Fragile

Yes, you need better songs for a higher rating. Favorite Track: "Roundabout".

ok

this is really getting me to develop a deeper appreciation (read: any at all) for prog rock. Roundabout was on repeat all day

Prog heaven really. Big fan.

Would I listen again: yes Best track: long distance runaround Worst track: five per cent for nothing. Surprise awesome track: we have heaven Weirdest track: cans and Brahms Lyrics: fine. But this is about the music. No skips?: no. Cover art cool?:yes Notes: I have very high hopes for this listen. I like this band but have never sat the light the whole album. I am afraid though it may fall victim to its own like progressiveness and get weird for the sake of weird. Roundabout is one of my fav songs. Steve Howe such a great player. Mood for a day! This is gorgeous how have I never heard this. Chris squire such a great and commanding bassist. This band has such good groove that I never noticed. Heart of the sunrise sounds like it could fit in my glass breams style playlist. Amazing sounding album. Just realized I was playing it on shuffle so I’m just gonna go with it because Im enjoying it anyway. Overall great album on one slip that five percent for nothing song is whack.

# Playlist track - Long Distance Runraound # Notes - There are a handful of SOLID tracks in there. - Roundabout, Long Distance Runaround and Heart of the Sunrise are probably my favorites. Also, Simon and Garfunkel's "America" become something else with them! - Epic instrumentation and top-notch prog! - Rick Wakeman mans the keyboards and synths on this one, and it really shows! - That, this album kind of forces you in a trip that is sometimes bumpy. Got me in a good day, tho. I enjoyed it, but I can't fault those who don't.

Goofy carnival bullshit. Roundabout is ok so I’ll bump it up to two stars.

This was fantastic. It will make it into my album collection

Second Yes album that has come up for me on here. I don't mind some Prog, but I struggle with Yes, the opening track Roundabout is solid though. Overall not a bad album I think for me it the electric organ sound that is not for me, considering that is the main feature of Yes it explains why I have never been a massive fan. Stand out tracks: - Roundabout - South Side of the Sky - Mood for a Day - Heart of the Sunrise

Cool prog rock. You don't hear people shredding on an acoustic guitar like this very often. A good time.

Roundabout was a cool song. A meme song. The fish was cool despite the odd sound effects. Mood for a day was kinda relaxing in a weird way. Overall I kinda liked the album

New one for me, prog rock not something I'd ever choose to put on. There's a lot here to digest - super musicians, slight pretentious but with a sense of humour. Winner for me.

Banger

Fav song: Mood For A Day (Roundabout close second though) I think this album is super interesting, especially for the time period. I would have rated it higher but it's just a bit too lost in the sauce in places for me personally. The production is solid though, especially in the low end. That bass really packs a punch. Not to mention the performance! The technical skill from each band member is extremely impressive. But yeah, just waaaaaay lost in the sauce! Side note: the 10 minute songs are actually kinda sick and interesting, especially America.

Roundabout? Amazing The interludes? Whatever The other two songs? They are good but nothing I care a whole lot about even after listening to it. I used to listen to this a lot as a teen but I realize it was mostly Roundabout

To me, 70's Yes is, like, "ur-prog." Y'know, the prog that's just... Always been around, always. The first sound you think of when you think of prog; the genre at perhaps its basest level. I'd call it timeless, too, but... Ehh, naaaah. It's still pretty pinnable to the 1970's. Which is just as well; if the 70's ain't prog's decade, then no other is. FRAGILE lands itself smack in the middle of what are, in my eyes, **the** Yes albums — ten months after (funnily enough) THE YES ALBUM, and ten months before CLOSE TO THE EDGE. And, like, it's crazy, you know? There's not too many other bands I can think of who can pull off something like this. Of course, in the case of FRAGILE, it helps that there's really only 4 "main songs." Now, that's not to put down the other five songs here, which are each composed individually by the five band members. They're all fun, and give a good sense as to what they bring to the group. I even really dig "Cans And Brahms", even if, for stupid contract reasons, it's just an arrangement of a classical piece. I guess my problem is just that... I'unno, as much as I like 'em, they make the album feel shorter than it actually is? Like, FRAGILE is only a minute shorter than THE YES ALBUM and three longer than CLOSER TO THE EDGE, but because 5/9 tracks jus' kinda breeze by, it makes it feel like there's so much less there on the whole. But, hey, despite that, the four "main songs" are still as good as ever, particularly "Roundabout". I mean, putting aside that one anime whose name slips my mind, it's not as iconic as it is for nothing. A sick bass line, virtuoso keys, great vocal harmonies... Across the board, it's simply incredible. Much the same goes for the rest, with a special highlight to "Heart Of The Sunrise". Goodness. **The** second song I tend to think of from this album. So, hey, it's all good stuff. However, ultimately, I think when you put these two halves of songs together... Honestly, as a whole package, it could be stronger. Like, my favorite Yes album is CLOSE TO THE EDGE, and that one wastes no time. It's simply three of the best songs the band would ever make, with not a second wasted, as far as I can hear — lot more beautiful vocal parts and harmonies, too. FRAGILE, on the other hand... Like I said, the solo composed tracks just do weird things to the pacing to me. That's my big problem here. If the album was weighted more towards the main songs than the solo fragments, sure, but as it stands... Yeeeeaaah. Still, I can't give it less than a 4 at minimum. It's still Yes in the middle of their best period, and I don't think they deserve much less. This is referencing the wrong album, but despite some of my misgivings, I can still get up **and** get down with this. (Now hopefully it's not, like, what, ten months until we get **that** album? Or more, goodness. I hope not!)

Just simply immaculate prog rock from some of the best in the game to do it. 5.5 if it was available.

