Reviews (page 2 of 14)
start catching up here
Easy listening but not too great
Very cool but a bit too long
09/14 <--To Be Continued---
To be continued... The only good part of that opening track is just how memed it is. And then after I just got reminded of how long prog rock songs can be. The rest of the album cycles through acoustic and hard rock with some experimental/soothing interludes. Like most albums recently, nothing really stood out to me. It was a nice, inoffensive listen. Maybe since I've been getting into electronic/hyperpop more that makes "Fragile" more dated than it sounds now.
A couple of really interesting things; jazzy rock with awesome bass lines. 7/10
Roundabout is obviously pretty great. I can say that even as a self professed prog rock not getting person. It has that hypnotic circularity of the prog that actually works for me (ELP, Mike Oldfield, Hocus Pocus by Focus etc.). Unfortunately, the album has another 35 minutes to go. It's not universally bad or anything. I quite like South Side of the Sky and The Fish for what they are. Musically they are excellent tracks, although I suspect that I would not often seek them out beyond the album. Heart of the Sunrise is very well built. Elements of Long Distance Runaround are alright, although it is far too abstract to land the message it claims to be pushing for. Still, the album is full of goofy jokes that don't quite land. . Did we need Cans and Brahms? Even Rick Wakeman doesn't think we did! Mood for a Day is clearly a skilled bit of guitar work, but lacking the emotion and musical storytelling that sets apart far better finger pickers in the folk and flamenco scenes. God knows, I listen to plenty of Davy Graham and Bert Jansch. This just doesn't have the emotion to compare. I feel like I might have been a bit harsh... It's alright. I respect the hell out of it as a musical demo reel. But I don't think it is a fantastic work of art. Nor is it really a catchy pop record. 2, verging on a low three. If you don't have the songs beyond a couple, it is just admirable performing, not a great album
"Roundabout" kennt man natürlich, ist ein Klassiker. Ich könnte vorstellen, dass die beiden anderen Longtracks bei häufigerem Hören vielleicht einen ähnlichen Stellenwert erlangen können. Wie immer bei Prog-Rock ist das alles beim ersten Durchgang recht schwer zu erfassen und für mich auch oft eine Spur zu drüber (ähnlich wie bei Rush). Was mich aber nervt sind diese über die Platte verstreuten Solo-Cuts. Pink Floyd hatten das ja auf "Ummagumma" auch mal probiert und auch da waren die Ergebnisse gemischt. Aber immerhin hat dort jeder Zeit und Raum bekommen, sich zu entfalten. Aber was soll ich denn bitte mit diesen 1,5-Minuten-Songs, in denen meistens nur eine einzige Idee steckt, die sich nirgendwo hinentwickelt. Das stört den Fluss der Platte ungemein und die Songs sind auch wirklich schlecht (ausgenommen "The Fish (Schindleria Praematurus)", der sich gut einfügt). Da Prog-Rock ohnehin nicht mein liebstes Genre ist, komm ich mit diesen nervigen Einschüben nicht über 3 Sterne hinaus.
Das war echt in Ordnung, aber absolut fantastisch wart es jetzt nicht unbedingt. Hat mir jetzt nicht weh getan, aber hier waren definitiv schon interessantere Alben zu hören.
Was war das? Außer wild. Viele Ansätze und Anspielet richtig geil. Aber dann kommt noch ein barockes Klavierkonzert dazwischen. Hammer gut, wenn man die Ansätze konsequent weiterverfolgt hätte. In Anbetracht des Erscheinungsjahres habe ich sehr viel Respekt vor dem Schaffen und es hebt es gerade noch auf 4 Stern. Ich dachte auch, ‚wie geil, dass das Album mit dem Riff endet wie es angefangen hat‘, nur um zu merken, dass es der Rough mix ist -.-
Familiär bedingt bin ich großer Yes Fan, weil mein Vater großer Yes Fan ist und das an mich vererbt hat. Fairerweise muss man dazu sagen, dass ich so richtig bewusst gar nicht Yes höre, aber das meiste hier klang sehr vertraut. Das beste Lied von Yes bleibt zwar Changes und ist auf einem anderen Album aber auch das hier unterhält von vorne bis hinten. Hab ja nen großen Softspot für Bands wie Yes, Marillion, die frühen Genesis. Klare 5/5
Þetta var kvöl og pína.
Svakalega leiðinleg plata.
Weird Yes album, it’s experimental but not proggy
첫 곡은 진짜 전설이었는데(죠죠를 엄청 좋아해서 다 챙겨 본 것은 아니지만 죠죠 특유의 감성은 좋아한다.) 다른 노래들은 아쉬웠던 것 같다. The first song was truly legendary (I haven't watched every single episode of *JoJo* despite really liking the series, but I do love its unique vibe), but the other songs were a bit disappointing.
4/10… progressive rock / *1971
Progfection.
Ok sure.
A decent album, a lot of the stuff feels a bit out of place within the context of the album but I can appreciate the love put into it. This review is To be continued...
Don’t like
I tried but Yes is just not my jam.
This one goes out to the one I love.
Pre Listen: The inner joy I felt the nanosecond I saw this album as my one for the day. This right here is my favorite YES album, and is among my top 5 albums of all time. I've listened to this thing front-to-back so many times the number hovers probably around three dozen. With this being the first of my top albums I've known before starting this project, this will be a lengthy review, as I plan to discuss every track on here to a degree. Notable Tracks: Roundabout - Something something Hamon, something something Vampires, the Stand user could be anyone! Jokes aside, if this song doesn't hook you in to YES' style for this album, I feel sorry for the way your brain is wired. This shits an absolute banger, from the progression, to the lyrics, to every instrument featured. Favorite song on the album, and I love every song here to death. Cans and Brahm - Yes asks the question, "What if Johannes Brahm's work had synth and a general prog-rock feel to it?" and answered with this. It's alright. Kinda goofy. We Have Heaven - I adore the layered vocals on this song. It creates a building sense of chaos until it gets the door slammed upon it, and the listener runs away from it all. South Side of the Sky - The progression of this one has such great story telling. I love the piano which meshes so well with everything else. The sound effects of the wind, the hard riffs, it all paints such a vivid picture. Five Per Cent for Nothing - Alright yeah this is the weakest part of the album. Meaningless noise. Thankfully it's only 37 seconds long. Other albums on this project are this song but it's 6 minutes or longer. Long Distance Runaround/The Fish - I've always considered these two songs as one for obvious reasons considering their flow. I think the guitar work of Steve Howe and the bass work of Chris Squire stand out the most on these tracks, as part of the larger band. I particularly love the Fish section of the song, it's so smooth, gets me utterly locked into whatever I'm doing while listening. Mood for a Day - This is where Steve Howe really lets his talent as a guitarist and composer shine. Combining elements of Flamenco, classical composition, and classic rock all into one fluid song. Lowers my cortisol by a noticeable amount every time the motif of the song hits. Heart of the Sunrise - Absolute banging way to end an album. A rocking finale where every instrument gets to shine at some point, with wonderful changes in tempo, and lyrics I relate to deeply. Post Listen: I'll try and keep this summary brief, since I've gushed enough discussing every track. The lyrical story-telling, instrumental work, harmonies, melodies, everything is nigh perfect on this beautiful gift of an album. Everything is so well rehearsed and meshed, with weak moments far and few. This album speaks to me on a spiritual level, probably due to the album's themes of being in/experiencing Nature, all of its beauty and fury, and how we find ourselves within it all. Critics of this album call it overindulgent, overly complicated nonsense. Why shouldn't want my music well composed and complex? Masterpiece 5/5
Hell yeah for Roundabout and all the Jojo that entails. Meh, it’s fine I suppose to the rest of it.
