Fragile

What a bizare adventure that was

Is this a freaking JoJo reference!?

7/10 This is the fourth Yes album, but the first to feature Rick Wakeman on various keyboard instruments. As someone who was familiar with and happy to explore electronic instruments, this opened up their tonal palette quite significantly, which influenced the direction that the band were able to take. That change in sound, as well as the influence of Wakeman’s classical training make an almost instant impact on this record, as they work up an atmospheric entry before going absolutely hog wild with some outrageous driving riffs and some fantastically hooky vocal work. The opening track is a spectacular piece of work and really showcases what the band was capable of in its new form. The standout element for me is the bass playing of Chris Squire, who is both and incredibly precise and adventurous player with a fantastic ear for combining the weird edges of prog with driving, compelling riffs that carry a song brilliantly. Remarkably, while delivering that kind of musicianship and edge of avant-garde, they are also able to still weave the work around a solid central theme and deliver something both catchy and experimental. After that opening track, things do take a bit of a slide. There’s some interesting stuff in there, but a few of the other early tracks feel a bit more like studio experimentation than fully realised and developed pieces of self contained music. They do close out the first side with a return to form, however, and South Side Of The Sky ticks a lot of the same boxes as Roundabout, even if it still feels a touch less centred and coherent for it’s entire runtime. The second side is probably a bit more bonkers, and again, while there’s a lot of delightful musical and sonic experimentation, isn’t quite as coherent as the longer pieces. I think they are stronger than the lull on side one, and there are some definite peaks in there too, including Long Distance Runaround in particular. The album does go out in style though, with another longer track in which they explore a wide range of ideas, including heavy and frantic sections, moving into more melodic, subtle ones and back again. Again, nothing quite hits the heights of Roundabout for me, but there is a lot to love about much of the work that has gone into it. Listening with the benefit of 55 years of musical development since its release, this record really felt like it was opening the door to the direction that prog would take in the following decades, with the line from this to Rush and the bass and synth work of Geddy Lee being incredibly apparent. While it’s not an entirely cohesive collection of songs, you can feel the band starting to push at the boundaries of what was possible with the equipment available to them and, while it may not be my favourite prog album, there’s still plenty here to enjoy and it’s definitely one hat I’ll pop back to in future, I expect. Roundabout - It’s a cool and atmospheric start, with a delicate build and then: Bam! In they come. The bass is delicious in particular, but the vocal work is really hooky too. They go off on plenty of detours, but there is a coherent string that ties everything together really nicely. There’s so much rhythmical texture from across the group, and even for a nearly nine minute song they cram an awful lot in. Brilliant organ soloing from Rick Wakeman, bounced back and forward against the bass and guitar work beautifully. It’s kind of mad that they manage to weave something this broad and musically intense into something that’s got such a poppy side to it, but the balance is top notch. What an opener. Cans And Brahms (Extracts From Brahms' 4th Symphony In E Minor, Third Movement) - And how do you follow that? With an electronic interpretation of a minute and a half of a Brahms symphony, of course. It’s well executed and, with the technology available at the time, apparently took 15 hours to record, but while it’s interesting enough, it doesn’t really do anything for me. Apparently Rick Wakeman called it “dreadful”. We Have Heaven - Jon Anderson’s go now and we get a thickly layered vocal work that’s a pretty interesting piece of studio work. The building layers create a cool harmonic bed that builds a fairly hypnotic repetition and checks out before it has time to become too much. Pretty nice. South Side Of The Sky - And now we’re cooking with another full band effort. It’s got great groove and some fantastic proggy riffs. They work really well with developing dynamic range and working in different movements over the course of the song. It feels a bit less coherently focused than Roundabout, but there’s still a lot to like about this. There’s so much studio work going on that I was wondering how they’d do it live. Apparently they didn’t in its entirety until 2002! There are some brilliant riffs in here and, while I feel the momentum got a little lost in the middle, the other sections are really excellent. Five Per Cent For Nothing - This is brilliant and bonkers. How much can they cram into 35 seconds? A lot. This was drummer Bill Bruford’s first composition. Had to be one by the drummer, didn’t it? Great stuff. Long Distance Runaround - This is good fun too. Some cool, rambling prog riffs, but again, they focus back in on a fairly stable centre, while allowing for plenty of noodly work around the edges. The staccato nature of the rhythms are cool, and it’s a really coherent and musically interesting piece even while it takes the time to be a bit more freeform. The Fish (Schindleria Praematurus) - The last one runs really nicely into this one. It’s a bit more roaming and unfocused, with a lot of bass work going on. The vibe is good, and it’s interesting, if ultimately a touch unsatisfying and lacking in significant development. Mood For A Day - Steve Howe’s turn for a track now and it’s a classical/flamenco inspired effort. It’s quite a pretty effort, although it does feel a tiny bit scruffy in places. I think thematically, it perhaps doesn’t really fit in with a lot of the other work, but it’s a nice palate cleanser before the closing track. Heart Of The Sunrise - A lovely atmospheric build to this with some super cool bass riff work. It’s quite heavy in places, but they break up the fast flurries with brief moments of calm that allow the intensity to ramp up and drop down and create a nice dynamic flow to the track. The drop out to the vocal section is very pretty and adds a nice variation that they slowly climb back from with some suitably weird proggy riffs that increase an edge of tension nicely. The subtle synth work is great in that section too. Then they get stuck back in with the fast and furious prog riff explosion, before combining the two worlds in the final section. There’s some very nice piano work in there, but they don’t shy away from throwing slightly obtuse riffs in there too. I think this one was probably more interesting than affecting, but I enjoyed it regardless. And then there’s a little reprise of We Have Heaven as a secret track.

