FRAGILE

1. Roundabout (8:29) is a live classic, a long rock and roll song. Excellent classical guitar and rhythm and instrumental parts (organ solo by Wakeman); in the long, the sung part sounds a little didactic.

2. Cans And Brahms (1:35) is an organ solo by Wakeman. Childish and naïve, but pretty, fanciful. Rating 7+. 3. We Have Heaven (1:30) is an obsessive repetition by vocals and rhythm. Pretty but cloying. Rating 7.

4. South Side Of The Sky (8:04) is another long rock and roll song. Excellent the two parts, that hard rock and the melodic part, excellent the instrumental parts (with the guitar) and the melody on the piano; a little redundant the choir "Na-na-na". Rating 8,5. 5. Five Percent For Nothing (0:35): Dissonant and nervous fragment. No rating. End of Side A.

It is a captivating music, which has a cheerful exuberant pop rhythm, a high vocal hue (Jon Anderson) and a good rhythm: perfect heir to the Beatles, it manages to combine easy listening with long songs, elaborate and with high rate of virtuosity.

Side B: 6. Long Distance Runaround (3:33) is a rock and roll piece, not completed. It fades into the next instrumental song: 7. The Fish. Overall Rating: 7+.

8. Mood For A Day (3:57) is a classic guitar solo, played by Steve Howe. Elegant. Rating 7,5. 9. Heart Of The Sunrise (10:34) is a long, epic song, and the absolute masterpiece of the album. Large instrumental progression, with numbers from the rhythm section (Bruford, Squire). Moving voice by Anderson, that reaches a great peak of pathos. Rating 9.

The album is excellent in the three long compositions, which are better than those of the second side of Close To The Edge, but unfortunately it turns out, for the rest, full of fillers. "Heart Of The Sunrise" reaches one of the absolute peaks of quality in the discography of Yes, and if it took the place of "Siberian Khatru", it would have made "CTTE" a true masterpiece. Instead, here it elevates the quality of an album very appealing and pleasant to listen but that, for the rest, does not reach the height of the masterpiece. In my opinion, the value of the album is close to CTTE but slightly lower.

Average quality of the songs: 7,82. Rating album: 8,5. Four Stars.

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