Як я вже писав в десь в оглядах тут - я слухаю і люблю гурт йес ще десь зі старших класів школи. Об'єктивно Fragile це один з їхніх найкращих альбомів - одночасно і доступний і складний. Тут і мемна roundabout, і акустична mood for a day (стів хау один з найбільш недооцінених гітаристів класичного року!), і відсилочки до класичної музики від Ріка Вейкмана, і класичний прог-епік Heart of the Sunrise - на будь-який смак. Класика 70х, один з найкращих прог альбомів тієї ери. Ставлю 5.
2.5 Stars Roundabout: banger, obv. Heard this one before. Cans and Brahms: quite a whimsical jaunt (derogatory) We Have Heaven: ...back-to-back tracks that are more of a transition than song? South Side of the Sky: good production for the time. Song is fine. Pretty perfect example of why prog just aint my thing Five Per Cent for Nothing: funky transitional song. Long Distance Runaround: fine The Fish: prob 2nd best non-transitional track on here behind Roundabout Mood for a day: quite a whimsical jaunt (complimentary) Heart of the Sunrise: Correction, this is the 2nd best song on the album. Overall: bookended by bangers, rest is pretty meh. If I was a bigger prog rock fan, I would probably have enjoyed it more.
Seth - 2/5 Logan - 2.5/5
Finally experiencing full albums from Yes has been one of the real highlights of my 1001 albums journey so far. I've always bounced off of prog rock, but they have a real knack for making it accessible to someone like me while still maintaining the high levels of musicianship and elaborate structure that defines the genre. This isn't the strongest of their albums by any means but is well worth a listen if you're already a fan of them in general.
Мне кажется это Tool только в 71году. Очень неплохо. Слушал super deluxe версию. там есть все инструменталы альбома - они понравились даже больше чем песни
Fine
For as annoying as prog (and specifically prog fans) can get, the best albums in the genre really do accomplish something special. Fragile feels like a continuation of what the band managed on Close to the Edge, but with a more accessible sheen. Tracks like “Roundabout” and “Heart of the Sunrise” offer mindblowing trips in the 9-10 minute range, which are probably far less intimidating than the 20-minute compositions one often associates with prog. The addition of Rick Wakeman on keyboard adds an exciting new flair, and while the structure is a little self-indulgent (five solo tracks, four full-band tracks), I don’t think it does anything to taint the overall experience. Fav Tracks: Roundabout, We Have Heaven, South Side of the Sky, The Fish (Schindleria Praematurus), Heart of the Sunrise Least Fav: Five Per Cent for Nothing Score: 8
It was ok
Was it a rock album? A symphony? An acoustic exploration? A masterpiece? I have no idea. If I could give it 3.5 I would
The first song is good enough to give this 4 songs. Is it nerdy? Sure, but these nerds were having fun.
Listened to it all with an open mind. I want to say yes I enjoyed the whole thing but then I was thinking no then maybe ? And now I'm in-between yes and maybe. Now I think yes. This is a hard one. Okay, yes, I enjoyed it!
Track By Track Roundabout - this was required listening for Lawrence in ‘School Of Rock’. Keyboard solo is indeed brilliant. A funny epic tune. It is great. Cans & Brahms (Extracts from Brahms’ 4th Symphony in E Minor, Third Movement) - reminds me of a Penguin Cafe Orchestra tune. Didn’t love it, a bit strange! Lots of experimental stuff on this album I feel. We Have Heaven - like a Meadieval jig but with synths. South Side Of The Sky - rock synth vibe. More of a tune but I just wasn’t moved by it. Kind of abrasive harmonies, sounded a little tinny and almost annoying. Quite nice harmonies and piano in middle section though. Five Per Cent For Nothing - like free jazz experimentation but for rock. Long Distance Runaround - but more of a song with video game-like music. Bad, but I did like how it transitioned into the next track. The Fish (Schindleria Praematurus) - like a funky jam. Quite nice. Good groove and guitar. Mood For A Day - liking the guitar a lot on this one. It’s a vibe. Heart Of The Sunrise - a weird and wacky closer. Very different to the previous track! It’s epic, got some good guitar work but didn’t care for it. Overall Review: I enjoyed some of the almost meadevial influences. It was really not up my alley though. Wasn’t a fan as a whole. Too strange and experimental and too long tracks! 2.4 Favourite Songs: Mood For A Day
jjba
Very creative and interesting!
A great album from start to finish. Class songwriting & musicianship. They’re like a more progressive version of Steely Dan.
Love this one
Interesting listen, didn't love it but kind of liked it.
I am most familiar with Owner of Lonely Heart from their catalog, which is not on this album. Their style is familiar, but these songs are not. I can take it or leave it.
Yes, this is a great album. Yes — one of the pioneers of progressive rock, alongside Pink Floyd, King Crimson, Genesis, and a few others. I won’t pretend to be knowledgeable in prog rock since this is my first experience of it, and hoo boy, do they deliver. I heard Roundabout long ago on a certain show you already know, and it might have been my first introduction to the world of progressive rock. I never really listened to a song that long before, and I thought to myself how unique it was. It was groovy, catchy, and who wouldn’t recognize that riff anywhere? Progressive rock might be the genre I have been looking for, because I love it when songs develop over time in a track. Fragile might have been the best album I started with for that. I want to talk about the 3 obvious standout songs here: Roundabout, South Side of the Sky, and Heart of the Sunrise. These songs are lengthy, but their sheer musicianship here makes it worth all the while. It never drags even once, and I find them to be technical masterpieces. Roundabout has one of the most iconic basslines of all time, and the song overall is one of the most impressive songs I’ve heard. South Side of the Sky is almost just as great as Roundabout. I love the little Lalala part in the middle, and I genuinely love how Jon shouts those lyrics at the later part of the song. And finally, Heart of the Sunrise. It was hard picking the best song in this album — it was either this or Roundabout. Roundabout is a very iconic and catchy track, but ultimately, I think Heart of the Sunrise is the better song. I just love how it develops here — it feels so grand, and damn, those vocals are just so emotional. I also love the little “Straight light moving and removing sharpness of the color sunshine” part about 8 mins in the song. The space with only the bass singing together with the vocals scratched a certain itch. Honestly, with the length of those songs, it almost makes the rest of this album feel like interludes. I’m only half kidding of course, but damn 3 of the 9 songs here are just interludes. Cans and Brahms is a cute little song, but it was a little unexpected right after Roundabout. It just seems so out of place for me. We Have Heaven is a strange song, almost hypnotic with how Jon is singing the song. “Tell the moon dog, tell the martian,” sure buddy. I don’t really talk about interludes, but Five Per Cent for Nothing was so bizarre that it made me make a dedicated paragraph just for them. I don't really know how to explain it, but this song genuinely sounds like they were just fiddling around their instruments. Pretty interesting stuff I guess. As for the other 3, they're 3 straight hits in a row too. These have more usual song lengths, but in their own ways, these still display that progressive sound. I genuinely love the riff in Long Distance Runaround — shit's so joyful and playful. The way he sings “Did we really tell lies, letting in the sunshine” just sounds happy in some way. The Fish (Schindleria Praematurus) is an amazing instrumental track. I was going to lump this song together with the other interludes, but I think how this song was arranged made it feel like its own actual song. I know it's not purely instrumental since it does have a bit of vocals, but I think it only served to add more texture to the sonic identity of this song. It's intricate, and I love wahwahs of the guitar here. Made it almost sounds psychedelic. Mood for a Day is a wildly different track in terms of sonic texture and melodic structure, but I think it shows how diverse progressive rock actually is. Progressive rock borrows from other genres and era of music to deliver longer and less conventional song structures, and despite it being an acoustic solo, I think it fits the mold. It sounds like classical music with how the melodies develop. Good stuff. I think one of the most defining sounds of this album is the bass tone. That bass sound is pervasive in this album, and I love it when it takes centerfold in some songs here. One of the most apparent qualities in this album is contrast. The way each song sounds different in terms of musicality and texture offers an interesting experience with how the sound changes and evolves throughout the album. Overall, a great introduction to progressive rock. It has that one song from a certain popular show or manga, and I thank Araki for introducing me to that song. While some interludes here kind of drags this album down for me, I think the rest of this album is amazing enough to keep it from being just okay. Great album. Fav track: Heart of the Sunrise Least fav: Five Per Cent for Nothing
Some bangers. Some duds. Yes, a 3.
