Fragile [Original recording remastered, Import]

Yes | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Original recording remastered, Import
• Label: Wea/Warner
• ASIN: B000083OGN
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,587,151 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Roundabout

2. Cans and Brahms [Extracts from Brahm's 4TH Symphony in E Minor Thir]

3. We Have Heaven

4. South Side of the Sky

5. Five Per Cent for Nothing

6. Long Distance Runaround

7. Fish (Schindleria Praematurus)

8. Mood for a Day

9. Heart of the Sunrise

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Aural bliss--pure and simple, this is classic Yes, October 18, 2006

By 

Squonk (The dark forests of Pennsylvania, where hunters follow by moonlight my silvery trail of tears) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Fragile (Audio CD)

There were two albums released by Yes in the year 1972--the stellar `Close to the Edge' and this earlier effort, `Fragile.' Yes--at this point consisting of Jon Anderson on lead vocals, Bill Bruford on drums, Steve Howe on guitars, Chris Squire on bass, and the newly-recruited Rick Wakeman on keyboards--had just scored a decent breakthrough with their third album, `The Yes Album,' in the previous year. They had actually broken the charts in America, and they had finally reached and fortified what would be their characteristic sound in the years and albums to come.

So where does `Fragile' fit into all that? The original nine tracks on `Fragile' are widely considered quintessential progressive rock, a template from which myriad later acts would spawn. From start to finish, `Fragile' plays like well-oiled machinery (even with its occasional catches and blips), and its main material--the longer suites, mostly--demonstrates the level of maturity the band had ultimately achieved by this time in their collective career. Oh, and `Fragile' also brings to the table a little something called "Roundabout," which may well be the band's most famous song ever.

What are we waiting for? The songs (in detail):

1. "Roundabout" - Well, well. Do I really need to comment upon this one? Unlike many popular, therefore overplayed songs, this one just doesn't get old. Play it as many times as you like, and it still captivates. Right from the onset, with Steve Howe's guitar harmonics, one can hear the innovation and compositional brilliance of the band. And as the introduction moves on into the body of the piece, an irresistible lick makes itself heard again and again, though it never grows tiresome. The middle section of the piece, with its fantastically arranged vocals, inspires pure awe, and the soft and pensive section which follows adds a much-appreciated dynamic contrast. The Mellotron flutes are particularly nice, though of course they only play a few poly-chords. What follows is one of Rick Wakeman's most spectacular solo escapades (though of course the one in "Close to the Edge" is his supreme solo effort), a repetition of earlier parts of the song, and the riveting conclusion, replete in layered, overdubbed vocals and presented with minimal backing to enhance the effect. A simple flourish by Steve Howe ends the piece in understatement. In a word, stunning.

2. "Cans And Brahms" - This is Rick Wakeman's showcase song on the album (each member gets a chance to show off in solo). It's not bad, though it's not original. It's basically an arrangement of various Brahms melodies, played on slightly unconventional instrumentation. The work demonstrates for all to see Wakeman's peerless technical ability, but I do wish he (or the band in care of him) would have come up with something original. Still, though, it's short enough that it goes by before it overstays its welcome.

3. "We Have Heaven" - This is Jon Anderson's chance to shine. Here, in a vivid, multilayered arrangement, he sings a bunch of nonsense, albeit in impressive fashion. Though I respect the tremendous skill required to have laid down such a track, I personally find this work insufferably annoying and repetitive. It did not make it onto my iPod.

4. "South Side Of The Sky" - Ah, here we are with the second of the epic pieces. This one is a great deal darker and more angular than "Roundabout," and its lyrics allegedly deal with a failed Antarctic expedition where the explorers end up dying. Though with Yes, you can never be sure. Even so, this song is a true masterpiece of instrumentation, beginning with a brumal blast of synthesized Antarctic wind (apparently previous editions of the album also included footsteps, which have now been moved to the end of the previous track, where I have never heard them because I can't stand to listen to the third track to completion), and--in that weird Yes-esque manner--it rocks. The middle section is a dark, piano-dominated piece of disjointed yet substantial clockwork, culminating in a neutral vocal section which might be representative of the gates of heaven opening for the doomed explorers. After a return to the motifs from the beginning of the song, the work ends on a fadeout into the same howling wind with which it began.