Fragile is 100% Yes' best album and i don't think it is even close. This one is probably best known for that Jojo's Bizarre Adventure song aka Roundabout which is a good song alongside the other ones. The guitars and synths were nice as was the bass and in general, the album knew how to keep itself interesting and varied more than their other albums. My only real issue with the album though is that some of the songs feel more like disjointed ideas rather than fully fledged songs which makes sense since this album is going for progressive rock and that genre is bound to have stuff like that but it still is a bit distracting. Despite that, this was a really good album and like i said, Yes' best. Best Song: Heart of the Sunrise Worst Song: We Have Heaven Side note: Last Yes album, which means: 1. Fragile 2. Close To The Edge 3. The Yes Album

Finally Dimery found a Yes album I don't hate. Still has quite a bit of wank, but is still plenty tuneful throughout.

Biutiful

Weird, funky at times, calming at others. Quite a range of styles conveyed across the album - Roundabout is a classic song, personally I liked Mood For A Day

Roundabout is just a banger can't lie. Sick album

Classic prog rock. Fantastic album.

I thought I was going to like this more but I actually only liked a couple of songs.

roundabout is obviously awesome but the rest of the album is mid

Enjoyed this, starts out really strong and fun, continues, but does fade a bit for me.

Whimsical. Satumaisia biisejä joista ei koskaan tiedä mihin suuntaan ne sut vie. Melkeen joka biisi lähtee laukalle aivan omiin sfääreihin. Kivaa musaa.

Great album.

0/46 Best song:

Lots of noise. A couple of hits.

Groovy. Excellent album experience.

Meme song track 1 lol

roundabout 10/10 geri kalan değişik ama çok sarmadı

Lovely album with some great tracks.

