Yes coalesced into their classic lineup and produced their big commercial breakthrough with this expansive progressive rock masterwork. Original keyboardist Tony Kaye refused to play the synthesizer that the rest of the band wanted and quit early in the sessions, paving the way for multi-instrumentalist session man Rick Wakeman to fill in on Hammond organ, piano, RMI 368 Electra-Piano and Harpsichord, Mellotron, as well as the disputed Moog synthesizer. Wakeman remembers: "I had heard Yes live, as Strawbs had supported them at a gig in Hull. I thought they were amazing – incredibly different. When they asked me to join, I said 'no' initially, as I had decided to go back to just doing sessions. But after going along to one rehearsal, I was sold instantly. I wanted to add orchestral sounds in the keyboard department, and that’s exactly what Yes wanted. A match made in Heaven!"
Chris Squire says, "Yes has had quite a few changes over the years. Every time someone new has come in they’ve obviously injected more energy or new energy into the band and changed the sound a bit, and the approach, etc., depending on how much input the new member has had." Wakeman's contributions went uncredited, due to contractual obligations. Jon Anderson recalls: “Those songs still stand the test of time for sure. Steve and Rick added amazing amounts of different styles, music, new chords, new ideas. It was that perfect storm of energy that created 'Fragile'.”
Wakeman says, "Yes were always prepared before we went into the studio. The studio is not the place to write. You need to be seventy-five percent ready when you go into the studio, and then the music can develop to the next stage. The studio is the end of the assembly line. David Bowie taught me this. It’s a lesson I never forgot and will be eternally grateful for."
Steve Howe explains the band's differing methods of recording: "There are two schools of thought. In one, you start making an album, and then you never stop until you completely finish it. The opposite of that is you do tracks, and then you come back to them. You do some more tracks, and then you come back even later to the mixing. So, you’re always thinking fresh. You’re not thinking, 'God, I’ve been on this record for three months. I just want to stop hearing it!' This is how we made our earlier records, and it may prove to be a much better way. In the early days, we could never have one period of total immersion, until we did 'Topographic Oceans'. That was the first time we said, 'Okay, life stops until we finish this record.' But the records made before that were made around, and involved, life. 'Close to the Edge', 'Fragile', and 'The Yes Album' were made as we lived and toured, and stopped and started. I think, most probably, they were better because of it. They benefitted from renewing that fresh approach."
Squire ponders the band's influences and contemporaries: "Strange enough, around that time that you start realizing that you’ve got a band that could work and could become popular—and of course you see that in growing audiences, etc.—you don’t really listen to necessarily people who say you’re from the same country or whatever. In fact, I probably listened to Crosby, Stills and Nash more than I listened to Led Zeppelin in those formative years. Because that was more what Yes was about; a band that had great vocal harmonies. So, of course, I was influenced by Simon and Garfunkel and bands with great vocals. And of course we wanted to be band who were good instrumentalists as well, and Bill Bruford, our original drummer, was of course very influenced by jazz. So that was another element that was sewn into the makeup of Yes. We were kind of eclectic really. We kind of stood slightly aside from other acts."
Bill Bruford reminisces: “If you say to people that rock music is made up of three chords, there will always be guys, especially in the UK, who say, ‘What if we added a fourth chord and put it into 5/4?’ Those people fell into something called progressive rock. The British working class guys who assumed that rock ’n’ roll was their property got very pissed off at these art school guys who brought in all the nuts and bolts of progressive rock and added classical music, vocal harmony, poetry, and art. The Black Sabbaths of the world were very pissed off, and then the punks came and trashed it. I was fortunate enough to grow up in an era where everything went on. It was great. People even cared what the drummer thought!”
Anderson elaborates: "Each person in the band was great at what he did. Bill had that jazz-rock style, Chris Squire was of course a great bass player, Rick Wakeman was classically trained, and of course Steve Howe was terrific. There was so much talent, at a variety of levels. I was sort of the musical director, the person who decided which direction we should go with an idea. I might bring in a song and say, 'I don’t want you to simply play the chords. Why don’t you play some unusual figures, and jump around within the song?' Oftentimes the song might be very simple, so I wanted everyone to come up with music that would be entertaining for them to play. That’s how 'Long Distance Runaround' and 'Roundabout' were written. They were variations on the idea of, 'You find what you like playing, and let’s make it all work together.' Pulling those elements together is what created that unique sound. Everyone is playing his unique part, but we somehow made it all fit."
'Fragile' consists of four long group pieces and five individual showcase tracks. Anderson says: “Steve wanted to do a piece … Rick had ideas for his solo … so I suggested we all try one.” As laid out in the liner notes: "Five tracks on this album are the individual ideas, personally arranged and organised, by the five members of the band. 'Cans and Brahms' is an adaptation by Rick Wakeman on which he plays electric piano taking the part of the strings, grand piano taking the part of the woodwind, organ taking the brass, electric harpsichord taking reeds, and synthesizer taking contra bassoon. 'We Have Heaven' is a personal idea by Jon Anderson in which he sings all the vocal parts. 'Five Per Cent For Nothing' is a sixteen bar tune by Bill Bruford, played twice by the group, and taken directly from the percussion line. In Chris Squire’s 'The Fish,' each riff, rhythm, and melody is produced by using the different sounds of the bass guitar. Steve Howe concludes with a solo guitar piece 'Mood For A Day.' The remaining tracks on the album are group arranged and performed." 'Fragile' was recorded with Eddy Offord at Advision Studios in London. It went to number seven in the UK and number four in the US, selling double-platinum. Roger Dean did the iconic artwork.
"Tell the Moon Dog, Tell the March Hare".
An edited version of 'Roundabout' made it to number twenty seven in the Netherlands and number thirteen in the US. “It was written on the way from Aberdeen to Glasgow in Scotland, and we went through so many roundabouts (traffic circles on Scottish roadways), maybe 40 or so. It has a Scottish feel about it. Just listen to the solo, just like a ‘reel’. It changed everything. 'Roundabout' was a hit! And that’s what the band needed.”
"In and around the lake
Mountains come out of the sky
And they stand there
One mile over we'll be there
And we'll see you
Ten true summers we'll be back
And laughing too
Twenty four before my love
You'll see, I'll be there with you"
'Long Distance Runaround'
"Long distance runaround
Long time waiting to feel the sound
I still remember the dream there
I still remember the time you said goodbye
Did we really tell lies
Letting in the sunshine
Did we really count to one hundred"
'Heart of the Sunrise'
"Lost on a wave and then after
Dream on on to the Heart of the Sunrise
SHARP-DISTANCE
How can the wind with so many around me
Lost in the city "
'Fragile'
full album:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=87xx5pzHDlY
"Roundabout" (Jon Anderson/Steve Howe) -- 8:33
"Cans And Brahms" (Johannes Brahms, Arr. Rick Wakeman) -- 1:38
"We Have Heaven" (Jon Anderson) -- 1:40
"South Side Of The Sky" (Jon Anderson/Chris Squire) -- 7:58
"Five Per Cent For Nothing" (Bill Bruford) -- 0:35
"Long Distance Runaround" (Jon Anderson) -- 3:30
"The Fish (Schindleria praematurus)" (Chris Squire) -- 2:39
"Mood For A Day" (Steve Howe) -- 3:00
"Heart Of The Sunrise" (Jon Anderson/Chris Squire/Bill Bruford) -- 11:27
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