Fragile

This is a review of the November 2015 reissue of Fragile. You already know how good this album is, therefore I am moving straight on to the extra tracks. These extras are all new to this release. You will not have heard any of these versions before. They are all very interesting and for me this makes this the best of the recent Yes re releases to date (and this is re release number 4). I suppose everybody will go straight to the unheard track "All Fighters Past". This is a short, fast version of the excerpt which eventually surfaced on Tales from Topographic Oceans two years later. It also includes themes which then turned up on Siberian Khatru on Close to the Edge a year later. Chris Squires bass parts are scintillating. It's fascinating to hear this very early 1971 version which didn't make the final 1971 Fragile album. They obviously thought it good enough to revisit parts of it on their next two albums. Of the other extra tracks, "South side of the sky" is of great interest. The front and end sequences of the final cut are reversed in this early version and the guitar and bass parts are amazing. Chris Squires bass line on this early version is totally different to the final album cut and it is fantastic. The previously unheard version of "Mood for a day" (here titled "Mood for Another Day") is interesting for its closing guitar sequence which finally appeared on the 1974 album Relayer as the ending guitar theme on "To be Over". The early version of Roundabout is different from the 2003 Fragile additional tracks. Finally, Jon's "We have heaven" appears here unedited, starting with the drum 'count in' to the full uninterrupted natural ending. There is no slamming door ending or fade out in this version.It's fascinating to hear these extra unused tracks and to realise that they later become parts of other songs over Yes' next three albums. 1971 was very much a creative high for the band.Unique to the Bluray version are three more extras not on the DVD A version. These are the Roundabout rough mix but you will already have this if you brought the 2003 cd re issue. Totally brand new however is a second version of South side of the sky which is an early take. This version is more developed and fuller than the take on disc one and follows the structure of the eventual album version but with a load of different instrumental parts especially from Steve Howe. The last track is Roundabout - headphone mix for overdubs. This strange , sometimes echoey inclusion is purely here for interest and shows how the track was put together more than anything else... Cool though. (Oh, and of course there are the instrumental mixes too).The feeling left after repeated listens to the extra tracks is how prominent and amazing Chris Squires bass lines sound. To be honest, