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Marquee D'Sounde

Rare and Collectible Records and Books

Providing the finest available since 1974 !

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Yes

Fragile

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Record Information

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Official Release Information

Label: Atlantic SD 7211

Released: 1972

Format: 12" vinyl LP (album), 33 1/3 RPM

Disc Condition

Near Mint

Visual Inspection

one scratch on Cans and Brahms and it is inaudible

Cover Condition

Near Mint

Visual Inspection

Tiny Nick Along Top Edge

Dead Wax Information

(A) ST-A-712367-C AT

(B) ST-H -691800-AA MO AT 144011-X AB W

Why Pressing/Dead wax information is important?

Like a knife, the more times the master cuts into vinyl  the duller it gets. Each subsequent pressing gets duller, rolling out the crisp cut of the original pressing. This results in less sonic resonance. The first pressings are the truest duplication of what the master engineer intended.

The mastering also matter. The Mastering engineer critically listens to the tape recording, making critical adjustment to them as he goes. This can create very different listening experiences from disc to disc. This is why you see Re-Mastered so often, to improve (or sometime the opposite) the original sound.

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Artist Information

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Fragile is the fourth studio album from the English progressive rock band Yes, released in November 1971 on Atlantic Records. It is their first album recorded with keyboardist Rick Wakeman after the departure of Tony Kaye earlier in the year. Formed of nine tracks, four of which are group performances while five are solo features written by each member. It marked the band's first collaboration with artist Roger Dean, who would design their logo and many of their future covers.

Fragile was the band's greatest commercial and critical success at the time of its release. It peaked at number 4 in the US and number 7 in the UK. "Roundabout" was released as a single in the US and is one of the band's best-known songs. The album is certified double Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America for selling over two million copies.

On 31 July 1971, Yes performed the final concert of their 1970–71 tour of Europe and North America at Crystal Palace Park to support The Yes Album (1971). The line-up during this time consisted of singer Jon Anderson, bassist Chris Squire, drummer Bill Bruford, keyboardist Tony Kaye, and guitarist Steve Howe. Following the tour, Yes started work on their next studio record that was originally conceived as a double album with a combination of studio and live tracks. The concept could not be realized due to the time required to make it. Ideas to have the album recorded in Miami, Florida with producer Tom Dowd also never came to fruition.

Rehearsals took place in August 1971 in what Squire described as "a little rehearsal studio in Shepherd's Market" in London. Working with Kaye became unsuccessful; he was reluctant to expand his sound beyond his usual Hammond organ and piano and play newer instruments like the Moog synthesiser. Anderson and Squire asked Kaye to leave Yes and found a replacement in Rick Wakeman, a classically trained player from the folk rock group Strawbs. Wakeman joined the group as they rehearsed "Heart of the Sunrise". Squire spoke about that first session: "That marked the first real appearance of the Mellotron and the Moog—adding the flavour of those instruments to a piece we'd basically already worked out". According to Wakeman, the basis of "Roundabout" was also put down on the same day.

Recording for the album took place in September 1971 at Advision Studios using a 16-track tape machine. Eddy Offord, who served as a recording engineer on Time and a Word (1970), assumed his role while sharing production duties with the band. Rolling Stone reported the album cost $30,000 to produce.

According to Michael Tait, the band's lighting director, the album's title came from their manager Brian Lane who, while on the phone to "some press guy" asking Lane about the new album, "was looking at some photos from that Crystal Palace gig, saw the monitors at the front of the stage and, like all equipment, they had 'Fragile' stamped on the back". Bruford claimed he in fact suggested the title because he thought the band "was breakable" at the time. While the band were recording, Wakeman remembered children being brought into the studio to watch them play.

Fragile is formed of nine tracks; four are "group arranged and performed" with the remaining five being "the individual ideas, personally arranged and organized" by the five members. Squire reasoned this approach was necessary in part to save time and reduce studio costs, as money was used to purchase keyboard equipment for Wakeman. According to Bruford: "There was this endless discussion about how the band could be used ... I felt we could use all five musicians differently ... So I said—brightly—'Why don't we do some individual things, whereby we all use the group for our own musical fantasy? I'll be the director, conductor, and maestro for the day, then you do your track, and so on.'"Wakeman commented on the album's structure. "Some critics thought this was just being flash. The thinking behind this was that we realized there would be a lot of new listeners coming to the band. They could find out where each individual player's contribution lay."

