Yes
Fragile

Atlantic    SD 19132-2  (1971)

Rock/Pop
CD, 11   Tracks, 60:14  Length
01 Roundabout Jon Anderson; Steve Howe 08:35
02 Cans And Brahms Johannes Brahms 01:42
03 We Have Heaven Jon Anderson 01:39
04 South Side Of The Sky Jon Anderson; Chris Squire 07:56
05 Five Per Cent For Nothing Bill Bruford 00:37
06 Long Distance Runaround Jon Anderson 03:29
07 The Fish (Shindleria Praematurus) Chris Squire 02:42
08 Mood For A Day Steve Howe 03:02
09 Heart Of The Sunrise Jon Anderson; Chris Squire; Bill Bruford 11:24
10 America Paul Simon 10:33
11 Roundabout (early rough mix) Jon Anderson; Steve Howe 08:35
Music Details
Product Details
Packaging Jewel Case
Spars DDD
Sound Stereo
Musicians  &  Credits
Vocals Jon Anderson
Drums Bill Bruford
Guitar Steve Howe
Bass Chris Squire
Keyboards Rick Wakeman
Musician Yes
Producer Yes; Eddy Offord
Engineer Eddy Offord
Cover by Roger Dean (II)
Personal Details
Index # 3936
Owner Dave
Tags Prog Rock, Symphonic Rock
User Defined
Purchased Used
Notes
Fragile was Yes' breakthrough album, propelling them in a matter of weeks from a cult act to an international phenomenon; not coincidentally, it also marked the point where all of the elements of the music (and more) that would define their success for more than a decade fell into place fully formed. The science-fiction and fantasy elements that had driven the more successful songs on their preceding record, The Yes Album, were pushed much harder here, and not just in the music but in the packaging of the album: the Roger Dean-designed cover was itself a fascinating creation that seemed to relate to the music and drew the purchaser's attention in a manner that few records since the heyday of the psychedelic era could match. Having thrown original keyboard player Tony Kaye overboard early in the sessions -- principally over his refusal to accept the need for the Moog synthesizer in lieu of his preferred Hammond organ -- the band welcomed Rick Wakeman into its ranks. His use of the Moog, among other instruments, coupled with an overall bolder and more aggressive style of playing, opened the way for a harder, hotter sound by the group as a whole; bassist Chris Squire sounds like he's got his amp turned up to "12," and Steve Howe's electric guitars are not far behind, although the group also displayed subtlety where it was needed. The opening minute of "Roundabout," the album opener -- and the basis for the edited single that would reach number 13 on the Billboard charts and get the group onto AM radio in a way that most other prog rock outfits could only look upon with envy -- was dominated by Howe's acoustic guitar and Bill Bruford's drums, and only in the middle section did the band show some of what they could do with serious amperage. Elsewhere on the record, as on "South Side of the Sky," they would sound as though they were ready to leave the ground (and the planet), between the volume and intensity of their playing. "Long Distance Runaround," which also served as the B-side of the single, was probably the most accessible track here apart from "Roundabout," but they were both ambitious enough to carry most listeners on to the heavier sides at the core of this long-player. The solo tracks by the members were actually a necessity: they needed to get Fragile out in a hurry to cover the cost of the keyboards that Wakeman had added to the group's sonic arsenal. But they ended up being more than filler. Each member, in effect, took a "bow" in mostly fairly serious settings, and Squire's "The Fish" and Howe's "Mood for a Day" pointed directly to future, more substantial projects as well as taking on a life of their own on-stage. If not exactly their peak, Fragile was as perfect a record as the group would ever make, and just as flawless in its timing as its content.

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The sure and steady pace at which Yes has progressed through their four albums seems to suit them just fine, and in "Fragile" the fruit is at last beginning to ripen.

Some problems remain, however: They're good and they know it, so they tend to succumb to the show-off syndrome. Their music (notably "Cans and Brahms" and "We Have Heaven") often seems designed only to impress and tries too hard to call attention to itself. Is anyone really still excited by things like "Five tracks on this album are individual ideas, personally arranged and organized by the five members of the band. . . etc."? They've got it in them to do a lot more than provide fodder for those strange people who get it off to visions of keyboard battles between Rick Wakeman and Keith Emerson. Then too, with the nimble Wakeman and his many instruments, a guitarist (Steve Howe) who can finger-pick like the devil and, apparently, a wealth of collective imagination, they could inject at least a tad more variety into their work. As it is, most of the songs sound like variations on one idea rather than distinct entities sharing a common style.

But make no mistake - the Yes people have a lot to be excited over. Gorgeous melodies, intelligent, carefully crafted, constantly surprising arrangements, concise and energetic performances, cryptic but evocative lyrics - when all these present Yes is quite boggling and their potential seemingly unlimited.

As in the opening "Roundabout," marked by a thick, chugging texture which almost imperceptibly accumulates, during deceptively innocent little breaks and fills, a screaming, shattering intensity that builds and builds until suddenly everything drops away but Wakeman's liquid organ trills, some scattered guitar notes and Jon Anderson's pure, plaintive voice: "In and around the lake/Mountains come out of the sky and they/Stand there." It's a tour-de-force, a complete knockout, and perhaps the most quietly devastating moment to appear on a record in recent memory.

The heavily atmospheric "South Side of the Sky" is also a grabber, a song that goes from full chorus and band (that's loud) to a segment that is nearly Oriental in its pristine simplicity - just wandering piano, electronic swirlings and the whoosh of an icy wind. "Heart of the Sunrise" is the third extended cut, and it puts everything they've got into a wide-ranging and most impressive package which demonstrates that progressive (remember progressive rock?) doesn't mean sterile and that complex isn't the same thing as inaccessible.

When it's all working, the music made by Yes is what the best music always is, a powerful and moving emotional experience. It's probably the first music to come along since some of the Kinks' older stuff that actually brings the beginning of tears to these jaded eyes of mine. Don't bet it can't happen to you.