I’m at a 4.5 that I’m gonna round up to a 5. The only reason I’m not at a flat 5 is simply because of the shorter tracks here – I get that they’re meant to be solo tracks, made as partial filler and a partial showcase of their individual talents, but they don’t have a really cohesive bend to them that makes the concept work – those tracks are no Speakerboxx / The Love Below, to put it one way. There are great tracks within those solo tracks though – Long Distance Runaround is a treat, and for some reason, Mood for a Day really fucking clicked with me. The rest are just sort of there, though. The main tracks on this album, which I would consider to be Roundabout, South Side of the Sky, & Heart of the Sunrise are all spectacular, and they’re the reason this gets a bump up to a 5. Roundabout is obviously the huge one, and I loved hearing it again, but I genuinely preferred South Side of the Sky more in terms of the storytelling, sound design, and atmosphere. Heart of the Sunrise is the longest one, and the most “epic” but the reprise of “We Have Heaven” closing out the album feels like a really staggering mistake to me. The track listing in general didn’t feel as coherent as the stuff on “The Yes Album”. I guess now’s a good time to point out the near-bookending of all this – we did get their last album on January 5th, and it’s now November 18th. That’s 10 months; I have heard so much fucking music this year, that this didn’t quite blow me away in the same way as The Yes Album did, but that’s less a fault of the album and more a consequence of going through this project, and just hearing so much music. It’s still great prog rock, it’s a great Yes album, and I really hope there’s more – it’s a pretty enjoyable 40 minutes, even with a few flat spots in there. It deserves to be bumped up to a 5, and everyone in the world should hear the main 3 tracks on this album at least once.

More like No, amirite guys?

No Simpsons: No

It was alright

At points I thought I was back in medieval times, which I would normally love but this is just too weird for me

All I could think of listening to this album was in Sound of Music when Liesl asks Captain von Trapp “Yes?” And he replies “No” Christopher Plummer was channeling me

Impressive variety of styles on one album, even if most aren’t to my taste.

I only like 3 tracks, but like how some songs sounded like jazz

A very intriguing album. I don't think I've heard anything quite like it before. It's definitely more of a one-off, interesting piece, something to experience for its uniqueness, rather than songs I'd find myself actually puttin on. Overall, not for me.

No

This irked me some. Long Distance Runaround lost me. I don’t know. I usually like Yes but this is a nah

Boring

Some nice instrumental pieces but it sounds aged to me! I don´t like the voice and over all it's too much doodledoodle. 1,5

Another good lesson on an album that I've never heard before.

Maybe there's some music-for- musicians thing going on here, but it's not working for me, just increasing the sense that prog rock was kind of a musical dead end. Really felt like a chore listening to this today. A whole lotta noodling.

Ich fand bisher YES uberschätzt. Und jetzt höre ich zum ersten Mal FRAGILE und finde es unsagbar gut.

This calliope-laden organ tour exhausted me, and the worst rendition of "America" didn't help.

Pretty much what I expected from a Yes album, a few bright moments but mostly obnoxious and full of random noises.

Should pray for them🤘🏻

Not the best but clearly the most well known of Yes' work from there original pre-90125 era. It contains radio freindly classics such as Roundabout, Long Distance Runaround, and one of my personal favorite Yes songs, Heart of the Sunrise. With Fragile, Yes successfully took prog rock, which was a niche genre at the time, and made it accessible to mainstream audiences. Songs liek Heart of the Sunrise represent more mainline prog rock with extended suites and ethereal content. Roundabout, on the other hand, is pure rock in a prog wrapper, allowing for 70s FM radio friendly edits. Close to the Edge and Tales From the Togographic Ocean are more what one expects from prog rock, and better realized concepts. Neither would have turned Yes into a mainstay of classic rock. Fragile was the vehicle for that.

i think this album leans more toward a 3.5 , the instrumentation is fantastic but nothing is particularly memorable for me and some tracks feel like filler to me. gonna come back to this one but these are my first impressions

Ooh this is where that riff is coming from! Groovy! Energetic for the most part. Not bad at all.

great start into the album but unless from few 10 minutes stretches there are not many songs to really listen to. Them cuts doesnt feel necessary for the album. its not a transition its just... there?! so yeah 2.5/5.0 doesnt work that well for me as a album

Begin echt heel leuk met roundabout, daarna beetje saai. Maar kan lachen

While Roundabout is one of my favourite Yes tracks, I feel as if Fragile falls into the same category as Closer to the Edge for me. The records are brilliant and deserve the hype, but I am curious how they became the quintessential Yes albums. The way I see it, their strengt is the combination of complex prog forms and beautiful melodicism with a hard hitting energetic sound. While this comes through. And while both of these albums have loads of that, so does Time and Word, The Yes Album and their later 70s stuff. I even love Yes post 90125, while it is a very different band. This comment is not so much to hate on the two records in question, but to ask why the other albums don't get as much hype when I would say they are at a possibly even higher artistic level. But yeah, 5 stars!

Yes is very good at elevating the status of rock by embracing classical music, adapting the classical aesthetic to what they’re doing. As we all know, most of the classic prog rock bands were British. Unlike jazz being seen as more important in America, classical music was more prestigious in the UK. I love the playful, clever interludes steeped in classical motifs, but one cannot ignore the majesty of the giant first track, “Roundabout”. For this track, it’s all about the instrumentation, the vocals covering only a fraction of the song. Basically, the lyrics aren’t important. We hear all Yes members’ virtuosity on this track, displaying their instrumental fluency, steeped not only in classical but art-oriented jazz. The song is also all about the concept, and the bigger the better: dramatic contrasts from section to section, the sprawling form of the piece, and the rich and varied textures and rhythms.

I hate prog. It doesn’t have killer tracks.

IN AND AROUND THE LAKE!!!!!!!!

While I really like some of the tracks, the full album gets a bit much. Unless of course you are high!

Prog rock, so I liked it. The long tracks especially were well done. Stand-out: Roundabout

In the better parts it’s quite good.

Very nearly a 5 for me, the filler is kinda wonky and takes me out of it. The rest is pretty fire though, funky and fun prog. Not words I associate with prog very often lol

Less cohesive than the other project from them I got.

Not a huge prog fan. I like certain songs, they are fun, but it isn't really my thing.

Wonderful album. Been a fan since my friend Randy Kolb introduced them to me in the 70s. Saw them at the Arie Crown Theater in Chicago, March 21, 1972. Great album!

3.5

Es muy buen disco. Virtuosismo exagerado a 10 min pero bien hecho. Es muy parecido a Génesis pero nosé si me gusta más.

Good prog. Classic Prog sound, but unfortuanately I don't love love prog rock. I can get halfway there with a band like Rush and some Yes tunes, but mostly it goes over my head

A pretty good album.

