FRAGILE

Easily my favorite Yes album. This one doesn't have any of the pretentiousness of TFTO, none of the overdone qualities of CttE, better songwriting than The YES Album, none of the inconsistancy that kills Relayer...this album is near perfect. all We Have Heaven and Cans and Brahms are skip-button worthy, but since those two tracks are so small and so unimportant in the album, it doesn't even matter.

There's something about this album that just places it above other Yes albums for me. I think it's more or less the drive of the songs, the zeal and fervor you can hear in them. Here, Yes never takes themselves too seriously, even at their emotional peak seen in Heart of the Sunrise. They just let that drive handle everything for them, and it flows. It works. I haven't found a person with any sort of good taste in music who hasn't enjoyed Roundabout. It's just a fun track. Meanwhile, prog lovers will go nuts over Heart of the Sunrise and South Side of the Sky. This album...god, it rocks.

The opener is Roundabout, which is one of the most famous Yes songs ever. Almost every semi-intelligent college kid knows this one, even if he/she can't quite remember who it's by (this and I Seen All Good People). It's catchy, cheery, infectious, and very lively. It's got a bass part to die for, and very solid singing by Anderson. Everything about it is fun. Awesome opener.

The next two tracks are more or less throwaway tracks, one being a tribute to classical piano composer Brahms and the other being a layered vocal-centered song done by Jon Anderson. They really are pretty worthless and are mostly here to display the talents of each artist. Great, you guys can play. Don't make me listen to it. However...the next track, South Side of the Sky makes up for it. This piece has a rather dark feel to it, and has a quieter section that CttE wishes it could touch. Awesome piano part here throughout, and the blowing wind is really fitting. This is definitely one of my favorite Yes tracks. Love the vocal harmonies halfway through the track.

Some people may call Five Per Cent For Nothing a filler track, and it kinda is, but it's a fun listen to the wizardry of Bruford. Mildly entertaining is all. The next track is another pretty well-known one, Long Distance Runaround. Real fun piece in the vein of Roundabout, although a bit more serious. Love the part when the bass and drums come in near the beginning. The next piece is The Fish, which is more or less Chris Squire at large. Awesome piece, so...bassy. Mmm...bass. It's really a good fun piece to listen to, much like Long Distance Runaround. Next is the guitar song called Mood for a Day. Steve Howe really outdoes himself here, it's a wonderful guitar solo. I like Clao more, personally, but hey.

The last piece is Heart of the Sunrise, which I feel is tied with South Side of the Sky for the all-time peak of Yes's career. This piece has everything; the most emotional singing Jon Anderson has ever done, good guitar playing, blah blah, you get the point. I think if I had to choose, I'd take South Side of the Sky, but htis track rocks as well. I lvoe the ending and the section at around 3:00, which are not-so-coincidentally similiar.

The absolute peak of Yes's career in my opinion. This is an album that will last me my life.