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Fragile (Yes album)

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Template:Album infobox 2 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 their first trans-atlantic Top 10 release.

Fragile was issued in the UK in November 1971, but held over in North America for a further two months because of the still-growing momentum of The Yes Album. The Rhino remaster's citing of Fragile as having been released on 4 January 1972 is actually the US release date.

Unlike all of Yes' previous releases, this album was intended to showcase the band members' solo talents. "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 rest of the songs are all group performances.

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

Track listing

  1. "Roundabout" (Jon Anderson/Steve Howe) - 8:33
  2. "Cans And Brahms" (Johannes Brahms, Arr. Rick Wakeman)- 1:38
  3. "We Have Heaven" (Jon Anderson) - 1:40
  4. "South Side Of The Sky" (Jon Anderson/Chris Squire) - 7:58
  5. "Five Per Cent For Nothing" (Bill Bruford) - 0:35
  6. "Long Distance Runaround" (Jon Anderson) - 3:30
  7. "The Fish (Schindleria Praematurus)" (Chris Squire) - 2:39
  8. "Mood For A Day" (Steve Howe) - 3:00
  9. "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.

Personnel

Artwork

File:Yes Fragile inside right.jpg
Right-hand panel of Fragile's inside cover

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 and several photographs by Dean.

Sources

  • Fragile, CD booklet essay, Bill Martin, c.2003
  • AllMusicGuide.com
  • "Top Pop Albums 1955-2001", Joel Whitburn, c.2002
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