"CLOSE TO THE EDGE" Pre-Release Rambling

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rtbluray

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So jealous of all of you guys that get to be beta testers.
If at any point more testers are needed, PICK ME! ;)
 
I have ofter wondered to myself if I could erase my knowledge of a classic album, then hear it again, would I end up liking it all over, or would it be a product of the time and place all those many years ago.

Well, CLOSE TO THE EDGE sort of fits that bill, mostly because I never owned it, and I don't even remember hearing it in the past. My YES listening over the past 30+ years has been "The Yes Album" and "Fragile". I never really got into anything else.

So, along comes a test copy of "CLOSE TO THE EDGE" for me, under a non-disclosure agreement, to check out on various players, in the car, and check for errors with menu's and such. The best part about doing this is that I get to hear the preliminary disc early. Can't tell anyone, but it's great to get all fired up and have a new DVD-A for the car.

Well, I have to tell you, I have been listening and listening to this album, and what the hell? How did I miss it. I LOVE IT!! (Well, at lest the first two songs). I keep playing them over and over. I still need to appreciate the third tune, but I really like the first two.

First off, you better have a center channel and a good center speaker, because the lead vocals are solo'd in the center. I know some of you don't like this, but Steven does this better than anyone, and it really shines in the car - as well as at home. But in the car, WOW!!

About 10 minutes into the first tune, the surround really envelopes the listener, as the rears and fronts have a vocal choir effect surrounding the listener, almost in a cathedral like manor. Then, the lead vocal "It get up, I get down" comes solo from the center. WOW! WOW! WOW!

I want to make a track marker here so I can go back to it for demo purposes. What an amazing job by Steven. To me, this is the center piece of the surround mix. The entire track is gorgeous in surround, and I'm really a first time listener. You guys who love this album will be blown away.

Track Two, "You and I", is tremendous as well. Superb use of the surrounds, and although I never owned this album, this was the tune I sort of remembered, but not in detail.

When this gets released in a few weeks, I'll be back with more. The beta testers got permission to review this disc today, so you may hear from a few more folks, but I already know this is a 10 for me.

And if anyone thinks I'm "sucking up to Steven", or anyone, well think what you want. I LOVE THIS DISC!!! :banana:

Thanks for the review. As if my appetite for this wasn't already whetted enough. I'm not surprised that SW did such a stellar job on this, but it's nice to have it confirmed. This is my all-time favorite album, so I'm definitely biased, but I've always thought this album would be the quintessential album in surround, w/ the space for the frenetic parts to really breathe and the opportunity to open up all the layers (esp. the vocals).

This album was such a revelation to me when I first heard it; I was amazed by what could be accomplished in the rock medium (I was raised w/ classical music) and it's power to transport me into another world was astounding. I can hardly imagine hearing it for the 1st time in surround. I would think it'd be dangerous to listen to this for the first few times while driving- you could get caught up in it and get really distracted...
 
Track three is killer too! IMO

Definitely agree. This was Bruford's fave track on the album. It has also been used as concert opener many times for the great energy and drive it possesses. Also a dangerous track to drive to, if not using cruise control, the song propels you along and you could easily find yourself doing 100 mph if you get caught up in that propulsion.
 
Thanks so much for the review, Jon.

I'm soooooooooo jealous of you having heard it already :mad:@: but really stoked by your description! :banana: I've been a Yes fan for just about as long as I can remember and have huge (possibly too high) expectations about this release.

I really, really, really can't wait to put this on for the first time - it's going to be a very special moment.

...frustratingly, I'm out of the country on release day and will have to wait over a week to hear it :yikes:

btw stick with Siberian Khatru. As others have said it's a stand out track from the Yes catalogue once it "sticks" and imho has some of Squires best ever bass lines.
 
I think the full phrase is "Columbian marching powder"!!

Oh, dear, one great step backwards(pun intended) with our facts. Peru is actually the world's largest supplier of the magic white powder.
Having lived in Colombia I can tell you they are now mostly good little puppets of the U.S. DEA. Being married to a Colombian, I wish that stereotype
would go away. Kinda like the huge myths of "The wit of Margaret Thatcher" or the book of "Great English Lovers".(Fawlty Towers in case the reference is missed. ;))

Getting back to CTTE, the one thing I do take exception to is the rating or rankings of the three tracks on the album. I wouldn't change one note of any of it. It is a masterpiece from start to finish. Bill Bruford left after making CTTE, because he said that YES simply argued over "every single note". It was too much for him. Well I am glad YES were so picky about the music because they produced near musical perfection, I dare say.

Ok, can we renew some speculation on the next release? Does the fact that CTTE went to beta testers open any doors for an update?

Bob? Neil? Jon? Rob?
 
