«Fragile» is the fourth album by the British band Yes and it came out on 12 November 1971 in the UK and on 4 January 1972 in the US, through Atlantic. It is the band’s first record with Rick Wakeman on keyboards.
“`Country: United Kingdom
Style: Progressive Rock
For fans of: King Crimson, Genesis, Emerson, Lake & Palmer
Wakeman replaced Tony Kaye, who left because he did not want to take his instruments beyond the church organ and the piano. His classical training and his ease with the Moog and the Mellotron opened new sounds for the band.
The line-up is Jon Anderson on vocals, Chris Squire on bass, Steve Howe on guitar, Rick Wakeman on keyboards and Bill Bruford on drums. The producers are Eddie Offord together with the band.
To keep the cost of the Advision Studios down, the band split the record: four tracks written by the whole band, such as «Roundabout» and «Heart of the Sunrise», and five solo pieces that show each member on his own.
Standing out are «Roundabout», which came out as a single, «Long Distance Runaround», «South Side of the Sky» and «Heart of the Sunrise». «Roundabout» reached No. 13 on the Billboard Hot 100.
The album reached No. 4 in the US and No. 7 in the UK and became the band’s big international success. It was also drummer Bill Bruford’s last tour before he left in 1972.
The cover was painted by Roger Dean, with the planet breaking into pieces and a small craft, and it opened his long collaboration with the band. In 2024 a large Super Deluxe edition came out with many versions of the tracks.
See also
Sieges Even – The Art of Navigating by the Stars, Pink Floyd – The Dark Side of the Moon and Dream Theater – Images and Words.
