Customer Reviews

Fragile

5 star:		(828)
4 star:		(114)
3 star:		(42)
2 star:		(37)
1 star:		(38)

 

 

This is "The Fragile." Agressive. Searching. Loose. Smashed up. Glued back together. Imperfect. Flawed. Closer to something. Sad. Happy. Optimistic. Searching. The wonder. The light. The turmoil. The brooding. The mind. The fragile.

Yes, all of this is Trent Reznor, his emotions and sounds standing naked to the listner in this two-disc album that refuses to leave you past the end. It's an album that's hard to describe, but it easily is put on the cinematic scale that only few bands like Radiohead and Pink Floyd can give you. "The Fragile," can easily be said that it's different than all of the other Nine Inch Nails albums--since all of them are so sonically different from one another--but in this case, "The Fragile" is an important turn. With the introduction of a more low-fi organic sound, like violins, yukelledes, and pianos, mixed with the electronic tension that NIN has long-since been associated with, you have a sound that is extremly avant-garde, almost art-rockish. One really good display of this is the opening track, "Somewhat Damaged. It begins with a simple innocent, accoustic guitar, playing the same tune again and again until it starts to be built up with more tracks of accoustics. A hard pounding beat sets in; every hit is distinct from one another like they all have personalities of their own. Electronic whizzing begins, filling the ears with more and more building tension; every new track builds to make the tune more intense. Reznor starts singing soon afterwards and quickly turns the song, which so innocently began with a little guitar, into a raging Goliath.

And that's just the first track!

Reznor amazingly stresses the importance of the 'concept album,' a line of song after song that feels like a movie being played to you sonically. Every song, like the crunchy-but-mellow "The Day The World Went Away" flows neatly into the other, like the mellow classical "The Frail." Every song, from hard to soft, fits neatly between each other, with fade-ins coming so seamlessly you wonder how anyone could find a connection between them.

The dizzing "Where In This Together," with its whizzing guitar buzz and never-ending pace feels extremly schizophrenic for a first listening, but after more listening, you begin to discover how honest and right it feels; its lyrics, which are some of Reznor's most optimistic in years, gives you a sense of the over-all theme to this album: Rising above all that's happened to you, or at least trying to.

Songs like the jazzy "La Mer" and also the title track genuinely show a bright shinging gem of beauty to be found in all of this personal examination and acceptance. Other songs, such as the hip-hop fueled/Dr. Dre-assisted "Even Deeper" and "The Big Comedown" drag you back into the place where Reznor tries to escape from--his tortured psyque. But that very ability to mix these kind of songs in the same album, yet not in a way that doesn't challenge the listener to think is truly amazing, and is probably one of Reznor's finest feats as a producer. He brings out what we hide within ourselves and shows how ugly and sometimes beautiful they are.

Of the two discs on this album, none stands out as better as the other; the two both show brilliance. Although the listener might get side-tracked by the first disc, it's excellent to explore the rest. One can't ignore the Pink Floyd-ish "The Way Out is Through," or the funk-filled "Into the Void." Instead, this album, after all, isn't an album you just skip from one song to another, but rather one you listen to the whole way. It's also excellent to listen to with your headphones (I STRONGLY recommend your first listening over headphones).

"The Fragile" is an album of the truest account. This is NOT Limp Bizkit. This is NOT Kid Rock. This isn't EVEN Korn. Instead, this is music that's intelligent, deep, brutal, yet beautiful. This is an album of substance. I highly recommend it.

It wouldn't hurt a non-NIN fan to check it out. I'm sure you'll enjoy it.

