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Review Summary: Fragile is more polished and tight that their previous album The Yes Album. Still, it could be a better album without the individual tracks. “Fragile” is the fourth studio album of Yes and was released in 1971. The line up on the album is Jon Anderson, Steve Howe, Rick Wakeman, Chris Squire and Bill Bruford.
1971 was a turning point in Yes’ career. Somehow, “Fragile” had the same importance to Yes than “Nursery Crime” had to Genesis. It was really a bridge between its rock influenced predecessor, “The Yes Album”, and the pure progressive albums which would follow in the next years. They released their first truly classic LP with “The Yes Album”. “Fragile” was also the first Yes’ album to feature a Roger Dean cover who would be a trademark to the band in the future.
But even more important, some things happened later in the same year. Tony Kaye left the band shortly after “The Yes Album”. He was fired by the band, and was replaced by a new and upcoming keyboard wizard, Rick Wakeman, who was previously a member of the Strawbs and has played as a popular session keyboard player before, with credits including T. Rex, David Bowie, Cat Stevens and Elton John. Wakeman proved to be the last piece in the puzzle of the ultimately best line up of the band. He was technically far superior to Kaye, and also used a much broader palette of sounds and keyboards, including mellotron, Moog and harpsichord in addition to the obligatory more traditional organ.
So, the first album from this line up, “Fragile”, left no doubt about Yes’ new status as now definitively belonging in the first division of progressive rock bands. With Wakeman on board, we have what is considered the classic line up of Yes, which is responsible for some of the most well regarded albums the group ever made in the progressive rock scene. We can also say that the presence of him brought also some classical sensibilities to the music of the group.
“Fragile” is composed by nine tracks. Four are arranged and performed by all five members and the remaining five are the individual ideas, personally arranged and organised by the five members. This kind of approach was necessary in part to save time and reduce studio costs, as money was used to purchase the new keyboard equipment for Wakeman.
About the band’s tracks, “Roundabout” is driven forward by Howe’s acoustic guitar riff, Squire’s superb bass, Anderson’s catchy vocal lines and newcomer Wakeman’s colourful keyboards. It was the definitive progressive rock hit song, catchy enough to appeal even to the mainstream, but at the same time is also complex and demanding enough to keep the progressive rock listener satisfied. It became to be a classic. “South Side Of The Sky” is one of the band’s most overlooked gems, showing them almost in heavy progressive mode, but also featuring a beautiful and very typical Yes chorale in the middle dominated by Squire and Anderson’s vocal harmonizing. “Long Distance Runaround” would prove to become one of the favourites from the album, even if this light but sophisticated and cheerful jazzy pop was rather unusual for Yes’ patterns. “Heart Of The Sunrise” is, in my humble opinion, one of the best progressive rock compositions ever. Alternating between aggressive riffs, beautiful and passionate vocal melodies, sweeping symphonic passages dominated by Wakeman’s mellotron and complex and technically insanely demanding instrumental bits, this is classic 70’s symphonic progressive rock at its best in a nutshell. This is really an utter essential listening for all.
About the remaining five tracks, Wakeman made a little thing based on Brahms in “Cans And Brahms”, Anderson experimented with overdubbed vocal harmonies in “We Have Heaven” and Bruford delivered 35 rhythmically very complicated seconds in “Five Per Cent For Nothing”. But the two best known tracks of these five solo pieces were however Squire’s legendary bass solo on “The Fish (Schindleria Praematurus)” and Howe’s “Mood For A Day”, that next to “Clap” performed on their previous album “The Yes Album”, was perhaps his most beloved acoustic piece.
Conclusion: “Fragile” propelled Yes from a small to a dedicated following international stardom. The album stayed on the charts for nearly a year, the band’s biggest ever commercial success. In part because of it, Yes would take a sharp turn towards pure progressive rock through the mid 70’s. However, I think their previous album, “The Yes Album”, in general, has more timeless compositions, but “Fragile” is a more adventurous album that defined their sound for years to come. I never was a great fan of individual tracks on a collective effort, especially in this case that seems the group was forced to release the album in a record time to pay the new Wakeman’s equipment. Anyway, somehow “Fragile” represents the beginning of Yes. Yes’ music and the vision of their singer Anderson defines everything I like and love on prog music, great musicianship, amazing sound, playfulness, musical progression, great lyrics and emotional depth. Their next albums “Close To The Edge”, “Tales From Topographic Oceans” and “Relayer” seem to be the pinnacle of that creativity. The final result was a giant leap for popular music and a great inspiration for all generations to come.
Music was my first love.