Love this album. Not Yes’ best, but it brings back memories of me childhood

I have been familiar with "Roundabout" for a long time and, though it is still my favorite track on the album, the rest of the album does not disappoint.

Helped on along drive

Had Yes' "Close to the Edge" earlier this year and didn't quite know what to make of it. Ended up giving it 5 stars in the end, but now I'm not sure if I should have. Because this here, again, is... the best of prog rock and the worst of prog rock in one unconvient package. Maybe like this: it's musically often great but sonically often grating? Eh, 4.

I bought this album at a garage sale in my neighborhood in about 1981. I loved it, and went on to claim YES as my first concert on the 90125 tour in 1984. I still love this album.

Volvemos al reto éste miércoles con Yes, una de las bandas progresivas clásicas que en mi momento de mayor curiosidad por el género escuché y que no me encantó como otras pero siempre aprecié. Siento que es porque siempre fue una banda de virtuosos que buscaron sonidos limpios y luminosos y la oscuridad es lo mío: por eso mi favoritismo por King Crimson, los primeros discos de Rush o las búsquedas sonoras de Pink Floyd. El disco arranca con un bajo criminal, que es lo que siempre me flipó de Yes: todos eran/son musicazos, pero Chris Squire siempre fue un bestia. Mención especial para el ingreso de Wakeman en los teclados: un adelantado a su época. Lleno de temazos, es una gran elección para éste reto. Hasta mañana.

Meh. Liked one song but honestly sounded like a bunch of noise on overly long songs

This was great!

only gets more than a 1 star cause of roundabout

Prog rock os totaly boring OMG

Really great vibe!! Had really fun listining to thiss definitely gonna play roundabout more often! I was really surprised when i heard the meme hahaha. Best song: roundabout

Listen, Roundabout is an unequivocal banger. The rest of the album is a mess. 5 stars for 8:30 of greatness, 1 star for the rest. 3 stars it is.

Is that a fucking JoJo reference?!?

Yes, Yes. Man what a great album. The longer tracks are obviously the better ones. The shorter ones felt like afterthoughts, or ones that they couldn't quite figure out in time for the album and so used them as filler instead. I don't know if there's a group that is as technically sound as Yes is, especially on this album. "Roundabout" is an absolute masterpiece. The range shown on that track is amazing. The precision, the time changes, the harmonies, the organ solo(!!). All of it is incredible and for encapsulates what the band is capable of. My one gripe - Roundabout should've been the closer. It's the best track and you can't put your best track first. I don't care how good the rest of the album is. And the rest of this album doesn't match what "Roundabout" does. That's not to say it's bad. Not by any stretch. "South Side of the Sky" almost matches the energy and virtuosity of "Roundabout" in a way that really pleasantly surprised me. Even one of the shorter tracks, "Mood for a Day" grabbed my attention. On the whole, I enjoyed this one. It did leave me wondering where the band went from here. I knew "Roundabout" coming in and expected (and got) an album that mostly sounded similar. I know they did "Owner of a Lonely Heart," which was a huge radio hit. I...don't like that song. Maybe I'll find out through this project. Four stars. Standout Tracks: Roundabout, South Side of the Sky, Long Distance Runaround, Mood for a Day, America

With such a strong (if long) intro, it’s a shame the middle is so mellow and frankly boring. What’s there is beautiful and well done, but so much time elapses and suddenly you’re hit with another flashy song for the outro. The musicality is good when there; unfortunately, the length kills this one.

Intricate and elaborate, but also oddly emotional. Long orchestral pieces and short interludes, and continued surprises, even though I’ve heard this record many times. I don’t think anyone quite makes music like this anymore, at least not ironically, but to me it still sounds energetic and fresh.

Ziemlich aufregend...

Nice enough radio music. Don’t find it memorable

I only liked the jojo song

'Roundabout' unironically hard carries this album. The rest are a good vibe, but were not particularly interesting to me. To be continued....

great start. roundabout is just a great rock tune, but hooking you with beautiful fingering and then a killer bassline.

Desde el principio no sabes si estás escuchando música clásica, ópera rock, barroco ... al final yo lo he disfrutado como otros discos de Yes que están en esta lista. Añado a favoritos "Roundabout, "Long distance roundaround", "Heart of sunshine" y "America".

Not bad

So sick. Such obvious talent.

Yes is a really talented band I definitely enjoy listening to the album. And despite it being one my dad's favorite bands, I never connected that the famous "To be continued..." riff was from "Roundabout" so that was a nice little surprise

7.1

I mostly remember Yes to be crooner version of art school prog schmaltz, which indeed this album has, but I was so pleasantly surprised at just the general tuneful and instrumental intricacy and detail. Crisp and quaffable, in beer terms, also just as unhealthy.

could i write poetry to this? n

I really liked Chris Squire's bass playing. The rest of it was just okay for me. A great example of all things that people love or hate about Prog Music.

3.5 I actually liked this more than I thought I would.

Brahms??

I had this album long ago. I loved hearing these songs again.

Extraordinary. The obvious - the musicianship, the synchronicity between mates, and the immensely creative song structures. But what makes this album great is what makes any album of songs great - emotional impact; and emotional impact comes from the use of harmonic structure and, most importantly, strength of melody. What's so amazing about this album is that there are often three and sometimes four counterpoint melodic ideas going on simultaneously and most of them are really strong. There are more strong melodic ideas in many of these individual songs than there are in most modern albums. And the complex harmonic progressions SERVE the emotional impact of the songs, rather than just show off an understanding of harmony and a capacity for complex ideas. Yes, these guys are all exceptionally learned, technically proficient and clever. But the album is great because the musicality is primary; and the cleverness and complexity are always employed in service of its pursuit.

I was halfway through the second listen of this album before I realized that I was listening to the same songs. Pretty unremarkable but nice to listen to.

Roundabout is an absolute monster of an opening track. They never quite got up to that level again. A few of the instrumental interludes were too discordant for my tastes to go full marks.

The nerds are allowed to have rock too. Unfortunately, I found this one to be rather devoid of any emotion outside of a few tracks (or passages?).

En del af det lyder faktisk rigtigt godt, åbningstracket blandt andet. Det er ikke så eksperimenterende at det bliver svært at høre på. Men jeg savner flere sange med sang, lidt for meget instrumentalt til mig

Pretty good.