It's been almost a year since I've bought "The Fragile". I've listened to both CD's so many times it would make Trent Reznor either very happy or very worried. And you know what? Both CD's are still getting daily play. From the sheer anger of "No, You Don't" to the to funk angst of "Please" to the thumping evil beats of "The Wretched", this has to be the greatest album ever. I can honestly say I'll never find an album of this magnitude, simply because nothing comes close. That's a bold statement, I know, but it's all true. Whether you agree or not about that, you can't deny the fact that this album is the best produced album ever. It seems like every time I listen to it I find something new. Reznor and Alan Moulder did the greatest job humanly possible. And that's just the music. "Somewhat Damaged" (which is co-written by tourmate Danny Lohner) is one of NIN's best written songs. The emotion of it is extremely strong, the music is slow (at first) and then builds up to an explosion of anger being led by it's fragile-yet-angry lyrics. And to think, that's just the first song off the first disc (or the "Left" disc as it's referred to). Next is "The Day The World Went Away", a beautiful song with loud guitars and no drums. Then it's "The Frail" (one of the best of the instrumentals) which bleeds into "The Wretched", a song that sounds like you're going to hell and Trent's showing some empathy. "We're In This Together" is simply amazing. When that chorus kicks I still get chills up and down my spine. The title track has one of the most beautiful and sad guitar solos I've ever heard. As I'm sure you'll notice when you get it (and you better too), is that there is a lot of violin and cello work throughout the album. It doesn't shine any better than in "Even Deeper". Though mixing credit is given to Dr. Dre, you can't even tell he did anything. The way the song leads out is breathtaking. "Pilgrimage" is the best instrumental on "The Fragile", it sounds as if dead souls are marching along; absolutely perfect. "La Mer" is too beautiful for words, starting out with heavenly piano notes that explodes into hip-hop beats (!) and Prince-style (! ) funk that will move you like you never thought NIN could. "The Great Below" is just too touching. Both romantic and sad, all I can say is just listen to it. Now on to the "Right" disc. "The Way Out Is Through" is a great song that leads into an even better one, "Into The Void" (one of my favorites off the album). "Where Is Everybody?" through "Star (um..) Inc." retraces the betrayal that Trent was dealing with in earlier songs. "Star Inc." by the way, rocks like Limp Bizkit wish they could. The next couple of songs are also great. But it picks up at another one of my favorites, "Underneath It All". The beat and romantic lyrics make it so it can be played as loud as you want, or as soft as you want. The finale, "Ripe (With Decay)" is a very dark instrumental with it's gothic-style piano notes to give it a dead-like feel. A long album, an epic album, a masterpiece. Play this album with your headphones and at the highest volume possible through big speakers, you'll pick up on all sorts of interesting sounds. By the way, sorry for the long review, but I had to attempt at giving it the justice it deserves.

After seeing Nine Inch Nails in New Orleans last Thursday, I've decided to toss my hat in and write a review of Trent Reznor's latest masterpiece.

It all started with "Pretty Hate Machine", a spectacular album, that brought an industrial style of music to the masses. Followed by the much harsher "Broken" and then "The Downward Spiral", which melded the styles of both previous albums into one.

"The Fragile" expands greatly on "The Downward Spiral", fullfilling another piece in NIN's musical journey. Was it worth the five year wait? Certainly. Does it sound somewhat like it's predecessor? Yes, but that's not necessarily a bad thing. Each Nine Inch Nails record flows into the next. They're not so much individual albums as they are one cohesive work. Building and extrapolating on each other to give the listener a glimpe into the sometimes tortured psyche of Trent Reznor.

Reznor's lyrics also tend to carry over from album to album, providing continuity. I think some of his better efforts are included on this album.

What sets NIN apart from most of the clones is the music. And here again, they don't disappoint. Sonically this is a beautiful work with layers and layers of sounds forming on top of each other, with new sounds being discovered with each listen. Some of the best tracks are the instrumentals like "La Mer".

Overall it's a brilliant album that most NIN fans already own and that the curious should check out. A breath of fresh air in todays stagnant musical enviroment.

