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Fragile (Yes) - Extended Play Lounge (Episode 5) (Patreon)

Published:
2021-10-05 23:12:19
Edited:
2023-05-25 16:23:43
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Vimeo Link: https://vimeo.com/623860029/426f38db00

I really had some fun with this one, y'all. I'm a little late, but I'm pleased to present the fifth episode in this series, as we listen to Fragile from cover to cover. I'm using the 2003 remastered version of the album. 

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Extended Play Lounge - Episode 5

In our fifth episode, we listened to Fragile by Yes. I was really swept away by this band's music. It's such a unique sound! Enjoy!

Comments

paul listener

I am listening to Bill Bruford for the last 50 years, and I made it a hobby to figure out his timing on the snare.....its a ongoing hobby!

Steve Hartke

Been awhile with this album… Heart of the Sunrise has alway been a favorite, so much going on… And Bruford’s drumming holds it all together… was really paying attention while viewing, so much intricate playing underneath everything, but still hitting all the cues… Great job Doug.

Duff

What happened to the last cut ? We Have Heaven reprise .

Matthew Weber

One of the things I love about this album: Bruford's drum pattern in the verse of "Long Distance Runaround" is essentially in 5/8 underneath a 4/4 meter in the other instruments.

Illume Eltanin

:home from work and settling in for my Dr. Doug listens:

Illume Eltanin
>>69234031

I'm actually looking forward to your take on the "solo" pieces. So many reactors appreciate the group tracks and Squier's bass solo. Some appreciate Howe's guitar piece, although he does do Clap as well on the Yes album.

Illume Eltanin

I took notes on your commentary. I'm going to hop over to the Extended Play Lounge channel on the Discord to post my thoughts. I'm sure I'm going to get some things wrong, and I expect the community on the Discord will be more interactive to set those things I get incorrect straight. See you there!

Anonymous

Doug, what a wonderful reaction for such a masterpiece as Fragile ! And you nailed it! As a non-native English speaker I had a hard time figuring out Yes' lyrics and their meaning, when I first met their music in my late teens, around 73-75. Then I realized that the phrases - or even the words themselves - didn't need to have a specific meaning, they were indeed modulations of the sound of an unique instrument called "John Anderson's angelical voice", performing superbly among all the other virtuosi in the band... Thanks!

Richard Rathbun

At the very end of the album, the door (from the end of We Have Heaven) re-opens, and then We Have Heaven returns and fades out. Freakin' Youtube upload doesn't have that. I was waiting for your reaction when the door opened and the reprise started. Oh well.

Gary Thobaben

No reprise of We Have Heaven at the end! Doug, the door that closes on that track reopens after Heart of the Sunrise. For… reasons?

Richard Moore

16 minutes in: While we're waiting for Jon to come back and finish the song...

Anonymous

love yes so much!!! so many classic albums!

Anonymous

Anderson claims that some words are meaningless and just sound good, but you can't always trust artists!!! He just says that so he doesn't have to go into it, but I think for sure it means something to him! Hyper-poetic I suppose!

Rhesus Perplexus

The Yes Album and Fragile ushered in an era of extreme creativity for Yes that would last another six years. These albums have withstood the test of time so well. Just as fresh as the first time hearing them back in the day.

Richard Moore

Really enjoyed taking this journey for the (how manyeth?) time with your reaction and analysis.

Richard Moore

Other albums with individual pieces by each band member include Ummagumma by Pink Floyd and Works by ELP.

Rhesus Perplexus

Bravo Doug! I believe this was your best reaction yet. At least for me it was. Yes has a way of hooking on to you emotionally, and once you're hooked its for life. Great job. Cant wait for "And You And I" and "Siberian Khatru".

Bryan Tursk

Truly enjoyed Doug. This album was my first exposure to Yes... I played it endlessly with headphones in the early 80s. Thanks and welcome to the Yes club.

Great Scott
>>69244842

Correct, Works Vol. 1 by ELP had 4 sides -- one side by Emerson, one side by Lake, one side by Palmer, and one side (two pieces) by all three of them together.