⭐️Roundabout
Who doesn't love roundabout? Above all else, it was interesting. Occasionally I would perk up and be like "what is that?" And that is what I want from an album
What is this guy on about? Like genuinely what is this guy on about. I don’t really like this. Funky guitar but other than that meh. Really crazy guitar work actually. I don’t think these are playlist songs but they’re enjoyable songs. Favourite: Roundabout Least favourite: The Fish (Schindleria Praemeturus)
Yessssssss
This is basically the prog-rock blueprint. Musically the cream of the crop here.
Love the fuller songs, not so much the little interludes
Ding dada ding bong bin bong
Nice tunes but not unique
Amazing, one of my all time favorite prog rock albums since my youth.
Heavy classical bend to this album. Not sure I really like this one, I liked their other one better. This one feels heavy on the self-flagellation. 3.
Not a fan of this genre and era but this is alright I guess. Won't be returning to it though. Just a bit lacklustre and fiddly. As my music teacher at school used to say, 'It's just aural masturbation'.
NON RIESCO AD ASCOLTARE “ROUNDABOUT” SERIAMENTE, PER COLPA DI QUEL MEME. VABE IL RESTO DELL’ALBUM NON È MALE. “AMERICA” LA MIGLIORE. AHIMÈ SOPRATTUTTO PER IL PROGROCK UN SOLO ASCOLTO NON BASTA, PER ORA UN 3 MIGLIORABILE. 3/5.
This album was amazing. Wasn't a song on this album I couldn't vibe with. I already knew Roundabout from Jojo's Bizzare Adventure and the memes, but its still a great song. I hadn't heard any of the others, but the bass is THUMPIN on most if not all of them. I am attempting to learn to play the bass myself, so listening to these has been eye opening and fun to say the least. Besides Roundabout, South Side of the Sky, Long Distance Runaraound, and Heart of the Sunrise were standouts for me on this one. All were great though!
Yes were absolutely on it in the early 70s, with this being in my opinion their best album. It perfectly balances not taking itself too seriously, while simultaneously showing you everything that prog rock is capable of. All of the best and most iconic moments are of course in the many grand and theatrical progressive tracks, but let's not ignore the short and simple in between tracks that are the backbone of the album's cohesion, effectively hyping you up for the next big moment. And when each of those moments come it feels so perfectly satisfying as these amazing musicians are all at the top of their game showing what they can achieve when they are at their best.
True confession - around 1984 I attended 3 Yes concerts and am a huge fan. Honestly- these guys are incredible musicians and Jon Anderson has one of the most distinctive voices in rock. That said, this is not necessarily their best overall album although it has a couple absolute classics.
4 for the instrumentals, 2 for the vocals, and minus a star for repetition and kinda sounding like all bands during this period. But not a bad hangout album.
I am not a huge fan of the lead singer's voice. The instrumentals were very cool at times, and got a little too progy at others.
This album wasn’t terrible. It also wasn’t great. Sounded like it was either influenced by or could have influenced a lot of other music of this era. But because of that very little stood out.
Insane for the time, but I prefer the heavier/bass heavy production of modern prog
not the best yes album (that title belongs to close to the edge) but it’s still such a work of art
Did not expect that meme song
Prog rock royalty and one of my favorite bands of all time. Only two big “hits” on this but music virtuosity throughout.
DIA 2 Yes - Fragile 01. Roundabout - 9.5 02. Cans and Brahms - 5 03. We Have Heaven - 7 04. South Side Of The Sky - 8 05. Five Percent For Nothing - 3 06. Long Distance Runaround - 7 07. The Fish - 6 08. Mood For A Day - 9 09. Heart Of The Sunrise - 9 Média: 7.0 MINHA NOTA: 7.5/10 Recomendo?: Pra alguém que não escuta progressivo eu acho uma boa
Meh, not for me
For me, first it was the 'To be continued...' song, then it was the song from Los Santos Rock Radio, and now it's Roundabout by Yes. Ah, Yes, the band. Anyway, this was a terrible listen-through, except for the songs that are over 7 minutes long.
ik werd bamboozled door het eerste nummer, vage mix van piano en modern niet mijn ding, krijgt 2 want eerste had me goed
Pretentious, wanky, nonsense
Meme song! Some very long ones too
No
This just hits my brain as a series of musical phrases that I can't really assemble into anything meaningful. They get bonus points for the nice piano lines, though
Don’t think this one came together. Feels very disjointed but some of the guitar is nice
i hate to say it because i do love some of these songs but i think they overdid the whole guitar + organ thing
The well known tracks are good, but even then I struggle a bit to carve their lane that would justify a placement here. Its not bad by any means, but it sounds like a tone of other bands and I didn't see much to set them appart from other dad rock. They however probably influenced other bands, so I won't be too harsh
Incredible playing and writing.