I must confess that I was not a fan of Nine Inch Nails before this album came back in September of last year. I bought it because I liked a few NIN songs on Pretty Hate Machine and I was in the music store to pick up the new Tori Amos double-CD (which came out the same day). I listened to Tori's album first and then listened to "The Fragile". I am a HUGE Tori Amos fan, but I have not listened to her disc again since I bought it. I have listened to "The Fragile" at least three times per week for the past six months. Trent Reznor has earned my full respect and attention with this collection. This was, by far, the best thing in music released in 1999. I HIGHLY recommend this album, even if you're not a big fan of Nine Inch Nails. There are tons of tracks to appreciate here from the blistering opener, "Somewhat Damaged", to the mello and melodic masterpiece "The Great Below" to the dense sonic layers of "Into the Void". "Where Is Everybody", an angst-funk-groove selection, has to be my personal favorite, but every song on these two CDs is amazing. If you don't care for Nine Inch Nails currently, you can be converted like I was! Buy this now!

The Fragile was the last great rock album of the millenium. 'Nevermind' may have been THE album of the 90's, but in my opinion this was the BEST. Since then, vacuous pop music has continued its domination. The best album I've heard since was 'Mer De Noms' by A Perfect Circle, and even that wasn't as good as this. My guess is that it will be a LONG time before The Fragile is bettered.

i listened to this album one night with all the lights off and by the end of the first disk i was emotionally drained - this is the most amazing, intense album i have ever heard in my life. one disc just wouldn't be enough, two discs is the perfect length for this album and you need to sit down and LISTEN to the entire album to take it all in - and even then you'll need hundreds more listens to fully appreciate it.

buy this cd!

This album is very, very, very cool. Comprised of over 2 hours of, in my opinion, some of Trent Reznor's best work, it's definitely worth whatever you need to pay for it. I would buy this album just to listen to it a few times. I've listened to this album maybe 20+ times, and I can honestly say I've heard something new every time.

I like The Fragile a lot, and I'll tell you why. It does what only great music can do well. Reznor, like Beethoven or Mozart, can, and does on many of The Fragile's tracks, create music that encapsulates a mood in its entirety. This, to me, is a tremendous feat. Few musicians can do this. It is a sign that after 11 years, NIN has finally reached maturity. It has been a long process, each studio album better than its predecessors, and this is the latest step. Where Reznor goes from here I do not know, though I shall watch attentively. I know there is more music left in him. Like I said, this album is better than all other NIN albums before it, but it is still NIN, and NIN fans will still like it. If you like good music, try this album out a couple of times and try not to like it.

The Fragile is without a doubt one of the best albums I have ever heard, not just the best album of its year. The five years between Trent Reznor's last record, The Downward Spiral, were used very wisely; every song sounds like Reznor cared for it like a father. The Downward Spiral, good as it was, has nothing on The Fragile. The Downward Spiral was too hopeless. The Fragile ends its story the same way, but the music has more feeling (and feelings) to it. Reznor is furthering expanding his sound, using different textures to create a sounds that are unlike anything you've heard before, but a throwback to older genre-bending groups like Pink Floyd. Trust me, the amateur reviewer; this album will change the way you look at music.

The Fragile is the most symphonic and beautiful release from Nine Inch Nails. Each track flows along and leads into the next one so well. Lyrically it can hold its own, but it really shines musically. There are so many layers of sounds that blend seamlessly to create each song, and the instrumentals here are awe-inspiring to say the least.

In my opinion, The Fragile sounds as if it took all the great things from Pretty Hate Machine, Broken, and The Downward Spiral, and blended them together. I won't say that this album is softer than the other albums (which is being said by nearly every NIN fan) because it's just as powerful as any other NIN release, but I will admit that as far as anger and rage, it's a step down from The Downward Spiral (and two steps down from Broken). But Trent hasn't forgotten how to be angry. "Somewhat Damaged" and "We're In This Together" are two of the most intense songs he's ever written.

So how does it compare to The Downward Spiral? Well, it's best not to compare the two. They differ...The Downward Spiral moves at an alarming pace while The Fragile sort of drifts along gracefully, throwing in a couple angry songs here and there for good measure. If you like Spiral alone and aren't a fan of other NIN works, chances are you won't like Fragile. But otherwise, this album is sure to please even the most jaded Nine Inch Nails fans. I would've waited ten years for this if I had to.