YES Close to the Edge SUPERB ORIG N/M HARDLY PLAYED UK 1972 LP. STUNNING COVER.

	£		206
	$		273

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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 arrived damaged in them at some time. More details on my packing 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 ‘4-day’ rule for non-payment to keep things moving – cash-flow is important to 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.

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 – both impressively clean, fresh and with the first much darker red-brown and deep green colour as all first issues should have. Later ones were more orange and paler green. These have matt, smooth surfaces and any of the small few spindle marks very fine and faint, only just seen when tilted towards light. This beautiful, hardly played copy one of the very best all-round examples I have seen for some time.

Cat 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: 144 grams. A copy thicker and heavier pressed original, later ones again much thinner and invariably with lesser sound quality.

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 reitterate this enough. So many of these sound terrible and that is not putting too finer a point on the fact. For any discerning collector contemplating buying a copy of this album anywhere, buying from a trusted source with a guaranteed 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 massive sound barrage 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 hardly played copy succeeds on all three of these matters and so few will ever will. In fact this record has that genuine X-Factor in high fidelity terms and this sounds quite stunning. It has very little unwanted at all, in some places with grooves incredibly fine, it simply reitterates how difficult a task it is to find a ‘perfect’ copy of this complex and beautifully produced record. 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 near perfectly. NO cringing distortions, high frequency clipping or loss of clarity on that massively 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 42-year-old vinyl record. A masterpiece progressive rock album and – for me anyway – one of the greatest ever made. This offers practically master tape 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 this around, that granted, look great, but play terrible. The cover is equally challenging 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 major 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 nigh-on maximum justice – do NOT lose this one.

Original Year of Release: 1972

Matrix Nos: K 50012 A1 / K 50012 B3

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

Brief Artist & Album Info: Probably 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 – beware of substitutions. The inner is equally delicate and often suffer horrendous ringwear, rubbing and 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 ruthlessly. 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. Later copies especially were often noisy and simply were not up to the capability of reproducting 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.

Cover Condition and Details: MINT(–): or as close as I would dare grade one of these. This original is unlaminated and textured on all surfaces with a leather-like matt finish. Cover design by Roger Dean and made in England. Includes a superb original green lyric inner sleeve.

Cover Front: Deceptively difficult and rarely seen devoid of rubbing, fading and ageing. Later examples were made without the texturing and were coated making them far more resilient finish – but looking way inferior in terms of iconic style. This front is as close to ‘perfect’ as I have seen for many years. The odd tiny tip rub trace apart, this is practically as made and looks gorgeous – one you will want to hold and enjoy to the maximum. The pastel-like colour breathtakingly fresh and clean, devoid of creasing or rubbing. Any marks so minuscule tiny and faint, there is nothing worthy of mention. All the Roger Dean design text and logo simply pristine immaculate as can be seen on my close-up picture. Even the spine folds both sides are unworn, scuffed or rubbed. They hardly get better than this.

Cover Back: The back is very similar again with just a tiny tip rub to the left pair. The lack of ringwear is a massive plus and there is barely even a hint of rim pressure or impression. This side even more vulnerable than the front, will this be found better?

Cover Gatefold Inner: Simply stunning 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. This has to be seen for real to be fully appreciated. The texturing quite deep and pronounced also, some more less so. Blemishes? – well the odd microscopic tip, but again, will this ever be found better?

Top Edges: Unworn and very straight, perfectly aligned when closed, crisp and neat.

Bottom Edges: Practically the same, one super-faint indentation being ultra critical and the odd tiny tip rub. These storage edges rarely escape often heavy rubbing, these close to as made.

Right Edge(s), and Type: Clean, mostly crisp and sharp with minimal traces of any wear any thickening or burring tiny and faint as seen viewed end-on. Guaranteed untrimmed, simply carefully and well stored by the one original owner. Record enters on the back edge.

Spine and Text: As made up to the very bottom corner tip that has a small rub. Very solid, straight with no compression. Folded perfectly square, so all the edges meet up flush and parallel, this not always the case and the difference this makes for the more discerning collector is immeasurable. Barely any hint of rubbing and all text is perfect and unworn as seen on my close-up pictures. Again, both folds are little short of pristine, devoid of scuffs, rubs or dinks.

