Why the different covers?

[Altres]

Original UK release.

http://yesworld.com/gallery/images/albums/YesUK.jpg

US release.

http://yesworld.com/gallery/images/albums/YesUS.jpg

As with the UK and US versions of Time and a Word, the covers are quite different. Why is this?

Brian

[Vic W.]

Well with this one, the U.S. version is an improvement, isn't it...

[umgekehrt]

I personally think any album cover with band members on it is boring, so I prefer the UK version. There are of course exceptions like "With The Beatles" or "Sgt. Pepper's" but they're more the exception than the rule.

[ANTIOCH]

I actually prefer the original "bubble" cover.
It's the reason I picked up the Import copy of 'YES' back in 1969.
Not a bad pick me thinks !

[Vic W.]

I like the setting in the photo but thinking about it, the bubble cover might have been more enticing to me if I had never heard of the band, as would have been the case at it's release... the bubble cover is growing on me...

[ANTIOCH]

The story 'back in the day' was : invisible lips blowing a YES bubble.
The inside featured individual shots of each member performing 'live' with a great write-up from Melody Maker (the English Rolling Stone). I love this release !!

[Orbert]

I prefer the U.S. version, and now that I think about it, that's unusual for me. A picture of the band is pretty common, some might say boring, but with the debut album, I would think it important that the band let people know who they are (as in "what they look like").

The original bubble cover is okay, but to me carries pretensions. It says that the name of the band is all you need to know. If the band were a huge, instant success and everyone knew about the band Yes, then it wouldn't really matter what was on the cover, though it might help people find it in the record store. By the time Close to the Edge came out, Yes was Yes and they could do whatever they wanted. But I think it's possible that the debut didn't do so well, in part, because people had no idea what to make of it, based on the cover. A lot of people, myself included, would buy an album if the cover was interesting enough (too bad the Dean relationship didn't start until much later), but I don't see anything in the original cover that would make me even remotely interested in Yes, if I'd never heard of them.

[Altres]

The UK cover was a really impressive 12" gatefold thing with the same front and back Yes bubble. I really like the original UK cover as it has a definite pop-art quality whereas the US cover has a definite promo-shot look. It is a strong album also and still somewhat of a classic in the truest sense.

Brian

[Slim]

The bubble cover is to be preferred, I think - it's less "obvious", a bit different, and quite striking.