start over from scratch (brand new lacquer cuttings for each title). All the metalwork (stampers, mothers, metal masters) had to be destroyed for all the old $6.98 versions of catalog titles increasing in price for all the Warner and Elektra/Asylum titles. This is because Elektra/Asylum $6.98's were 7E-1XXX series; and their $7.98's were were 6E-1XX series...and it was in the deadwax. Warner went from BS-2XXX for $6.98's to BSK 31XX for $7.98's...and it was in their deadwax. (Similar changes for other Warner labels like Bearsville and Reprise). Atlantic, on the other hand, tackled this price/number change to $7.98 series (SD-19XXX) by keeping with their longtime policy of using side #'s (not catalog #'s) in the deadwax. Meaning, they saved a lot of time and money by not having to scrap perfectly good metal parts, just because of obsolete #'s in the deadwax. Now this doesn't mean that they didn't eventually get recut. It just means that the 1977 reissues didn't start off with recuts, like Warner and Elektra. Atlantic used up all the stampers descended from the earlier lacquer cuts, well after the SD-19XXX issues replaced the previous $6.98 versions. =========================================== Now...with respect to the Super Saver Series. There was no change in the metalwork or pressing for any of WEA's three corporations (including YES titles) at the time of the price change. These were introduced later when the list prices were dropped to $5.98's, but none of these changes involved catalog # changes, so the metalwork continued to be used as if nothing else had changed. In fact, we would sometimes find matrix #'s on defective returns of Super Saver Series LP's that matched exactly with those on the original issues, as much as ten years later. Hope this helps to explain it a little.
CLOSE TO THE EDGE Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab Close to the Edge MFSL 1-077 pressing cut by Stan Ricker is divine. It's one Mofi that I don't find too bright, and due to the nature of the very dynamic compositions, the super quiet JVC vinyl surfaces are much appreciated. The slightly lower cutting level reduces playback distortion, and the lack of compression is nice also. Some people might argue that the Mofi has an artificial EQ, but c'mon folks, Eddie Offord's recording approach is hardly naturalistic. Most of the sounds are quite odd to begin with. Just listen to Squire's bass tone, or the wild Hammond settings Wakeman is using. And, all the doubling and overdubs going on only enhances the otherworldly sonic effect. This album was recorded in an adventuresome, progressive manner. Who knows (other than George Piros, Stan Ricker and a handful of others) what the master tapes actually sound like? I bet they sound weird! I also have a very early 1841 Broadway CTTE pressing which makes for a very involving listen, but I reach for the Mofi when I want to hear this album.
I own a MFSL test pressing of this title. I think it sounds very fine too. This title needs the fat bass and crystal clear high end to show off it's dazzle imo. Never heard a CD that I liked after getting used to vinyl of CTTE.
CLOSE TO THE EDGE Close to the Edge US Atlantic SD 7244 1841 Broadway smooth jacket 1841 Broadway Red Green labels Side One: ST-A-722619-RI handwritten deadwax ST-A-722619 AAA AT/GP Side Two: ST-A-722620-RI handwritten deadwax ST-A-722620 AAA AT/GP PR (Great sound-a bit bright. Wish the pressing quality was a tiny bit better--even though this is a Near Mint copy, it's a bit noisy in the quiet parts like "I get Up I get Down" and the 12-string intro to "And You and I." Siberian Khatru is blazing hot, and fun to listen to.) Close to the Edge MOBILE FIDELITY SOUND LAB ORIGINAL MASTER RECORDING MFSL 1-077 Smooth jacket with "Demonstration copy, not for resale" stamp. White labels Side One: handwritten deadwax SR/2 ORTOFON MFSL-1-077-A2 stamped H 1 2 I + N T Side Two: handwritten deadwax ORTOFON SR/2 MFSL-1-077B1 stamped H 1 1 I + (My listening copy) Close to the Edge 1841 Broadway textured jacket White stamp "Manufactured by RCA Music service under license M2-1[?] R130080 Red/Green Rockefeller/WB labels with "RCA Music Service Edition" at top right. Side One: ST-A-722619 Stamped deadwax R 130080 A 2S Side Two ST-A-722620 Stamped deadwax R 130080 B 2S Would love to hear a 1st pressing UK. They sure sell for lots £ of these days.
