YES – Close to the Edge – RARER EARLY UK 1972 ATLANTIC EX++ LP, PLAYS SUPERBLY

	£		41
	$		54

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Postage: UK £4.75 (£1 per extra record). Europe (including Russia) £12.50 (£2 per extra record). Rest of World (including ALL parts of the USA) £16.50 (£3 per extra record). All boxes signed for in quality, safe packaging – I NEVER use mailing envelopes that offer virtually no protection at all – in fact I think these things should be banned as records WILL arrive damaged in them at some time. Here, you get what you pay for – SAFE PACKING in BOXES using 7mm DOUBLE-WALL STIFFENERS. Full details nearer the end of the listing.

Posting to Russia: Yes, I do post to Russia. But delivery can take up to 4 to 6 weeks from the UK. So please be patient. I will submit a tracking number to the winning bidder, and when the packet arrives there it can be followed online using the Russian post website.

ALSO: I now apply the Ebay ‘2-day’ rule for non-payment to keep things moving – cash-flow is important for any small business. I will always keep my P&P prices as low as possible, and even after yet another Royal Mail price hike from April this year, I have NOT raised my prices and will never compromise on solid, safe packing that is invariably heavier than most you will get. My P&P offers probably the best value-for-money for vinyl records available, and I even will pay for full insurance on any record that sells for over £100 at NO extra cost – that is UK and abroad. Also I aim to post the very same day after payment is received. You WILL see the difference when my packet arrives.

FINALLY: Late payers, non-payers and ‘0’ bidders will now be blocked or cancelled at my discretion. As will any bidder who cancels a bid. I do not like this practice as it is most often used to phish out the price to beat. Ebay does not approve and neither do I – so only bid on my items if you want them.

Artist or Band: YES

Album Title: Close to the Edge

Producer(s): Yes and Eddie Offord

TRACK LIST:

Side 1: Close to the Edge.

Side 2: And You and I; Siberian Khatru.

Label, Format & Condition: Atlantic – very early darker versions of the new Atlantic label. This album was not issued on the Plum format. The new format initially had a darker green and brick red colour, later examples became paler and looked quite different. This pair are very clean, fresh and attractive with any spindle marks few and light.

Catalogue Number: K 50012

Country of Manufacture: England

Mode / Speed: Stereo / 33.3 rpm.

Warps: Assume all records I offer have no warping of any significance and all tracking is easy and effortless and should play on all turntables and even ‘budget’ decks.

Weight of this Record: 138 grams. Thicker and heavier pressed than later copies.

Rarity, Info and the Experience: This album is not that hard to find per se, but is very hard to find in top playing conditions as a very early pressing. And I can hardly reiterate this enough. So many of these sound terrible and that is not putting too finer a point on it. For any discerning collector, a play-grade is essential. Many copies may look great, but sound terrible. Only one in many will ever offer the sound the more discerning collector and audiophile listener will want. There are three hugely crucial areas on this album that often have significant problems that usually lie within the pressing. Firstly: the very start of side one with it’s ultra quiet introduction which starts from silence and very slowly builds up. This so easily damaged by careless arm placement and less than adequate pressing quality. Next the loud complex full-on sound from the real church organ on the title song that is so often a maze of break-up, clipping and distortion, again due to poor pressing quality, but also if subjected to unworthy or worn stylus or bad alignment. And on side two, about half way through ‘And You and I’ on the very difficult Mellotron passage, this so often loses it’s clarity again with distortion and crackle on those complex grooves. So few will ever track these areas perfectly and retain the clarity for the sound connoisseur. Well this early pressed and little played copy succeeds on all three of these matters and so few will ever will. In fact this record plays superbly throughout with very little at all unwanted. One with incredible sound and dynamics and with detail and delivery the later pressings only hint of. Very well pressed and those incredibly difficult areas playing very impressively indeed. NO cringing distortions, high frequency clipping or loss of clarity on that loud church organ or complex Mellotron. Anderson’s vocals with a true in-the-room presence and realism and all the quiet passages being as quiet as they can almost get from a 45-year-old vinyl record. A masterpiece progressive rock album and – for me anyway – one of the greatest ever made. This offers the sound and audio quality which made my LP12 excel. It gave me that rare tingle factor several times and actually stopped me typing to simply let the sound be absorbed. I do not offer this album lightly – there are far too many poor copies of it around, that granted, look great, but play terrible. Many fans will know this already, it is arguably the most challenging in the Yes catalogue. The cover is equally difficult as is the inner sleeve – both here in exceptional condition as I hope my pictures show. So a copy many Yes fans will have been waiting for, indeed all three elements – record, cover and inner sleeve could prove significant upgrades for many. If you think all copies of this landmark album are all the same, think again, this up there with the most challenging prog classics made and this very early copy does it very strong justice – not one to lose lightly.