Yes? No

Roundabout :)))))))) actually quote liked this

Enjoyed the bands upbeat musical notes and rhythm.

Roundabout is one of YES’s great ones

I listened to this last night and have already forgotten everything about it

I love this album. I was actually getting paranoid that it somehow didn't make the list. I have many fond memories of listening to this record, particularly on vinyl. There are certainly some imperfections so to speak when it comes to this album. Not all of of the "individual spotlight" songs truly hit but I do feel that Mood For A Day is a amazing instrumental; it always has and continues to make me feel emotions every time that I hear it. The "real songs" are all very good. I do think Roundabout might be a bit overrated but Heart of The Sunrise always moves me. I just love the music and the vocal performance is just amazing to my ears. I will always love that song. It has a few flaws that I can overlook because the strength of what works is just so so good. A no trainer 5 for me.

The longer songs are fantastic, but the album as a whole doesn’t feel consistent to me. It’s alright overall but I don’t think I’ll be listening to this again. Interesting sound though, so I’m keen to see if there are any more albums from this band on this list.

I have a copy of this but i haven't listened to it in years. Pretty good. Might get more of their albums based on this.

Some fantastic tracks here especially roundabout. Not much else to say it's some really strong prog rock

Little boring, music drones on a bit, zoned out Nice album artwork though

I had only ever heard Roundabout off of this album. Great use of early synth and the bass is just phenomenal. Favourite track is probably Long Distance Runaround.

This album makes a catchy, fun and interesting blend of sounds, drawing from prog rock but not falling into the classic traps of the genre. The songs, while long and complicated, are easy to like and feel very timeless.

interesting but the complexity make it hard to come back to it.

Great early 70s album. Not for my regular rotation but I never get sad when Yes shows up on the radio.

i was mostly expecting "Roundabout" to be the most fun track on here, but as it turns out, almost every track on the album is fun or bright in a way that i wasn't really expecting from how people regard the band Yes. you expect a big, stodgy, self-important piece of rock (and of course there are important, abstract themes of nature and emotion tackled on here) but on each track there's always a joyful little vocal harmony or a funky little bass part hidden in every corner of this ecosystem. i think there's really only one misstep and it's the weird moogy cover of Symphony in E that took 15 hours to record somehow? outside of that, it's kind of no surprise that Yes turned into 80's Trevor Horn pop the next decade. Yes could do whatever they wanted, but they do melody the best.

Roundabout is a phenomenal intro. Cool prog album, really enjoyed this one

Yes

No.

I'm not sure I'd say yes but I wouldn't say no. To be honest just a little bland with a bit too much noodling but some okay tracks

Lempparit: Roundabout ja Mood For a Day Vähiten lemppari: America

Operation: play your instruments as fast as possible

A little proggy for my taste, and there are like 10 songs ever that have any business being over 10 minutes long, and this album does not contain one. That said, I think the highs are very high and the lows are extremely forgettable. Good memories and everything else being forgotten is a recipe for an album that can be remembered pretty favorably, so that's good.

90% Best: Roundabout; South Side of the Sky; Heart of the Sunrise Must-Hear?: Yes

One good thing about this album is that it reminded me how good America by Simon and Garfunkel is. It's so good, in fact, that even when it's being butchered by this totem of prog rock excess, it's still great. The rest of the album? Maybe they should have got S+G in as songwriters. And let them sing and play instead.

i mean it’s literally fine. i recognized “roundabout” from…somewhere…this certainly wasn’t as teeth-grittingly bad as some other prog rock but i would never listen to this of my own accord.

i guess it wasn't NOT enjoyable but it wasn't that interesting to me and i didn't really care about that at all...it's no thoughts head empty for me. bye

Not bad. 2/5

Good shit. Not for me. This early prog rock is corny to me but hey I know some people love this stuff. Corny people

Nicht meine Richtung

I’ve heard good things about Yes so had high hopes but this felt like a chore to get through. It had some songs and parts I liked but a lot seemed unrefined and felt like a jam session in a basement. Favorite songs were: 1. Roundabout - good but long 9. Mood for a day - this song rocked 3/10

I don't think im really a prog guy, and I could easily see myself not liking this. That said it was a fun album that I ended up really digging it. Roundabout is a blast. Album cover: A Good solid fantasy need style

If your album has only one really good song, don't put it first. Then the rest of it just is a disappointment compared to that first one. That's been the case for like 40 of these albums, this is no different.

I was mostly paying attention to this album in Henry's apartment. We're on a big prog rock kick in this group, having listened to EL&P and King Crimson last week. Yes finishes the triumvirate of "prog bands I've heard of", so I'm glad they've come up so soon. Roundabout is super famous, so that was instantly recognizable. I liked it a lot. I wasn't really paying attention to individual songs, so I've got to rate it off of the general vibes. The vibes were generally good. This was my least favorite album of the three prog rock albums so far (Tarkus, Crimson King), but I enjoyed it. 7/10

eh, not a huge fan.

JOJOOOOO

Yes are a band that I am a semi-fan of. Their highs are absolutely mountain high, but their lows are often the core of the Earth. If there is one album in their discography that represents this little anecdote - it is ’Fragile’. Some of the tracks here are Yes at their absolute best. The phenomenal opener ‘Roundabout’, with its insane bass line and absolute toe-tapping melody and beat. The haunting genre mixing of ‘South Side Of The Sky’, the smokey acoustic instrumental ‘Mood For A Day’, and the damn near magnum opus of prog rock finisher in ‘Heart Of The Sunrise’. If I was ranking this album just based on these songs alone this would be around the 4/5 mark for me. But it is littered with fillers. ‘Cans and Brahms’, ‘We Have Heaven’, ‘Five Per Cent For Nothing’, and ‘The Fish’ are all fairly short interludes that add nothing but more runtime. I would have honestly preferred it if the band had ditched these tracks and simply extended the stronger material. It’s a true “middle of the road” record with high high’s and some very low low’s. Yes also have much stronger albums than this - so I can only hope those are on this list, as well. 3/5

Amazing cult classic

But much

this is an immense album. obviously roundabout is the biggie, but heart of the sunrise is such a phenomenal piece and the more experimental stuff in-between is short, sweet and interesting. saving my 5 for close to the edge, but it's all here.