Après deux écoutes quel bon moment
Man. This album is really growing on me. Proof that multiple listens really does change how you hear an album. The first time through, I really wasn’t there for… idk 70-80% of this. I realize it’s the synths. Way, way too upper range. And the harmonized vocalizations really kinda annoy me too. That more because of Crosby Stills and Nash, honestly, but I feel like they ruined it for everyone. Anyway, this time? I was enjoying more, at least 50%. Still not going above 3. But I know they might break me. I will admit there IS something here. Normally I wouldn’t go digging for it. But I put myself into this project the way I have for a reason. 3 Boolean: True
Jojoo Good variations
This is my second time around for this one, I have enjoyed this album a lot more on the second time. If I'd gotten this when it was my first listen I would've rated it a definite 3. I especially found a lot of appreciation for "Roundabout" - always thought it was overrated and didn't really dig it until about now. The rest of the album is mostly these handful of quirky instrumentals you'd only ever hear on a progressive rock album, and these lengthy epics, you'd probably... only ever hear on a progressive rock album. The instrumentation, like the keys are so goddamn colourful and filled with eagerness to learn. And of course the obnoxious (in the best way possible) lead bass playing returns. A lot of the texture of this album sounds quite wet and aquatic-like (from the effects,) which is a nice change-up from the previous album. If I had listened to this album for the first time from this generator it probably would've been a 3 star, but I believe a re-listen has helped me understand this album more than I did the first time around. Highlight Song/s: "Roundabout", "South Side of the Sky" and "Long Distance Runaround"
Roundabout is decent, def an album good for having on in the background/focusing
First time listening to this all the way through. Thought it didn’t flow very well with the shorter tracks but I enjoyed the concept behind those tracks. Best of those was The Fish. Roundabout has always been my fave Yes song and I like Long Distance Runaround. LOVED my first listens to Heart of the Sunrise. What a bop. And I enjoyed South Side of the Sky. Production quality really good. Gonna give this four stars but it’s more like 3.5
Roundabout is iconic
I loved this, wish this rating thing was a 10 point not a 5 point scale
Didn’t even listen to the whole thing
haha le jojo ending cans and brahms sounds really out of place? we have heaven is VERY disjointed south side of the sky has really good guitar grooves 5% is interesting but goes nowhere dont like anything about the long distance runaround the fish has really good bass/guitar grooves LOVE the classical guitar on mood for a day heart of the sunrise is very bombastic then turns into a slow, mellow prog rock(redundant, I know) song? no wait it switched up again america is the best song on the album. No bias, its the most coherent. Haha, its the Simon and garfunkle lyrics 6.5/10. I still dont like prog rock, and theres some really middling tracks that dont seem to go anywhere or have any place here, but theres a lot of interesting grooves and sounds from the bass and lead guitarists
This is the YES I kind of "grew up with" and while I find "classic rock" to be a tired genre, this is rather more experimental and different than most of it. I like bands and musicians that push this kind of envelope. It is risky but when it turns out like this it is all worth it. It is still, in a sense, music I don't "go to" every day, but maybe I can listen on occasion as it is more fun than I remember.
Had some REALLY good songs, but can't give a 4 because the random, short, almost random, but between good songs
- musically, they sound confident, yet as a band, due to the suddent change in keyboardist, they were breakable -- fragile - very experimental - ridiculously technically accomplished - looking at humanity from far away - cover 4 full band compositions: Roundabout South Side of the Sky Long Distance Runaround Heart of the Sunrise Between them are little musical portraits of the individual musicians. Lot's of Piano -- feels very spiritual and nature lot's of journey's in nature that are mirroring the emotional state of the singers -- kinda like romanticism Order emerging from chaos - constantly makes you think the music is about to fall apart - different rhythms, abrupt interruptions - guitar, bass, piano, drums, vocals 1. absolutely love the guitar intro, a magical gateway, great song for traveling, journey with roundabouts and mountains and lakes 2. classical arrangement, adaptation of brahms fourth symphony, crazy to interleave rock and classical music - piano guy 3. experimental vocal; transcendence - vocal guy 4. Again nature element, polar-expedition, environment is hostile, halfway through piano enters, leads to serenity 5. very experimental, jazz kinda, rhythmically ridiculous and intentionally disorienting - drums guy 6. questioning religious ideas, spiritual searching, instruments having separate conversations 7. lots of bass, layered, keeps on growing - bass guy 8. guitar, spanish influences? - guitar guy 9. alienation in modern city, crazy and intense intro, civilization isnt comforting, Listen when: you want an experimental, otherworldly journey that feels bigger than you.
It's alright. Feels a little long at times.
Some absolute corkers of songs here. Brilliant opener to the album. Excellent closer. Bass is prominent, melodic and super enjoyable throughout the album. I'm not really into the large number of instrumental tunes. But glad I listened to the album and will come back to listen to the highlights again.
3.8
Ah, the meme song. I was already familiar with several of these songs from many years of "classic rock" radio stations being on in the background. It's (from what I understand) a genre-defining prog rock album and to me illustrates both what I like and what I don't like about the prog rock I've heard. The last song is 11 minutes long for pete's sake! But I do like it just fine, just middle of the road fine I guess. I added "Roundabout," "Long Distance Runaround" (a long time favorite of mine), and "Mood for a Day" to my music library. ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Following a long overdue relisten of Carrie & Lowell, I listened to this album during a morning walk, considering my impending polyamorous future. I felt so much whiplash from realizing that I knew the song Roundabout! Of all the albums or artists who I could recognize in during this project, I never would have guessed that Yes would inspire such familiarity. There is an undeniably funky and infectious groove across much of Fragile; it's interesting to hear a Yes album without as firm of a prog rock structure as Close to the Edge had (with one twenty-minute-long main suite followed by a few extra songs). The album still winds and bends around intricate movements and riffs, but the general structure and flow feels freer. There are some points on this album where it sounds like a carnival, complete with strange sound effects and instruments which come across as tonally whimsical in a really endearing way. When it comes to this album, I am often a bigger fan of the ways in which multiple songs build together towards one cohesive experience than I am of some of these individual pieces in isolation, but Fragile is still another great album from Yes. Highlights: Roundabout, Long Distance Runaround, The Fish (Schindleria Praematurus), Mood for a Day, Heart of the Sunrise
No. Not my cup of tea. Never really got going for me. I didn't enjoy it.
Honestly really fun album. Roundabout to start it off set lofty expectations, but that's not their fault. Rest of the album wasn't at that level, but still very enjoyable and a good listen. Firmly 4, if not a smidge more.
Not my jam. And yes that's a pun
roundabout is an all time banger, but it doesn't make up for most of the rest of the album being a bit of a snooze. 3/5.
First time going through this album in full but I am well versed in Roundabout which is an incredible way to open up. Wasn't expecting the sheer variety of styles and songs that would follow but learning how each member created their own solo track makes sense and helps give the overall experience a new context even if I didn't latch onto those solo tracks as much. The organ and piano throughout tends to be my favorite parts of the group songs and the vocal delivery has this ethereal quality to it that is so evocative that it holds me close to the music. I think if it had been a tighter cohesive group vision from start to finish I would have rated higher but this is still a great listen.
Catchy album
Roundabout carries but it's still a good album
My second Yes! I was also familiar with this one from childhood. Really solid album and a great example of early Prog Rock- lots of varied instrumentation and use of vocal harmony. It does have some downtime though- I could have used more actually rock moments. Still- overall an enjoyable album.
Thoughts before listening: Prog rock. Really good. I feel like one of the songs sounds a lot like Janes Addiction which is kinda cool to make that connection to music released 20 years apart. Review: I mean this is about as prog as rock can get, full of classical guitar and piano instrumentals along with the typical classic rock tracks. The thing is that the pop rock songs are really really good, with "Roundabout" leading the way. I just think that this is a solid 70s arena rock album with strong musicianship that deserves 4-stars.
Overall great. Some amazing bass and drum breakdowns and sneaky hard riffs woven in. Sometimes I feel the harmonizing and tone of the singing can be a little grating.
The thing people hate about prog rock is exactly what others love about it. 5 minute keyboard solo, let's fucking go straight into a bass solo and then some bizarre lyrics.
Really fun baselines. Funny to hear 'roundabout' in context, instead of a black n white photo. Would listen again
Great first track, and then a few other interesting pieces... I can't imagine myself going to purposely listen to it again.