Original Year of Release: 1972

Matrix Nos: K 50012 A3 / K 50012 B1

Musicians: Jon Anderson – vocals; Steve Howe – guitars, vocals; Chris Squire – bass, vocals; Rick Wakeman – keyboards; Bill Bruford – drums, percussion.

Brief Artist & Album Info: Arguably the most popular album in the Yes catalogue, their fifth, it charted at 4 in the UK and 3 in the US – for me musically, it’s the perfect Yes album. A musical suite of three parts with stunning musicianship and super-fidelity production and beautifully packaged. Pure prog-rock of the highest quality, Yes remain within this field as popular today as they were back in the early 1970s and long may they continue to be. With their very strongest line-up ever of Anderson, Bruford, Howe, Squire and Wakeman, the music this quintet made was awe-inspiring, and by now progressed way above most of the competition. Everything about finding a top copy of this record is demanding – the cover, a delicate non-laminate and textured is heavily prone to all forms of wear and most have it. Later copies had the cover made smooth with the texturing removed, it even had a more glossy finish. The inner is equally delicate and often suffer horrendous ring wear, rubbing and large sliced edges – indeed many are seen with tape all round. And the record itself with so many quiet passages, will highlight any defects on less than perfect copies with great ruthlessness. The beginning is very similar to the opening of Pink Floyd’s More album, with silence that gradually fades in with delicate bird song until the band kick-in hard with a stunningly complex instrumental break. Two issues make this extra difficult: the actual pressing quality was hugely variable in a year of oil shortage. Later copies especially were often noisy and simply were not up to the capability of reproducing that deep church organ break on side one or that intense Mellotron on side two without distortion and crackle. Also, this was highly intolerant of heavy tracking and thick stylus that stripped away those very complex grooves meaning poor sound again. This is a demanding and highly rewarding album that fails to age, it sounds as fresh and exciting now as it did when first made and this copy looks and sounds fantastic. A wonderful copy of one of the greatest progressive rock albums ever issued – the only question – can your system handle it?

Cover Condition and Details: EXCELLENT: and arguably better given how wear-prone it is. This is unlaminated and textured on the outer surfaces with a leather-like matt finish, the inside is smooth. Cover design by Roger Dean and made in England, uncredited. Includes the original deep green lyric inner sleeve with the first external flipback design.

Cover Front: Deceptively difficult and rarely seen devoid of rubbing, fading and ageing. Later examples were made without the texturing and were coated giving them far more resilient finish – but looking way inferior in terms of style. This front is superb with amongst the least wear I have seen for ages. A couple of small tip rubs and the odd tiny edge chip, but the lack of rubbing and wear to the main surface is very impressive and seldom seen. The graphic at the top is immaculate as seen in close-up. The texturing is nice and quite intricate when viewed up close, there is barely a crease to be seen. It retains a genuine freshness and deep colour as seen, and no sticker issues. This will seldom be seen better.

Cover Back: The back is very similar again with any hint of rubbing minimal and faint, the lack of ring wear is a huge plus.

Cover Gatefold Inner: Beautiful artwork and another classic Roger Dean landscape graphic – unworn and ultra clean and fresh. The effect has a stunning green pastel hue and the top an equally impressive gorgeous blue colour. As stated above, this one is smooth finished inside, but looks really lovely as-seen.

Top Edges: Unworn, apart from a rub on the right front corner end, both are very straight, but no quite parallel when closed.

Bottom Edges: The back has quite light patchy rubbing, hardly any on the front, again both straight.

Right Edge(s), and Type: Clean, mostly sharp with minimal thickening or burring as seen viewed end-on. Guaranteed untrimmed, the record enters on the back edge.