Side one begins with "Roundabout", a song written by Anderson and Howe that has become one of Yes's best-known songs. Howe recalled the track was originally "a guitar instrumental suite ... I sort of write a song without a song. All the ingredients are there—all that's missing is the song. 'Roundabout' was a bit like that; there was a structure, a melody and a few lines." The introduction was made by recording a piano note played backwards. "Cans and Brahms" is Wakeman's adaptation of the third movement of Symphony No. 4 in E minor by Johannes Brahms, with an electric piano used for the string section, an electric harpsichord used for the reeds, and a synthesiser used for the contrabassoon. Wakeman later described the track as "dreadful", as contractual problems with A&M Records, who he was with as a solo artist, prevented him from writing a composition of his own.  Anderson described "We Have Heaven" as a "rolling idea of voices and things", with its two main set of chants containing the phrases "Tell the Moon dog, tell the March hare" and "He is here, to look around" (cf. ). Side one closes with "South Side of the Sky."

Side two of the album opens with Bruford's track, "Five Per Cent for Nothing". With a running time of thirty-five seconds, it is his "first attempt composition—but we've all got to start somewhere". According to Tait, its original title was "Suddenly It's Wednesday", but it was changed in reference to Yes paying off their former manager Roy Flynn with the deal of five percent of future royalties. "Long Distance Runaround" segues into Squire's solo track, "The Fish (Schindleria Praematurus)". Tait recalled Anderson calling him "at ten o'clock one night from Advision and said, 'I want the name of prehistoric fish in eight syllables. Call me back in half an hour'". Tait subsequently found Schindleria praematurus, a species of marine fish, in a copy of Guinness Book of Records. Howe performs his solo guitar piece "Mood for a Day" on a Conde flamenco guitar. "Heart of the Sunrise" is a track where Wakeman's classically trained background came into play; he introduced the band to the idea of recapitulation where previous segments in music are revisited.

The album's sleeve was designed and illustrated by English artist Roger Dean, who would design many of Yes's future album covers, including their "bubble" logo. On reflection of the design, Dean said: "'Fragile' was very literal, really. I think the band has named a number of their albums after their current psychological state, and 'Fragile' described the psyche of the band. And I thought about that very literally, painting a fragile world that would eventually break up."He commented further: "'Fragile' was quite a complicated cover because there was a book inside. It was elaborate although it wasn't one of the most striking of all the Yes covers. I was kind of learning my trade at the time. The main feature on the cover was a little Bonsai world with a wooden space ship flying overhead! It was literally meant to be a fragile world".

The band had wished for an image of a fractured piece of porcelain; to compromise, Dean ended up breaking the planet into two pieces. This idea of a broken world would continue on the band's live album, Yessongs. Bruford thought Dean "brilliantly parlayed that idea [one of Fragile] up to the prescient image of the fragile planet earth, with implications of a delicate and breakable eco-system".

The LP's accompanying promotional booklet contains two additional Dean paintings; the front cover depict five creatures huddled under a root system; the back cover depicts a person climbing up a rock formation. The inside shows several photographs of the band with an individual page dedicated to each member, with smaller illustrations and photographs of their wives and children. Anderson's page contains a short poem, while Wakeman contains a list of acknowledgements, including Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, The White Bear pub in Hounslow, and Brentford F.C..[nb 1]

Fragile was released in the UK on 26 November 1971 followed by its US release on 4 January 1972. It peaked at number 4 on the US Billboard Top LPs chart and number 7 in the UK. "Roundabout" was released as a single in the US with a shortened duration of 3:27, with "Long Distance Runaround" on the B-side. It peaked at number 13 on the Billboard Pop Singles chart in April 1972. In April 1972, Fragile was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). The album is certified double platinum by the RIAA for over two million copies sold. The album has been certified silver by the British Phonographic Industry.

Fragile received a mostly positive reception upon its release. Billboard magazine selected the album in its "Billboard Pick" feature, describing it as "vibrant, soothing, tumultuous, placid and instrumentally brilliant" and Anderson's vocals "deliciously ingratiating". In his review for Rolling Stone, Richard Cromelin pointed out the album's "gorgeous melodies, intelligent, carefully crafted, constantly surprising arrangements, concise and energetic performances" and "cryptic but evocative lyrics", but pointed out that Yes "tend to succumb to the show-off syndrome. Their music (notably "Cans and Brahms" and "We Have Heaven") often seems designed only to impress and tries too hard to call attention to itself".

Ed Keheller for Circus magazine summarized his review of the album with "Fragile is unquestionably their most cohesive and mettlesome undertaking". In the same issue, Squire responded to the criticism regarding the album's solo tracks, "in a way you've got to appreciate the circumstances. We had to get another album out quickly from a purely financial point of view. We have a lot of mouths to feed. Rick ... had to buy a vast amount of new equipment when he joined, and it all costs much more money than people seem to imagine."

