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Rating: "Fragile" is the first Yes album I bought, and I'll never forget it because it made me fall in love with the band. The first release dates back to the distant 1972, and it features a varied tracklist, where nothing is really missing, and each member unleashes themselves in splendid experimentation.
Starting right from the legendary Roundabout, a now-historic track from the band. In it, guitar, bass, and keyboards blend almost perfectly and create a truly enjoyable track to listen to, for more than 8 minutes. Two short tracks follow: Cans and Brahms (an arrangement from Brahms' 4th Symphony in E minor) and We Have Heaven, where all the voices we hear are overlays of the singer Jon Anderson (at the first listen, I didn't quite understand what kind of track it was...). Then another longer track, South Side Of The Sky, with an excellent intermezzo. The fifth track (Five per cent for nothing) is the most incomprehensible of all, very brief and with a strange jumble of sounds (with a frightening offbeat from the drummer). We then have Long Distance Runaround, another splendid piece that is followed by the experimentation The fish (Schindleria Praematurus) by bassist Chris Squire (throughout the track, every riff and/or melody is produced by the bass guitar sound). The eighth track is one of my favorites, and it is Mood for a day, a classical guitar solo by Steve Howe. Truly touching. The album concludes with one last great piece, Heart of the sunrise, with an excellent vocal performance by Anderson.
Unfortunately, my version of the album contains two bonus tracks that I felt no need for, namely America and another version of Roundabout. If you own the older version, your album will splendidly conclude.
Last but not least, there are always great drawings, both on the cover and in the booklet (my favorite in this regard is "Relayer").
I find that this album is the best way to get close to the band because it showcases the band's great abilities and doesn't feature overly long tracks that might bore someone on the first listen.
If this positive experience occurs, you'll move on without hesitation to "Close to the Edge" and the already mentioned "Relayer".
Tracklist Lyrics Samples and Videos
01 Roundabout (08:35)
I'll be the roundabout
The words will make you out 'n' out
I spend the day away
Call it morning driving through the sound and in and out the valley
The music dance and sing
They make the children really ring
Spend the day away
Call it morning driving through the sound and in and out the valley
In and around the lake
Mountains come out of the sky and they stand there
One mile over we'll be there and we'll see you
Ten true summers we'll be there and laughing too
Twenty four before my love you'll see I'll be there with you
I will remember you
Your silhouette will charge the view
Of distance atmosphere
Call it morning driving through the sound and even in the valley
In and around the lake
Mountains come out of the sky and they stand there
One mile over we'll be there and we'll see you
Ten true summers we'll be there and laughing too
Twenty four before my love you'll see I'll be there with you
Along the drifting cloud, the eagle searching down on the land
Catching the swirling wind, the sailor sees the rim of the land
The eagle's dancing wings create as weather spins out of hand
Go closer, hold the land, feel partly no more than grains of sand
We stand to lose all time, a thousand answers by in our hand
Next to your deeper fears, we stand surrounded by million years
I'll be the roundabout
The words will make you out 'n' out
I'll be the roundabout
The words will make you out 'n' out
In and around the lake
Mountains come out of the sky and they stand there
Twenty four before my love and I'll be there
I'll be the roundabout
The words will make you out 'n' out
You spend the day your way
Call it morning driving through the sound and in and out the valley
In and around the lake
Mountains come out of the sky and they stand there
One mile over we'll be there and we'll see you
Ten true summers we'll be there and laughing too
Twenty four before my love you'll see I'll be there with you
02 Cans and Brahms (Extracts From Brahms' 4th Symphony in E minor, Third Movement) (01:42)
03 We Have Heaven (01:39)
(Jon Anderson)
Tell the moon don't tell the marcher
Tell the moon don't tell the marcher
Tell the moon don't tell the marcher
Tell the moon don't tell the marcher
(OR: Tell the Moon Dog, Tell the March Hare)
He is clear
He is clear
He is clear
He is clear
Tell who don't tell the marcher
Tell who don't tell the marcher
Tell who don't tell the maracher
Tell who don't tell the marcher
(OR: To look around)
We have heaven
We have heaven
We have heaven
We have heaven
04 South Side of the Sky (07:56)
(Jon Anderson/Chris Squire)
A river a mountain to be crossed
The sunshine in mountains sometimes lost
Around the south side
So cold that we cried
Were we ever colder on that day
A million miles away
It seemed from all eternity
Move forward was my friend's only cry
In deeper to somewhere we could lie
And rest for the day
With cold in the way
Were we ever colder on that day
A million miles away
It seemed from all eternity
The moments seemed lost in all the noise
A snow storm a stimulating voice
Of warmth of the sky
Of warmth when you die
Were we ever warmer on that day
A million miles away
We seemed from all eternity
The sunshine in mountains sometimes lost
The river can disregard the cost
And melt in the sky
Warmth when you die
Were we ever warmer on that day
A million miles away
We seemed from all of eternity
06 Long Distance Runaround (03:30)
Long distance runaround
Long time waiting to feel the sound
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
Cold summer listening
Hot colour 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
Long distance runaround
Long time waiting to feel the sound
I still remember the dream there
I still remember the time you said goodbye
Cold summer listening
Hot colour 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
Looking for the sunshine
07 The Fish (Schindleria Praematurus) (02:42)
(Chris Squire)
Schindleria praematurus
Schindleria praematurus
Schindleria praematurus
Schindleria praematurus
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Other reviews
By RocKnR0ll
Fragile is certainly their masterpiece, an album that manages to blend rock and classical music with a superb technique.
The true masterpiece is the concluding Heart Of The Sunrise: eleven minutes of offbeats, almost jazzy parts, and instrumental intertwining that will leave you dizzy but never fall into self-indulgence.
By Progressive86
"Fragile is indeed the fourth album by Yes and the second in chronological order within the trilogy of their milestone albums."
"To appreciate this album and progressive music more generally, one should listen and listen again (perhaps even with closed eyes) to receive from the organicity of the sound sensations."
