HiRez Poll Yes - FRAGILE (2002 Mix) [DVD-A]/[SACD-JAPAN]

[Frantic]

I gave it an 8.

I grew up listening to Yes 24/7.

It breaks my heart to give it anything lower than a 10 but the mix did not excite me as I thought it would.

 

[sallymae_hogsby]

I just listened to the Fragile DVD-A for the first time this past weekend, after a few years break from last hearing the CD. I'd swear there are moments in the surround mixes where extra bits are thrown in, like extra phrases in "We Have Heaven". Did I drift off into my own personal Yes daydream, or are they really there?

 

[ssully]

Yes, the surround mixes do sometimes include 'new' bits (e.g., tons of them on 'America'), and omit some 'old' bits as well (e.g. South Side of the Sky; also there's a little bass riff in Roundabout that I love, at the end of the 'I'll be the roundabout/the words will make you out'n'out' section, that seems to be buried in the new mix, if not missing completely.)

 

[analogdemon]

I've had a vinyl copy of this album for years and I've always loved it. Hearing this in surround sound was a revelation. I give it a 8. The mix is great and I love the subwoofer rumble at the end of Cans and Brahms. The mix is very well suited to the material I think.

 

[JonUrban]

MFSL must have lost their mind. Why release this album on STEREO SACD when it's already out in HiRez Multichannel?

http://www.musicdirect.com/products/detail.asp?sku=CMF766&j=6836719&e

You would think that they would find another classic album to do for SACD, even if it were stereo only.

It's no wonder the HiRez market is floundering (except in China, of course)

 

[EMB]

Typical MFSL, then or now: some inexplicable choices for release; in this instance, a smart choice, but yes, what's the point?

ED

 

[ArmyOfQuad]

MFSL isn't what it was, the current company has ruined their good name as far as I'm concerned. They aren't even releasing it as an SACD, they list this as a CD title, which makes it completely pointless.

 

[ArmyOfQuad]

An interesting follup up on this title. Mobile Fidelity recently sent an email to their mailing list announcing this to be an SACD hybrid release, which wasn't what it was listed as on their site as I pointed out. Yesterday, they sent a correction email out to everyone, confirming that it is indeed not an SACD. This kind of seems a bit stupid, to say the least, with a high resolution DVD-A available of it, so I sent them an email pointing this out to them. They sent an email back saying they couldn't get licensing for an SACD issue. So, once again, I responded pointing out that they're wasting their time with this release then. I mean, really, what audiophile is going to pick a CD issue of this over a high resolution 192kHz 24bit issue? He very rudely responded back that he was wasting his time with my email. So, there you have it, Mobile Fidelity Sound Labs: We think our customers are a waste of our time. This certainly isn't the same company it once was. It's rather sad.

 

[daved64]

. So, once again, I responded pointing out that they're wasting their time with this release then. I mean, really, what audiophile is going to pick a CD issue of this over a high resolution 192kHz 24bit issue? He very rudely responded back that he was wasting his time with my email. So, there you have it, Mobile Fidelity Sound Labs: We think our customers are a waste of our time. This certainly isn't the same company it once was. It's rather sad.

There are plenty of people out there (me NOT being one of them!) who will buy this simply as a collectable and store it, never to be played. MFSL knows that. These are the people they sell to. I could point you to a place where there is plenty of evidence to back me up.

 

[Guy Robinson]

I could point you to a place where there is plenty of evidence to back me up.

I think we all know that place.

 

[Frantic]

Hey,

Having owned the DVD-A since it came out, I have always wanted a matching coaster on which to rest my Makers Mark bourbon while enjoying the music.

Where can I get one?

 

[Dylan Berichon]

After first listen, I am not impressed with the mix.

I love the music on this disk, but the surround sound isn't much more then "enhanced stereo".

I won't vote until I've listened to it a few more times, but so far this is a big disappointment.

 

[ArmyOfQuad]

It is a very disappointing mix, it doesn't get any better with repeated plays. I suspect there were missing tapes and they could only do so much, judging by the many missed opportunities, and even missing parts. I also suspect whoever did this mix has never heard the original mix of this album, if he has he could've fooled me.

