Yes - Magnification (25th Anniversary Edition Vinyl)

25th Anniversary Edition Half-Speed Master Black Vinyl 2LP

Mercury Studios marks the 25th anniversary of Magnification with a half-speed remaster, and with it the album's first release on vinyl. The lacquers were cut at half-speed and the music is pressed on two 180-gram black LPs, housed in a double gatefold jacket. Bob Cesca, who designed the original 2001 packaging, drew a new LP-exclusive cover for this edition, along with new art based on his original illustrations. The ten tracks run three, three, two and two across the four sides, with the four-part "In the Presence Of" opening side D.

Magnification first appeared in September 2001, the band's 19th studio album by the label's count and the first Yes made as a four-piece: Jon Anderson (lead vocals, MIDI guitar), Steve Howe (acoustic, electric and pedal steel guitars), Chris Squire (bass, and the lead vocal on "Can You Imagine") and Alan White (drums, piano). There was no keyboard player on the sessions. The orchestral arrangements were written and conducted by the film composer Larry Groupé and performed by the San Diego Symphony Orchestra, only the second time Yes had recorded with a full orchestra, after Time and a Word in 1970. The band co-produced the record with Tim Weidner at Santa Barbara Sound Design in California.

Eagle Records released it in the UK on 10 September 2001, and it reached No. 71 on the UK Albums Chart and No. 186 on the Billboard 200. The North American release, set for the following day, was moved to December after the September 11 attacks. Yes took the album on the road as the Yessymphonic Tour, playing "Magnification," "Don't Go" and "In the Presence Of" with an orchestra onstage.

Mercury Studios' notes call the album a pivotal chapter in the band's history. Keyboardist Igor Khoroshev had left the year before, Rick Wakeman returned in 2002, and Magnification became founding member Jon Anderson's last studio album with Yes. The original artwork was a departure too: the band chose Cesca over longtime collaborator Roger Dean, though the cover kept the Yes logo Dean had designed in 1972.

Tracklist

Disc 1, Side A

1. Magnification
2. Spirit of Survival
3. Don't Go

Disc 1, Side B

4. Give Love Each Day
5. Can You Imagine
6. We Agree

Disc 2, Side C

7. Soft as a Dove
8. Dreamtime

Disc 2, Side D

9. In the Presence Of: i. Deeper / ii. Death of Ego / iii. True Beginner / iv. Turn Around and Remember
10. Time Is Time

Complete the Collection

Yes at Evergreen Vinyl, eleven titles counting this one: The Yes Album, Fragile, Yessongs, Live At Knoxville Civic Auditorium, Tales From Topographic Oceans, Going For The One, Tormato, Leave It, Yessingles and The Ultimate Yes.