Excellent prog, not my favourite genre normally but I appreciate with Yes that they are very melodic while also staying left field and exploring a number of styles

313. ok

Fragile on the ears

One of the best albums of one of the best prog bands

I really expected this to be some dad rock progslop that I've heard the likes of a million times, but I was very much grabbed by this album. There was really no shortage of full on face melters that left me so hooked by what was being put down. Solos that just stun you. Very cool.

que bandón del carajo yes, pasa q todo lo que escuches después de escuchar close to the edge te va a parecer menor, y este no es la excepción

Very pretty album. “Roundabout” is obviously incredible, so lush and funky, but more grounded than anything off of Close To The Edge. In fact, that’s my favorite thing about this album: it’s so beautiful and lush and huge, and yet it’s not super long, and it doesn’t even feel super pretentious most of the time. The album’s structured really interestingly, with a bunch of different shorter interludes, such as the romantic period song right after roundabout, or the 35-second long B-side opener, sandwiched between some of the greatest full songs ever: other than the previously mentioned “Roundabout,” A-side closer “South Side of the Sky” is mind-blowing, and breathtakingly beautiful. My favorite song on the album is the environmentally-inclined “Long Distance Runaround,” a shorter but devastatingly melancholy song that takes awe at how beautiful the natural world is, while also taking the sadness of its continued destruction in as well. The album’s final stretch consists of a couple of lower-lying songs, such as “The Fish,” a super pretty and very fun little psychedelic proggy folk-rock song that I love a lot. But where it’s really at is the closer, “Heart of the Sunrise.” Ten minutes of overwhelming and downright gorgeous music. I can’t believe it. It’s so good. This album is great. Definitely listen to it. 9.2/10 DOES IT BELONG ON THE LIST: YES REASON: QUALITY, PLACE IN DISCOGRAPHY

Oh man. Okay. I can do this. So far yes is a no. Well, I do admire the technical and compositional pros, there is yet to be anything on this album that has engaged me. Is this over yet?

Pre-listening: I only know Yes because my mom would play them every now and again. Never cared much for them. Post-listening: I’m gonna say No on Yes. Just didn’t care much for pretty much the entire album. Felt like it was over the top jam sessions. Great musicianship and thought the layering of sounds was crazy. Had I wanted to go back and analyze the little things it would take 5-10 listens to really hear all that is going on here, but I have no desire to actually do that. I’m saying that I think Yes has great quality, but their sound is not for me. Stars: 2/5 Rating: 3/10

Yes - prog rock that is rich in textures, interesting melodies, key changes and noodling, but is it actually good … no 2.5 for the influence on bands I do actually like ( Carfiacs, Primus. feotus)

A lot more interesting than I'd anticipated. This was one of my dad's favourites so it's been on the shelf for years and I've never put it on because it looked a bit too folk-proggy and I've been trying to avoid that ruining my enjoyment of folk music... Turn out this is a lot more rock and jazz and was generally a lot of fun

I've had this on my personal "want to listen to" list for a while, but never got around to it. I'm a fan of the prog-rock I've heard thus far, so I think I'll enjoy this too. 01. Roundabout Yes I've seen Jojo's Bizarre Adventure. Yes I love this song a lot. Next question. That bass is nasty. 02. Cans And Brahms Kind of... weird. Just unexpected, but not bad. 03. We Have Heaven Kind of weird. Don't particularly love it, either. Would rather not have it here. 04. South Side Of The Sky The instrumentation is great, but the vocal performance is pretty mediocre. 05. Five Per Cents For Nothing See, THIS is cool weird. Super short, super weird, super bassy. 06. Long Distance Runaround Real sweet. Nice and simple, isn't anything is doesn't have to be. 07. The Fish (Schindleria Praematurus) Nice and bassy. Not my favorite, but is pretty cool for what it is. 08. Mood For A Day Absolutely disgusting guitar work!! 09. Heart Of The Sunrise By far my favorite lyrics on the record, and beautiful instrumentation. My favorite off here! Overall, this was cool. But all of the sub five minute songs were pretty lackluster (exception of Mood For A Day). Roundabout, Mood For A Day and Heart of The Sunrise were the only ones I felt a whole lot on.

It’s that jammy guitar noodle kind of rock, with the perfect amount of fluff.

A great album.

Pretty chill relaxing Album, also w Jojo's reference. 8/10

Een magere 3.

