Inappropriate reviews

I've been a Pink Floyd fan for years and track down all their obscure stuff just like every other fan. This album usually falls through the cracks when Pink Floyd's massive canon of work is reviewed. Too bad, because this album is truly groundbreaking. Listen to such magic as Summer of 68, which uses some nice horn work. The title track is a sprawling opus mixing classical, rock and funk with great effect. My all-time favorite is Fat Old Sun, which just might be the best PF song ever. The guitar track in this song is quite simply mindblowing. Even better then Comfortably Numb, in my opinion. The album is rounded out by the acoustic beauty of If and the fun Alan's Psychedelic Breakfast, which has great percussion work by Nick Mason.

Any serious Floyd aficianado already has this album, but budding fans need to pick it up. Besides, you newbies have to give yourself a break from The Wall and Dark Side of the Moon, anyway!

Roger Waters and David Gilmour composed "Animals" at a time in England when the face of rock music was drastically changing, 1977. Punk music and punk bands were forming everywhere, and they all hated Pink Floyd's brand of drawn out, ethereal music - stuff they felt was pompous. Thus, given the times, "Animals" turns out to be a guitar driven album, fairly sparse compositions that despite it all, are also drawn out and ethereal, as only Pink Floyd can be. The middle of this great album courageously contains three quite lengthy songs, much too long winded for radio, thus spoiling the album's commercial viability. Also, "Animals" strangely opens and closes with two very short and pleasant acoustic songs about love gone bad with "Pigs on the Wing," parts 1 & 2, which somehow works very well with the overall vibe of the album. Call it a settling of the nerves. In many instances, "Animals" is fairly stripped down, with David Gilmour's soothing voice completely missing, and Richard Wright writing absolutely nothing, thus nixing past creative keyboard parts. The possessive Roger Waters writes all lyrics, and the concept of "Animals" is entirely his. In his harshest manner, he rips late 1970's society through the use of three types of animals: Dogs, the materialistic and glib "yuppies" of a decade later, concerned only with wealth, good times, power, and their own well being. "Pigs" are no less flattering, high positioned and self-righteous, they preach and dispense their high minded moralist views from atop the world's ranks. Then on to "Sheep," the aimless and docile masses who get used and abused by the more powerful Dogs and Pigs. It's pretty acrimonious stuff, and hating lyrics like "all alone and dying of cancer" don't do much to lighten the mood. Weary of the corrupt and crumbling society surrounding him, Roger Waters went on a rampage. Political foes, economic hardships, and sleazy low-lifes all get their medicine from the non-apologetic Waters, within the confines of these thematically devised tunes.

Though he writes good, astute, observational lyrics, Waters is a bit of a "Dog" himself, and he often comes across as self-imposing and self-righteous as the album moves on. Ultimately, "Animals" is great because of the actual MUSIC. Enter David Gilmour, thankfully rescuing this one man monopoly on creativity. Gilmour remains his melodic self, pushing forth the fairly paltry compositions with his brand of tunefulness and soaring guitars.

On "Dogs," an interesting moment occurs after Waters cheerily advises "have a good drown/dragged down by the stone." The word "stone" is then repeated countless time through a haze of electronic muffling, as dogs bark chillingly in the background and a synth sizzles quietly. Music like this is not heard everyday, and Pink Floyd should be commended for seriously reviving their music and changing with the times a bit back in '77. Their days of singing about lazy nature scenes or fairy tale scenarios where one merely observes are long over with on "Animals." It's now socio-political music with a harder edge, all run by Roger Waters and David Gilmour. There's a sense of purpose and direction from Waters on "Animals" that is eerily 1-dimensional, but it's a prelude to an even better concept album to come. Though it's not his creative apex (that would be "The Wall"), "Animals" is astoundingly excellent, profound music, and the continuation of the civil war within this band.