Spine and Text: Very solid, straight with barely any compression. Folded very slightly off-square, so the edges are not quite parallel as mentioned above. Just a fine rub below the lower text, all lettering near perfect as seen. Both folds have avoided rubs and scuffs which is quite unusual.

Corners: A couple of moderate tip rubs, others are light and small. Very fine to excellent shape retained with no knocks.

Cover Summary: Being so wear-prone, I feel this is a near exceptional example. I have seen very few with less wear and to see all the major surfaces like this is almost a thing of beauty. The owner by and large kept this cover protected and it makes a big difference. Barely any will escape edge rubs at best and few will match or better this significantly these days. One many collectors and fans will enjoy.

The Inner Sleeve: EXCELLENT(++): that purely for its superb clean looks, it had one neat edge split with a tiny one opposite. I have repaired these and now barely register. Few of these escape edge splits and is almost as vulnerable as the Led Zeppelin 4 inner. This has survived without the usual ring wear and creasing most acquire – the reason – the owner did not store the record inside very long, but put inside a replacement soft-lined replacement. An integral and crucial part of this set – these were unlined and very prone to all the perils of usage and movement, especially as Atlantic records at this time had quite sharp rims that sliced them with little effort. The early examples were flipback constructed, later ones omitted them. This retains intense green colour and unusual freshness and this a strong contender for the best I have seen, certainly for some considerable time anyway. Both flipbacks are neat and undamaged. As clearly seen in my pictures, this inner is superb.

Vinyl Condition/Visual Grading: EXCELLENT(++) / (+): with just a very small surface mark at the start of side two that does nothing. A superb and clearly little played very early pressed example. Very clean, fresh with lovely shine, any surface traces few, ultra find and light as seen with scrutiny under bright light. Remember, this was the age or ‘prog’, and most who bought this album, played it heavily (on goodness knows what). Few survive in condition that come somewhere close to reminding of new. A lovely age-defying example to please many, if not most collectors.

Album Played For Grading: Yes. [I play ALL records I?offer before submitting to Ebay, also the record is played in its entirety unless clearly stated otherwise. I do NOT play snippets or joining grooves to check for sound quality and quietness – I play from the beginning to end via clinically revealing B&W speakers that include the legendary tweeter from their awesome Nautilus range that reveals every blemish or minuscule sound present on any record.]

Sound Quality and Audio Grading: This prog-rock masterpiece plays with immensely powerful clean sound. That ‘impossible’ intro that is silence and fades in with birdsong and then loud music, is as close to as clean as vinyl gets – this is pretty exceptional for any record with little unwanted. Brilliant clear sound, superbly produced and an exceptional pressing as earlier copies often are – but this can never be guaranteed without a full play-grade on a quality system. A massively challenging album with several lengthy passages of quietness, this plays very well indeed with no tracking issues. No horrible pressing rasps or crackle, and hardly any ticks or clarity loss. That massively loud church organ on the title song is a major obstacle for less than worthy systems that will simply fall apart trying to reproduce those challenging expanded frequencies. This copy holds all that sound perfectly together without the usual break-up and distortion. No heavy blunt stylus have been near this copy. One for those people who are prepared to spend considerable sums on quality equipment to glean the most from worthy records for maximum pleasure. Wakeman’s keyboard-work tests any system to it’s limits and this passes without mishaps. Church organ and deep Mellotron are amongst the most difficult sounds to track and those complex grooves are so easily damaged, not just by careless playing, but also by inground debris and poor pressing quality. Later copies seldom hit the mark. Certainly up there with the very best copies I have yet heard, certainly for some considerable time. I feel sure this copy will please many, if not most collectors, this really does play with very little unwanted, ‘silence’ being near impossible on such recordings or immense age. This merits strong recommendation and not to be lost lightly.

* As played-graded on a high-end Linn LP12 Sondek turntable with Ittok Mk II arm and Ortofon Quintet Black moving coil cartridge tracking at 2.2 grams.