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It is my understanding (as it jokingly goes) that Bruford said "Yes would play in 11whereas King Crimson presented the opportunity to play in 13".

We are not at liberty to yet say what the next Yes title is despite our pleas to do so.
 
Gotta tell ya... I'm a big SW fan so I am probably a bit biased - but - if CTTE is any indication of the quality both in sound and mix, I believe that these discs will set a new benchmark. I really think it's that good. (Of course that's just one man's humble opinion - your mileage may vary)

OOH!!! I think my head might explode from the extreme excitement building in my little cranium!!! :banana:
 
I'm still putting my money on "Going for the One" as being the next title, but I think it could also be "The Yes Album" and "Relayer".
I've said it before, but if we get all three of these titles next year, I will be a happy panda. :banana:
 
I can probably tell you that we have not received the "next" YES disc, so don't get your hopes up too soon. Even when we do get it, IF we get it, we won't be able to tell you all that we did get it. Sorry.

:mad:@: :mad:@: :mad:@:

No worries, m8, but you do sound pretty confused. I kinda feel sorry for you. ;)

@rtbluray: Can you point me to that Casino where you can bet money, but still get three guesses? (y)

I say it will be GFTO, based on the hurry that Steve Hoffman put out his 2.0 Gold version....

It must be funny for those in the know to look and laugh at us desperate souls floundering like fish spilled on the deck of a boat. While we try to guess what will be next!

Obviously, I am just killing time and trying to keep myself from being committed to the mental ward while I wait for my version to get sent from Amazon...

@ Everybody else: Why aren't you guys all voting already? Its a clear 10, by now there is no doubt of that!
 
Oh, dear, one great step backwards(pun intended) with our facts. Peru is actually the world's largest supplier of the magic white powder.
Having lived in Colombia I can tell you they are now mostly good little puppets of the U.S. DEA. Being married to a Colombian, I wish that stereotype
would go away. Kinda like the huge myths of "The wit of Margaret Thatcher" or the book of "Great English Lovers".(Fawlty Towers in case the reference is missed. ;))
/QUOTE]

Apologies, no offence to Columbians was meant, I was just repeating the phrase as I'd heard it.

Back to Yes, this strange intriguing quote appeared on Yes's facebook page yesterday:

"Could it be? Yes it could. Something's coming, something good, if I can waitSomething's coming, I don't know what it is, but it is, gonna be great...Find out next week...."
 
Ok, just tell us every day that you haven't received it and we'll make note of when you stop. It probably isn't good to say you haven't received it either ;-)

We had to sign non-disclosure agreements in order to receive the test disc(s) we get from time to time. Because of the complexity of the DVD-A format and it's tendency to do different things on different player hardware, we get the discs not for the music but for the disc architecture. Of course, we take note of the content! :)

I can probably tell you that we have not received the "next" YES disc, so don't get your hopes up too soon. Even when we do get it, IF we get it, we won't be able to tell you all that we did get it. Sorry.

All I can tell you for sure that CLOSE TO THE EDGE is a disc that has gotten more play in my car than any DVD-A has probably since LOVE came out. No lie. It is a wonderful disc and I sincerely hope you all love it as well, and that we don't experience the controversy that we did when the ELP discs came out. If someone here does not like it, of course, we want it posted here along with the reasons, but please no campaign. I don't think I could take that again. :mad:@:
 
Apologies, no offence to Columbians was meant, I was just repeating the phrase as I'd heard it.

Back to Yes, this strange intriguing quote appeared on Yes's facebook page yesterday:

"Could it be? Yes it could. Something's coming, something good, if I can waitSomething's coming, I don't know what it is, but it is, gonna be great...Find out next week...."

Its all good m8, those of us in the USA think the same thing I am sure, now that I have lived there I have a whole different take on the place. Lots of very real & decent folks. Not like the "me first" "gotta get a new Lexus" like the USA sadly has become...

Thanks for the hint from YES. Why not announce the next one? Unless maybe they are still deciding? They announce projects well in advance. What is another two weeks of early release?

About CTTE in 5.1. In celebration, I broke out my YES-Fragile DVD-A out yesterday and blasted the 5.1 mix of America. Me personally: I LOVE IT!
More tracks/edits/layers of guitars & keys that didn't make the original mix, that really fill out the song. Beautiful harmonies discretely mixed in the rears.
What a fabulous job on that track! :phones

I know some folks here didn't care for that mix. The BluRay container has so much space; why not include two 5.1 mixes if the mixer thinks there are different ways to go? It seems that people can't agree even on discrete mixes like the 2 SW ELP 5.1(which I think are spectactular,fwiw...).
 
Its all good m8, those of us in the USA think the same thing I am sure, now that I have lived there I have a whole different take on the place. Lots of very real & decent folks. Not like the "me first" "gotta get a new Lexus" like the USA sadly has become...