Frits van Voorst

That was an enjoyable reaction. Btw, Chris' nickname was Fish. Schindleria Preamaturus (did I spell that right? I didn't look it up) is the, or one of the, smallest fish on earth: while Chris was literally big, the title is a kind of joke. And the syllables fit conveniently. If/when you do more pre-Tales songs of Yes, I strongly suggest that you pick the versions on their Yessongs album for a change. That was, in my opinion, their pinnacle of making music. This live album is an almost complete performance of three studio albums: The Yes Album, Fragile and Close to the Edge. I can't recommend it enough.

Great Scott

Regarding Heart of the Sunrise: Consider this -- the Sun itself is the "heart", the center, of the sunrise. The rest of the sunrise is all of the changing colors all around, of the clouds, of the land as the sun shines on it, as the sun changes from red to orange to yellow. But maybe you're looking at the sunrise from the top of a tall building in Manhattan, and the sharp angles are all of the other buildings in the distance are why he's lost in the city.

Great Scott

Again -- find the album itself or something else and listen to Heart of the Sunrise followed by the (sometimes uncredited) reprise of We Have Heaven.

Andy Ambrose

Yes on their way up... reaching a peak with Close To The Edge, TFTO and Relayer...just a phenomenal time in their history...

Richard Worrall

5 guys in their early 20,s. No click track, no cut and paste, no cut and paste, no pro tools. Every track played live and then master eniginered by Eddie Offered. What an era for rock music, feel very lucky to have lived through it.

David Marshall

The name of the fish is a bit of an inside joke - it's the smallest fish in the world. Chris was ... not so small.

Anonymous

Thanks for the great video Doug. You always point out something new in the music I have listened to 100s of times. I appreciate your explanation of the theory behind the music. I have been focusing a lot on ear training and your videos have been a great learning tool. You need to do an extended play video for Transatlantic - The Whirlwind.

David Marshall

You did it again, Doug. I've been particularly enthralled by "Heart of the Sunrise" for nigh unto 50 years, thought I'd really dug deep into it, and you opened up a new dimension of the song for me. Many thanks. Btw, for a live version of it, check out Yes Live in Montreaux (2003). Seeing Squire's playfulness on stage is a real kick. That concert also includes a great call-and-response between Howe and Wakeman at the end of South Side of the Sky. It's improvised - I have 4 other recordings of that tour, and each one is different.

Anonymous

Long Distance Runaround, during the verses the drums go in 5/4 while the rest of the band are in 4/4.

Martin Broten

This was the first prog album that I bought as a kid. Bought it because "Roundabout" was actually kind of a hit single! I'd never heard anything like it. Thanks for the Bill Bruford shout outs. Probably my all time favorite drummer (as you could probably tell by the picture on the left side of this box). An absolute master. After years of playing with Yes, King Crimson, UK, Genesis (as well as own bands Earthworks and Bruford) he retired from being an active musician and got a PhD in music. Anyway, nice job Doug...

Nathan-Andrew

A fun reaction, incisive breakdowns, interesting perspective, and some hilarious commentary (“That’s… *filthy*, y’all!). It’s always interesting to hear your take on things, Dr. Doug. My own perspective on the “Heart of the Sunrise” lyrics is rather different. To me, the “on to the heart of the sunrise” line means off into the far distance, ad infinitum, forever and ever, amen. Like riding off into the sunset, but as a beginning, rather than as the end. Anyhoo, I hope you get to hear the live version off of YESSONGS. That will blow your mind, baby! In fact, you may as well just hear that whole album. 😉 Did you notice how none of the repeats are exact repeats? Whether it’s someone’s fill, or a rhythm, or an arrangement, there’s always a change. As others have pointed out, YouTube left off the end of the album. That was a terrible shock! 😱. FRAGILE has a real - and quite unique - personality. It’s epic, whimsical, thoughtful, and quirky. Both Rick’s solo track, and John’s sort-of-solo track fit that vibe, and help make it so. They’re integral to the fabric of the overall work. And the little coda is a vital part of it. Tell you what. Get yourself a P.O. Box so we can send you stuff. I will mail you a copy of the CD for your collection! You need it, my man. And thanks for showing Bruford some love. People get all sweaty over Neil Peart, but Peart himself got all sweaty over Bill.

Randy Hammill

Cans and Brahms was simply because Ricks contract with A&M would not allow him to write any music on an album released by Atlantic. His writing contributions in Yes during this period were uncredited, but not unnoticed if you know Rick’s style.

