LONG TIME WAITING TO FEEL THE SOUND
I STILL REMEMBER THE DREAM THERE
I STILL REMEMBER THE TIME
YOU SAID GOODBYE
Fragile
is the fourth
studio album
by the
English
progressive
rock band
released
in the UK
on
November,12th 1971
and in the US
on
January,4th 1972
by Atlantic Records.
It was the band's
first album
to feature keyboardist
Rick Wakeman,
who replaced
Tony Kaye
after the group
had finished touring
their breakthrough record,
The Yes Album
(1971).
The band entered rehearsals
in London in August 1971,
but Kaye's reluctance
to play electronic keyboards
led to his departure
from the group.
He was quickly replaced
by Wakeman,
whose virtuosity,
compositional skills,
and experience with
the electric piano,
organ,
Mellotron,
and Moog
synthesiser expanded
the band's sound.
Due to budget
and time constraints,
four tracks
on the album
are group arrangements;
the remaining five
are short
solo pieces
by each
band member.
The opening track,
"Roundabout",
became a popular song.
The artwork
for the album
was the band's
first to be designed
by Roger Dean,
who would design
many of their
future covers.
Fragile
received a mostly
positive reception,
with some
criticism directed at
the solo tracks.
It became a greater
commercial success
than its predecessor,
reaching No. 4
on the US
Billboard
Top LPs chart
and No. 7
on the
UK Albums Chart.
The Fragile Tour
saw Yes perform
over 100 dates
across the UK
and the US,
during which they
became a
headlining act.
An edited version of
"Roundabout"
was released as
a single in the US
in January 1972,
which reached No. 13
on the Billboard Hot 100.
Fragile
was certified Platinum
in the UK
by the
British Phonographic Industry
(BPI)
and double platinum
in the US
by the
Recording Industry Association
of America (RIAA),
where it has
sold over
two million copies.
It has been
remastered several times,
with some containing
previously unreleased tracks.
Background and Recording
On July,31st 1971,
Yes performed
the final concert of their
1970–71
tour at
Crystal Palace Park, London
in support of their
previous album,
The Yes Album (1971).
The tour was significant
for the band as
it included their
first set of gigs
in the US
which helped
them gain momentum as
The Yes Album
and its single,
"Your Move",
reached the
US top 40.
The line-up
during this time consisted
of lead vocalist
Jon Anderson,
bassist
Chris Squire,
drummer
Bill Bruford,
keyboardist
Tony Kaye,
and guitarist
Steve Howe.
Following the tour,
Yes started work on their
next studio album
that was originally
conceived as a
double with a
combination of studio
and live tracks,
but it could not be realised
due to the increased
amount of time
required to make it.
Ideas to record in
Miami, Florida
with producer
Tom Dowd
also never
came to fruition.
Rehearsals took place in
August 1971
in a small studio
in Shepherd Market
in London.
As recording began,
Kaye was reluctant
to expand his sound
beyond his
Hammond organ
and piano
and play
newer instruments,
like the Mellotron
or Moog synthesiser,
causing artistic
disagreements with
his bandmates,
particularly Anderson
and Squire.
Kaye was sacked
from Yes,
and at manager
Brian Lane's insistence,
surrendered his royalties
from the first
three albums in
exchange for a
cash sum
of around $10,000.
A replacement
was quickly found in
Rick Wakeman,
a classically trained pianist
with experience
playing a wide variety
of keyboards.
Wakeman was a member
of the folk rock band
Strawbs
and an in-demand
session musician.
He was offered a spot
with David Bowie's
touring band
on the same day
that he was asked
to join Yes,
but chose Yes
due to the opportunity
for more artistic freedom.
He learned that the band
were going to return
to the US
for another tour
and flatly refused,
but quickly realised that
he was holding out
on a good offer
and accepted.
Wakeman recalled
the basis of
"Roundabout"
and
"Heart of the Sunrise"
were worked out
by the end
of his first day
with the band.
Artwork
Fragile
marks the start
of the band's
long association with
English artist
Roger Dean,
who would design
many of their
future album covers,
their logo,
and live stage sets.