Fantastic opener, wonderful closer, bit of fluff in between.
Probably my favorite Yes album. Very good
Love some classic prog rock!
Mental whiplash between an exquisite 8 minute long trip to wonderland, and sudden minute long video game sounds. Loved ‘South Side of the Sky’ and ‘Roundabout’ in a very unique experience
I really wanted to enjoy this album more than I did, because the first and last songs are so good. But the rest feels very skippable. Best I can do is 3/5.
Was okay. Didn't mind some songs but others felt like they dragged on.
Si j’avais pas déjà connu roundabout j’aurais pete un cable dessus, comme pour LOVE par exemple Le reste de l’album me laisse plutôt indifférent, même s’il y a des bons passages 6/10
5/5 Roundabout brought me here a long time ago and I was blown away by the rest of the album as well. Steve Howe is a legend.
Great album. Reminds me of my late dad, he was always humming along to Yes song.
It’s weird hearing a musical string that’s become so popular and separated from its origins in the wild in its proper context.even weirder when that context is very cool and that sting was only the start. A great prog rock album, wide ranging, experimental, fun, and a joy to listen to.
music to fight bisexual vampires to
5/10 You really get the impression that Yes were limited by budget/time constraints, and instead of deciding to focus on making shorter, better songs as a group, they decided to put all their effort into a couple songs -- which are great, roundabout is an amazing track. first heard it as a "jojo song" but like its genuinely fantastic -- and then filled up the runtime with demos and unfinished garbage. some of them arent awful, the brahms cover was actually very pleasant the first time i Heard it and before i Knew it would be emblematic of the rest of the album, but even when the songs are good they just ruin the structure of flow of the album. also most of them are not very good
To Be Continued...
3★/5 [08.05.2026] 09.23.2026
Den sjukaste line-up av musiker för ett rockband typ någonsin innebar att vad som helst var möjligt för Yes mellan 1971 och 1972. Här testar dom gränserna och når jävligt långt, men inte hela vägen som på Close to the Edge. Roundabout och Heart of the Sunrise är peak prog-rock.
Roundabout is an outstanding opener. the rest of the album is a bit worse in comparison, but still great. I feel that the long songs on this warrant their length through tempo changes and the like mid-song. Favorite Track: Roundabout
not really my thing
3.5/5
Only not a 1 due to the memories of the try not to laughs back in the day that used roundabout
Imagine if genesis sucked shit and the songs were even longer
A spectacular album from the early days of the band. Set the tone for their progression.
This was amazing. I'll be going back for more from this one for sure
This album was a fun prog rock that had me googling comparisons between Genesis and Yes. Iconic opening track, and the rest was good. Would make good zone out music.
Absolute classic, really good
Early Yes is increasingly a win for me and where I am now. And it's weird that more time has elapsed between when Buffalo 66 came out and now than between when this album came out and Buffalo 66 came out, but that's my problem, not yours. Or maybe it's both our problems and in that case we have camradarie.
Not sure I'll ever like this, but I respect the musicianship.
I wasn't enjoying this very much for most of its runtime, but things turned around for me at the end. "Mood for a Day" is pretty great—I could live to 1,000 years old and never play like that, as is "Heart of the Sunrise," which I vividly remember from Buffalo '66. I'm sure I heard this album a bunch of times while living with my Yes-obsessed college roommate, but didn't think much about it. Not sure I'll come back to this, but I did end up enjoying it.
Yes doesn't really do it for me, but someone on here referred to it as N64 music and that kinda makes me like it a bit more. I've heard Close to the Edge before and that one really didn't do it for me. Fragile I enjoy more than my memories of that album.
Very very good album cover, one of the best. The music is a bit of a hodgepodge but mostly decent prog rock - it mostly bores me though. 2.5 rounded up.
I mean, it's more prog rock, but this was enjoyable. High 2s.
This whole album is a groove. Perfect to throw on the stereo while cleaning the house. A musical journey of joy and celebration.
I liked the psychedelic parts
OMG NOT ROUNDABOUT!!!! (it's really good tho) it started well but then the songs lacked of vocals?? wtv I liked the first one mostly (and kinda liked heart of the sunrise)
Pleasantly surprised by this one, I hated the last Yes album I got but this was some solid prog rock
It’s not rlly my vibe but I can see why ppl would like it.
I wasn't looking forward to listening to Fragile as I hated The Yes Album. However, I enjoyed this quite a bit. It starts off very strongly with Roundabout and, while the rest of the album doesn't reach the same heights, I still found it a worthwhile listen. It's made me think that I should revisit The Yes Album and see if it's really deserving of the one star I gave it.
Amazing
29th July 2026 no from me, sighhh also goofy circus much? track mentions; we have heaven
Best Track - "Roundabout"
There's one problem with this 1001 Albums project: people are going to rate albums based on personal taste, giving lots of stars to what they like and very few to what they don't, rather than evaluating the artistic quality of the work itself. Personally, I don't think there's any way around that, so I can understand someone giving this album a measly one-star rating. No, actually, I can't. I have absolutely no idea what these guys are talking about. They're out of their minds. They're crazy as fuck.
Not huge on this album unfortunately, as I’ve always considered myself a “yes” fan. It just truly was too long winded. I’m all for a concept piece that spans, but 2 hours of fiddling just wasn’t it for me unfortunately. It pains me to do, but 2/5
Pretentious prog rock, very unsexy, can see this being popular with very badly dressed real ale drinkers above a certain age.
album de prog que não foi minha vibe, apesar de eu gostar bastante do genero esperava mais guitarras, mas teve mais violão. e a atmosfera que eu gosto do prog é aquela atmosfera escura, reflexiva e tals. esse album me pareceu mais "upbeat". de qualquer forma, não é um album ruim nota 4,5/10
Nice album
I cant deny I like 70s prog. My dirty little secret
It was okay.
Good album didn't know what to expect I knew it was so called "prog rock" but I like the vibe of it I think it's mainly centred around 3 really good songs and they are high class the rest is a little redundant but still adds to the vibe
Well, it’s a British prog rock album that sounds almost like the poster child for British prog rock. Roundabout was a good way to start things. I liked the guitar and how the track had multiple different parts. The very pretty guitar to start it off, and the almost cosmic synth. Cans and Brahms was really cool. It almost sounded like carousel music to me. We have heaven following straight after was short, but effective. I loved south side of the sky, and Long Distance Runaround was great too. Mood for a day was very pretty. Heart of the sunrise was a very lovely way to end it! I loved every moment. 4/5 ⭐️ 208/1089
Great album but didnt resonate with me as much as their self title did.
I think I slightly prefer 'Close to the Edge' but it's still a great album! Four stars.
not good
Bit too long, boring And i was not sitting through the whole 4 hours u having a laugh
Very enjoyable. A step up from their debut.