Close to the edge is one of Yes' best albums and has been a mainstay of progressive rock for more than 30 years, Any new fans of the genre should get this new rhino disc and discover progressive rock for what it truly is- thoughtful and intelligent compositions executed by some of the best musicians in rock. However, most of the prospective buyers for this disc are probably seasoned Yes fans who love "close to the edge" and already have this album in one form or another. Most of your classics have been out 3 or 4 times... just reissue it, say its better than ever and sales are a sure thing (and easy money). As far as the artwork, notes and lyrics go, this is an excellent package- as close as you'll come to the Lp experience in the cd format. That leaves us with the bonus tracks and the sound quality. As mentioned, the bonus tracks alone don't really add much of substance- the "And you and I" alternate is good, Wakeman does some interesting things. The "Siberian" is just what it says, studio run through. I got this to replace my worn out Lp and the 1st cd version, so I can't speak for the 2nd Cd version done by Joe Gastwirt. I can speak for the YesYears box Gastwirt did in 1991 which has the best sounding version of "Close to the Edge" on cd, and contains the best sounding material from "Fragile" and the "Yes Album" on cd. It also has the best sounding version of "America". To my ears it would be pretty hard for Rhino to outdo, and they did'nt. Gastwirt had the analog master tapes that were then around 20 years old, but probably still in decent shape, and he did a superb job. The sources for this project were either extremely old analog tapes or digital copies. Rhino did a very good job, but don't expect sonic miracles- despite their "remastered for better than ever sound" statement. The main difference between this "close to the edge" and the one on YesYears box is the Rhino disc is a bit brighter and very slightly more distorted than the YesYears version. The box version is also more dynamic. In terms of the spacious middle section (bring on the dry ice), the vocal arrangement sounds more natural and lifelike on the Yesyears disc. I got the rhino disc for the 2 "And You and I" and "Siberian Khatru". If you are considering this mainly for the Title tune and you have the Yesyears box, you might want to pass. Everybody else jump on it. "Tales from Topograhic Oceans" seems to be the main one to get of all the rhinos.

yes's fragile was the first of many prog albums i have bought. it is a classic for all time and such be remembered as some of the best mousic ever recorded.

The drumming and percussion, I foumd, were far improved in this record from their last. Lots of great use of the tamborines and exotic drums make the songs unique. The bass stood out even more than it did before, and the keyboards were more musical this time than just a "filler", sort of like how The Yes Album portrayed them. While nothing could prepare us for Close to the Edge, Fragile was the beginning of the peak of Yes' career. Close to the Edge could be considered the beginning of the end - as it went on to allow Yes to produce other very self-indulgent records that were indeed very musically impressive, but only really apealing to fans like myself.

If you had to get one record from Yes, this is the one. As I mentioned, it was the golden age of progressive rock, and the golden age of Yes' career. If you are a fan of rock music and want to discover the roots of today's more complex styles, give this album a listen. If you want to hear some FANTASTIC jazz and classical integration with rock music, with poetic lyrics, this is certainly an album to discover. Highly recommended.

The lineup of the band was still undergoing change. They lost founding member Tony Kaye and brought in Former Strawbs' keyboardist Rick Wakeman. [Another founding member Bill Bruford would leave before the follow-up CLOSE TO THE EDGE.] Each member contributed to the success of FRAGILE. Wakeman's tour de force is "Cans and Brahms" (an extract from Brahm's 4th Symphony), which has him playing electric piano, grand piano, organ and synthesizer to take the parts of the original orchestral parts.

"We Have Heaven" has Jon Anderson performing all the vocal parts. "Five Percent of Nothing" (at a brief 35 seconds) is Bruford's percussion showcase. Chris Squire's bass work is featured prominently on his "The Fish." In the same vein as the previous album's "Clap," Chris Squire shows his acoustic guitar prowess on the delicate "Mood for a Day."

The bonus tracks are a nice addition. You get the full ten-and-a-half minute version of Paul Simon's "America" (the single version only went to No. 46), along with a previously unreleased early rough mix of "Roundabout," which is not substantially different from the final version.

Eventually "progessive rock" became a dirty word in the music world, but in the early days of the Seventies, Yes were one of the most innovative bands of the era and this is their masterpiece. VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

One in every 20 people under the age of 50 in the United States owns a copy of this album Dark Side remained on Billboard's 200 album chart for an amazing 15 years straight and then for another two when it was remastered back in 1994 It is currently the most successful album ever with upwards of 40 million copies sold world-wide.

