Yes "Fragile"

Fragile is the fourth studio album by the English rock band Yes, released in November 1971 by Atlantic Records. After touring in support of their previous album, The Yes Album (1971), the band entered rehearsals in London in preparation for their next studio album. Early into the sessions, keyboardist Tony Kaye was fired over his lack of interest in learning more electronic keyboards. He was replaced with Rick Wakeman of the Strawbs, whose experience with various instruments helped expand the group's sound with the addition of the electric piano and harpsichord, Mellotron, and Minimoog synthesiser. Four tracks are group performances; the remaining five are solo features written by each member. The cover is their first illustrated by Roger Dean, who would design many of their future logos, covers and stage sets.

Fragile received a positive reception upon its release and was a commercial and critical success, reaching number 4 on the US Billboard Top LPs chart and number 7 on the UK Albums Chart. Yes released an edited version of "Roundabout" as the album's single in the US which reached number 13, and remains one of the band's best known songs. Fragile is certified 2× platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America for selling over two million copies in the US. It has been remastered several times since its release, some containing previously unreleased tracks.

On 31 July 1971, Yes performed the final concert of their 1970–71 tour at Crystal Palace Park, London in support of their previous album, The Yes Album (1971). The tour was significant for the band as it included their first set of gigs in the US which helped them gain momentum as The Yes Album and its single "Your Move" reached the US top 40. The line-up during this time consisted of lead vocalist Jon Anderson, bassist Chris Squire, drummer Bill Bruford, keyboardist Tony Kaye, and guitarist Steve Howe. Following the tour, Yes started work on their next studio album that was originally conceived as a double album with a combination of studio and live tracks. The concept could not be realised due to the increased amount of time required to make it. Ideas to record in Miami, Florida with producer Tom Dowd also never came to fruition.

Rehearsals took place in August 1971 in what Squire described as "a little rehearsal studio in Shepherd's Market" in London. Working with Kaye became unsuccessful; he was reluctant to expand his sound beyond his Hammond organ and piano and play newer instruments like the Mellotron or Moog synthesizer. Anderson and Squire asked Kaye to leave Yes and found a replacement in Rick Wakeman, a classically trained player from the folk rock group Strawbs. Wakeman joined the group as they rehearsed "Heart of the Sunrise". Squire spoke about that first session: "That marked the first real appearance of the Mellotron and the Moog—adding the flavour of those instruments to a piece we'd basically already worked out". According to Wakeman, the basis of "Roundabout" was also put down on the same day.

Recording for the album took place in September 1971 at Advision Studios using a 16-track tape machine. Eddy Offord, who served as a recording engineer on Time and a Word (1970), assumed his role while sharing production duties with the band. Rolling Stone reported the album cost $30,000 to produce.


According to Michael Tait, the band's lighting director, the album's title came from their manager Brian Lane who, while on the phone to "some press guy" asking Lane about the new album, "was looking at some photos from that Crystal Palace gig, saw the monitors at the front of the stage and, like all equipment, they had 'Fragile' stamped on the back". Bruford claimed he in fact suggested the title because he thought the band "was breakable" at the time. While the band were recording, Wakeman remembered children being brought into the studio to watch them play.

The album's sleeve was designed and illustrated by English artist Roger Dean, who would design many of Yes's future album covers, including their "bubble" logo. On reflection of the design, Dean said: "'Fragile' was very literal, really. I think the band has named a number of their albums after their current psychological state, and 'Fragile' described the psyche of the band. And I thought about that very literally, painting a fragile world that would eventually break up." He commented further: "'Fragile' was quite a complicated cover because there was a book inside. It was elaborate although it wasn't one of the most striking of all the Yes covers. I was kind of learning my trade at the time. The main feature on the cover was a little Bonsai world with a wooden space ship flying overhead! It was literally meant to be a fragile world".

The band had wished for an image of a fractured piece of porcelain; to compromise, Dean ended up breaking the planet into two pieces. This idea of a broken world would continue on the band's live album, Yessongs. Bruford thought Dean "brilliantly parlayed that idea [one of Fragile] up to the prescient image of the fragile planet earth, with implications of a delicate and breakable eco-system".


The LP's accompanying promotional booklet contains two additional Dean paintings; the front cover depict five creatures huddled under a root system; the back cover depicts a person climbing up a rock formation. The inside shows several photographs of the band with an individual page dedicated to each member, with smaller illustrations and photographs of their wives and children. Anderson's page contains a short poem, while Wakeman contains a list of acknowledgements, including Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, The White Bear pub in Hounslow, and Brentford F.C..

Fragile was released in the UK in November 1971 followed by its US release on 4 January 1972. It was originally set for release in the latter around the same time, but delays in printing the cover led to its release pushed back. It peaked at number 4 on the U.S. Billboard Top LPs chart and number 7 in the UK. "Roundabout" was released as a single in the US with a duration of 3:27, with "Long Distance Runaround" on the B-side. It peaked at No. 13 on the Billboard Pop Singles chart in April 1972. In April 1972, Fragile was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). The album is certified double Platinum by the RIAA for over 2 million copies sold. The album has been certified Silver by the British Phonographic Industry.

Fragile was first reissued on CD in the United States and Europe in 1990. A remastered edition for CD and cassette by Joe Gastwirt followed in 1994, which includes a reprise of "We Have Heaven" after "Heart of the Sunrise" for a track running time of 11:32. In 2002, Rhino and Elektra Records released Fragile in stereo and 5.1 surround sound mixes for the DVD-Audio format. The band's cover of "America" is included, along with other supplemental features. 2003 saw Rhino and Elektra put out a new remastered CD conducted by Dan Hersch, with "America" and an early rough mix of "Roundabout" as bonus tracks.

In 2006, two new "audiophile" remasters were released. Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab put out a "24 KT Gold" edition for CD headed by Shawn Britton, and a 200-gram LP from Analogue Productions by Kevin Gray and Steve Hoffman. Warner Japan released Fragile in 2011 in a hybrid stereo/multi-channel edition for the Super Audio CD format as part of their Warner Premium Sound series. The 2003 reissue was included in the album box set The Studio Albums, 1969–1987, released in 2013.


Fragile was released in a new stereo and 5.1 surround sound mix on CD, DVD-Audio, and Blu-ray by Steven Wilson, on 30 October 2015. The Blu-ray disc features six previously unreleased tracks.