In 1971
Dean submitted a
portfolio to
Phil Carson, t
hen European
General Manager
of Atlantic Records,
who said he would contact
Dean for work when
one of his bands
needed a c
over artist,
which became Yes.
Prior to starting on the cover,
Dean had come up with
a creation myth narrative
about a child
who dreamt she was living
on a planet that started
breaking up,
so they built a
"space ark"
to find another planet
to live on
contains two additional
Dean paintings;
the front cover depicts
five creatures huddled
under a root system,
and the back depicts
a person climbing up
a rock formation.
The inside features
several photographs
of the band with a
page dedicated to
each member,
TRACKLIST
CD 1
(Remastered 2024 Version)
Roundabout
(2024 Remaster)
Cans and Brahms
(2024 Remaster)
We Have Heaven
(2024 Remaster)
South Side of the Sky
(2024 Remaster)
Five Per Cent for Nothing
(2024 Remaster)
Long Distance Runaround
(2024 Remaster)
The Fish
(Schindleria Praematurus)
(2024 Remaster)
Mood for a Day
(2024 Remaster)
Heart of the Sunrise
(2024 Remaster)
CD 2
Steve Wilson
Remixes
and
Instrumentals
Roundabout
(2024 Steven Wilson Remix)
Cans and Brahms
(2024 Steven Wilson Remix)
We Have Heaven
(2024 Steven Wilson Remix)
South Side of the Sky
(2024 Steven Wilson Remix)
Five Per Cent for Nothing
(2024 Steven Wilson Remix)
Long Distance Runaround
(2024 Steven Wilson Remix)
The Fish
(Schindleria Praematurus)
(2024 Steven Wilson Remix)
Mood for a Day
(2024 Steven Wilson Remix)
Heart of the Sunrise
(2024 Steven Wilson Remix)
We Have Heaven
(Reprise)
(2024 Steven Wilson Remix)
Roundabout
(Instrumental)
(2024 Steven Wilson Remix)
We Have Heaven
(Instrumental)
(2024 Steven Wilson Remix)
South Side of the Sky
(Instrumental)
(2024 Steven Wilson Remix)
Long Distance Runaround
(Instrumental)
(2024 Steven Wilson Remix)
The Fish
(Schindleria Praematurus)
[Instrumental]
(2024 Steven Wilson Remix)
Heart of the Sunrise
(Instrumental)
(2024 Steven Wilson Remix)
We Have Heaven
(Reprise)
[Instrumental]
(2024 Steven Wilson Remix)
CD 3
Early Takes
Rehearsals
Edits
Alternate Mixes
Roundabout
(US Single Edit)
(2024 Remaster)
Long Distance Runaround
(US Single Edit)
(2024 Remaster)
All Fighters Past
(Steven Wilson Mix)
South Side of the Sky
(Early Take)
(2024 Remaster)
Roundabout
(Rehearsal Take/Early Mix)
(2024 Remaster)
Mood for Another Day
(Alternate Version)
(2024 Remaster)
We Have Heaven
(Full Version)
(Steven Wilson Mix)
South Side of the Sky
(Early Version)
(Steven Wilson Mix)
Long Distance Runaround
(Steven Wilson Edit)
Heart of the Sunrise
(Steven Wilson Edit)
America
(2024 Remaster)
Roundabout
(Early Rough Mix)
(2024 Remaster)
We Have Heaven
(Acapella)
(Steven Wilson Mix)
Roundabout
(5.1 Mix)
(Channel 3 Just Vocals)
CD 4
BONUS
Five Per Cent for Nothing
(Alternate Version)
Heart of the Sunrise
(Alternate Version)
Long Distance Runaround/The Fish
(Schindleria Praematurus)
(Alternate Version)
America
(Instrumental)
(2024 Steven Wilson Remix)
Long Distance Runaround/The Fish
(Schindleria Praematurus)
(Live at Academy of Music, New York, NY, 2/19/1972)
Perpetual Change
(Live at Academy of Music, New York, NY, 2/19/1972)
Yours is No Disgrace
(Live at Academy of Music, New York, NY, 2/19/1972)
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