Track Listing

1. Roundabout
2. Cans And Brahms
3. We Have Heaven
4. South Side Of The Sky
5. Five Per Cent For Nothing
6. Long Distance Runaround
7. The Fish (Schindleria Praematurus)
8. Mood For A Day
9. Heart Of The Sunrise
10. America
11. Roundabout (Early Rough Mix)

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #3782 in Music
• Released on: 2003-01-14
• Number of discs: 1
• Formats: Original recording reissued, Original recording remastered

Album Description
2003 remastered reissue of 1972 album includes two bonus tracks, 'America' & 'Roundabout' (Early Rough Mix). Digipak in a slipcase. Elektra/Rhino.

Customer Reviews

popular progressive rock
The most amazing thing to me with Fragile was that it was great prog rock and yet got a ton of airplay on the radio.
Roundabout was the big single and it is an amazing combination of virtuosity and clever riffs. Cans and Brahms is forgettable and probably th weakest cut on the album. 'We have heaven 'foreshadows 'Olias of Sunhillow" and is a brilliant segue into 'South side of the sky'.
'South side' is one of Yes' greatest songs. I still remember the first time I heard it on the radio late at night on a rock station.It's brilliant and peaceful yet dynamic 'piano in outer space' section was mind expanding. Steve Howe really rocks on this one as well.
Five percent for nothing doesn't really even count as a song(what was that?). Long distance runaround was another single that got a lot of airplay and was even played with it's attachment 'the fish'.Great music, very Yes, and still popular.
Mood for a day is a great solo acoustic song,but it feels like just an add on to this album. Heart of the sunrise was a big rock hit but I always thought it was a little overrated. Great album although a little uneven.

FRAGILE...A CLASSIC YES ESSENTIAL ! (the concept of Yes comes into focus on Fragile and they achieve perfection in places)
Fragile (1972) was the first Yes album to feature the now famous artwork of Roger Dean (his art would grace Yes' album covers for the next 30 years). It's the second album Yes recorded with guitarist Steve Howe, and their first with keyboard wizard Rick Wakeman. The Yes concept and sound really came into full focus with this album, and their trademark sonic perfection was smoothly achieved in some of Fragile's best moments.

The album begins with the incredible Roundabout, a Yes multi-part masterwork that still remains their most popular song today. It's an impressive exercise in artistic creativity, and a brilliant example of progressive rock music perfection. South Side Of The Sky is excellant sci-fi action guitar riff rock with some nice keyboard work and vocal harmonies. Long Distance Runaround is another one of Yes' greatest creations, and an example of the Yes formula at it's peak. The song is melodramatic and melodious perfection as it imaginatively describes a relationship that has ended too soon.

Cold summer listening
Hot color melting the anger to stone
I still remember the dream there
I still remember the time you said goodbye
Did we really tell lies?
Letting in the sunshine
Did we really count to one hundred?

There are four "solo" pieces on Fragile, and bassist Chris Squire's excellant instrumental The Fish (Schindleria Praematurus) features his famously powerful and inventive bass lines. Rick Wakeman arranges Cans And Brahms, a nice classical piano piece that's accompanied by his own keyboards, while drummer Bill Bruford highlights his skills on the short Five Per Cent For Nothing. Steve Howe's classical guitar solo Mood For A Day is also enjoyable, and he still plays it at Yes concerts today. I like Jon Anderson's We Have Heaven, too. He sings all of the vocal parts, and it's an interesting and entertaining piece of music.

The Yes classic, Heart Of The Sunrise, closes the original album, and it's a wonderfully sweeping and powerfully emotional epic. It's regarded by many as the most perfect song Yes has ever done, and they just might be right. Anderson's compelling angelic vocal performance soars as he sings of loneliness and isolation in the crowded city.

Love comes to you then after
Dream on...on to the heart of the sunrise
Sharp - distance
How can the sun with it's arms all around me
Sharp - distance
How can the wind with so many around me
...I feel lost in the city

There are two bonus tracks including Yes' fantastic 10:33 minute version of Simon And Garfunkel's America. It's powerful, and Anderson's vocal performance takes the song to new heights. An early rough mix of Roundabout is also included.

Fragile is certainly one of Yes' best albums, and a must-have for fans. It contains some of their greatest work, and is a staple of the grand "Classic Yes" period. It's also not a bad place to start with Yes if you want more than a compilation. An excellant album by one of my favorite bands.

YES!!!
If your a Yes fan you already have this album, but if you are just getting into Yes or just cheking out new music, BUY THIS ALBUM, one of my all time favorites. Every song incredible and the album makeup is fantastic!