Can the people who don't like the Steven Wilson remixes of the Yes albums please recommend the best remasters to listen to instead? Thank you!
Since you asked...
For the first two albums, the standard Atlantic CDs, remastered in the 1990s are just fine. Most
Yes Album CDs are also fine. Mobile Fidelity's* is my usual playback, but I enjoy Steve Wilson's 5.1 remix of this one a lot. There are numerous masterings of
Fragile to choose from, again most are good except for the very first CD issue, a dull mastering by the highly overrated Barry Diament. My personal go-to is Joe Gastwirt's remaster circa 1994...the first re-mastering on CD. Wilson's 5.1 remix of this is good too -- though on a track by track basis, the earlier DVDA 5.1 can be as good or better. Similarly for
Close to the Edge, the 1990s remaster, the early 2000s Rhino remaster, or the CD layer of Audio Fidelity SACD/CD** are fine. Wilson's 5.1 mix of this ranges from simply weirdly unbalanced (title track) to inert (the other two tracks). For
Tales from Topographic Oceans, I much prefer the Japanese HDCD*** (decoded) from 1998 over nearly all others. It's gorgeous (and so is the replica paper sleeve). The Rhino remaster from 2003 is also good and was the first to offer the cool 'work in progress versions' of two sides as a bonus. Wilson's 5.1 mix does not satisfy this listener's picky ears, too many impactful moments that came from Eddy Offord's careful riding of levels, lose their impact here. My go to for
Relayer is again the 1998 Japanese HDCD (decoded). Both of these HDCDs are tweaked, EQ wise, but simply sound better than any of the many other masterings I've heard. (Especially avoid the George Marino/Rhino remaster of
Relayer ). Wilson's 5.1 mix of this is just a series of disappointments and squandered opportunities, with remarkably dull EQ. Sound wise,
Going for the One is a shrill, reverb-drenched pig's ear that no amount of remastering can fix, but the Audio Fidelity SACD/CD is as good as I've heard.
Tormato is a mess in all respects, but the HDtracks**** version is a real find. In addition to having 'good' sound quality, as far as it goes for this album, it also features a heretofore unheard count-in to the first track...an indicator this was sourced at or near the original masters. The HDtracks
Drama is also my new go-to...a pleasant surprise.
For '
Yesterdays' , the original albums the tracks were taken from sound better, and for the epic 'America', seek out the
original LP mastering from 'New Age Of Atlantic', which unfortunately has never been officially released in digital form. The version released later on
Yesterdays added gobs of reverb to that mix. Both 5.1 remixes of 'America' are abominable...and there is no 2.0 remix I'm aware of.
For the live
Yessongs , another problematic recording, the HDtracks is good; the HDCD (decoded) is rather over-EQd in an attempt to get more bass and presence out of it but it offers an interesting alternative. (The giant
Progeny' CD set, offering most of the complete concerts from which
Yessongs was drawn, mixed in 2.0 from multitracks on modern equipment ,
should have been an improvement. But while the performances are of course awesome, it's a surprisingly dull-sounding affair compared to
Yessongs, which for all its sonic flaws always sounds *exciting* and *live*. Offord, for example, wasn't afraid to pan a soloist to the center, or zoom a synthesizer run from left to right and back again. Or to run a tape 'hot'. Brian Kehew, who mixed
Progeny, seems rigidly stuck on the idea of a 'band on the stage' presentation, Howe to the left, Wakeman to the right...and his efforts to resurrect Squire's bass have mostly failed. The dynamics overall are...polite.)
For the live
Yesshows you're forever stuck with Chris Squire's dry, amusingly bass- and drum-heavy mix (the band was appalled). My go-to is the 1990s remaster, having only ever heard the LP and the older Japanese CD version. The remaster at least glues the two parts of 'Ritual' back together. I don't play this album much, as better (unofficial) live documents of 70s Yes exist elsewhere.
* A controversial reissue, as it is certainly louder than many other masterings, but MoFi claims this is from using, for the first time, correct Dolby decoding settings for the master tapes. It sounds fantastic in any case.
**None of the three AF SACDs I own of 70s Yes --
Fragile, Close to the Edge, Going for the One -- is bad, but curiously on at least one, (GftO) the *SACD* layer is more compressed while the CD layer is full range. As if someone at AF didn't know quite what they were doing.
***Avoid all the other HDCD Yes studio albums. They're very bad. The two HDCDs I like here have to be decoded to restore full dynamic range.
****HDtracks sourcing does not always mean 'high resolution', given that some of its masterings are compressed in dynamic range compared to other masterings. Sometimes you have to purchase the 'higher resolution' version to get the uncompressed one (see: Van Halen remasters on HDtracks, where only the 192/24 offering is uncompressed. ) So, caveat emptor. FWIW my HDTracks
Drama and
Tormato are 96/24 , and are not compressed. HDtracks also offers them in 192/24.
Not a remaster recommendation but if you are a fan of this album check out an original pressing of the LP which I prefer over any CD version I have tried. Steven Wilson's remix has the best "sound quality" of any version I have heard but it is different than the original. The original LP or Steve Wilson are the 2 version I listen to.
I've owned the LPs since they were first released; and the the Wilson remixes usually contain a digital transfer of a UK LP first pressing. Having heard all these, I can't agree. LPs aren't magic and they have limitations that CD doesn't. That said, the best LP version of any Yes album I've owned was a circa 1984 Japanese import of Tales, which sounded stunning. The HDCD reminds me of it, enough that I've wondered if the HDCD was actually sourced from the Japanese LP mastering.
Anyway, this is all quite OT for this thread. I'm fine with shutting down this Yes nerd sub-conversation.