Thanks for the hint from YES. Why not announce the next one? Unless maybe they are still deciding? They announce projects well in advance. What is another two weeks of early release?

About CTTE in 5.1. In celebration, I broke out my YES-Fragile DVD-A out yesterday and blasted the 5.1 mix of America. Me personally: I LOVE IT!
More tracks/edits/layers of guitars & keys that didn't make the original mix, that really fill out the song. Beautiful harmonies discretely mixed in the rears.
What a fabulous job on that track! :phones

I know some folks here didn't care for that mix. The BluRay container has so much space; why not include two 5.1 mixes if the mixer thinks there are different ways to go? It seems that people can't agree even on discrete mixes like the 2 SW ELP 5.1(which I think are spectactular,fwiw...).

Put me in the group that dislikes the added noodling on America; it distracts from the song, imo. One of the MANY reasons I'm looking forward to this CttE release is having SW's 5.1 take on America. He always attempts (and succeeds imo) to stay true to the original feel of the songs, so no fears about adding distracting parts.
 
Put me in the group that dislikes the added noodling on America; it distracts from the song, imo. One of the MANY reasons I'm looking forward to this CttE release is having SW's 5.1 take on America. He always attempts (and succeeds imo) to stay true to the original feel of the songs, so no fears about adding distracting parts.

Ok, just to kill time while we are tortured through more release delays.....

First: The release of America was on basically an "advertising" LP to promote Atlantic, so how much did YES really care about that so called original mix???

Second: The original mix was way too heavy on Steve's guitar, though I personally dug that, YES made their name on balanced contributions. The original America has so little Wakeman on it. The Fragile mix has much deeper keyboard layering. More Wakeman has never been a bad thing!

Third: Ya gotta LOVE those harmonies coming from the back channel. Yes???

Fourth: The original mix sounds more like a jam session(not a bad thing) the Fragile 5.1 mix sounds more like a layered studio recording.

Ok, now ya got me worried. Is SW gonna go more for your less filling/minimalist approach or my "full bodied" tastes great mix???

When will we get to the days when we can have the descrete tracks and we can do our own mix? I think that is the answer! :phones
 
Ok, just to kill time while we are tortured through more release delays.....

First: The release of America was on basically an "advertising" LP to promote Atlantic, so how much did YES really care about that so called original mix???

Second: The original mix was way too heavy on Steve's guitar, though I personally dug that, YES made their name on balanced contributions. The original America has so little Wakeman on it. The Fragile mix has much deeper keyboard layering. More Wakeman has never been a bad thing!

Third: Ya gotta LOVE those harmonies coming from the back channel. Yes???

Fourth: The original mix sounds more like a jam session(not a bad thing) the Fragile 5.1 mix sounds more like a layered studio recording.

Ok, now ya got me worried. Is SW gonna go more for your less filling/minimalist approach or my "full bodied" tastes great mix???

When will we get to the days when we can have the descrete tracks and we can do our own mix? I think that is the answer! :phones

IIRC, America was a song the band jammed on in live shows for years before they recorded it- so likely Wakeman played less of a role since he was the newbie in the band who hadn't played it much, if at all. Who knows how much they care about the original mix.

I actually have no problem w/ the added Wakeman parts- it's Howe's extra guitar noodlings that I find distracting.

I do love those harmonies coming from the rear.

I think it sounds like a jam session b/c this song was a jam for them. I really like the way they jam on it- some great Howe riffing during his peak years. I really liked the live version I heard on the '97 tour.

Let's hope SW does his magic in the Bud lite way: less filling AND tastes great.

Actually, you can buy the stems now; I remember reading about the availabilty of CttE stems that were the 1st indication that they had "found" the reportedly missing multi's and gave new hope that we'd see a surround release of this- now a reality (though that reality keeps getting frustratingly dangled in front of us).
 
Looking forward to this one big time. I too have never owned the actual album but am familiar with all the songs from Yessongs and other live videos and best-of collections. Should be interesting...
 
Hey guys. It's not that I don't "like" the third track! :)

I seem to keep hitting "replay" on Tracks 1 and 2. Heck, I haven't even really listened to the extra stuff that much. I was never a fan of the version of "America" on the Fragile DVD-A, so I haven't given that track much of a chance at all.

'America' on the DVD-A is a very bad remix, containing parts different from the original, and destroying the 'drama' of Howe's successively more amazing guitar parts. On top of that, the mastering is atrociously loud. Do NOT use that version to judge the worth of this excellent track. It's awful. I'm betting Steve Wison's remix is better by far.

(They also mucked up 'South Side of the Sky' unforgivably, on that DVD-A.)

I've owned CttE since 1974. 'Siberian Khatru' was and remains my favorite track on the album. It's a tour de force.
 
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