FRAGILE

That's something I heard at a Steve Howe show. There may be an idiot in every crowd, but this album is what really sticks with most classic rock fans (idiots and non-idiots alike), for whatever reason (although All Good People and some others have cracked the classic rock radiowaves frequently enough).

Of course, I can rock out to Roundabout as hard as anyone (Squires bass during the verse and Rick's organ solo at the end are some of my top 50 highlights in all of rock), but Fragile is very solid throughout (as I suspect we all know quite well). There is something to appreciate about every song (except Five Percent of Nothing--that one doesn't count), from the delicate beauty of Mood, to the bombastic/minimalist contrast of Heart of the Sunrise, to the bass bonanza in Schindleria. One of my pleasant surprises was the extended America, which is my preferred version, and would be to all the rest of us to love to hear Yes rock out non-prog style once in a while. Great guitar/bass/key interplay in the middle!

Fragile was my first CD, and it sounds even better to my ears now than it did way back then. I will fall short of calling this a masterpiece, but I would certainly consider it essential for any prog collection.

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