Ari Achmanan – Google

Fragile is the breakthrough dynamic of the Yes album, prompting them to give the phenomenon elements of science fiction and fantasy by synchronizing their musical colors pushing the more successful songs of their previous record, The Yes Album, to be pushed harder here, and not just in. music but also in the packaging of the album: the cover Roger Dean designed was itself a compelling creation that seemed to relate to music and grabbed buyers' attention in a way only a few records since the heyday of the psychedelic era could match. After ditching original keyboard player Tony Kaye early in the session - largely due to his refusal to accept the need for a Moog synthesizer as a replacement for his Hammond organ of choice - the band welcomed Rick Wakeman into the lineup. The use of the Moog, among other instruments, coupled with an overall bolder and more aggressive style of play, paved the way for a louder and hotter sound by the group as a whole; bassist Chris Squire sounds like he's got his amp up to a "12," and electric guitar Steve Howe isn't far behind, though the group is also putting on refinement where it's needed. The opening minutes of "Roundabout", the album opener - and the basis for an edited single that would reach number 13 on the Billboard charts and get the group onto AM radio in a way only most other prog-rock outfits can envy - dominated. by Howe's acoustic guitarist and drummer Bill Bruford, and it's just in the middle of the band showing some of the things they can do with serious amps. Elsewhere on the record, such as on "South Side of the Sky," they will sound as if they are ready to leave the land (and planet), between the volume and the intensity of their play. "Long Distance Runaround," which also serves as the B-side of the single, is probably the most accessible song here besides "Roundabout," but both are ambitious enough to take most listeners to the heavier side at the core of the long cast. this. Solo songs by the members were actually a necessity: they had to get the Fragile out immediately to cover the keyboard costs that Wakeman had added to the group's sonic arsenal. But they end up becoming more than just fillers. Each member, in effect, takes the "arc" of most of the setting quite seriously, and Squire's "The Fish" and "Mood for a Day" point directly to the future, more substantial projects as well as taking their own lives in stages. If not the pinnacle, Fragile is the perfect record the group has ever set and as perfect a time as its contents.