In 2005, Fragile was included in the musical reference publication 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die. In his review for AllMusic, Bruce Eder gave the album five stars out of five. He writes: "Fragile was Yes' breakthrough album, propelling them in a matter of weeks from a cult act to an international phenomenon; not coincidentally, it also marked the point where all of the elements of the music (and more) that would define their success for more than a decade fell into place fully formed. The science-fiction and fantasy elements that had driven the more successful songs on ... The Yes Album, were pushed much harder here, and not just in the music but in the packaging of the album: the Roger Dean-designed cover was itself a fascinating creation that seemed to relate to the music and drew the purchaser's attention in a manner that few records since the heyday of the psychedelic era could match.

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International Buyers Welcome

Please Note:

Import duties, taxes, and charges are not included in the item price or shipping cost. These charges are the buyer's responsibility.

Please check with your country's customs office to determine what these additional costs will be prior to bidding or buying.

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All records are shipped in Heavy duty record shipping boxes with inner cardboad support, record removed from cover to prevent splitting seams during shipping.

No charge for shipping on all records after the first purchase. 1-50 all ship for the one shipping charge!

And as always, if you are not satisfied with our description of the condition of your purchase - we offer a full refund and pay shipping to return the item !

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A little about me and the items I sell

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I started collecting records and music memorabilia in about 1968. While traipsing around Southeast Asia for Uncle Sam, music was that lifeline to home and the world we came from. When I returned home to New Jersey, I became involved in the music industry and music became a passion. Needless to say I am not a kid anymore and I want to find good homes for these treasures and not see them end up at the Yard Sale of my life! What you see at my store is a collection of these treasures. Over the past 30 years I have sold off many very rare and hard to find items and have many, many more to offer. My passion for the rarest of rare and the finest quality available is still reflected in what you are offered here! Enjoy!!

Marquee D'Sounde ?

The Marquee D'Sounde was a music promotion company that I formed in the 70's. An obvious play on words, with the Marquis' De Sade and Marquee of Sound. It promoted a variety of music related venues, hence the Marquee for displaying our offerings. At record trade shows in the late 70's and early 80's as well as in Goldmine magazine the name Marquee D'Sounde became synonymous with the best quality available in collectibles! As you can see from the Feedback, I provide Quality Items and fast reliable service with secure packaging. Many buyers are repeat buyers!

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A Brief Discussion On Condition

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Historically sealed albums have been selling for huge prices simply because they are sealed. Sealed albums are in many cases a later pressing bought in some bargain bin or reissues that have since gone out of print. Prime examples are the ones with the “Nice Price” stickers. You can be assured these are later pressings off of old masters. Not always but quite frequently. Rarely did the first pressing of any record make it to the bargain bin unless the record was a flop. That’s not to say that a flop back then isn’t a treasure today. We find that frequently and in those cases a sealed album is a treasure.

Back in the day every record distributor had a sealing machine and would reseal albums. These would end up in the bargain bins. That is why you see the stretching on the corners of many of them offered on eBay. Original sealed albums will usually be squared on the cover and not have signs of stretching around the corners. Unless you plan on leaving the album sealed and reselling it, you are better off with a true Near Mint to Mint pressing from a reputable record dealer. You know what you get.

All of these claims regarding complicated record cleaning systems mean you are getting records that have not had the care they should have had. If the record was cared for properly it won't need these complicated cleanings! A quick spin on the VPI will remove any soiling not caused by abuse.

A properly cared for album (NM or M) should look as close as possible to the record that came out when it was first opened.

Most records come from my personal collection accumulated during my years in the music industry. When purchased new or received as a promotional copy, the album or single was placed in a plastic outer sleeve and sometimes a plastic inner sleeve. When possible the records will include these plastic sleeves.

Many were never played!

I rate rather conservatively but work closely with Goldmine standards. My Near Mint ratings are generally what everybody else rates as Mint or Brand New.

I try very hard to give accurate descriptions of the records and check them prior to shipment to ensure that the condition advertised is indeed what I ship. If there is something that I missed I will notify you prior to shipment. In turn, if you receive your record and the condition is not what you expected, let me know and we will arrange to return the record with a full refund.

Shipment Information

All records are carefully packaged and shipped in heavy duty commercial grade #200 corrugated Record shipping boxes!

Buyer Instructions

Payments:

All payments are expected within 10 days. All payments must be received in US funds. Preferred payment method is Paypal.

Feedback:

I will leave feedback for you once I have received confirmation that you have received your item and that the item met your expectations. Our transaction is not over until you are satisfied. Once you leave feedback, I will leave positive feedback for you.

Contact me if there are any problems or questions.

Thank you for stopping by!!

Be sure to add me to your favorites because I have thousands more rare and wonderful albums, singles and memorabilia coming!

Looking for that special album, CD or single? Email me and I'll let you know if it is available!!