What does it sound like?:
The first album to feature Rick Wakeman, the first to feature Roger Dean’s artwork and arguably the first Yes masterwork. The core of the album is the three long pieces, Roundabout, South Side of The Sky and Heart of the Sunrise, with an honourable mention for Long Distance Runaround. Of the individual solo pieces, the strongest by far belong to Howe and Squire.
Steven Wilson’s latest remix in this continuing series reaches his usual impeccable standard, bringing more clarity and depth to the songs, providing a greater sense of space to each facet of the recording.
The Bluray disc features the 5.1 mix, an instrumental version of the album, radio promo edits and half a dozen previously songs, comprising mainly of alternate takes. The most interesting of these is an unheard song segment titled All Fighters Past, discovered at the end of a tape reel that had been reused for another recording. Ideas that were to be incorporated into Revealing Science and Siberian Khatru are both hinted at in this surviving section of the full piece.
What does it all *mean*?
The standard of musicianship and songwriting achieved by the band, still then in their relatively early days, is astounding and this 2015 remix both does full justice to the original album and manages to complement it.
Goes well with…
Prog from that era of course, but this is an album that has stood the test of time overall, although the individual solo tracks do not really stand comparison with the majestic full band pieces.
Release Date:
Might suit people who like…
Fans will lap this up of course, but those wanting an introduction to the music of Yes could do worse than start here.
The first Yes masterpiece is The Yes Album. Never bettered. Fact.
Foxy speaks the truth.
I agree (5 years later)…
glad I’m not the only one who bristled at the suggestion that Fragile is where it all went right. Personally, I’m not a fan of albums where each member takes a turn – Ummagumma being possibly the worst offender in this regard
Re: “I’m not a fan of albums where each member takes a turn”
Yes – see also “Wings at the Speed of Sound”.
Each member takes a turn… Usually the result is fairly messy and unsatisfying.
I have this on order and your review Bargie has me looking forward to Fragile even more. Steven Wilson is a genius having remastered albums for Yes, Tull, his own back catalogue and XTC. Then there is the small matter of having released one of the top 3 albums of the year himself.
I am listening to his remaster of Oranges and Lemons at present. I have to mention the scope of this release, over 100 audio tracks (Blu-Ray edition) and then there`s 3 or 4 video tracks thrown in. All for £17, a bloody rip off! ; ))
Oh, ST`s remaster of OAL is superb – what else was it gonna be?
I reckon it is a patchy album. I’m heartily sick of Roundabout. As you said, the solo stuff isn’t thrilling. I certainly wouldn’t point anyone towards this before Close To The Edge or Yes Album or even Going For The One. Nice sleeve though.
Fragile was the first The Yes album I bought as I’d heard side 1 of Topog on the John Peel show and thought it amazing. Topog had just been released so me and a mate went into Glasgow on the Saturday for some record shopping. Imagine my horror at it being a double album and out of my price range, Fragile had a very nice cover and I could afford it. I enjoyed it but it’s my least played The Yes album.
I’m also in ‘The Yes Album trumps Fragile’ camp. Having said that there are some lovely bits here – the melodic core of Heart of the Sunrise is just beautiful. I saw Yes on this tour at Sheffield City Hall (Wally !!!) – one of my first big gigs and I remember just being astounded by the sound, musicianship and general spectacle. So on that basis I do have a soft spot for the album
The Yes Album is superb for sure, but the replacement of Kaye with Wakeman completed the jigsaw and took the band to the next level.
Wakeman is the more fluently accomplished player of the two, maybe, but it’s the songs that are a world apart on The Yes Album. Astonishing, intriguing, original, bewildering, endlessly full of strange possibilities, altogether the very embodiment of progressive, in the best possible sense. And oh so hummable.
The ‘old’ remaster on Rhino had the 10 min version of ‘America’.
Is this still present and correct? Possibly game changer
No, unfortunately for some reason that hasn’t been included on this version.
Oops – correction! Slipped under the radar!
America is tucked away on the Blu-ray disc of Fragile in its original 5.1 mix from around 2002.
CD wise it was included on Close to the Edge as it was (marginally) closer
to the recording of the latter.
Despite some negative comments I am still looking forward to SW`s remaster of `Fragile`.
As a complete Yes obsessive from Time and a Word to Relayer I always felt underwhelmed by Fragile because of the fragmenting of the flow by the solo pieces, as others have said. It can’t be seriously compared to The Yes Album or Close to the Edge for that reason alone, although the big tracks are some of their best work. America was a stand alone track from the Atlantic Sampler at the time so never really belonged to Fragile, although again one of their best tracks from the classic period. I’d go for CTTE as the best.
Wilson stated on Facebook around Nov 2015 that Fragile is the “final release scheduled in the classic Yes album remixes series at present.” However, around the same time, Steve Howe said on the Cruise to the Edge that Wilson had completed mixes for Tales from Topographic Oceans (and indeed that he had tweaked the final mixes with Wilson) and that that it would be released soon. Asked about further archival releases, Howe said there was plenty more in the vaults.
I have finally bought this. I put it on a long list after your review. It sounds fantastic! Roundabout is a Rock classic and their version of America is superb. Heart Of The Sunrise is a great Rock track too.