5. "Five Per Cent For Nothing" - It might take you longer to read this description than it would for you to listen to the song. It's really that short--around 35 seconds or so. Bruford's showcase, it's a little drum pattern, repeated twice, with instrumentation from the rest of the band thrown in for good measure. I guess they figured 35 seconds is about five percent of a song, so that's how they arrived at this title. It makes a nice little introduction to the next track, so it works.

6. "Long Distance Runaround" - This is the infamous pop monster that, nonetheless, maintains the progressive feel so integral to Yes. It's pleasant to listen to, and it's one of the shorter of Yes's full-band involvement songs up to this point. The beginning line, with Steve Howe's expert guitar work running in parallel across the stereo field, is a sound to behold. Once Chris Squire enters the fray, things get really interesting. This song has one of the most enduring bass lines ever conceived, even among Yes songs. Squire is among the most innovative of bassists, and his trademark, treble-heavy tone really helps the mood of this piece. And, of course, Jon Anderson is up in the stratosphere singing away about nothing. But then, Yes is music where, though very pretty in their own right, the lyrics are unimportant. Anderson's lyrics paint pictures of emotion, they don't broadcast it of their own volition. In this he was one of music's greatest poets.

7. "The Fish (Schindleria Praematurus)" - Here's a shocker: All the instrumentation that isn't drums is performed by Chris Squire's bass. What an original concept! If only the band had expounded upon what they had discovered here, they could really have come up with some interesting material. Even so, this is by far one of the most interesting of tracks from `Fragile.' "Long Distance Runaround" segues into this track, so "The Fish" is akin to a separate movement of the previous track. Oh, and yes, they do sing the words "Schindleria Praematurus" at the end of the song. Why? I don't know. Obviously it's the Latin name for a fish, but as to why it was chosen to name this song, I have no clue.

8. "Mood For A Day" - It's Howe's turn up to bat, with this showcase song. I never though much of "Clap" (often mislabeled "The Clap" to the horror and extreme annoyance of Steve Howe), and I suppose that holds true for this song as well. Steve Howe is a brilliant guitarist, probably one of the two best in the history of the art, and were I myself a guitarist I might find this track wholly more interesting. As a keyboardist, I probably listen to "Cans And Brahms" a great deal more than most `Fragile' listeners. There's nothing wrong with "Mood For A Day;" I'm just not qualified to evaluate it objectively.

9. "Heart Of The Sunrise" - Ah. Bliss. Here we have the ultimate closer to an exemplary album. Beginning with a bang with an intriguing instrumental jam, this theme is then explored for two-and-a-half minutes before the song begins, very softly, yet never relenting until it reaches its climax. And what a climax it is! Anderson sings a high D (the one just above tuning A-440) which, when immersed in a chord is nothing special, naked and at the high point of a song is nothing short of breathtaking (even though he doesn't hold it and it sounds a little forced). Jon's voice can go much, much higher, but this particular note is so well placed that it says, commandingly, that the listener has arrived at the ultimate climax of the song.

It's just too bad that this isn't really the end. There is a return of that energetic instrumental jam, then a pregnant silence. Then, after about six seconds or so, a reprise of that ghastly third track, "We Have Heaven" bursts out of nowhere and fades out the track. The idea was brilliant, but since I hated the song the first time, I really wasn't particularly thrilled to hear it again, especially tacked on to one of the best songs on the album. At least that pause is long enough to where I can just skip the ending. I considered altering the track before putting it on my iPod (basically removing that ending section), but I couldn't bring myself to desecrate a progressive rock masterpiece in that manner, even if I don't agree with the way it was arranged.

Overall, I would recommend `Fragile' to just about anyone, particularly those new to Yes. In this instance, there is nothing wrong with this release that would make it "for newbies." On the contrary, this album offers a vivid picture of just what made Yes the masterful progressive rock band it was, in a manner that is akin to on-the-job training. This album was made to make music, not to indoctrinate or placate fans. That, in part, is what makes Yes so special: They made music first, and radio-friendly music only if it turned out that way.

Thank God for `Fragile,' or there might never have been a `Close to the Edge.'