Yes - Fragile (1971)
It's hard to believe that in the span of one year Yes released not one, but two critically acclaimed classic albums. Certainly the group was riding the crest of a creative wave, one that would last, according to most fans and critics, for the better part of the next six years.
While The Yes Album had been the band's breakout success, something was needed to make the picture complete. Enter classically trained keyboardist Rick Wakeman, who replaced Tony Kaye at the conclusion of The Yes Album tour. Wakeman brought to the band a more demonstrative and tonally diverse approach to the keyboards, as well as a solid foundation in musical theory that gave the band's compositional chops a major boost.
Here, the group builds on the "great leap forward" of the last album, expanding their vocabulary with increasingly complex arrangements and song structures. The opener, the up-tempo "Roundabout," was a smash hit on American FM radio, helping propel the LP to the No. 4 spot on the Billboard albums chart. Imagine a song with all those tempo changes, dizzying breaks and complex instrumental parts breaking through the mainstream today ...
Overall, the production is magnificent -- a multi-layered wonderworld that must have floored early-70's audiences. This is best exemplified by "South Side of the Sky," whose ghostly, wordless harmonies and ominous piano breaks tread ground that Yes would seldom touch on in the future. "Heart of the Sunrise" also goes down a storm, serving as the best execution of Yes' symphonic tension-release ambitions up to this point.
About a quarter of the album is dedicated to five short solo pieces, each demonstrating the individual skills of the band. Squire and Howe's are probably the most iconic, the former a rollicking jam comprised almost entirely of overdubbed basses playing in various registers and the latter being a beautiful solo classical guitar piece. Wakeman's Moog-enhanced treatment of Brahms' Symphony No. 4 is probably the least exciting of the bunch, but at least it only clocks in at 1:38.
The less die-hard consider this to be Yes' best effort, and I can certainly sympathize with their case. I still give the nod to Close to the Edge as the band's finest achievement, and even prefer the more straight ahead approach of The Yes Album. Nonetheless, this stands in the Top 5 of Yes' greatest achievements and is an album no serious rock collection should go without.
Ok, I suppose this album does strike a good impression with me. I appreciate the keyboardist addition seeing as how I play piano myself, but the Brahms on the Moog could have been replaced with something a little more upbeat or ear catching. Other than that, the sounds and changes are endless! never a dull moment.
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