FRAGILE

Roundabout I'm not really sure what I can say about this song that hasn't already been said. Its their most popular song, and rightfully so. Its insanely listenable for a yes song (and for an eight and a half minute song as well), and it contains much of the "classic" sounds that The Yes Album did. Truly a masterpiece song: 10/10

Cans and Brahms Kind of a strange song to put second in the album. I mean, its kind of nice but I almost always opt to skip this song when I sit down to listen to the album. It functions as an interlude, but at nearly two minutes long its hard to ignore. Ehh, its certainly not bad, but nothing special either: a weak 6/10

We Have Heaven And just like that were back on track! A really terrific intro to what will be the concept portion of the album. This song has some really beautifully layered acapella and some terrific backing music as well. Really beautiful, though short it may be: 9/10

South Side of the Sky A pretty standard Yes song in my opinion. it doesn't necessarily do anything revolutionary, but it is certainly a very enjoyable track. Not much to say otherwise. a very solid 8/10

Five per Cent for Nothing Another so-so interlude, this song doesn't do much other than produce some pretty funky noise to transition into the next track. A weak 6/10

Long Distance Runaround + The Fish These two songs are more or less connected, sharing in lots of musical similarities (not just smoothly transitioning into each other) so I will be talking about them as one song. Another nice track that doesn't do much that is revolutionary for the band, but it is very enjoyable nonetheless. Long Distance Runaround is pretty catchy too, and breaks to be more acoustic in The Fish. A very solid 7/10 overall

Mood for a Day I usually don't love it when rock/metal bands attempt to do slower songs or ballads. It just never seems to click. Even bands like Dream Theater, which I hold in the highest regard, fall flat on most of their ballads. Yes, however, really proves their musical versatility with their ballads. All of their ballads are meaningful and purposeful, and Mood for a Day is no exception. This song is really beautiful, and I don't have much more to say. A solid 8/10

Heart of the Sunrise And to round out the album is another song that receives lots of acclaim from Yes fans. Heart of the Sunrise is certainly a terrific song packed with lots of sections that bleed really nicely into each other. My only serious criticism is that it ends somewhat abruptly and feels unresolved. But just once you think the song is over, it replays the same acapella heard in We Have Heaven? A strange decision in my opinion, and one that works against the song as a whole. Simply a remixing of music that would have blended the endings together would have been really appreciated. Overall, and overrated but still masterful song: A very solid 9/10

Overall Thoughts: I am just going to come out and say this: Fragile is overrated. You have songs like Roundabout and Heart of the Sunrise which are legitimately some of the bands best, but sandwiched between their greatness are some pretty skippable interludes and some GOOD tracks (nothing great). Minus interludes and the opening and closing tracks, there's only three legitimate songs. Frankly, those three songs don't even come close to the greatness of The Yes Album, or even albums to come.

The band also structured the album kind of weird? The album opens up with roundabout- a self contained epic as far as I am concerned- followed by an interlude, and then the rest of the album is its own concept? Opening the album with a longer We Have Heaven, cutting Cans and Brahms, and putting Roundabout somewhere in the middle would be much more akin to my tastes.

I still love this album overall, don't get me wrong. Weighted Average: 8.51/10. This could go either way for me- a weak 9 or a solid 8. I will consider it a solid 8 for now...

Side note- After reading some reviews, am I the only one who absolutely loves We Have Heaven? I remember loading this album up on my IPod back in the day JUST to listen to this brief, masterful song.