Fragile

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This is the article about the Yes album. For the album by Nine Inch Nails, see The Fragile. For the movie, see Fragile (film).

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Fragile is the fourth album by British progressive rock band Yes. It is best known for the song "Roundabout", which was released in an edited version as a US single and became the band's best-known song. This was Rick Wakeman's first album with Yes - and also its first trans-atlantic Top 10 release.

Fragile was issued in the UK in November 1971, but was held back in North America for two months because of the still-growing momentum of The Yes Album.

Unlike Yes' previous releases, this album showcased the band members' solo talents. This was to cut down on recording time, as the album had to be recorded and released hastily because the band needed money to pay for Wakeman's keyboard equipment. "Cans and Brahms" is a piece by Johannes Brahms arranged by Rick Wakeman; "We Have Heaven" is a Jon Anderson solo in which he sings all the vocal parts (a technique he later used on his solo album Olias of Sunhillow); while "Five Per Cent For Nothing", "The Fish" and "Mood For A Day" are solo pieces by Bill Bruford, Chris Squire and Steve Howe, respectively. The remaining songs are all group performances.

The album contains some of their freshest music with dazzling harmonies and lovely melodic textures abounding. In contrast to much of their later music, the songs are shorter and more tautly-constructed. "Long Distance Runaround" is, in part, based on the 1970 Kent State shootings.

A DVD-Audio version of the album was released in 2002, featuring Dolby Digital and DTS surround sound mixes and other additional features.

1 Track listing
2 Personnel
3 Artwork
4 Recording Technology & Production Methods
5 Sources

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Track listing

"Roundabout" (Jon Anderson/Steve Howe) - 8:33
"Cans And Brahms" (Johannes Brahms, Arr. Rick Wakeman)- 1:38
"We Have Heaven" (Jon Anderson) - 1:40
"South Side Of The Sky" (Jon Anderson/Chris Squire) - 7:58
"Five Per Cent For Nothing" (Bill Bruford) - 0:35
"Long Distance Runaround" (Jon Anderson) - 3:30
"The Fish (Schindleria Praematurus)" (Chris Squire) - 2:39
"Mood For A Day" (Steve Howe) - 3:00
"Heart Of The Sunrise" (Jon Anderson/Chris Squire/Bill Bruford) - 11:27
- Includes a hidden reprise of "We Have Heaven" at the very end

Fragile (Atlantic 2401 019) reached #7 in the UK. It also reached #4 in the US during a chart stay of 46 weeks.

Fragile was remastered and reissued in 2003 with several bonus tracks including a version of America (Simon).

Rick Wakeman contributed to the writing of "South Side Of The Sky" and "Heart Of The Sunrise", adding piano interludes to both songs, but wasn't credited due to contractual conflicts. He was instead promised more money by Atlantic studio executives, which he claims he never saw.

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Personnel

Image:Yes Fragile inside right.jpg

Jon Anderson: Vocals
Chris Squire: Bass guitars, vocals
Steve Howe: Electric and acoustic guitars, vocals
Rick Wakeman: Organ (music), Grand piano (Electric Piano and Harpsichord), Mellotron, Synthesizer
Bill Bruford: Drums, Percussion

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Artwork

The cover design by Roger Dean depicts a tiny planet on the front. On the back, the planet has begun to break up and the population is escaping in a wooden space glider - a concept that was to inspire Anderson's Olias Of Sunhillow, as well as the film Floating Islands. The inside of the sleeve features two additional paintings. The left panel depicts a group of creatures huddled under the root system of a tree and the right depicts a climber scaling a pillar-shaped mountain. The inner sleeve also features several photographs by Dean.

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Recording Technology & Production Methods

Recorded in September 1971 at Advision Studios in London, the album is an analog multi-track production - the available technology of the day. Standard multi-track methods were employed, such as overdubbing, including a clever flipping of the master multi-track tape to record the backwards piano, cued by Steve Howe's guitar, for the beginning of Roundabout.

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