An odd bass tone it may be, but man it sure is a wonderful odd! On the Fish Out Of Water DVD, Squire mentions that he overdubbed single note guitar lines that mirrored his bass parts to get that metallic CLANK! I'm not sure if he specifies which tunes or how often he utilized this technique while recording (I'll have to go back and watch it again), but I thought that was pretty interesting. Now back to CTTE. I think I have a GP, Monarch pressing which I like. I'll try and post the specific info. Barry's digital version though...man, that thing just kills
By the way, Bill Bruford's new book, "The Autobiography" is a fun read. He writes about the recording of CTTE, and how he decided to quit the band during that time. I don't want to give too much away, but there's also a great story about the band and Eddie Offord frantically searching through the trash trying to find a crucial CTTE master tape that a maid threw out!
Close To The Edge Certainly, my thought going into this was that Barry's cd was better than any vinyl copy I had heard. I'm gonna give it another listen this weekend.
Here's my vinyl copy: Close To The Edge US Red/Green SD 7244 Side One: ST-A-722619-MO ST-A-722619AA AT/GP Side Two: ST-A-722620-MO ST-A-722620AA AT/GP 1841 Broadway... Textured jacket
Just found this one today. Looks a little different than what's been posted thus far: Atlantic SD 7244 Broadway label, textured sleeve side 1 ST-A-722619-RI ST-A722619AAA-1-11111 AT/GP PR side 2 ST-A-722620-RI ST-A-722620 AAA AT/GP -11-111 PR Hoping this will sound a little better than the later Piros cut I posted above.
My other copy... Close To The Edge Gatefold SD 19133 1841 Broadway Red/Green SD 19133 75 Rockefeller (WB) Side One: ST-A-722619 SP ST-A-722619-C SRC AT/GP 1-3 Side Two: ST-A-722620 SP ST-A-722620 D AT/GP SRC 1-2
Regarding the address on the covers versus the labels, it's my impression that Atlantic was very slow to change the address on the covers, sometimes taking years to do so, if they ever got around to doing it all. As a result, Atlantic LPs with 75 Rockefeller on the labels but 1841 Broadway on the cover (even with SD 19xxx catalog numbers, even with bar codes on the back cover) are not uncommon. This was discussed a bit in the thread below: http://www.stevehoffman.tv/forums/showthread.php?p=4515135&highlight=#post4515135 Does anyone have a copy of any U.S. pressing of a Yes title originally released before 1974 that doesn't have 1841 Broadway on the cover?
Since there was no change in the catalog numbers, how did distributors and retailers distinguish 19xxx titles that had been moved into the Super Saver Series from 19xxx titles that remained at full price? At most of the major labels, when a full-price title was moved into a budget-line series, there was some sort of change in the catalog number.
The invoice and packing slip with each shipment indicated the list price (and any discounts applying to that particular transaction). Plus the current catalog had list price info. As time went on, this became less and less the case. Price changes (either up or down) created a variety of problems for us. Usually there was a cut-off date for returning product to the manufacturer to get full credit for the product being changed. Since we had both one-stop and rack-jobbing divisions, these deadlines had to be handled differently in each case. Then there were rules set by the labels spelling out whether LOFI applied, or LIFO. We would have to consider many options before deciding how to handle each changeover. As WEA titles began going to lower prices for certain titles, there was no question that we had to pull all this stock from our warehouse, and more importantly, from all the stores we racked. Then we could buy it back at the lower price. This meant there were missing titles for a short period of time. The 1977 WEA price increase/number change didn't suffer from this problem, as the cut-off deadline for returns was after the release of the $7.98's. So there was a period of overlap. BTW, that change occurred in 3 steps, a couple of weeks apart...and it wasn't by corporation. In other words, step 1 involved 1/3 of Atlantic titles being changed, 1/3 of Elektra titles, and 1/3 Warner titles. Similarly with the following 2 steps. It would have been so much easier if each step was for only one corporation at a time.
Yessongs On to Yessongs. I only have two of these. I'll post my deadwax info a little later tonight. I don't think I'll bother posting samples. This is truly one of the worst sounding albums of all time. A pity because it contains some amazing performances.
