YES "Yessongs" 1973 UK ATLANTIC 1st PRESS UNPLAYED/MINT
£
78
$
103
£ 78
Sold For
Aug 9, 2010
Sold Date
Jul 30, 2010
Start Date
£ 22
Start price
6
Number Of Bids
Great Britain
Country Of Seller
eBay
Auctioned at
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Description
YES "Yessongs" 1973 UK ATLANTIC 1st PRESS UNPLAYED/MINT
1st NM BOOK SLEEVE w/ 3 YES INNERS & BOOKLET - TOP COPY
YES
Yessongs
ORIGINAL UK ATLANTIC (K 60045) FIRST PRESSING (May 1973) OF YES' TRIPLE LIVE SET "Yessongs" - RECORDED ON THEIR 1972 WORLD TOUR
THIS IS A BEAUTIFUL COPY - COMPLETE, AND IN MY OPINION, UNPLAYED (there are no spindles or signs of use to the labels and the vinyl surfaces are pristine) AND THE HEAVYWEIGHT FOUR-FOLD COVER IS ONE OF THE FINEST I'VE SEEN
PRESSED WITH THE FIRST ATLANTIC GREEN/ORANGE LABELS (with "Made in UK' statement but no WB logo - which was introduced in 1975)
MATRICES: K60045 A1 / K60045 B1 / K60045 C1 / K60045 D1 / K60045 E1 / K60045 F1
THE RECORDS ARE HOUSED IN THE ORIGINAL FOUR LEAF BOOK-STYLE COVER WITH A VERY WIDE SPINE “Printed and made by Robor Ltd. - Patents applied for” (the later concertina-type covers were printed by Gothic Print Finishers and do not have the "This Stereo record can be played on mono reproducers...." statement on the back bottom corner)
AND THE SET COMES COMPLETE WITH ALL THREE ORIGINAL YES LOGO INNER SLEEVES (again, only issued with the earliest sets) AND THE GLOSSY, FULL SIZE, FULL COLOUR 12 PAGE BOOKLET
In many ways, the extravagance of this package equates the profligacy of the prog rock combo themselves. After all, how else but on a triple-LP collection could one hope to re-create (and/or contain) an adequate sampling of Yes' live presentation? Especially since their tunes typically clocked in in excess of ten minutes.
Although they had turned in five studio albums, the vast majority of Yessongs (1973) is drawn from their three most recent: The Yes Album (1970), Fragile (1971), and Close to the Edge (1972). There are two exceptions, the first being the "Opening (Excerpt from "Firebird Suite")" -- which comes from the 1969 Boston Symphony Orchestra's recording, conducted by Seiji Ozawa. The other is Rick Wakeman's keyboard solo "Excerpts from 'The Six Wives Of Henry VIII'."
Yes had just undergone a personnel change shortly after concluding work on Close to the Edge as Bill Bruford (percussion) left to join King Crimson in July of 1972. Bruford can be heard on "Perpetual Change," as well as the medley of "Long Distance Runaround" and "The Fish (Schindleria Praematurus)." Enthusiasts keen on various and arguably irrelevant minutia should note the spelling of "praimaturus" as credited on Yessongs. It is slightly different from Fragile, which is denoted as "praematurus." That bit of trivia aside, the new lineup finds Alan White (drums), quite ably filling Bruford's shoes, alongside Jon Anderson (vocals), Steve Howe (guitars), Chris Squire (bass/vocals), and Rick Wakeman (keyboards).
One of their trademarks has always been an ability to re-create their often densely layered sound in concert. They effortlessly pull off the tricky chord progressions and changes in time signatures of "Siberian Khatru" and a sublime "Heart of the Sunrise," which unquestionably bests the dexterity of its carefully crafted studio counterpart. Both Howe and Squire's respective solos during "The Fish (Schindleria Praematurus)" are highlights as they give the entire unit an opportunity to show off their capacity for dramatic dynamics. The remainder of Yessongs is similarly strong, particularly the note-perfect "Close to the Edge," and the inspired concluding instrumental jam during "Starship Trooper."
However, one minor criticism that can be levelled at Yessongs is the less than optimal audio quality throughout. The sound is generally muddy with no real fidelity to speak of and an even less precise stereo-scape. But this is a minor issue and this is as good as it gets when documenting Yes during this seminal transition period.