*THIS IS PROGRRESIVE ROCK*

Once in a while, a rock band or other musical entity puts out an album that, quite simply, changes the face of music history. And yet, Pink Floyd was a rather unlikely group of musical innovators: An excellent singer/guitarist(David Gilmour) who was, until the release of this album, best known merely as "Syd Barrett's replacement," (Barrett, still regarded by many fans as the band's true musical genius, had recently taken leave of his senses and was apparently holed up somewhere watching the floor relate to the walls); a fine bassist/writer/singer/perfectionist (Roger Waters) still tortured by his fatherless upbringing; a low-key keyboardist and rather good singer and writer (Rick Wright) who stayed in the background as much as possible; and finally, a rather thoughtful percussionist and sound-effects wizard (Nick Mason), whose most lasting claim to fame would be as the man who vocalized the chilling spoken word threat in the band's classic "One Of These Days". An unlikely band of innovators, to be sure. And yet, Pink Floyd was properly positioned in the right place at the right time with the right sound. The year was 1973, the musical revolution started in the sixties was still in full swing, FM radio was in it's infancy (Recently taken over by hippie-types who longed for hours and hours of nice, spacy, commercial-free programming). In a word, rock music was the touchstone of our generation, just as television had been the touchstone of our parent's generation, and computers would be to our childen's generation. Those of us in high school or college spent hours every night and weekend, gathered around the stereo in someone's apartment or room, getting high, drunk, or just daydreaming, pondering such important questions as "What makes Teflon stick to the pan?" (Thank you, Gallagher!) In many of these listening spaces, Pink Floyd's Dark Side of The Moon was the album of choice, sometimes listened to over and over again. The mad mutterings of "Speak to Me," the celestial swirl of "Breathe", the jet-propulsive paranoia of "On the Run," and "Time," a favorite subject of young questers everywhere (along with madness, death, and pizza), "The Great Gig in the Sky" (with Claire Torry's incredible vocal-cries of universal anguish, "Money", first-rate blues rock, "Us and Them", hypnotic yet thought-provoking, "Any Colour You Like," sheer beauty, "Brain Damage", the madman inside all of us, and "Eclipse," the perfect thematic coda. All received by us, the grateful listeners, in our various states of consciousness (altered or otherwise), and then purchased, time and again, from music stores. Dark Side of the Moon was the ONE ALBUM that every rock fan (and many wouldn't otherwise be caught dead listening to rock music) had to own. Why??? After thirty years, I can offer only a tentative answer: Most people cannot stand to ruminate for long about ourselves and our place in the universe, yet every human being on the face of this earth will at sometime wonder: Why are we here??? The Pink Floyd, through this classic masterwork, holds no answers for us, yet it is as if they are offering to accompany us as we journey toward self-discovery, making the transition easier, soothing the pain, quieting the hurt even as they force us to see inside ourselves. Thanks, guys, from all of your fellow voyagers. I think I can safely speak for many when I say the road to self- awareness would have been much bumpier if I had not traveled it in your celestial vehicle. I say once, and I say again, SHINE ON, YOU CRAZY DIAMONDS and rock on, even unto the darkest part of the dark side of the moon.

This alum for me felt rushed and sloppy. i have had enough of songs soundong the same, and they do on this abum. i dont hate gennisis but i have had enough of there boring music. this album puts me asleep, and not in a good way.

a lot of people may call this album a timeless classic combining the best elements of 70's rock and 70's technology with mythology and classical music. but however this is not true.

try Dark side of the moon - Pink Floyd Atom Heat mother - pink floyd Time and a world - yes Closer to the eage - yes in the court of the crimson king - king crimson wish you were her - pink floyd the six wives - rick wakeman and please dont be ooled by this album it is not that good.

This alumb dissapointed me.This album is how Genesis got its roots. The band with Peter Gabriel is the true Genesis, after Gabriel forget it. Songs like the Battle of Epping Forest show the path of this band and the core of its music. I heard this album my freshman year in college"74" and to this day it still stands as a remarkable debut to "The Lamb lies down". but over time i have grow to hate this album with its vocals (no jon anderson), and guitar. if you want a real alum try 'dark side of the moon' or rush's 2112 or better yet pink floyds atom heat mother a true prog album.