Randy Hammill

And now you’ve discovered South Side of the Sky. One of the deep cuts that Yes fans knew well, but didn’t make it to regular set lists until decades later. The piano interlude was largely improvised, Rick had to learn it from the recording. The band was layered on top of course. Some of Bruford’s best work from yes. The lyrics were inspired in part by an article Jon read about mountain climbers who had died.

Randy Hammill

One neat thing about Long Distance Runaround is that Jon, Steve and Chris are in 4/4 but Rick and Bill are playing in 5/4.

Randy Hammill

The Fish - other than Bill and the vocals, it’s *all* bass. You must listen to the Yessongs version. “Hey, Eddie (Offord), find a name of a fish that’s fifteen syllables.”

Randy Hammill

5% (Bill’s title was “Suddenly it’s Wednesday”) was taken directly from the drum line. Bill has always credited Jon as expecting everybody to pull their weight and write, including the drummer.

Randy Hammill

And Yes fully arrives with Heart of the Sunrise. Now you need to hear Siberian Khatru along with And You And I from Close to the Edge. On the actual album there’s a brief reprise of We Have Heaven at the end of Heart of the Sunrise. I remember listening to Heart of the Sunrise over and over when I was an exchange student in Germany and sailing with their family. Magical.

Randy Hammill

How about Olias of Sunhillow by Jon Anderson? I think it’s unlike anything you’ve listened to yet, although you definitely get the sense of what Jon brings to Yes. He is the only musician on the album.

Paul Mouradjian

Wonderful reaction Doug. Many times Anderson's lyrics are based on the "sound of the words" rather than their meaning. " Your insight and translation of them is the best yet. Very enjoyable segment. Wakeman's solo's In Roundabout are fierce attacks using 4th's in his right hand voicing s! That percussion interlude in Roundabout is almost a "samba" when broken down. Good stuff. Many times progressive rock is about creating new forms from existing styles played and interpreted in a new manner.

Paul t hebert

Doug, Chris Squire has a solo album “Fish out of Water”. Chris’ nick name in the band was the fish because he spent so much time in the bath tub. Any way take a listen to the album. You will get a feel for his compositional skills and of course hear another take on his amazing base playing

Paul t hebert

One other thing you will like; he started out in a choir and he is usually the harmony above Jon.

John Clark
>>69292237

Actually, the reprise of We Have Heaven at the the end of the album only appeared in this century, it was never on the original vinyl release, or the initial CDs, and I have to say that I find it annoying. Quite possibly it was put there as bait to lure obsessive fans (like me) into buying yet another copy of the album. If this had been a Jon Anderson solo album I could sort of accept it, but since it's a group album I find it an irrelevant intrusion. As Doug pointed out, you feel the need for a few moments of contemplation at the end of Heart of the Sunrise and the reprise takes that away and diminishes the experience.

John Clark

Hey Doug, if only for yourself, you need to listen to the Yessongs versions of Long Distance Runaround/The Fish so that you can experience what Chris Squire could do with his instrument(s). The recording quality (due to poor alignment of the tape machine) is notoriously mediocre, but the playing will knock your socks off! Bill Bruford is the drummer on these two songs while Alan White is in the drum chair for the rest of Yessongs. The Progeny albums are from the same tour, albeit with the shortcomings of the original recordings fully repaired, but they left off the solo performances, releasing only the group songs.

Sian Podmore

Oh Doug, I do love to see it when your mind gets blown by Yes. The ending of the original album has been cut from this version. A door clicks open and 'We Have Heaven' fades out. Great reaction, thank you (please do Topographic Oceans)

Sian Podmore
>>69312067

Yep, apparently created in his garage and he had to learn to play several of the instruments from scratch....mind...blown

Anonymous

A great album! I had this album on my iPod for years and liked it but thought it was kind of overrated from what I had read. Then looking it up on Wikipedia one day I finally realized that it was missing “Heart of the Sunrise”… Needless to say I had my mind blown! Thanks for the great video as always Doug!

Anonymous

Great reaction, Doug. I like how you always get into the lyrics and share with us your own interpretation. Thank you for all these. This album is a masterpiece and it was a hell of journey to see you listening and making comments to it. Have a good one!

Michael Kuhl

Check out Spock's Beard's version of South Side Of The Sky. They do it justice in my opinion. It was on the bonus disc of Snow. And as always, enjoyed the video "Y'all"!

