"Fragile" is the fourth studio album by the English progressive rock band Yes, released in the UK on 12 November 1971 and in the US on 4 January 1972 by Atlantic Records. It was the band's first album to feature keyboardist Rick Wakeman, who replaced Tony Kaye after the group finished touring their breakthrough record, The Yes Album (1971).
The band entered rehearsals in London in August 1971, but Kaye's reluctance to play electronic keyboards led to his departure from the group. He was quickly replaced by Wakeman, whose virtuosity, compositional skills, and experience with the electric piano, organ, Mellotron, and Moog synthesizer expanded the band's sound. Due to budget and time constraints, four tracks on the album are group arrangements, while the remaining five are short solo pieces by each band member. The opening track, "Roundabout," became a popular song. The artwork for the album was the band's first to be designed by Roger Dean, who would go on to design many of their future album covers.
Fragile received a mostly positive reception, although some criticism was directed at the solo tracks. It became a greater commercial success than its predecessor, reaching No. 4 on the US Billboard Top LPs chart and No. 7 on the UK Albums Chart. The Fragile Tour saw Yes perform over 100 dates across the UK and the US, during which they became a headlining act. An edited version of "Roundabout" was released as a single in the US in January 1972, which reached No. 13 on the Billboard Hot 100. Fragile was certified Platinum in the UK by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) and double platinum in the US by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), where it has sold over two million copies. The album has been remastered several times, with some editions containing previously unreleased tracks.
Following the release of The Yes Album (1971), Yes began working on their next studio album, which was initially conceived as a double album combining studio and live tracks. However, this idea was abandoned due to the extended amount of time required for recording. The band also considered recording in Miami with producer Tom Dowd, but those plans never materialized. Rehearsals for Fragile began in August 1971 at a small studio in Shepherd Market, London. During this time, keyboardist Tony Kaye was reluctant to expand his sound beyond the Hammond organ and piano, which led to artistic disagreements with the band, particularly with vocalist Jon Anderson and bassist Chris Squire. As a result, Kaye was dismissed from the group. He was quickly replaced by Rick Wakeman, a classically trained pianist with experience in a wide range of keyboards and a background as a session musician. Wakeman's addition to the band immediately expanded their sound, with the use of the Mellotron and Moog synthesizer becoming a significant part of Fragile.
Recording took place at Advision Studios in London using a 16-track tape machine, with Eddy Offord serving as the engineer and sharing production duties with the band. The album cost around $30,000 to produce. The title Fragile was suggested by the band's lighting director, Michael Tait, after seeing monitors with the word "fragile" stamped on them during a concert. Drummer Bill Bruford later claimed he had suggested the title because he thought the band seemed fragile at the time. During recording, Wakeman recalled that children were often brought into the studio to watch the band play, adding a unique atmosphere to the sessions.
Fragile contains nine tracks; four are "group arranged and performed" with the remaining five being "the individual ideas, personally arranged and organised" by the five members, as described in the liner notes. Squire explained that this approach was partly to save time and reduce studio costs, noting that Wakeman had to purchase a vast amount of new equipment when he joined the band. Bruford elaborated on the structure, saying that he felt each band member should have the opportunity to use the group for their own musical fantasies, with each member contributing a solo track. Wakeman commented that the purpose behind this was to help new listeners understand each player's contribution to the music.
Side one of the album opens with "Roundabout," written by Anderson and Howe. It became one of Yes's most iconic songs. Howe recalled that the track started as an instrumental suite that was later given a structure and a melody. The introduction was created by reversing two piano chords, and Howe recorded the acoustic guitar part in the studio corridor to avoid a dead sound in the recording room. Wakeman's Hammond organ solo was recorded in one take, with Bruford advising him to hold back during run-throughs and "go for it" during the recording.
"Cans and Brahms" is Wakeman's adaptation of an excerpt from the third movement of Johannes Brahms's Symphony No. 4. He used a variety of keyboard instruments to replicate different sections of the orchestra, including electric piano for strings, organ for brass, and synthesizer for the contrabassoon. Wakeman later reflected that he found the piece "dreadful," primarily because contractual issues with his solo album prevented him from composing something original.
"We Have Heaven" was described by Anderson as a "rolling idea of voices and things," with its two main chants containing phrases like "Tell the Moon dog, tell the March hare" and "He is here, to look around." The track ends with the sound of a door closing, which transitions into the atmospheric opening of "South Side of the Sky," a group-arranged piece.
Side two opens with Bruford's solo track, "Five per Cent for Nothing." Running just 35 seconds, it was his first attempt at composition, inspired by Yes's deal with their former manager, Roy Flynn, in which the band agreed to pay him five percent of their future royalties. The track was later performed live on tours in 2014 and 2016 when Fragile was played in its entirety. Howe explained that the key to playing it successfully live was ensuring that all musicians finished together, which required careful coordination during rehearsals.
"Long Distance Runaround," sung by Anderson, addresses the "craziness of religion" and the imposition of Christianity as the only true path. The second verse was inspired by the Kent State shootings of 1970 and the government's crackdown on young protesters. The song segues into "The Fish (Schindleria Praematurus)," Squire's solo track. Tait recalled that Anderson asked him to find the name of a prehistoric fish in eight syllables, which led to the track's title. "Mood for a Day" is Howe's solo acoustic guitar piece, played on a Conde flamenco guitar. Howe later considered the studio version substandard compared to his live performances.
"Heart of the Sunrise," originally conceived by Anderson as a love song for his wife, deals with the sunrise and the feelings of being lost in London's streets. The track showcases Wakeman's classical background, introducing the concept of recapitulation, where earlier themes in the song are revisited. Bruford later described the track as the band's breakthrough piece, blending drama, poise, and a sense of "fey, pastoral" English lyrics. Howe initially played the piece on his Gibson ES-5 Switchmaster but later switched to a Gibson ES-175 for better results. The song ends with a reprise of "We Have Heaven," acting as a hidden track.
The album's artwork marks the beginning of Yes's long association with English artist Roger Dean, who would go on to design many of their album covers and stage sets. Dean's design for Fragile was influenced by a creation myth about a planet breaking up, with a "space ark" carrying the shattered pieces. The band originally envisioned a fractured porcelain piece for the cover, but Dean created a planet divided into two pieces, reflecting the album's theme of fragility. Dean produced three versions of the cover with different color schemes—green, red, and blue—before settling on the final design. The album booklet also contains additional Dean artwork, including images of creatures huddling under a root system and a person climbing a rock formation, along with individual pages dedicated to each band member, showcasing their family and personal acknowledgments.
Fragile was released on 12 November 1971 in the UK, but the release was delayed by a month due to concerns from Atlantic Records about bootlegging in the US. By December 1971, an estimated 10,000 copies of the album had made their way to the US. The album was released there on 4 January 1972 and peaked at No. 4 on the US Billboard Top LPs chart and No. 7 in the UK. By March 1972, Fragile was certified Gold by the RIAA, and in 1998 it was certified double Platinum for selling over 2 million copies in the US. The album was also certified Silver by the British Phonographic Industry for 300,000 copies sold.
"Roundabout" was released as a single in the US with a shortened duration of 3:27. The single, which also featured "Long Distance Runaround" as the B-side, peaked at No. 13 on the Billboard Pop Singles chart in April 1972. Anderson and Howe were shocked at the edits made by Atlantic's radio department but acknowledged that the single's success helped boost the band's popularity.