Track Listing:
VOLUME 1: Opening (Excerpt from "Firebird Suite") / Siberian Khatru / Heart Of The Sunrise / Perpetual Change / And You & I
VOLUME 2: Mood For A Day / Excerpts from "The Six Wives Of Henry VIII" / Roundabout / Your Move / All Good People / Long Distance Runaround / The Fish
VOLUME 3: Close To The Edge / Yours Is No Disgrace / Starship Trooper
LABELS: The labels are clean, bright, fresh and unmarked with no spindle traces or any signs of use at all and the spindle holes are still quite tight - MINT
VINYLS Visual: All three LPs lies perfectly flat on the turntable and all surfaces have their original deep, like-new, glossy sheen - there is one light and superficial hairline on Side Five but this has absolutely no audio consequence otherwise, visually MINT
VINYLS Audio: The audio is strong and atmospheric and an absolute joy to experience (even if the sound is somewhat lo-fi in places with a fairly quiet cut). But even when cranked up to a loud volume there are no audio problems to report and the whole set sounds sensational - this is an exceptionally clean pressing with only the (very, very) occasional intermittent light 'tick' on some of the quieter sections (extremely minor and really hardly worth a mention and only of the type commonly found on brand-new vinyl - which in essence this is). Overall, a beautiful copy which, in my opinion, has never been played and is critically graded as MINT for audio - one of the best I've heard and pretty unbeatable - great stuff and I guarantee you won't find one better
SLEEVE: The original matt 'Robor' book style cover with four leaves - three to house the records and one to house the booklet - is an exceptionally fine example. Its certainly the best I have seen for many years as this cover is incredibly prone to rubbing and excessive 'ring' but this one is clean, crisp and fresh with very little wear to speak of and practically NEAR MINT
'YES' INNER SLEEVES: All 3 of the original white inner sleeves carry the YES Logo and are also in great condition with no edge splits, just some light creasing. Very rare to find a copy with the original inners - all a strong EXCELLENT. All three records are now housed in new inners to avoid any "knifing" damage to the originals during transit
BOOKLET: The LP sized 12 Page Full Colour Glossy Picture Booklet is similarly in very nice condition with no rips, tears and no dog-eared corners, just some light handling creases and record impression - EXCELLENT
PLEASE HAVE A LOOK AT MY PICTURES - I USUALLY TAKE QUITE A FEW SO YOU CAN GET A CLEAR INDICATION OF EVERY DETAIL OF THE ITEM
I HAVE UPLOADED AS MANY PICTURES AS I CAN BUT I WOULD BE MORE THAN HAPPY TO SUPPLY ANY ADDITIONAL PHOTOS ON REQUEST
TOP UK FIRST PRESS COPY OF YES' STUNNING LIVE SET - UNPLAYED AND SOUNDING SENSATIONAL THROUGHOUT AND, IN MY OPINION, PRETTY UNBEATABLE - VERY, VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED INDEED
AS WITH ALL MY RECORDS THIS HAS A LOW START PRICE AND NO RESERVE
PLEASE CHECK OUT MY OTHER AUCTIONS FOR MORE RARE AND COLLECTABLE VINYL
AND PLEASE DO NOT HESITATE TO CONTACT ME WITH ANY QUERIES YOU MAY HAVE
THANKS FOR LOOKING, CHEERS
PLEASE REFER TO MY 'ABOUT ME' PAGE FOR MORE DETAILED INFO ON MY PLAY-GRADING, EQUIPMENT USED, P&P etc
POST & PACKING
UK: 1st Class: FREE or £1.00 (recorded delivery)
EUROPE: Airmail: £8.00 or £12.50 (International Signed For delivery with tracking)
INTERNATIONAL: Airmail: £14.00 or £18.50 (International Signed For delivery with tracking)
***Any record (or combination of records) which sells for more than £40 MUST be sent by a trackable method ie INTERNATIONAL SIGNED FOR or RECORDED (UK)
UK bidders: PayPal or Cheque
INTERNATIONAL bidders: PayPal ONLY
REDUCED POSTAGE FOR MULTIPLE ITEMS (EACH ADDITIONAL LP: EUROPE & INTERNATIONAL £2.00)
I will combine postage for items purchased within any 10 day period. However, at the end of each 10 day period, all outstanding items will need to be paid for in full and will be posted to you. Any items purchased after payment will be included in the next 10 period. I am continually adding new items which may be of interest to you and it is impractical for me to allow payment to be postponed indefinitely in the expectation that you might wish to bid on future items. Thank you for your understanding and cooperation
Guarantee: I endeavour to be as accurate and honest as possible when describing the condition of any LP but of course if you feel that I am mistaken and the description is inaccurate I will offer a complete, no quibble refund (through Paypal) upon return of the item.
IMPORTANT NOTE: Due to a recent spate of bidders with no feedback not paying for records I must insist that all bidders with 0 feedback contact me first before bidding to confirm their genuine intention to buy the record otherwise their bid will be cancelled and they will be blocked. Sorry to sound so authoritarian but non payers are a real waste of not only my time but genuine eBayers
ALL RECORDS ARE PROFESSIONALLY CLEANED BEFORE DISPATCH AND PACKAGED WITH THE VINYL OUTSIDE OF THE SLEEVE TO PREVENT ANY 'KNIFING' DURING TRANSIT
A PROTECTIVE POLY SLEEVE, QUALITY CUSTOM WRAPRO MAILER AND STIFFENERS ARE ALWAYS USED TO ENSURE THAT YOUR RECORD ARRIVES SAFELY
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414 (GS 6.0.2 (414))
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