Before this I was only familiar with the Yes hit from the 80s Owner of a Lonely Heart. I had no idea they went back to the early 70s. When this album hits, it hits hard. Roundabout is fantastic with its driving bass and melodic hooks. South Side of the Sky and Long Distance Runaround are equally strong, and Heart of the Sunrise is an epic closer. On the opposite side of the spectrum, Mood for a Day feels like it doesn't belongs here -- almost like the guitar player is playing an etude exercise for a lesson. And Cans and Brahms falls woefully flat... symphonic music just doesn't translate well into, well... whatever this was supposed to be. Other than the couple missteps, I really enjoyed this.

I had never heard of this band before but there is much talent and musicianship on display all over this. The creativity when it comes to the use of the guitars, keyboards, and more across the three tracks that make up most of the length are especially strong. In between are some fun bite-sized tracks and some less spectacular moments, but overall very good, I thought. The transition from Long Distance Runaround to The Fish was another highlight. I adore the main guitar riff in South Side of the Sky. 1 listen Favorite Tracks: South Side of the Sky, Heart of the Sunrise, Roundabout, Long Distance Runaround

Mostly struggled to connect with this. Though there are certainly some interesting moments in the second half.

Banger opener followed by an ok album.

Very skilled playing but ultimately it’s for nonces.

When dads get together at guitar center. Roundabout is carrying all of these stars.

Some fun prog-rock

++: Roundabout, Cans and Brahms, Five per Cent for Nothing, The Fish (Schindleria Praematurus) +: South Side of the Sky, Long Distance Runaround, Mood for a Day, Heart of the Sunrise +-: We Have Heaven 7,0/10

Banger of an album. Tiny bit of filler (Cans and Brahms, Five percent for Nothing) Best tracks: Roundabout, Long Distance Run-around, South Side of the Sky, Heart of the Sunrise Worst tracks: Cans and Brahms, Five percent for Nothing Rating: Strong 8/Light 9

You know, I got into this slowly. Which is impressive given track 2 they throw a weird classical piece at you that doesn't fit with anything else.

A load of self indulgent wank that offers no repeat listen value, it is seriously annoying at times. Occasionally it breaks out into song and those songs can be quite decent, if not some what long winded, but that only adds to the overall sense of annoyance about what could have been.

My social media friends won’t be surprised if I wobble on about this one for a bit. Yes are (usually) my favourite band and Fragile sits in the middle of a run of three perfect albums. This is the first Yes album to feature Rick Wakeman’s intricate keyboards as Tony Kaye had been badgered to quit. Opening with Roundabout, a track which became an ever present feature in pretty much every yes live show since that time, and rightly so. South Side Of The Sky is one of my favourite Yes tracks ever and Fragile is, I think, Chris Squire’s finest hour with the band, especially for The Fish and the wonderful Heart Of The Sunrise, with of which gave Chris ample opportunity to play long solos in live sets. Long Distance Runaround is squeezed into the middle of side 2 and also cemented itself firmly in live sets. I even love the quirky solo pieces that are often moaned about. An excellent start to my week.

Roundabout and Long Distance Runaround are nice memories from classic rock radio. The other tracks are a bit off track.

non sono riuscita a sentirlo tutto ma ho vibato e ho capito da dove proviene quell’apparente stacchetto dei video youtube

Kein Lied hat mir durchgängig gefallen

Man man man… Dit album vind ik maar moeilijk raten. Muzikaal zit het enorm goed in elkaar, zo goed dat het 5 sterren zou moeten verdienen. De zang daarentegen is nog minder dan matig. Het geluid is een verschrikking…. Dat verdient dan weer een 1 of 2. Dan rest voor mij de enige echte vraag over muziek; wil ik er graag meer van horen? Dan is mijn antwoord volmondig met een harde schreeuw NEE! Een technisch hoogstaande plaat is nog geen goede muziek. Sterker nog ik vond het zo verschrikkelijk dat ik hem heb afgezet… wederom een DNF… hopelijk wordt de volgende beter.