Oddly not too dated...
yes no fue mi primera banda importante de prog pero pue que fuera con la que más me clavé en su momento, como a los 12 (y la primera que vi en vivo). y fragile fue el disco con el que los conocí (más allá de owner of a lonely heart) y al que más cariño le tenía (con el yes album no muy lejos). hay quienes le quitan puntos por las canciones cortas, pero para mí es el arma secreta que le da una agilidad al tracklist que otros discos de yes no tienen, aparte que se me hace linda la idea de que cada uno tenga su cancioncita y su minuto en el reflector, presentando a la que sería posiblemente la alineación más clásica de la banda y destacando qué es lo que cada quién aporta, además de que estos pseudointerludios hace que las canciones grandes destaquen más, al estar tan bien balanceadas las unas con las otras, y aparte además algunas son verderas chuladas (te amo mood for a day). y de los platos fuertes no les digo mucho xq si no me sigo en banda, pero roundabout x algo tiene el estatus que tiene, long distance runaround suena a nivel de playa de mario kart, y el groove después del intro de heart of the sunrise es la cosa más dura que hay (luego me debrayo y cuando la oigo me imagino que alguien me pregunta cuál es mi momento favorito en la batería de cualquier canción y le respondo que lo que hace bill bruford en esa sección xd)
I was semi excited for this one, until I clicked play. The only songs I enjoyed were the 3 tracks I actually knew, and they were just enjoyed like old friends. The remainder of the experimental instrumentals left me feeling ambivalent.. but it's a Yes for me.
Interesting, especially the classical bits, but probably not something I'd listen to again. Wildly incohesive.
Favourite Songs: Roundabout Heart Of The Sunrise
Great album. A few of the individual songs are clearly the standouts but the album works nicely if you listen to everything together. 8.3
a bit lacking outside of the three long tracks, but they do account for over two thirds of the album, so i can forgive that. Roundabout is iconic (i'm a Jojo fan sue me) but i think i'd give the highest mark to South Side of the Sky. not my favorite Yes, but it does the job. deserves to be one of the 1001? i could understand cutting it, but that doesn't strike me as necessary
Yes
Tää oli liian progressiivista mun makuun. Vaikka soitanta on taidokasta, ei loksahtanut kohdilleen.
4/10 - some songs too long for their own good
I love Fragile. This is as close to a 5 as it gets, but just fails to get there for me. The solo contributions just make it all a little imbalanced to make it a 5. None of them are particularly poor, but they detract from the might of some of the classics on here (essentially the rest of the album). It wasn’t given any favours either coming out sandwiched between two monoliths in The Yes Album and Close To The Edge. A high, high 4. Awesome.
Когда прогрессив рок был для искусства, а не для выпендрежа Roundabout - глыба
Очень много лалала и нанана. А так прикольно.
И тут прибигает жожо
очень нравится музыка, люблю переслушивать великолепное соло roundabout - 4
I initially misread this as "The Fragile" and though I was getting NIN. Bummer that I didn't. I will briefly damn this with some faint praise. I didn't *hate* this. The good songs ("Roundabout" "South Side of the Sky" "Long Distance Runaround") have some fun instrumentation but wear out their welcome. And when they're just getting weird ("Cans and Brahms" is an exemplar) I was somehow doing a whole body eye-roll. Yes is bad.
Roundabout is the only notable song. Rest feels like filler/music-school kid jerk-off session
4.3/5
Seriously Sick Awesome
"Roundabout" is one of the best opening songs to any album, ever. This is one of, if not THE, quintessential prog-rock albums. The way the band plays with sound and song structure is akin to jazz, and the listener is just along for the ride. Love it.
Prog rock isn’t something im particularly fond of, but this album pleasantly surprised me. I have an issue of prog being virtuosic for the sake of virtuosity, but this album doesn’t do that enough to the point it annoys me, so it’s okay in my book even if not really my thing.
When they actually played music it was great. When they were divving around it wasn't.
1 okay song with a heap of filler. No idea how this made the list.
Not too bad. Because some songs were remastered in deluxe form, they felt never ending.
I'm not sure why, but my preconceived inclination was that I was not going to like this much, that it would be *too* prog for me. But damn if there isn't a lot of very listenable stuff on this album, and quite a few things I was already familiar with. A lot of the shorter tracks felt unnecessary, however. Even so, this album is a net positive for me.
Are Yes the litmus test for finding out if someone can handle prog? Probably, and this is probably the album to conduct that test with. It’s got the noodling instrumentation, the swooping stylised vocals, it even has an album cover by Roger Dean. It also manages a strange trick where some of it sounds dated, yet some sounds timeless enough that it could be new now. Forward-thinking, or just still influential enough now to still be shaping artists now?
Always fun hearing the classic songs that became memes.
This kind of yacht rock isn't really for me. I appreciate the talent but I'm lukewarm on the music.
lowkey manchmal klingts ganz cool und dann wird plötzlich Mario Kart Musik eingespielt:/ klingt bisschen wie ein Fiebertraum der nicht durchgehend schlecht ist not saying I could do any better xD
Nice, but not a lot is memorable.
I can’t believe I was shown this so young my mind. Really cool and weird
Yes? No.
fine
Yes, we get you are very good at playing your instruments. Yes, you are pretentious. Yes, this album is finally over and Yes, so is prog rock.
Another dose of Yes' catchy brand of prog but with a more broken up runtime. The shorter tracks in between the longer ones are great for the flow and keep up the momentum. For me the album does take a bit of a dip in the middle but when you open with Roundabout and close with Heart of the Sunrise, that's going to happen. There's still great stuff in between like South Side of the Sky 4.5 Highlights: Heart of the Sunrise, Roundabout, South Side of the Sky
Its not offensive or hard to listen to but I just think it was music for a moment in time, and that time has passed
I love this weird little album by these weird little nerds. I know the interstitial songs written by individual band members were included for money reasons and played off like a proggy artistic choice but I think that they improve the album. The full-band songs are so long and dense that it is nice to have some short, less complicated palette cleansers between them. I love Fragile even more because it’s where Yes first collaborated with Roger Dean for their cover art, which was one of the best examples of those “you got chocolate in my peanut butter!” moments in rock history. I can’t separate Dean’s delicate, fantastical, psychedelic, otherworldly art from Yes’s music because the two are so indelibly linked in my mind. This album is fun to listen to and rocking and some of the best prog rock ever made.
It's okay, but not interesting enough to be as pretentious as it is.
My face when the first chord played :O
죠죠 브금에게 경의를 표한다!
Älskar ”roundabout” och ”Heart of the sunrise” är ett köttigt mästerverk. Honorable mention: Steve Howe, vilken jävla gitarrist! Full pott
Gode gud... Otrolig skiva. Enorma insatser från samtliga medlemmar. Fräckt med en cover på America, som egentligen blir en helt ny sång här. GE MIG MEEEEEER
Hellgren vad jag ligger efter. Ändå krävdes fyra lyssningar för att landa i en fyra.
Bit too noodley for me seems like an album you would love if you were there
El bass work es impresionante 7/10
A lot more fun than other prog rock I've heard, takes itself less seriously. Also easy instrumentals to get behind Highlights: "Roundabout", "Five Per Cent for Nothing", "Heart of the Sunrise"
"Roundabout" is a very strong start to this album. It's a prog rock song that actually rocks, with driving, almost funky bass and rhythm that the genre often lacks. After that comes a classical interlude and a short piece with repeating vocals that sound cool but that aren't built on in any way. These songs show the two sides of the album: there are four "real" songs and a lot of disposable interludes. The longer tracks are decent, but it often feels like they repeat the same trick as "Roundabout" with the fast rhythm and loud bass. Between those sections are sparser, almost folk pieces, but there's little connection between these parts and the fast ones. This is stronger than the album that preceded it, and it's almost poppy in places, but it still too often sounds like music you're supposed to admire more than feel.
