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