Now one of the most established sellers on Ebay and still offering the finest and most accurately described and graded records I can find. I pride myself on offering a variety of genres to keep my site as interesting as possible. I will rarely offer any record that falls below a true Excellent grading, unless its of a certain rarity which will justify offering a lesser grade. I try, to the best of my ability to describe as accurately and as honesty as I can all items I offer for sale with all the relevant information I can think of to help any potential bidder and collector. You may notice I only submit records sparingly on Ebay as I Play-Grade every record I offer in their entirety – also on higher-end equipment – not just bits to guess a grade - visuals alone do not always tell a true or full story. I will mention any defects or flaws no matter how small that I notice to be fair as possible to any interested collector – I am very fussy and my buyers have the right to be too. Every record I offer, whether it be a common or rare item deserves the same respect as far as I am concerned and will be treated the same - just because an item is rare does not always mean it’s good. I get just as much pleasure offering a relatively common record in stunning near mint condition as the real rare items. All the pictures I use for your guidance are taken with a digital camera or scanned - they are NOT improved, cleaned-up or made better looking than they are with camera trickery or enhancing with digital programs. Room light factors can make things vary sometimes, that is hard to control, especially in winter. If any picture I take looks more flattering than the actual item for any reason, I will clearly state the fact in the advert and vice-versa. I hope the item below is to your liking - any questions can be emailed and I will do my very best to answer you. I am enthusiastic, and have a fair degree of knowledge about many genres and I promise quality items - bid with confidence - excellence comes as standard and so does Near Mint regularly. Please assume all records I offer have NO jumps, sticks, warps or writing on covers or labels unless clearly stated to the contrary. Thanks for your interest and Good luck – MIKE.

Deck: Linn LP12/Hercules/Cirkus with Ittok Mk II arm and Ortofon Quintet Black moving coil cartridge (tracks at 2.2 grams). Amps: Naim Supernait 2 with Project USB phono stage and Tellerium Black interconnects. Speakers: B&W 704 Floorstanding 3-way Monitors (bi-wired with Tellurium Black terminated cable). All records I offer on Ebay are cleaned on a professional VPI-17 vacuum machine before play-grading for the cleanest and best possible sound and will include a brand new lined inner and protective cover too. Pictures taken with a Nikon D5000 SLR Digital Camera.

PACKING - THIS IS WHAT YOU GET.

What You Get: To confirm to the strict Ebay rules on shipping, I must now send ALL my packets ‘Signed-For’ with NO exceptions. Both buyers and sellers want their packets to have a safer journey and this is not a bad thing.

I now offer the fastest possible posting, often the very next day after payment is received or within two to three days maximum (unless on holiday). I only use FIRST-CLASS Mail. The record’s cover will be placed within a BRAND NEW soft protective sleeve and the actual record will be professionally cleaned on my new VPI-17 Pro vacuum system to give ultimate clean grooves and playing surfaces and the best possible looks and ultimate sound quality. You will NOT get tired, dull looking, dust infested records inside worn and foggy covers with tatty inners from this seller and that’s a promise and guarantee. All records are posted in professional boxes (NOT Mailers, these do not offer any real protection). The record(s) are REMOVED from their main cover to avoid edge splits and placed within a brand new polylined inner. The record’s original inner will be included if available. The boxes are then reinforced with at least TWO, ULTRA THICK stiffeners for maximum extra protection – these are FOUR TIMES thicker than commercial stiffeners and are custom-made for oneadayrecords. Really rare and expensive albums will even be Double Boxed if deemed necessary and possible. When larger boxes are used, the thick record and stiffener ‘sandwich’ is then thickly embedded into bubble-wrap to bulk out the record inside the box to centre the item inside to reduce the risk of damage still further. Printed address labels are used for clarity as well as a sender label. Customers requests or special needs for P&P will be respected if at all possible but ‘Signed-For’ posting is NOT an option anymore. I do not profit on posting, better quality packaging costs, I offer probably the best-value and safest shipping possible for ultimate confidence. The boxes and ultra thick double-wall stiffeners make a near impregnable fortress for safe shipping and this is used inland and overseas for ALL my records, not just the rare and expensive. I will invoice any winning bidder as soon as possible after the auction ends. My ‘loss’ or ‘damage rate’ is minuscule in over 14­ years of Ebay trading and I consider that pretty exceptional. The only damage rate acceptable for this seller is ZERO and I think my packets will offer just that. It would take a vicious postman or postal service to damage these for sure. Oneadayrecords is a MAILER-FREE ZONE – they offer next-to-no-protection, and should be banned, no ‘professional’ should consider using them in my opinion. I discount of course for multiple purchases with a maximum of FIVE records per box (one double can sometimes be included subject to total weight). All postage costs are below and at the top of the listing.