I have been Bombarded by prog rock as of late, but I actually liked this more than I thought I would. The bass lines are ripping and the tracks are variable enough to keep me interested.

A really fun adventure

Not the biggest prog fan. This was ok in parts. Shorter instrumental pieces seemed kinda pointless. Don't think I'd be able to tell between these and Genesis.

I was wondering why I had the first song saved…

I think you guys know what I’m gonna say… Yup!

I’ve recently described Roundabout as one of my favourite songs ever so with that and Heart of the Sunrise and all of the other weird songs in between, this surely has to be one of my favourite albums.

now we are certainly moving towards the sublime ...

Ik heb zo'n gevoel dat de hoofd editor van deze lijst een man van een jaar of 60 is, met een drumstel in z'n garage waar hij vanaf z'n dertigste al niet meer aan heeft gezeten. Elke keer als je eindelijk in een lekkere cadans zit komt er een prog rock album langs, waardoor je met één wiel in de berm belandt. Ik ga het uiteraard kort houden. Twee punten van aandacht, en de eerste is zowaar positief. Voor zo'n taffes prog rock plaat vloog hij voorbij, en heb ik me weinig geïrriteerd aan dat eeuwige gemeander tussen passieloze en zenuwachtige solo's. Het tweede punt sluit hierop aan, en is minder positief. Er waren ook weinig tot geen interessante momenten die mij er aan deden herinneren dat er überhaupt een album aan stond. Eigenlijk pas in de staart van de plaat werd ik weer bij de les geroepen, want toegegeven, 'Heart of the Sunrise' is best wel een sterke afsluiter. Maar het mocht niet baten. 5/10 Highlights: Heart of the Sunrise Vader in de hemel, ik bid u nu om vrede voor mijn oren en mijn hart. Lieve heer, ik hoop dat er dit jaar geen progressieve rockplaten meer uit de random album generator komen rollen. In Jezus' naam, Amen.

Amen

Not for me

It was okay. Roundabout is epic, but the rest... meh...

Man Roundabout would make for a bizarrely good anime outro (👀). I love this sound it’s like psychedelic but still rock and head boppy. Very fun album but I have a enemy stand user to go take care of now

Some all-time great jams on here, but also a lot that feels like filler.

Finally, a pros rock record I like

Still very jammy, but I enjoyed this way more than the last Yes album on this list. There's some wild time signatures in here and I can dig it. The organ, synths and drums are stand outs.

I didn't listen to the whole thing. There were some songs that I liked but were in my opinion too long. Not my favorite.

roundabout

Best wel nice

only had listened to Roundabout from this album (which I loved) so had very high expectations, only to get a generic but slightly funkier version of Pink Floyd, not bad but still disappointed

3.5/5

Why don’t we play all the songs at once? Yes!

Yes reminds me of prog-adjacent Steely Dan. All in all, this was a fine album. Roundabout is a hit! I do think it's a strange choice to end with a 10 minute cover of Simon & Garfunkel's "America", but it's fine. Best Songs: Roundabout, Long Distance Runaround Worst Songs: Heart of the Sunrise

6.5/10

Muy bueno

Superb

Perfect

Awesome

prog rock, some good stuff, but tracks too long and joined together by nonsense 2.5

Probably brilliant and ahead of its time, but didn't quite connect so much

I love how focused on the instrumentals this album is. Really enjoyed the entire thing.

The album kinda sucks you in, starting with an amazing track in Roundabout. The rest doesn't quite hit the same and sometimes feels a little experimental. I still really enjoyed it, but they kind show their entire hand in the first track.

4 STARS THIS IS what began my journey into the mysteries of prog rock. I'm forever grateful for the minds and bodies that created this music.

Na. Rubbish

These guys can jam. Their bassist is actually pretty incredible.

yes = rush’s nerdier cousin

Don’t like prog rock

to be honest except Roundabout for becoming a meme i can vibe to, this album really hit a miss with me, i can't find myself to enjoy it, Edit 1 : i like the second half of the album where it's just beat i could vibe to without the necessary vocals that ruins the melody listened 4/9/2024

Ensimmäinen biisi oli ihan hauska, mutta levyn loppua kohti progeilu lähtee lapasesta. Muutama leiskautus mahtui joukkoon vaikka mielenkiinto hyytyy pahasti levyn edetessä.

Ihan toimiva levy. Pari turhan pitkää biisiä söi kokonaisuudelta pisteitä, mut ylöspäin pyöristetty kolmonen

Not really a yes fan.

Love me some Yes!

I hate most prog rock but this isn't bad. Some good guitar vamping that thirty five years later became a whole genre. I don't like the vocals. I once called Yes the band that will get you laid the least.

Did not listen much, but no excitement in first songs

Strange album

No.

No. 247/1001 Roundabout 3/5 (5x) Cans and Brahms 3/5 We Have Haven 3/5 South Side of the Sky 3/5 (5x) Five per Cent for Nothing NR Long Distance Runaround 4/5 (2x) The Fish 3/5 (2x) Mood for a Day 4/5 (2x) Heart of the Sunrise 3/5 (7x) Average: 3,16 Prog album that works a lot of classical music into the songs. Pretty good, but no song that I will come back to.

Ganz nett.

Bass tone on Roundabout puts this at 4.5+

It was all going perfectly well, and then they butchered America. What a box of cunts.

Roundabout is excellent. Everything else, less so. Overly drawn out and often dull, with moments of interest. It doesn't do much to defend against the common criticisms of prog rock. 27/08/24

Great long form prog rock

A classic prog rock album, with Roundabout being a hit song. I generally enjoyed the album, though there were times where I felt certain bits of songs lasted too long. My favourite songs are Roundabout and South Side of the Sky.

Meh.

Oh hey it's that meme song. Otherwise it's straight down the middle prog rock. In fact I'd say that because this album is only 40 minutes I liked it. Prog rock can be very wankery but if they at least keep it within a good time period.

8.5/10

Cool

Self-indulgent musical masturbation and I'm completely here for it. Brilliant.