Technically beautiful, felt nothing :/
I enjoyed it a lot more than I expected too. Roundabout is cheesy fun. Lots of different genres that I didn’t pick up as a kid. South Side of the Sky is fun. I hear the beginnings of Jane’s Addiction (minus the piano) Influential on pop, Indie, & jam bands. Long Distance Runaround is fun
There are 2 songs on this album that I always liked Roundabout and Long Distance Runaround. The rest is standard prog rock fare that is not really my thing. It sounds to me like these are talented musicians who are having fun making overly complicated music. I am happy for them but it doesn’t do much for me.
Even if you like Yes, this is not a great album. The Yes Album is their best album, but for some reason -- I think because this has Rick Wakeman on keyboards, which made them a bit more of a supergroup, and because it includes Roundabout, which is perhaps their best song -- people tend to focus on this album as their peak. But aside from Roundabout, Long Distance Runaround is it for songs that hang together. I like Chris Squires' bass playing, so for me The Fish works well as an extension of Long Distance. And Steve Howe was a talented guitarist, so I enjoy Mood For a Day. But ... Heart of the Sunrise? More like Heart of a Trainwreck. The musicianship shines within hook-driven songs, but can't carry sprawling, formless material. Not a satisfying listen, even if you like Yes. And they are obviously not for everyone.
This was not an album of my youth, though of course I knew about Yes... 1971, and prog rock generally, were still viable musical paths for Lexington teens. I think of Aaron Tapp, a committed guitarist and fan of Zappa when I was a sophomore, and he a senior. Doubtless he had Yes on his turntable regularly, because Yes was the juggernaut amidst its smattering of peers--the one who was the fastest, the most modulating, the most studio, the most obviously Awesome At Music of the crew. Like Aaron Tapp, I turned to King Crimson later in high school, and Zappa much later, in my 30s. I sought Yes out a few years ago, and found myself free of the context in which I'd first encountered Yes. I hear Fragile now as a group of very trained musicians giving exuberant freedom to their not-very-pop musical obsessions. Lyrically, I have no idea what the songs are about, but who cares? They soar! They crash! They wax medieval! I love this band.
Like Andrew, this album brought me back to the LHS rock band years. I think my brother and Aaron Tapp were in a band together -- Black Attic -- that played in our church basement. I am certain they would have covered one of these songs. My brother had a bunch of different band logos painted on his bedroom wall and I'm pretty sure this was one of them. He also shared the music he loved with me - Yes, Rush, etc. - and although it wasn't my jam, I listened.
I can't give this a 1, because I can understand with the rational side of my brain that there is something to be admired in this music. But my irrational mind would like to give this a one and never ever have to listen to it or hear about it again. Just super boring and repetitive.
Very mellow. Not a lot of vocal elements and very instrumental. Not a huge fan because of the lack of interesting vocals or sounds in general. A decent album nonetheless, it could be worse.
Incredible music composition. Is this proto-yacht rock? Idk but it's so good. Roundabout's bass line is killer and catchy as hell. South Side of the Sky and Long Distance Runaround feel like Rush before Rush was a thing.
This album marks the introduction of Rick Wakeman to the Yes lineup, and his addition brought a whole new dimension with the Mellotron and Moog synthesizer. Just that alone gets high approval from me! This is a really solid album, and I think it’s a great entry point for someone new to prog rock. The musicianship and arrangements are more complex, but it’s also one of their easier albums to digest, with shorter track lengths and a more accessible sound. That’s probably why it includes one of their bigger radio hits as well.
This is not my usual jam as I'm not a fan of Yes, but I enjoyed this album, especially the acoustic guitar parts.
Pretty strange. Pretty good.
I think rock isn't for me right now
Haven't had one of these since like five hundred albums ago! I was going to try to find some fault with it, maybe say it blends together with their other stuff too much, or complain about the random short tracks being filler (they're not), or just rank it against other prog rock bands I like better. But who am I kidding -- it's still super fun, 5/5.
Begins and ends with clear 5/5 songs. Sadly couldn’t rate the album that high cause the middle can be a real chore to sit through at time's.
Roundabout!!!! Yes!!!! Those first few notes. What a tune. Whatever that was that came next was a bit of a dud. Overall great album. YES rules. A few spots throughout that were a bit low energy but I loved it overall.
Nice
Rokki levy jossa välis oittoissa mukana klassista kamaa, akustista kitaraa. Vähän ehkä liikaa kaikkea kaikille
Solid, last track is amazing
Sin poder prestar mucha atención me ha parecido brutal
As far as prog goes its weirdly uncompelling. Lot of technical skill on display and I can appreciate the attempt at more experimental stuff but it doesn't quite feel like it lands here, so the album is really only like 4 or 5 songs long At least the songs themselves are nice enough
pretty flippin cool hectic asf
Mood for a Day is the second best acoustic guitar song I've ever heard. The rest is good too!
The first track is musically interesting but I feel it gets the point across in the first five minutes. Brahms helped a lot with this second track. The vocals standout on the third track. South Side captures most of what Roundabout does but the guitars are more emphasized. Track five I don’t understand the point of when they are so short like this. They might as well make it an intro or an outro but why make it its own track? By track six the music is just washing over me. I didn’t even realize I was on track seven while listening to the one before. The transition is too smooth. Mood for a Day has pretty acoustic picking but that’s about it. They turn things up to eleven on the last track which I appreciate. This shows things to come for their next album.
hAHA trodde ikke det skulle være så funky - helt kreisi til tider, men gøy - blir en treer - long distance runaround er høydepunktet
listen to this sober then listen to it again on LSD, that is my recommendation to you
Pretty lackluster in my opinion, majority of the songs are instrumental, which isn’t bad, it’s just not music taste. Roundabout is the only song that stands out to me on the album, all the others drag on and aren’t really that memorable
Total 70s rock Some of the instrumental songs are enjoyable Most of it sounds pretty forgettable, though that synthesizer or whatever is pretty distinctinve.
It’s Yes! My husband says “NO!” I say “Maybe?” 3 Boolean: true, yes,
Not really my thing
Surprised by this album! Strong guitar and psych rock. I'll be visiting again!
I want to like prog rock more than I actually do. Like my first time drinking coffee, I had the sense that it was probably an acquired taste and that if I kept with it, it would be worth it. On my first listen, I would have given this a 3, but with subsequent listening sessions I think I can give it a 4.
Unquestionable technical skills and impeccably sounding production, but it is only a show-off with no musical / emotional substance.
My SHOCKED face when I heard that first song, 1001 albums you got my ass good. Anyways, the album is nice, I don't have much experience with the genre, not sure what to call it, so for me it sounds similar to things like pink floyd and led zeppelin. But, while I find myself re listening and seeking out those two artists, I don't see myself listening to this album again actively. It doesn't sound bad and it's quite nice but nothing about it reaches out and grabs me. Perhaps once I lose so steam I will enjoy it better
guapardo
Some sweet instrumentation but melodically not for me
Love it. Not for folks with short attention spans. I like lots of prog and while Yes is an amazing band, Close to the Edge is the one that I go back to the most.
4/5
Legendary album
4/10
The lyrics on this should make me hate this but i cant. It is played so well. When the bass kicks in on track 1, chef’s kiss. Infectious in a great way.
