Yes Fragile MFSL

If you're a Yes fan and don't have this CD, I highly recommend you find one.
I had the Rhino of this previously and was happy with it, until I heard this one. Light years ahead. The sound is crystal.

I see more MFSL on my horizon.

 

Well, actually there's a third choice/possibility.

The one which I and Jamie Tate opt for every time the subject of Fragile comes up:

The 1994 Gastwirt rules.

 

yeah, you're going to get a lot of different opinions on a lot of different YES titles here--on LP and CD--but this one's a no-brainer. the mo-fi CD's the way to go on this one (on LP, of course, it's Steve and Kevin's version ).

later, chris

 

I take your word on that one. But I have to say, after I received my MFSL yesterday and put it on, I was so happy with what I heard. Hard to believe the difference you can have between two different versions of the same album.

 

While I'm sure the MFSL sounds great, the Gastwirt sounds just fine to me. No need for me to re-buy this, though I did see it erroneously marked $16.99 at Newbury Comics one day. I have to admit for that price it was tempting, but I've already bought Fragile three times. Enough is enough.

 

I prefer my Analogue Productions needle drop.

 

Has Close to the Edge been given any kind of special treatment?

 

MFSL did an LP of it but I would suggest finding the non-remastered US CD on Atlantic. It's about as good as any CD in my collection.

 

John,
I have both of these - the MFSL and the Gastwirt. And believe me, I am one of the foremost advocates of Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab. But Shawn missed this one by a hair, IMHO. It "bites" too much; the Gastwirt is smoother and eminently more crankable

 

Very nicely said. I totally agree with your description. The MoFi is a good sounding disc but the Gastwirt is the real keeper, IMHO.

 

Again, Jamie has the ears.
The best digital Close To The Edge is the original Barry Diament mastering. The higher you crank it, the better it gets.

 

Thanks for the tip on this. I'll search around and see if I can locate one.

 

Do the Gastwirts come up for sale?

 

I've seen the Gastwirt's in a lot of used cd stores usually priced under $10.

They are very plentiful IMHO.

 

I'm not a Yes fan but I heard the MFSL at a friend's and it sounded incredibly harsh.:thumbsdn:

 

They did a much better job on the low end than they did on the high end.

That being said...I have an unopened copy of the Steve/Kevin Analogue Productions 180 gram LP version sitting right next to me here. So, hopefully tonight I'll get to pop that on and see what their take on this classic album is.

 

You will love this version.

 

I have the original Atlantic, the Atlantic Gold (Gastwirt) and the MoFi Gold. I see your point re the MoFi, and the Gastwirt is indeed a good mastering. Sonically, it lies somewhere between the other two; not as fuzzy as the original, not as clear as the MoFi. But it doesn't have quite the "personality" (for want of a better word) of the other two, so they get more spins. For clarity the MoFi is unbeatable, and for chilling out the original is very appealing. Hard to describe, but it sounds more "natural", especially when played really loud.

I dunno, the Gastwirt kinda reminds me of the Palmaccio remasters of ELP; technically solid masterings but just not quite "there". (And the same goes for the rest of Gastwirt's Yes remasterings; I prefer the original Atlantics.)

 

The Atlantic Gold Standard Series Yes Fragile was the first gold plated CD I ever purchased... Yes I prefer it to the MFSL.

 

The last time I compared, I thought the Mofi cut just a hair of that hi-hat crispiness on the Gastwirt.

They are both excellent, but I prefer the Mofi by just a tad. One day I'll revisit.

Fwiw, I suspect the original Atlantic may well represent how the tapes sound.

 

that is not necessarily true. the original atlantic is not the one to go to for fragile. the same can be said for the japanese HDCD remaster, as well.

later, chris

 

Er, I've been moaning about the original Atlantic CD of Fragile being inferior to most of the other original Atlantics here for what might comfortably called a long time.

But based on Steve's comments about how the masters sound, many people here feel we can likely deduce that it sounds more like those master tapes than any other release.

 

Given the large amount of well-liked remasters done in the early 80s I am beginning to think that those years were a high point in this kind of release on CD. Of course there are better sounding original releases of certain albums on CD, but those were originals, not remasters.

 

You got that right. Harsh indeed.

The Atlantic gold is outstanding.

 

The Gastwirt isn't as sharp or bright in the top end as the MoFi. The midrange on the Gastwirt is also more believable. The MFSL sounds slightly scooped out in the mids with a brighter top end than there needs to be.

All of this is IMHO of course. Still, both are nice sounding CDs and either one is a good option.