Paul t hebert

Glass hammer also has an amazing remake of this song. Doug, you should check out Glass hammer. The are an overall awesome New prog band from Tennessee.

Rick Morse

Yup ... I'll echo a vote for Glass Hammer! They have several very good live performances on YouTube, such as "Hyperbole", "If the Stars", "The Lure of Dreams", and "No Man's Land". As long as it's reasonably well recorded & mixed, my own preference will ALWAYS be for a live performance - of anyone - versus studio.

Peter Wethman

The song “South Side of the Sky” is actually one of Jon’s more literal lyrics. It tells a story of mountain climbers who become stranded and ultimately die. Hence being colder and then warmer. Very uplifting!

Anonymous

Roundabout got the radio airplay, but Heart of the Sunrise was the masterpiece! When they get deep into the song and Steve and Chris are playing scales in opposite directions, it just completely blows me away! This band was doing things no one else ever did - or ever could have done!

Anonymous
>>69311888

Heart of the Sunrise is in my top three of Yes songs, along with CTTE and Awaken. I adore it.

grnmntl

That was Chris Squire doing the La, La, La-La-La part in South Side of the Sky. Please consider doing his "Fish Out of Water" Solo disk from mid-70's. Major use of orchestral instruments.

Anonymous

Long time watcher, love your input to some song favourites. I love playing Round About on guitar and Steve Howe’s contribution Mood For The Day. To me Heart of the Sunrise may be more that moment you experience the first sunrise after the first time you’ve stayed overnight with your partner and it was an amazing, wonderful, dream-fulfilling night. And in that moment of the sunrise you take everything in, including that inner joy of being there with your love. Fragile was the reason I started learning guitar. I have seen more Yes concerts then any other, and many of us fans are enraptured with each concert (much like Pink Floyd, Moody Blues, Rush and Supertramp fans, which I am too). All of us marvel at their musicianship.

B Mac

Gotta do 'Safe (Canon Song)' from Chris Squire's Fish Out of Water' album

B Mac

Opening to Yes is backwards piano, twice before the acoustic guitar.

B Mac

Every riff and rhythm you're hearing on the fish with the exception of percussion is Chris on Bass. Several overdubs

B Mac

Schindleria praematura; is a FISH. I guess the Latin name for the species?

B Mac

At the end of the vinyl album at the end of HOTSR there's about 6 seconds of silence or so and then a door opens and you hear We Have Heaven again.

B Mac

1st album with Wakeman, but not first song with Wakeman. First song with Wakeman was a a cover of Simon & Garfunkel's America which appeared on the 'Age of Atlantic' album which was a sampler album from Atlantic records featuring their artists on the label. That song can now be found on the compilation album entitled 'Yesterdays' Great tune and it illustrated Chet Atkins' influence on Steve Howe big time!

Fred Beaulieu

Love this review. Glad you are able to pick up on all of the nuances and depth of layering in the mixes.

grnmntl

Enjoying this a second time. I'm a bass player myself and on all your Yes reviews, I hear you say "Just listen to Chris!" and I think to myself "I always do".

Matthew Johnson

I heard Jon Anderson describe his lyrics a pretty words that sound nice together. Honestly I think he picks his words like a painter picks brush stokes. It is how everything works together rather than what the individual words or lyrics literally mean. I stopped trying to fathom the meaning but rather experience the totality of the composition. You don't ask the literal meaning of the bass or guitar or keyboards, you experience it for the feeling it evokes. Same with the lyrics. Like in And You And I, you really can't get specific meaning from the lyrics in The Preacher the Teacher. They are silly on a literal level, so why interpret I on a literal level.

Matthew Johnson

It is easy to get focused in Chris's baseline in the beginning "solo" in Heart of the Sunrise becauseit sounds so awesome. I put solo in quotes because it really is a rhythm section duet with Burford doing some of his best work ever. How the bass and drums work together there is my favorite rhythm section stuff in Yes. It is pretty simple yet perfect.

Glenn Wo

There is a nice live version of Roundabout with Geddy Lee from Rush on bass. Worth checking out!

Anonymous

Jon Anderson is the quintessential "don't let the lyrics get in the way of a good melody". Also notice how many different ways Howe plays the basic C Berry lick in Roundabout, harmonics, extended chords, standard chords, very inventive.