Progressive Rock, Symphonic Rock

Marred by the fact that there's a better Yes record and that the first track outshines the rest of the record

Roundabout is the best by far

Always welcome a little Yes. 3.5/5

cheesy and annoying

+1 for the meme track

JOJOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Loving the intro, not knowing what I'm getting into. Enjoyed the instrumentation and vocals of this album. 4* Highlights: roundabout, we have heaven

Kiss my ass prog rock

A little too prog for my taste. It was all just basically "hey bro, let's just jam and see what happens, hehe".

I now know where that meme sound come from. Roundabout!

Got 2 songs in and had to turn it off. Like someone wanted to try and get every instrument into each song 5 times over. Hurt my head.

Quite stressful

Überraschend gut. Gibt knapp 4. für seine Zeit toll. Teilweiles etwas künstlich verkomplizierte Musik, aber noch im Rahmen.

One of my heros! Highly recommended

I wanted to listen to this album for a while after getting the Yes Album and it didn't disappoint. Everything in Fragile is so good and even better than the previous album. It feels like they got it down with amazing guitar solos, great drums, and well crafted songs. I also like after most major songs they have instrumental interludes which add to the overall experience of listening to the album. Really just Yes at their peak! Favorite songs: Roundabout, South Side of the Sky, Long Distance Runaround, Heart of the Sunrise, America

Das Album ist ein Paradebeispiel für die progressive Rockmusik der 70er Jahre. Es zeichnet sich durch seine musikalische Vielfalt und die technische Virtuosität der Bandmitglieder aus. “Roundabout”: Dieser Song ist wohl der bekannteste Track des Albums und ein Klassiker des Progressive Rock. Mit seinem eingängigen Bassriff und den komplexen Arrangements zeigt er die Stärken der Band in voller Pracht. “The Fish (Schindleria Praematurus)”: Ein weiteres bemerkenswertes Stück, das durch seine experimentellen Klänge und die beeindruckende Bassarbeit von Chris Squire hervorsticht. “Heart of the Sunrise”: Dieses epische Stück ist zwar musikalisch beeindruckend, kann aber aufgrund seiner Länge und Komplexität schwer zugänglich sein. Es erfordert mehrere Hördurchgänge, um die vielen Schichten und Nuancen vollständig zu erfassen.

ehhhhhh 46

Sweet album, classic

A few good songs. Of course roundabout was outstanding. But a lot of pillar I thought too.

This is a band that I ought to like, but had heard precious little by them. Though I do like Jon Anderson and Rick Wakeman's solo stuff. I've got their best of album and there is some good some not so good tracks. I suppose the mark of a good album is when it's finishes before you know it and indeed that happened here. You tube started playing the intro to Aqualung and I thought hang on a minute, I was enjoying that what happened to Yes. The upshot is it's a great album worth every bit a 4

Better than the other Yes album on here last week. But, my view of Prog hasn’t changed. Too much going on, not enough flow.

No. I just don't get it. Prog seems to be about guitar playing going up and down the fret board. It's not a lot different in style and tone to the other Yes album we had to listen to only a week or so ago. So I don't understand it's inclusion to this list.

# 290 : Not awful, in fact better then I expected. I'm just not so much into instrumentals. Not really my cup of tea. Pleasant enough sound, I just wont be going back to this. I guess there's certain moods for certain tunes and I guess I wasn't in it :-)

started out thinking this album was going to be gas because of roundabout, and roundabout was indeed GAS, however, every other song on this album is about 6 minutes too long and doesn’t do anything interesting with that time. especially the last song droned on too long. that isn’t to say i didn’t thoroughly enjoy parts and moments of this album and overall had a good time. high 3

Whoa

This one's an all timer for me. I got this album because I had a guitar magazine that had the bass tab for Long Distance Runaround in it. It was a lot of fun to play. Chris Squire was a killer player. That fat punchy sound of a Rickenbacker played with a pick, it cuts right through the mix. Excellent album. 5 stars all day.

Thought this was a cool album despite not really being my thing. Long songs that change completely four times within the same song are sometimes hard to deal with, but I was never annoyed by anything. Overall an impressive entry even if it wasn't really for me. 3.5 stars

OK - I've heard it, acknowledge that it exists, but won't be listening to it again

Looks like I gave the other album a 3 but after listening to this I'm willing to give them a few more spins. Roundabout is certainly the standout, especially since the edition I listened to had it as a bonus track at the end so I ended up hearing it 4 times.

Hmmmm, I liked this more than "Close To The Edge", which I should probably listen to again. Between the list bringing that album up and this one, I acquired slightly more of a taste for Yes. Their single "Owner of a Lonely Heart", from a much later album, was used extensively in an episode of "Dead Boy Detectives" and it was pretty cool - I thought maybe Yes went through a new wave phase, but listening to "Roundabout", I think they had that dog in em all along. Fave track - "Roundabout" is definitely the stand out - "We Have Heaven" is nice too, though feels like a snippet of something that should be longer...

Oh my god it's the JoJo song. I did not know of this band before this was introduced to me. I like the whole song; it's fun. I particularly like the nylon guitar present throughout the album, especially mixed with the more prog-rock aspects.

Not my style. Not too bad musically, but the progressive aspect is a bit goofy.

Not for me, simply no... To much going on and not enough to latch onto...

Yes is a solid 4-star band. Always enjoy it, but never need to go back to it on a regular basis.

Roundabout

Great piece of prog

Two of my favorite Yes tracks are on this album. Overall, it's super solid. 4.5

I thought ok another 1 good song then trash, but this album was actually pretty good!

Feels like generic Progress Rock, easy to forget.

I quite like this album. "Roundabout" has been memed to death and a certain section of it feels out of place. The other songs are alright. I don't consider "Fragile" groundbreaking unlike a few albums from this period. It's the only Yes album I've listened to as of now. I'll give "Fragile" 3 stars.

A little long-winded, but very skillful and fun to listen to

Pleasantly surprised at the amount of piano on this album. Still just a middle of the road album for me though

This is the type of rock I love, high energy, funky & just all around enjoyable. I’m glad they’re on tour this year with Deep Purple so I can catch them live!