Wat een uitslovers. De muziekinstrumenten klinken alsof ze allemaal op een eiland zitten. Het hele album mist balans. Ik weet niet wat de basgitarist aan het doen is, maar die zou een brug moeten zijn tussen de drum en de andere partijen in plaats daar van is dit ook een eigen eilandje. Vaak moet je ook wat dingen weg laten om rust in je muziek te creëren. Nergens is iets weg gelaten. Ik hou bij klassieke muziek ook niet van barok omdat het te veel loopjes heeft en dat vond ik hier ook vervelend. Ik snap niet dat zulke technische muzikanten niks van muziek begrijpen. Ik snap niet dat er nergens in het hele maken van dit album heeft gezegd: dit is niet goed, dit is te veel. Nogmaals dit hele album mist balans

Vermoeiende showoffs, het gaat nergens heen. Ze laten alleen zien dat ze technisch heel goed zijn. Heel vervelend. Het mist sfeer en karakter. Het lijkt alsof technische complexiteit het enige doel was.

Pff… dom album zeg, t valt me toch weer erg tegen. Wederom kundige muzikanten waarbij t lijkt alsof ze al hun technische vaardigheden en complexe arpeggio's erdoorheen willen douwen, maar t ontbreekt volledig aan goeie vibe. De zang vind ik ook dun en karakterloos en saai om naar te luisteren. Nog één Yes album te gaan en dan zijn we ervan af.

me when i'm a roundabout and i make you scream and shout 3.31/5

I didn't expect it to be so instrumental. Very spacey with a large sound. It also has "Roundabout", so.

5.0/10

I LOVE YES.

i see what the mars volta listened to

Putting aside the first track for a second because it’s indisputable gold and everyone’s heard it so much, very into the sort of weird ebbs and flows of this album between each band member’s little interests and then the big long prog songs and back and forth. It’s this dance around knowing how to prog really well, how to get variety to the sound, how to show off your core sense of melody and hook and all that and still play this intricate technical work as a pair. It also just sounds killer, real production work - at least a few spots where you hear one of the instruments and think “how can they do that, how can it sound that good”. I’m saying yes to the Yes.

Album #293 Yes: Fragile For my money, this is Yes’ most enjoyable album. Of course Close to the Edge will always be their magnum opus, but the gravitas of that album prevents it from being a frequent listen for me; I find myself instead returning to Fragile far more. Fragile is really an album of three parts: you have the intro, Roundabout; the middle, Long Distance Runaround; and the closer, Heart of the Sunrise, all of which are some of the finest prog music ever created. What holds the album back are the songs between those classics; they range from enjoyable to meaningless, but most of the time they just feel like a distraction from the main event. Were this album three songs like Close to the Edge, and maybe the three standouts extended, I could see this being up there with the best of the genre; I mean it still is in an incredibly high tier, but not quite on the level of a Court of the Crimson King or a Wish You Were Here. Best Songs: Roundabout, Heart of the Sunrise, Long Distance Runaround Worst Song: Cans and Brahms Score out of 10: 9

This could probably coast on the success of ROUNDABOUT, but this to me is pure art from start to finish. A true musician could probably explain things better than I at how intricate, specific, and careful (correct, these adjectives could be considered redundant) this collection is. Much like Rush, Yes has an ability to let each instrument/technician shine on its/their own accord but also complement one another.

Really great. Hits go so hard

Spent a bunch of time trying to figure out where I knew Yes from and came up empty handed. Still liked it though

prog rock is a blind spot for me and this project is exposing me to some good stuff. i'm sure i've heard roundabout before (on rock band or GTA V) but nothing specific stand out. Pretty good with some weird filler.

I both dig, and am annoyed by, this. Mostly dig it though.