Anonymous

I think you might find this of interest pertaining to Yes and their penchant for orchestration, Doug; I don't know if Jon Anderson was classically trained, but I know he is at the least a huge fan of classical music. Why I know this tidbit is because I am a Finn - and I read somewhere that Jon is a massive fan of the Finnsh composer Jean Sibelius, so much so that he even went to a celebration of Sibelius' music in Helsinki iirc.

Anonymous
>>71831455

I enjoy Yes from time to time, but I sometimes find that their music is somewhat too whimsical for my tastes - I like when they explore a groove rather than a harmony. Their best songs are undeniable though and Fragile and Close to the Edge are certified classics.

Pedro Sena

Just do OLIAS OF SUNHILLOW ... skip all the hits and famous stuff!

Rick Dashiell

Simply one of their best tracks. For my money, the Squire tunes have always been the most active and define the sound - Siberian Khatru, Parallels, etc.

Brian Rushford

Bruford’s snare sound still drives me daft🤣

Steeleye 2112

The bass in this is one of the highlights of the life of my ears. Every musician is unique because, you know, art, but boy Chris was something special.

Steeleye 2112

Yes, like all prog bands are always lazily criticized as pretentious. I totally refute that. The music and ideas Yes attempted to express are deeply spiritual and they had the taste and musical ability to achieve it. So no, they weren't pretentious because the music is as authentic and they genuinely achieved something very profound and unique.

Bryan Sheehan

I came across this cassette when I was about 14. I ended up listening through the whole thing and loved every minute of it. I've heard Chris matches his bass line in Roundabout with an acoustic guitar. His nickname was The Fish. I've read a few possibilities as to why, including him taking long baths.

Ray Sincere

I'll tell you one of my fond memories of "Roundabout". I was playing it for a friend, wanting to see what he thought of Rick Wakeman's playing. And he said, "Hang on, the bass player's going crazy right now." Yes indeed. Chris Squire, perhaps the finest bass player rock has ever had. The first album with Rick Wakeman, yes. And he had just come out of another band called The Strawbs, which you might enjoy listening to. Made that band rather upset, just up and leaving to join Yes. And also, I just learned, David Bowie had given him an offer to be in the inaugural Spiders from Mars, so he passed on Bowie in order to join Yes. Pink Floyd did a similar thing with Ummagumma. Some of the songs on that album showcase a single member. Rick Wright on "Sisyphus", Nick Mason on "The Grand Vizier's Garden Party". I believe Wakeman also had an RMI Electra-Piano, as heard on The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway. Yup, he certainly did. I hear that distinctive sound on "Cans and Brahms" and "Long Distance Runaround". It's the Daily Drug! That was one thing Rick Wakeman said attracted him to the band. That bass sound. He was playing in the midrange, using a Rickenbacker when most players were using Fenders. Geddy Lee filled in for Chris Squire, who had recently died, when they were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Geddy was nervous about it, because Chris was his idol. Geddy played a Rickenbacker in Rush because he loved the sound Chris got with one. "Tell the moondog, tell the march hare..." "We Have Heaven" is supposed to go directly into "South Side of the Sky". Door closes, running, sudden wind. "South Side of the Sky", a song about freezing in Antarctica. I think of Captain Scott, whom every British school child was taught to admire. I love the way the bass and guitar reinforce each other on this album. They never played quite that tightly again. And I love how hard and jagged the sound is. The song really is about Antarctica. The south side of the sky, you see. So cold that we cried. The paradoxical warmth that lulls you into a false sense of security and then kills you.

BRIAN MILLER

My favorite Yes album is probably "The Yes Album" but this one is very good also, especially "Roundabout"

FallingLeaf

Bill Bruford is one of my favourite drummers/percussionists. Check out BLUE - Bruford, Levin - Upper Extremities. I never really clicked with yes, though listening to it now, Chris Squire's bass is superb. But I do remember happy times in the mid-70s, bombing around the streets of Bristol UK, in my mates Red Austin Mini on the hunt for hash, and listening to a live version of Roundabout on a cassette player, which would slow down (the cassette) going around bends especially roundabouts.

Jim Reeves

Heart of the Sunrise. You imagine the feeling you've had, grounded with your point of view. Despite that, you feel the effect of the universe. Then imagine your point of view from a magic carpet, flying through the sky towards the sunrise "with the wind's arms all around you". That is what I see in Jon's lyrics. What a satisfying vision.