John Miles (Rebel)
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Album Rating: 4.5
Continuing my voyage inside of Yes, in the 70's, here it's the natural follower to "The Tes Album". "Fragile" represents a step forward in relation to the previous one. It's more mature and more prog. But the overall quality is at the same level, I think. If weren't the five individual tracks and it would have been Yes' first masterpiece. Besides, this is first Yes' album with their best classic line up.
| | | Album Rating: 5.0
always need more Yes reviews
"Four are arranged and performed by all five members and the remaining five are the individual ideas, personally arranged and organised by the five members."
having trouble discerning what you are actually trying to say with this.
| | | Album Rating: 4.0
He’s saying that five songs are written solely by a single band member which was unusual for them
| | | Album Rating: 4.5
It's very simple. As I wrote on my review there are four tracks which are made as a collaborative effort by all band's members, “Roundabout”, “South Side Of The Sky”, “Long Distance Runaround” and “Heart Of The Sunrise”. The other five, “Cans And Brahms”, “We Have Heaven”, “Five Per Cent For Nothing”, “The Fish (Schindleria Praematurus)” and “Mood For A Day” are individual tracks mede by each member. What is worst, for me, is that only two of them are good enough to be on this album, “The Fish (Schindleria Praematurus)” and “Mood For A Day”. The other three are, in my opinion, useless. I think they only exist to would fill the rest of the album, to release the album in a record time, a requirement of their record label and to pay the very expensive new Wakeman's equipments which were buyed to him, by the band.
Thanks for your comments and welcome to my reviews, bro.
| | | Album Rating: 4.0
A true classic. Good job, e.
| | | Album Rating: 4.5
Sorry smaugman, but I only saw your comment right now. You said what I wanted to say. Thanks.
| | | Album Rating: 4.5
Thanks, Diva. A true classic indeed.
| | | Album Rating: 4.5
Another great Yes review... I agree with you on the 'solo' songs. They're not my favorites on their own, but all-together the album works very nicely. It does say something that Yes could have a best-selling mainstream album with so many proggy instrumental moments on it. They did a good job of balancing pop and prog--at least until the 80s when they released Big Generator, but that's another story.
| | | Album Rating: 4.5
plus . . . SHARP! DISTANCE! is the greatest Yes moment imho.
| | | Album Rating: 4.5
I agree with you, bro. Yes in the 70's was an enormous band. Very few could achieve or even dream with the achieve of that status.
Thanks, Twig.
| | | Album Rating: 4.0
"The other five, “Cans And Brahms”, “We Have Heaven”, “Five Per Cent For Nothing”, “The Fish (Schindleria Praematurus)” and “Mood For A Day” are individual tracks mede by each member. What is worst, for me, is that only two of them are good enough to be on this album"
that is why the one before and after are better imo than this
| | | Album Rating: 4.5
Yeah, I can see your point of view. Still, the band's songs are maybe more mature than those on the previous album. It was enough for me to have given to it the same rating of "The Yes Album".
| | | Album Rating: 4.0
same rating is fine with me, YA was my first YEs so I always judge against it, for me fragile has some boring points to it, give me YA or CTTE all day every day against the rest of their cat
| | | Album Rating: 4.5
Yeah, but the boring points are very small. Fortunately those tracks are very short.
| | | Album Rating: 4.5
Also... I think it was clever to work these songs into an album. The melodies were used as the basis for solos during the live shows. So when you heard Squire start "The Fish," or Howe plucking Mood For A Day," you knew there was a solo about to start. Unlike other bands, the audience didn't start heading towards the bathrooms during the solo because they were familiar with these tunes. Smart.
| | | Album Rating: 4.0
I actually like The Yes Album better than this, and the reason is too many solo songs. Still a great album, though.
| | | Album Rating: 4.5
''Cans and Brahms'' is the one that is the most out of place. It even doesn't fit in the album at all. The Beatlesque ''We Have Heaven'' is alright because it serves as a beautiful interlude for ''South Side of the Sky''. The Gentle Giant-like'' Five Percent For Nothing'' is the Bruford one and I really like his drum patterns into it, but that one is weird in the album context too, and it's like unfinished. So overall, half of the short individual songs are kinda added by force, but on the other hand, all the songs remain creative. Some are just misplaced. Classic album all the same.
SHARP! DISTANCE! [2]
Nice review dude.
| | | Album Rating: 4.5
You said beautifully what I think about the individual songs, Jethro. A classic album, indeed.
SHARP! DISTANCE! [3]
Thanks, man.
| | | Album Rating: 4.0
Dude the meme song
Good review my guy
| | | Album Rating: 4.5
Thanks, SteakByrnes.
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