Stand-out tracks: Roundabout, South Side of the Sky, Long Distance Runaround, Heart of the Sunrise Knowing only Roundabout beforehand, I expected most of the album to be like that, very prog. The two longer tracks were enjoyable, but the smaller tracks in-between bring the album down for me. Of those I only liked Long Distance Runaround, the rest honestly just felt like they didn't really go anywhere and just filled up space.

Highlights: Roundabout, South Side of the Sky, The Fish South Side sounds a lot like the stuff Rush would later go on to adopt as their signature style - at least when it isn't on its siesta part. The record is killed by these airy "interludes" and instrumentals that don't amount to anything. They kinda killed the flow between the good tracks. I expected a lot more and got hot shit full of style over substance. Yeah, it sounds impressive and good on its own when they are showing off, but what's the point if it's a jumbled mess? The record feels like a bunch of douchebags flexing on each other with their impressive skills and that does not make for a fun listen.

Interesting but a lot of movements that I didn't care for

progrock!

Normal

I generally like a bit of prog rock, but this was a bit much. The ten minute cover of America seems particularly unnecessary because the original is so brilliant and this version is not.

Yes, Yes is an incredible gifted and musically rich band. They are fun to listen to as you feel like you’re getting a master class in composition. But I always get the feel like they are performing for someone else… like their professors. Sure, they occasionally write a song or two with folks like me in mind (Roundabout and Long Distance Runaround), but most or their stuff is more for the aficionados. Perhaps after enough listening, I will grow into an aficionado myself!

High ceiling, low floor

The first half of the album was pretty weak besides the opening track (I finally know where that meme is from lol), but it really picked in the second half with lots of long proggy tracks that had a lot of fun moments. 3.5/5

Cool

8 / 10

Osim prve stvari, koja je stvarno dobra i iconic. Ostalo mi se bas bas ne svida

I’ve figured it out. My problem with prog rock is that I feel absolutely no emotion listening to the songs. They aren’t happy, sad, sexy, ominous, comforting, anything. Just lots of notes and instruments. It all sounds so busy but it’s jagged without an edge, or groovy without any vibe. I come to each prog album with an open mind and end up hating all of them. So I guess they do make me feel something.

Really funny this is basically just three super long songs surrounded by some really tiny ones. Roundabout is the easy winner here, but I've also heard it like a million times because all my friends love The Jojo. As for the rest, South Side of the Sky and Heart of the Sunrise are fantastic. I also really enjoyed We Have Heaven, but like the rest of the short songs, it's more of an experimental instrumental than anything else. Easy good album though.

Pretty mixed. Long guitar solos, then also some weird jarring sounds

Decent album.

This album kicks off with what is probably their best song, "Roundabout." There are a few other great, collaborative ones on here, such as "South Side of the Sky," "Long Distance Runaround," and the epic closer "Heart of the Sunrise." But the shorter songs that feature each individual band member knock this down a star for me. They're fine but they pale in comparison to the collaborative songs. If this had been a full album of band collaborations it would be an easy 5 stars for me. Still, it's a fantastic album by, for me, the greatest prog band of all time.

Definitely prefer this to the other Yes record on here. Much more accessible for non prog fans, Roundabout especially is just a great classic rock song - those keys are insane. South Side of the Sky is a really cool song too

I received back-to-back prog albums that have a very similar feeling for me (2112 and Fragile). Roundabout (Like 2112 Overture) is fantastic. Everything else is by all means enjoyable but left me with a desire just to listen to track 1 on repeat. I am a sucker for prog though so still giving this a 4. :)

Awesome!

Another I enjoyed

Decent album, can listen through, couple of hits.

Never been a prog rock fan. Still not. The catchy songs are ok on this one but the rest dont find their mark with me. Not sure I see why this is in the 1001.

