FRAGILE

I cannot bring myself to give this album less than 5 stars. It simply is a masterpiece of progressive rock. Some people argue that tracks like "Cans and Brahms" and "We Have Heaven" hold this album back. I could not disagree more. Although they are probably the weakest songs on the album (along with "Five Percent for Nothing") they make Fragile what it is. Fragile would be far less complete if any of these 3 were missing, let alone all of them.

Roundabout - Well, Roundabout is just Roundabout. THE Yes classic. One of the only 3 Yes tracks you'll ever hear on the radio. Perfect and definitive Yes. That's basically how to describe it. The driving bass, of course, shows one of the trademarks of Yes, and Wakeman's fillers are, well, just pure Wakeman.

Cans and Brahms - Now, this song can be very appreciated when listened to with the rest of the album. Put it on alone, and it's boring. No doubt about that. But, after Roundabout and as a part of the alubm, it must be there. It's basically just a little Wakeman keyboard ditty, taken from a piece by Brahms.

We Have Heaven - Again, must be here. Not too outstanding on its own. But it's gotta be here. That's it.

South Side of the Sky - The sleeper of the album. The first time I heard it, I said "Where did this come from??" It stands as one of the Yes classics that unfortunately, casual fans don't know.

Five Percent for Nothing - Well, here's the "interesting" track. Roughly 30 seconds of some weird stuff. Written by Bruford. Nice job Billy. But still, Fragile wouldn't have been the same without it.

Long Distance Runaround - Another one of the only 3 Yes songs you'd ever hear on the radio. And a classic as well. My favorite part would have to be in the middle when it blasts back into that opening riff with the stronger bass. Oh, it's perfect.

The Fish - Squire's track. The entire thing is played with 7 beats per measure (or 4 and 3 alternating, it's the same thing for the most part). Long Distance Runaround leads right into it, and it's mostly instrumental until toward the end when the band starts singing. Whether or not they are actually singing words or sounds is hard to tell, but it doesn't matter too much here. Just a great song.

Mood For a Day - The Howe acoustic piece. I was so bored the first time I heard it, I would skip over it the next few times I listened to the album so I could get to Heart of the Sunrise. What a mistake that was. This song is so incredible, and it's just a guitar piece. Tough to explain, just listen to it.... more than once.

Heart of the Sunrise - Yet another Yes classic on the album. The only song here to break the 10-minute mark, it stands as one of Yes's crowning achievements. Right from the blasting opening to the "We Have Heaven" reprise at the end, it's perfect.

In essence this is one of the all-time must own albums, simply because it's Fragile. It just is what it is. Any self-respecting Yes fan has gotta have it. Enough said. 5/5 stars.