NOTE: First Time Bidders: Please ask me first.

PLEASE NOTE: I now exercise my right to open a dispute after the Ebay rule of TWO days if no payment is received. I will then cancel the dispute to end the bid, again after the mandatory FOUR days and then offer the item to the runner-up or relist. The non-payer will also be blocked from my Ebay site as will any suspicious bids or bid withdrawals. Small businesses need prompt payment to trade and these strict rules WILL be applied.

SHIPPING COSTS & CONDITIONS – THESE comply with EBAY’S RULES - PLEASE READ CAREFULLY:

Posting & Packing: UK & CHANNEL ISLANDS all now sent via Recorded Delivery:

1 LP (FIRST-CLASS Recorded Delivery with Standard Royal Mail Insurance) [Signed For] = £4.75

1 LP (Special Delivery with Standard £500 Maximum Insurance) [Signed For, Next Day] = £7.50. (this includes insurance of £500). Add £1 per extra LP.

Posting & Packing: EUROPE & SCANDINAVIA. (Airmail Only):

1 LP (Small Packet ‘Signed For’ with Standard Royal Mail Insurance [£50 maximum]) = £12.50 (enhanced Royal Mail insurance is an optional extra £3). Add £2 per extra LP.

Posting & Packing: ALL OVERSEAS (non-European) e.g. USA (ANY PART OF); South America; New Zealand; Australia; Canada; Japan and other Far East; (Airmail Only: I NEVER use Surface Mail):

1 LP (Small Packet ‘Signed For’ with Standard Royal Mail Insurance [£50 maximum]) = £16.50 (£17.50 for double sets). Add £3 per extra LP. (enhanced Royal Mail insurance is an optional extra £3)

Payment Conditions:

I prefer PayPal or cheque from UK winning bidders. I can accept PayPal from overseas bidders or direct payment into my bank account.

Potential Bidders: I will cancel any bids I feel are time-wasters. A maximum 3 days for communication and 7 days for payment to arrive - if not I will relist the item or offer to the runner-up. Fast deals get great feedback from me. Any questions - please ask and thanks for looking.

My Guarantee: If any winning bidder is not satisfied with their purchase I will offer a complete refund. I will not refund if any defect detail is clearly stated on the advert and missed by the buyer, so read the item description carefully. If any overseas collector does not understand anything in my listing, please email and ask me to help. Thank You.

SOME GENERAL GUIDES TO WEAR AND CONDITIONS TO HELP YOU DECIDE

My Use of Description Terminology: Surface Marks = Superficial, usually light marks, hairlines or light scuffs that rarely sound. Scratch = a needle mark that goes below the record’s surface, some will sound, some will not, my play-grade will inform. Original = a record that has been pressed with the first label design which does NOT necessarily mean a very first pressed record. First Pressing = A record that I believe or know to be a genuine very first pressed record. I do not claim to always know for sure, and that’s why I state the stamper and matrix numbers if at all possible, for those who claim to know what they all mean, the information is there for the collector to decide. I prefer to use terms like ‘Early Copy’ rather than ‘First Pressing’ if I am not totally sure. Surface Sound = Mild, light sound, usually light crackle or similar. Distortion = Break up of the actual sound caused by groove wear or damage from a chipped stylus – the most undesirable form of unwanted sound, vintage mono records were the most prone to this happening but not exclusively so. The symptoms of distortion are high frequency clipping, moderate constant crackle or an echo type sound quality. Violin, piano and vocals are most prone to groove-wear distortion. Feathering = Fraying or softening of the entry edge of a cover. Covers with feathered entrance edges are more likely to have had the actual record inserted and removed more than a non-feathered, sharp-edged cover which are always far more attractive. Set Off, actually a printer’s term for dark ink leaving mild residue on pale or white ink when rested upon. e.g. when a gatefold cover has black ink closed against white, this can leave some black residue on the pale area – this is mostly unavoidable or course.

The Argument for Vinyl Original sound and mix (mono mixes are rarely available on CD), high quality sound on clean copies (played on a hi-end dedicated analogue system – breathtaking sound!), beautiful, large format covers, artwork, inserts and even full size posters etc; huge investment potential, and the pleasure of owning ‘the real thing’.