Hell yes! I love Fragile!. My favorite parts of the album are usually courtesy of Rick Wakemen, most especially the piano interlude in the middle of South Side of the Sky. He's also the keyboardist behind the iconic piano compositions for songs like Life on Mars? and Morning Has Broken. I learned that today and, wow, I really hear it now. But yeah, 5 stars for this prog rock masterpiece for sure.
Stunning prog feast. Not much else to add
Nobody asked Yes to reinvent music in 1971. The British music industry was perfectly happy cranking out blues-derived rock until the planet cooled, and here comes these guys; a bassist who plays like he's trying to start a fight with God, a keyboardist just twenty-three but sounding like he'd stolen the soul of someone with a full classical education, and a guitarist who could make an acoustic sound like a weather system ... deciding that pop songs were basically too small to live in. Fragile is what happens when a gang of weirdos collectively decides that constraints are for people who haven't listened hard enough. It is one of the most arrogant albums ever made. It is also one of the most correct.
interesting album. loved the back vocals on "we have heaven".
This was my second time listening to this album. I liked it a lot more than the first listen. I'm actually a big fan of 70s prog, but I haven't fully clicked with Yes I guess. This relisten encouraged me to go check out more of their discography though and I'm optimistic I'll find some good albums.
Really good. Very 70's.
wow it's the jojo meme song. and the rest of the album is pretty good too. it's not exactly my area but it's a great deal better than most rock
Mood for a Day is a standout and raised the overall album to a 3 for me.
They are still very annoying.
YES! One of the albums that introduced me to progressive rock. Even today, I can play the songs from this album back in my head, note for note, without even listening to anything. 5 stars.
i would so listen to this if i was smoking a blunt at 11am in may 1971 on the rooftop of the random guy I spent the night with
So… on here we have four proper songs and some random stuff Yes cooked up in the studio. I loved it on my first listen, on the second listened it showed its flaws. What exactly the idea behind including Cans and Brahms as well as We Have Heaven on the album was is beyond me. But damn - Roundabout, South Side of the Sky and Long Distance Runaround are hard hitting bangers.
jojos🩷
Favorite song: roundabout
Long songs and long interludes but I really like the music
Starts out with one of the great opening tracks on any album, but gets a little lost after that. The longer songs allow the band to find grooves that are the real highlights of the album. The bass and keys are exceptional. 3.5/5 Probably will listen again
Yes always manages to write great songs while still being kind of silly, that's what prog is all about
Meh
As much as I would like to enjoy this album, it just doesn’t speak to me. There may have been a time when I could have, but that ship has sailed. For what it’s worth, Fragile is a masterpiece of progressive rock music, maybe even the gold standard. Roundabout is a great track. Just not for me. So this is a masterpiece: a 3 star masterpiece. 3 stars
Groovier than I thought it would be
A solid start... then a bunch of ugh. The final long song has good snippets but overall this album is an odd progrock snore. Top tracks: "Roundabout," "Heart of the Sunrise"
--Roundabout...prog classic. the classical guitar gets a lot of notice but that bass, hot damn --Cans and Brahms...not a prog classic --We Have Heaven...some weird tape looping experiment --South Side of the Sky...listening to this gives me a new appreciation for Ramones. the back half of this rocks a bit --Five per Cent for Nothing...short and odd --Long Distance Runaround...fun interplay between guitar and bass --The Fish (Schindleria Praematurus)...there's something sinister about this. I like it --Mood for a Day...classical guitar stuff --Heart of the Sunrise...this type of music isn't really my thing but I find Chris Squire's bass work consistently compelling. this track is silly
J’étais trop hype par l’album mais j’suis grave déçue Je give quand même des points pour JJBA !
This record has incredibly strong opening and closing tracks, but what's in between is a mixed bag. It can feel quite aimless and even a little trite at times, but when it's good it's really good. It's eccentric and inventive without feeling inaccessible, which is a pitfall a lot of other prog records tend to fall into in my experience. I think after a few more listens I might end up being tempted to up this to a 5, but I'll go with a 4 for now. Favourite tracks: Roundabout, South Side of the Sky, Heart of the Sunrise
Probably the early 70's peak of prog when it comes to Yes' input and impact. This album has so much fun being popular and progressive that it almost forgot to have a 40 minute epic closing track.
A classic, but a bit pretentious.
Yes but not yes wow. Always felt that Yes was not really my cup of prog-rock tea. Too much emphasis on the high pitch vocals of Jon Anderson and less on structuring a good song. Also this release felt somehow disappointing. Some good passages, but also, for me, typical Yes songs which were not really engaging.
it's okay. i was very surprised to hear that a very familiar internet sound came from the first track - the more you know.
I loved the opening track but after that it felt one long, twiddly prog song. But I think that's the point. Disappointed to see not many reviews just saying 'No'. Thought the jokers would love that.
Roundabout South Side of the Sky Heart of the Sunrise America
Roundabout Mood for a Day America
Apparently this is only the third album by Yes that I’ve encountered on this list. Yet it feels like the 8,000th. Think of all of the things you could be doing other than listening to music by Yes. I’ll bet you can think of more than 10001.
More like a maybe for me
Brilliant musicians playing brilliantly, but so obsessed with the prog that the songs get lost
Shoutout to Prog albums that do their own variation on a classical piece, I love seeing stuff like that. What I don't like is albums where the singles are incredibly obvious and over 50% of the album is filler. The three obvious singles are great, though. As much as I love Jojo's Bizzare Adventure, I do think South Side of the Sky is a better song, if only by a little. I think it would've been better to do what they did with Close to the Edge and just expand the crap out of the three main songs so they don't need to fill the whole thing with filler, although that would probably make it more like One Piece. I don't know, the only thing I know about Close to the Edge is that it has three long songs.
Yes its YES, and a good one at that. I have heard this album a couple of times before and think its just delightful. I recall there's some story about a traveller coming from another world and something about eco-catastrophe. Who cares, the music sounds sublime. Just happy and peaceful and emotive. Good album, hopefully there's more YES on the list. 4 stars.
I personally think that if songs are going to be long, they should be interesting. I like Roundabout, but a lot of the rest of this feels like sitting in the room during an aimless albeit delightful jam session. The cover is great though. Rating: 2.5
Congratulations! You played all the notes. I just don't care!
Compared to the other prog I've been subjected to thus far, this sounds more like they're trying to do a lot of things at once, rather than just trying to overplay. I didn't dislike it, but I'd certainly much rather listen to someone playing one genre with clarity than indecisively cycling between four.
I can't believe I finished it. Genuinely didn't think I would halfway through Roundabout. But I made it. Yay for me. The only song I even remotely enjoyed was the last one, "Heart of the Sunrise". But even that 3 star song was not enough to elevate the rest of the album.
Starts out with a great song in Roundabout, but outside of one or two others songs, the album seemed more experimental. They added a new keyboardist and a few songs seemed like they were just trying to show off his skills. Even with all that, still a decent album.
Much better than expected. Not going to be a regular listen but Roundabout and We Have Heaven are great.
One of these days I’ll get Yes. Extra point for “Roundabout.”
4.0 - Very Good
It's fine, but prog rock isn't entirely my thing.
Pretty enjoyable for the most part. Decent ratio of parts that were cool to parts that sucked.
Zbyt progresywne.
Masterpiece
Very underwhelming prog album