 

[analogdemon]

Typical MFSL, then or now: some inexplicable choices for release

Also some unbelievably smart choices. MFSL got back into my good graces by releasing two of the first five Byrds albums in their original mono mixes on hybrid SACD. The mono mixes of those albums had never appeared on CD before and from what I understand, they eventually plan to do the other three. That's a prime example of the current MFSL finding a niche and doing something that nobody else would do.

 

[JonUrban]

This is an interesting thread. It's almost like there are two versions of this disc out there.

Today, I took this disc with me in the car, because I was picking up a co-worker and we were heading out on an hour and a half ride. He's a big YES fan, so I wanted him to hear Fragile in 5.1.

Naturally, I wanted to make sure everything was perfect before I picked him up, and I was astonished. The mix on Roundabout was amazing in the car. I did not remember it being so agressive! How could this be? I gave this disc an 8 way back when.......

I have gotten used to listening in 5.1 on the road, and many discs don't scream out like this one did with surround, at least with the lead off track. Needless to say, my friend was impressed and wanted to hear it again.

Funny. Sometimes it pays to go back and listen to stuff that we heard when there were a lot of things being released, and listen to them now that they may be indeed rare gems of a forgotten time.

Based on Roundabout alone, I would vote a 10 today. Very impressive.

 

[Guy Robinson]

Funny. Sometimes it pays to go back and listen to stuff that we heard when there were a lot of things being released, and listen to them now that they may be indeed rare gems of a forgotten time.

Based on Roundabout alone, I would vote a 10 today. Very impressive.

Man, I am happy that someone else falls into this trap of voting before listening a number of times. I fall into this trap far too often. Anyway, I think the perception of all surround discs has a lot to do with your speakers and where you are sitting within the array. A lot of the early Warner releases are great. I find really no duds with any of the discs I have. Have you tried "Harvest" in the car?

 

[The_Nephilim]

I liked the Album so it is a Easy 8 from me the mix ain't that bad sounds good

 

[Felix E. Martinez]

Heads up...Fragile is back in stock at CDUniverse.

 

[ArmyOfQuad]

To be honest, I'm surprised at the number of high reviews this title has gotten. This was obviously a rushed out title with lack of sources to do a proper job, in my opinion. Sloppily done. It sounds as if whoever remixed it hasn't even heard the original album in some parts, we have heaven is not even close to being true to the original. I'm all for making small changes here and there in a remix, but this isn't even close to the original and completely changes the feel of the song. There were so many missed opportunities for surround effects that weren't taken advantage of, which kept leaving me disappointed throughout the album. I don't remember Roundabout sounding particularly bad, but I don't remember anything that particularly good about it either. South Side of the Sky could've been an excellent surround mix, and instead sucked. It is completely missing a synth effect as well. I'd guess that multi-tracks are missing for parts of this album, and they barely had enough to work with to rush this out, which is why parts that could've been mixed better weren't (perhaps groups were already bounced), and parts are just plain missing (overdubbed later), which leaves us with a sloppy mix. I can only hope that's the reason why, otherwise it was just mixed by someone that doesn't have a clue. Some may say going back for a 2nd listen surprised them and resulted in them liking it better. For me, the 2nd, and 3rd chances both left me very disappointed. The 3rd attempt was in the car with a friend that is also a big fan of Yes, and it left him rather disappointed as well. We kept pointing out missing parts and things that could've been done better. I still stand behind my rating of 3. At least it has a high resolution stereo version on it, that's the only thing worth having on this disc, without that it'd be a 0. Plus, in all their cheapness, it doesn't even have the bonus tracks that the CD version has, meaning if I want all bonus tracks I'd have to buy this on a digital disc format for a 4th time, which is absolutely ridiculous.

...and this is a repeat of my previous review, which I could've sworn I remembered writing, but takes some poking around in the tree of posts above to find. I rather dislike this new setup that hides posts here and there. Sorry for the repeat review.

 

[SBax]

I am really impressed with this disc. I can hear the sound of Howe "holding" the acoustic guitar in Roundabout. Wow. If there are any acoustic guitar players out there you know what I am talking about. This indicates super recording quality and transference of that recording to this disc. It's like I was sitting next to Howe with an ear leaning in close. In South Side the footsteps did not go around in a circle as I would have mixed and the thunder, and other sound effects I would mix differently. Still, this takes nothing away from the disc. A 10 for me. This and ELP Brain Salad Surgery are my favs. BTW, where is Close To The Edge?