Listening to Fragile

TheLionOfPrague wrote: It's excellent, third best after Close to the Edge and Relayer. Could be above Relayer if you take out Five Percent for Nothing, Cans and Brahms and We Have Heaven and replace them with something else. Five Percent for Nothing is just pointless, it's not even filler as it barely occupies space, I see no point in including it in the album. I like Cans and Brahms and We Have Heaven is ok, but they're just too short for them to develop into something, and they fact that they're together in the album doesn't help. It's like Roundabout ends and I'm just waiting for South Side of the Sky to start. They could have just developed Cans and Brahms a bit more and gotten rid of We Have Haven. Having two songs that don't reach a minute and a half together is pointless. These songs just make the album less cohesive, but the three main tracks are superb, especially Heart of the Sunrise which is a TOP 5 Yes song. Long Distance Runaround and Mood for a Day are very good and the best among the shorter pieces.

As I have said before, I read that Wakeman had written what later became Catherine of Aragon for this album (it even features this line-up of Yes on 6 Wives), but wasn't able to do so because of contractual stuff, so he had to go with a cover. For me, this one simple thing would have been enough to make the album greater (it still is a 5 star for me, though). The other songs are really so short that don't bother me. And We Have Heaven sounds very cool as an intro to South Side (and the Fish for me is just like a part of Long Distance Runaround, making it for me as a single longer piece).

Ronstein wrote: I'm clearly odd man out, as my two favorite Yes albums are The Yes Album and Time and the Word. Everything after that sound to me as if it's clever for the sake of it rather than for the sake of the music. There again, I like Tom Waits :-)

I'm clearly odd man out, as my two favorite Yes albums are The Yes Album and Time and the Word. Everything after that sound to me as if it's clever for the sake of it rather than for the sake of the music.

Logan wrote: Sacro_Porgo wrote: Logan wrote: [QUOTE=Frenetic Zetetic] It's very, very interesting to me that CTTE is too much for some people to grasp/get past! After Trout Mask Replica for years and years, most top 5 prog bands/music is/are pop w some sparkles ontop by comparison LOL. I may be missing the bigger picture point, but in my case it's not that I really mind it, more that I get bored with it (on the title track too, actually). I don't hear it as this masterpiece of music that many others do, but then most here wouldn't like an awful lot that I enjoy (from my more experimental tastes to exotica). Of course I'm happy for others to love it. I have compared it with Bubu's Anabelas as another three piece album, and Bubu's is far more interesting and exciting to me. I love lots of sci-fi and fantasy, yet the very popular Star Wars is not a favoured film of mine (for a big name, give me 2001: A Space Odyssey over it which many find boring). I love Art Zoyd, for example, and for many that would be a slog and/or tough-going.    To be fair, Star Wars is much less science fiction and much more space wizards.

Agree, which is why I mentioned loving sci-fi and fantasy. It had a significant effect on sci-fi/ space and fantasy type programming.
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Logan wrote: Frenetic Zetetic wrote: It's very, very interesting to me that CTTE is too much for some people to grasp/get past! After Trout Mask Replica for years and years, most top 5 prog bands/music is/are pop w some sparkles ontop by comparison LOL. I may be missing the bigger picture point, but in my case it's not that I really mind it, more that I get bored with it (on the title track too, actually). I don't hear it as this masterpiece of music that many others do, but then most here wouldn't like an awful lot that I enjoy (from my more experimental tastes to exotica). Of course I'm happy for others to love it. I have compared it with Bubu's Anabelas as another three piece album, and Bubu's is far more interesting and exciting to me. I love lots of sci-fi and fantasy, yet the very popular Star Wars is not a favoured film of mine (for a big name, give me 2001: A Space Odyssey over it which many find boring). I love Art Zoyd, for example, and for many that would be a slog and/or tough-going.

Dellinger wrote: richardh wrote: Fragile is a messy album but the three best tracks (Roundabout, South Side Of The Sky and Heart Of The Sunrise) are just unbelievably good. Prog taken to a new level <tick> but it needed another outing for the band to hit the bullseye.   Perhaps if they could have used what became Catherine of Aragon instead of Cans and Brahms the album could have achieved it. I have been listening to it that way and it makes perfect senses.

It's excellent, third best after Close to the Edge and Relayer. Could be above Relayer if you take out Five Percent for Nothing, Cans and Brahms and We Have Heaven and replace them with something else. Five Percent for Nothing is just pointless, it's not even filler as it barely occupies space, I see no point in including it in the album. I like Cans and Brahms and We Have Heaven is ok, but they're just too short for them to develop into something, and they fact that they're together in the album doesn't help. It's like Roundabout ends and I'm just waiting for South Side of the Sky to start. They could have just developed Cans and Brahms a bit more and gotten rid of We Have Haven. Having two songs that don't reach a minute and a half together is pointless. These songs just make the album less cohesive, but the three main tracks are superb, especially Heart of the Sunrise which is a TOP 5 Yes song. Long Distance Runaround and Mood for a Day are very good and the best among the shorter pieces. 

Edited by Progishness - June 21 2021 at 07:03

iluvmarillion wrote: Progishness wrote: I rarely tinker with album running orders but for Fragile I have my own playlist. I omit the 5 shortish solo tracks, and instead include their version of Paul Simon's 'America' which was recorded at the time they were making Fragile, but was originally issued on an Atlantic Records sampler album, and now included as a bonus track on more recent CD reissues. Thus: 1. Roundabout 2. South Side of the Sky 3. Long Distance Runaround 4. Heart of the Sunrise 5. America Which in my opinion makes for a much more satisfying listen. I totally agree with you this one. Normally I don't like additions to the original recordings on the reissues, but in this instance America is a great way to finish off the album. Comparing The Yes Album, Fragile and CTTE is like saying which Van Gough painting you prefer. What criteria do you choose?

It's very, very interesting to me that CTTE is too much for some people to grasp/get past!