You can hear how this band was clearly an influence on many other famous bands, so while I don’t deny the significance, I didn’t really enjoy it as it’s not my style. Rating: 2

The two songs I knew going in to this album were Roundabout and Heart of the Sunrise, so I was a little surprised that most of the songs were around 2 or 3 minutes. I am not a huge Prog Rock guy, but this is some of the best Prog Rock out there. Very good guitar playing and some funky basslines. High 4

Decent enough.

Has its moments but an odd mix of songs. 3

This album was definitely better than the last Yes album. I liked "Mood for a Day", and the first track was pretty decent too.

I liked this more than their self-titled album, though that isn't a high bar. This felt looser and lighter, and more appealing, though it still frequently drifted into self-indulgent. Plus, one of the songs is used on the Buffalo 66 soundtrack

Like being stuck in a 'Dazed and Confused' scene, but the music sucks. 'Mood for a Day' is okay.

In my opinion the best line up. Wakeman & Bruford.

135/1001

I know I know a Yes song. Can't quite put my finger on it though. Ooooh this first track might be it. The classical guitar intro is beautiful! Just turned funky. hmmm if that first track was their biggest hit on the album, it's all down hill from here lol. I mean it's okay.. but not crazy about it. Yeah this is crazy music. No melody at all and just all over the place. I'm done with this. 2 stars.

Nerd Wizard Rock that I *definitely* asked for

Boring Boomer Trash.

Technically talented musicians but John Andersons voice is absolutely not my thing.

Was about as good as I was expecting it to be! Enjoyed this thoroughly. I haven't listened to a prog rock album in quite some time, but Fragile is a fantastic welcome back to the genre for me

I have never listened to this album (nor any Yes album) all the way through. Of course I know "Roundabout" and "Long Distance Runaround" but the rest will be new to me - along with hearing an entire Yes album in one sitting. I liked it. It was better than I expected (I'm not sure why my expectations were so low).

I'm lukewarm on Prog as a whole. I like the idea of giving songs space to breathe, using the studio as an instrument and generally pushing musical boundaries. In practice, I find that most acts hide behind those tools instead of using them to express something. (Jacob Collier as a prime example in modern pop) Fragile teeders on that problem with a few tracks (We Have Heaven as the worst offender) but even those feel more like lackluster moments than failed experiments to me. Roundabout is an opus and exactly what I want to hear from a prog band. Long well developed varied and interesting music. Nothing but Heart of Sunshine gets back to that level but still an enjoyable pile of eclectic music here.

It's 70s Dad rock... it is what it is

Prog Rock cornerstone. You're gonna love or hate it. Yeah - some do go on.. but to truly enjoy - toke up you fave bud and enjoy the trip I did when this came out back in the day (yeah...I'm old... and toked at an early age)

I'm getting older. 4 out of 5

My first time listening to Yes! I really digged it. It's very Pink Floyd and King Crimson. Really funky too.

Favorite Track: Roundabout other picks: cans and brahms, Long distance runaround, Mood for a day

Awesome classic prog album. Very similar to early King Crimson (especially a riff that's a lot like the guitar in 21st Century Schizoid Man). Gotta love Rick Wakeman and Bill Bruford. Mix of tracks that appeal to the masses and deeper cuts.

yes

Good album.

Half of this album is “Roundabout” and “Heart of the Sunrise”. Not really a complaint, but I don’t know what it is with prog rock and its marathon songs. The thing is, most of the rest of the album were short instrumentals that didn’t really match the energy of “Roundabout” or even “South Side of the Sky”. Makes me think that the construction of the album was fiddled with a bit too much, but I guess that was normal for prog rock of this era.

Yes? Track 1: No. Track 2: God no! Track 3: Not quite. Track 4: I begrudgingly decline. Sorry, are you still going? Track 5: Why are you even asking? Track 6: Ahh you nearly had me ... then you opened your mouth. Track 7: Is this a new question? Erm, still probably not. Track 8: Ye gadds, sire. Thrice nay. Track 9: Blimey. You do go on. Ok, this once. BUT with heavy caveats, and you're really pushing my patience. Track 10: Why do you have to make everything so complicated? I'm sure someone else asked me this one before. But much more succinctly and elegantly. Nice try, but no. Track 11: Is this a valid question?

Nope. just can't do mediocre prog-rock.

never liked Yes

song reco: roundabout ⭐⭐⭐ i did not expect this album to be purely instrumental after roundabout. still, it was a good listen.

I was edging towards a two for this. And then America came on. And it took me a few minutes to realise it was a cover. And anyone who can make a beautiful joyous classic like that into an unrecognisable, intolerable mess does not deserve any more than a 1. Apart from all the other things I don’t like about this album

Roundabout is worth the price for admission on this but it also carries the weight of this album. I cant get past thinking of Jojo's Bizarre Adventure since its become so linked to that song. The rest is okay, but still pretty enjoyable, they just put the best up first.

Roundabout slaps. The rest is looong

Moments of absolute brilliance with some mediocre sections. Pretty much sums up most of Yes’ output

I liked this. Close to the Edge is better tho.

I was hosting office hours while listening to this and no kids showed up. It was fine. Really liked the instrumental stuff at the beginning of the first song but subsequently tuned this out kinda.

Bangers although they didn’t really stand apart from one another 8/10

6/10 - Opening with a meme song is great but it was really interesting going from a short song to a long song and back and forth for a bit like that. There were some other songs that I enjoyed however the last two were so long and I did not fully vibe with.

Still find prog rock boring as hell. Nothing about this stood out to me

Really liked the weirdness

Not big into prog, which I think this is? Roundabout is a good tune I was familiar with. Sounded a lot like Chicago I think. In fact I’m pretty sure I thought roundabout was a Chicago song. Anyway, not a horrible listen, didn’t really standout. EXCEPT for the (what I think) is Spanish style guitar sprinkled throughout.

It’s a good album but compared to Fragile it lacks depth

"Fragile" showcases Yes's technical prowess and ambitious compositions, with standout tracks like "Roundabout" and "Long Distance Runaround." The album's prog-rock complexity impresses, but occasionally veers into self-indulgence. While innovative, some segments feel disjointed. A mixed bag of brilliance and excess, "Fragile" is an important but uneven entry in Yes's discography.

IS THAT A MOTHER FUCKING JOJO REFERENCE?! Hey, this albums not very good. Every song is either bizarrely too short or frustratingly too long. 3 separate times I was like okay that songs over only for it to keep going.

