FRAGILE

Maybe this was the first Progressive Rock album that I have listened to. And in fact, I listened to this album many, too many times, because it was one of the favourite albums of my older brothers in the seventies. So, maybe this album deserves a five star rating, as it seems that many people considers it as an excellent album. Maybe I am very biased about this album, because after I have listened to it many times, I don`t play it very often since a long time ago, because I`m tired of it. There are other things which I don`t like very much in this album: the inclusion of solo pieces by each member of the band. For me, it seems that YES at that time didn`t have enogh material for the recording of a new album, so they had the idea of recording the solo pieces (which, with the exception of "Cans and Brahms" and "Mood for a Day", are really played with the rest of the members of the band). "Roundabout" was a hit, and it is still played in some Oldies FM Radio stations in my country.It is maybe the most played song in concert by YES, "the obligatory song". This song has very good arrangements. "Cans and Brahms" is a good arrangement by Wakeman, playing several "orchestral" parts in different keyboards. It seems that for this album Wakeman couldn`t use his own compositions due to contractual obligations. "We have heaven" is an experiment by Anderson, who sings all vocal parts accompanied by the band. "South side of the sky" has a vey good piano arrangement by Wakeman. It is also a "rocker", with very good guitars by Howe. "Five per cent for nothing" is Bruford`s musical idea played with the rest of the band (and it is also the only song of this album never played in concert by YES). "Long Distance Runaround" has interesting drums and bass by Bruford and Squire, respectively. In "The Fish" , Squire used some different sounds that he could play in his bass, playing melodies, accompanied mainly by Bruford`s drums and percussion and vocals by Anderson, Squire and Howe. "Mood for a Day" is Howe`s most known acoustic guitar piece. "Heart of the Sunrise" is the best song of this album, with very good drums by Bruford (credited as a co-composer of this song with Anderson and Squire), and good keyboards by Wakeman. The album is finished with a brief reprise of "We have heaven" not listed in the cover and in the label. Maybe this album is very appreciated by fans as it shows the first time that a YES line-up had five musicians which were really creating the Progressive Style for YES, a style which was more clear in this album, and was stronger than in previous albums.