Liked it

pretty good stuff. i know the hits but will need more listens 3/5

Sve što imam za reći je YES! ♥️ Teška opsjednutost njima lately. 5/5, 9.5/10

Déjà écouté avant. Le meilleur et le pire du prog. Le meilleur quand les cinq membres du groupe accordent leurs talents dans les morceaux les mieux construits et les plus épiques de l'album (en particulier l'intro et l'outro), sur lesquels brille notamment la basse de Chris Squire. Le pire quand ils décident de s'offrir chacun un morceau de démonstration technique, sans doute impressionnants de virtuosité, mais sans aucune forme d'intérêt mélodique ou émotionnel... Seul Rick Wakeman se sort à peu près correctement de son solo, principalement parce que le morceau n'est pas de lui, mais de Johannes Brahms. Top : Roundabout Flop : We Have Heaven

Nothing says prog rock like a ton of boss guitar riffs and hard as fuck baselines. Top album. 9/10

Roundabout is a strong start but was quite boring after

Eerste nummer:… hey dit ken ik ergens van… intro… omfg dit is die anime meme intro van “to be continued >>>” lolll

Not sure what they were going for (Pink Floyd vibes?), but didn’t work for me

Love that the bass is twice as loud as the rhythm guitar. Prog royalty

Pretty great. Technically there's no filler when it comes to bands like Yes, whose compositions are both meticulous and outrageously complex, but there are certainly points here where I feel the music (and myself) losing the plot. Still, technically, the album is near perfect. Great basswork especially. I consider myself a casual Yes fan, but even I didn't realise Roundabout was the same as the song from JoJo's Bizarre Adventure until this very moment. You have no idea how big a smile was on my face from that very first electric guitar strum. The basswork is obviously phenomenal on this song and a huge part of the song's appeal. Plenty of progression to go around, from the serene intro to the aggressive funk following it, to a semi-experimental series of solos that pull out all the stops. The various repeats of these moods before ending on a final, unexpected major chord. This is goddamn art. It's hard for a couple of dinky 100-second tracks to properly follow Roundabout, but Cans and Brahms and We Have Heaven make a solid attempt. The former attempts, and succeeds, at sounding like a Classical or Romantic concert piece. And it makes sense: it's co-composed by, well, Brahms. Fun organ-and-piano combo. The repeated lyric "Tell the moon dog, tell the march hare" in the latter is a bit strange, but Yes has enough star power to pull it off. The South Side of the Sky has a gorgeous piano section that completely sells the song. I don't even care that it's absent for the first three minutes (which are decent but unremarkable). Any song with simple excellent piano will go a long way in my charts. The bass, though a little soft, still contributes a ton to the song's dynamicity. We start side 2 with the 35-second Five per Cent for Nothing (seems like they're just picking words to capitalise at random). An eclectic range of noises that are most accurately described by saying, "yeah, that's Yes alright." Though Long Distance Runaround doesn't quite settle anywhere melodically, making it tough to recall after the fact, that guitar riff keeps it dialled in. The light touch of those jumpy piano chords give it a ton of life, too, as does the excellent guitar solo in the second half. Now, around this here joint, we appreciate smooth song transitions. So it was by principle that I immediately fell in love with The Fish (Schindleria Praemeturus), or at least the first few seconds. Another song with a standout bass tone and some fun, slightly trippy vocal harmonising. In case you were waiting for some more fun acoustic guitar, Mood for a Day comes in with a vengeance, acting as the album's Black Mountain Side while also being strangely beautiful. The first few minutes of Heart of the Sunrise are mind-bogglingly rambunctious, and my favourite part of the song comes at around four minutes in, where Yes pull back all the instruments for a delicate section where all emotions are quietly laid bare. Anderson's best vocal performance on the album appears here too. We get some nods to earlier parts of the album in the last few minutes, like the piano paying homage to The South Side of the Sky. Re the bonus tracks: I'd heard Yes's version of America on an expanded version of Close to the Edge. I still think it's solid. Great chorus especially. I'm pretty sure that honky-tonk electric guitar is unique to this version, but I could be wrong. 4/5 Key tracks: Roundabout, Mood for a Day