An easy 5 stars for one or my long time favorite albums, though it can be hard to hear it with fresh ears. It strikes me as music that was precision engineered to be loved by dorky music majors in the seventies. Maybe I feel that was because that perfectly describes my dad, who introduced it to me, but I bet the pattern holds. Beyond delivering some absolutely killer bass lines, what this album does so well is layer wild musical complexity while staying approachable and catchy.

I don't really believe most of the scare stories about algorithms and AI and shit like that. It never seemed likely that there would be any value in monitoring my thoughts or purchases. Surely no-one would bother programming an AI to record what I liked, and then do the opposite just to fuck with me? Fragile by Yes. How are you people getting The College Dropout and Sam Cooke live albums? This was every bit as insufferable as I would have expected, had I ever spent any time considering its existence. It's the sound of wanking. The sound of estate agents, wanking. But much less sexy than even that sounds. I didn't love it, it's fair to say. Not estate agents. Quantity surveyors. The sound of quantity surveyors, wanking.

I thought I'd like this more, it's good music but a bit tedious

A few moments that made me think "Hmm... That was weird", other than that it's just really good. I liked how Mood For A Day contrasts with the rest.

this was interesting

Yes. It's Yes time. This is a great album. I don't know a ton about Yes. But if there's one thing about this band that I know, it's the song "Roundabout." That's the opener on this album and it's amazing. I've never heard the full 8 minute long song until today. It's great, and so is the rest of the album. There's a few little ditties in there that are kind of fun, but the album really shines with the longer more complete songs. In particular, the aforementioned "Roundabout," as well as "South Side of the Sky" and the album's closer "Heart of the Sunrise" stand out as truly phenomenal songs. The sound on this album is very pleasant. The guitar and bass work is just top-notch. The drumming and keyboard work is also quite great. I like the vocals. They give a very positive vibe to the songs. Overall, this is an amazing prog rock album, though not quite my favorite one. High 4/5.

I always liked Roundabout and always hoped they had more songs like it. Big catalog of music over the years, but not many other songs that weren't too strange to listen to. I will crank up Owner of a lonely heart(not on this album obviously) anytime it's on...but for the rest of the Yes catalog it's just not my bag. This not a solid 3...it's a 2.6 and I'm being nice since they are in the Rock hall. Catch me on a crappy day and it's a 2.

Yes is a no for me. They were a huge band, I just don’t get their music.

actually very pleasing

Crap

People on here hating real music that makes you happy for some reason. 5 stars always for one of my favorites. Not even bill Bruford's best work and it's still objectively better than anything - anything - released after 1999.

strange...

Roundabout

I liked this more than any other Yes album on this list only on the back of Roundabout. That’s not high praise; I still found the rest of this prog rock parade interminable. Sorry not sorry.

Didn't want it to end

It wasn’t bad. Better than The Yes Album certainly. It seemed to have more structure than that album did, and more purpose, although having another entirely acoustic guitar workout was certainly an interesting choice, even if I did enjoy it the best of all the songs on the album. I could stand to listen to Roundabout again, and maybe Heart Of The Sunrise, that intro riff is pretty gnarly

I have a weird relationship with "classic" rock. I do like a lot of music influenced by early prog rock, but something about it never lands quite right with me. I've heard Roundabout a thousand times of course, but the second of this album gets pretty good and I would give it another listen. What's up with the brief classical segment though? It's interesting that they recorded "goof around" tracks like that and "5 percent..." in the era of analog tape...

Roundabout mencionado.

Much better than I expected after the two Yes albums I'd had before. Obviously that's not hard, but my sense of dread gave way to mild happiness when this turned up some songs with tunes and a groove rather than endless noodling!

[insert Selina Meyer WTF GIF from Veep]

It's like they improvised the entire album but without missing a single scientifically placed note. If Steely Dan were more steely and less Dan. This drummer fucking loooves quarter notes on the snare.

The 4 main songs are amazing, the solo stuff adds some charm, works well in-between the longer prog epics

Fui para este álbum com muita precaução, já tinha ouvido o álbum "verde" dos Yes e honestamente fiquei um bocado desiludido. Este álbum muito pelo contrario não me desiludiu, não achei uma obra prima, mas achei muito mais interessante do que o tal álbum "verde". Por onde começar, pelo inicio obviamente, então para iniciar o típico do álbum, torna-se essencial abordar a cultura do meme, neste caso do meme proveniente das Aventuras Bizarras de Jojo, o tal de "To be continued". Então o álbum abre com o Roundabout, que tornou-se muito famosa devido ao fim dos episódios de Jojo onde o episódio terminava em suspanse e entrava esta música que depois continuava para o fechamento. A juventude que é muito moderna passou a fazer vários clipes onde cortavam assim que as coisas iam correr mal, com o momento congelado como em Jojo e com esta cantiga. Assim conheci a música e muitos outros jovens. O que se pode dizer para além de se encaixar bem esta música é sem dúvida o magnum opus dos Yes nada do que eles fizeram é tão bom quanto isto. Mas o álbum não é só isto, existem mais coisas, mas nenhuma que chegue perto do nosso querido roundabout. Mas há que dizer que os Yes sofrem da síndrome de Dream Theater, ou os Dream Theater sofrem de síndrome de Yes, como vocês queiram interpretar. Mas que síndrome é esta? É o facto de a banda ser magistral na composição instrumental e depois a voz peca em comparação, não é que seja má, mas está há anos luz de qualidade. Mais Yes do que Dream Theater. Uma Ressalva, acho mal não estar aqui nenhum álbum de Dream Theater nesta lista. Bem, existem algumas experiências engraçadas como o Cans and Brahms onde flertam com música clássica e o mesmo no Heart of Sunshine. O America é uma cantiga que se ouve bem e curiosamente o álbum esta repleto de músicas mais curtas quase que uma passagem para chegar as músicas mais compridas e complexas, músicas curtas como o Five Per Cent for Nothing. No geral é um álbum que passaria ao lado se não fosse a instrumentação magistral em músicas até que boas mas nem sempre. Para além da maravilhosa Roundabout destaco a Heart of Sunshine. Nota: 6/10 Data: 15/06/2024