Corners: Any tip rubbing is very small and light, most on the bottom that few will ever escape due to them being the first into any storage rack. Excellent to near mint shape mostly retained with just the odd tiny tip crease (being critical_.

Cover Summary: Being so wear-prone, I feel this is an exceptional example. I have seen very few with less wear and to see all the major surfaces like this is almost beauty to behold. The owner by and large kept this cover protected and it makes a huge difference. Barely any will escape minor rub traces at the very least and few will match or better this. Most collectors will appreciate this lovely 42-year-old cover that could be a major upgrade for many.

The Inner Sleeve: EXCELLENT(++): a remarkable example of this inner and as close to Mint(–) as they get. The reason why? – the owner did not store the record inside, but put inside a replacement lined inner. 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. This superbly preserved example has no edge splits – no ring wear – no noteworthy creasing and barely even a hint of record impression or marks. This retains intense green colour and unusual freshness and this a strong contender for the best I have seen. This has two external flipbacks, both crisp and very neat indeed with no damage. Finding one this intensely coloured and devoid of ringwear is almost as challenging as finding a near mint record and main cover. If anyone has one of these fragile inners better, I sure would like to see it and again, this could prove a major upgrade again.

Vinyl Condition/Visual Grading: MINT(–): or again as close as I would dare suggest they get. A superb and barely played very early pressed example. Ultra clean, fresh with lovely shine, any surface traces bordering on minuscule as seen with utmost scrutiny under bright angled light. A couple of super-fine hairlines (well even finer actually) and little else. 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 truly do come close to reminding of as made. The unlined inner often meant marks from day one, but this is exceptional. Also this is a top quality pressing and those difficult areas play superbly. Yes again, a major upgrade example that appears hardly played, it should please most-all 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 miniscule sound present on any record.]

Sound Quality and Audio Grading: This prog-rock masterpiece plays with astonishing clean sound. That ‘impossible’ intro that is silence and fades in with birdsong and then loud music is as close to ‘silent’ as vinyl ever will be - 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 and discerning play-grade on a quality system. A massively challenging album with several lengthy passages of quietness, this plays very well indeed. No distortion, pressing rasps or sound degrading whatsoever and this is a real hi-fi recording that will thrill audiophile listeners. 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 crackle and distortion. No heavy blunt stylus have been near this copy. One for those people, like me I guess, 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 with extra stars. 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 rarely hit the mark. Certainly up there with the very best copies I have yet heard, certaintly for some considerable time. I feel sure this copy will please most collectors, this really does play with very little unwanted, ‘silence’ being near impossible on such recordings or immense age. This merits my highest possible recommendation, indeed if I did not own a similar copy myself, this would be offered.

End Piece: ‘Close to the Edge’ remains one of the most challenging and difficult albums to find like this and is universally acclaimed as one of the greatest progressive rock albums ever issued. Four brilliant musicians and vocalist at the very peak of their creativity, it hardly ever got better than this. With all the blandness and mediocrity around these days, get this on to a worthy system and once again cherish the music that made those times so creative and special. This is truly wonderful – do not lose it!

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 - on average ONEADAY, a couple more at weekends if time permits, hence the name - time rarely allows for more as I Play-Grade virtually every record I offer in their entirety, 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 its 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 programmes. What you see is what you get and scanned labels will give a more accurate representation of the genuine colour than flash photography where light is variable. I cannot guarantee total accuracy for colours however but most will be very close. 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 Rondo Red moving coil cartridge (tracks at 2 grams). Amps: Naim Nait 5i with Project USB phono stage and Chord interconnects. Speakers: B&W 704 Floorstanding 3-way Monitors (bi-wired with Terrarium 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 and the cost of this lavish packing is NOT even charged for, I offer probably the best-value and safest shipping possible for ultimate confidence. The boxes and ultra thick double-wall stiffeners and bubble wrap 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 less than one in two thousand+ based on over 10,000+ items sold in over 12 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. Even one of these stiffeners cannot be bent by hand, so what chance 2 inside a box? Oneadayrecords is a MAILER-FREE ZONE. 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 FOUR days if no payment is received. I will then cancel the dispute to end the, 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 and they take the Ebay consequences (a strike or removal from the system). 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] = £8. (this includes insurance of £500). Add £2 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 £3 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’.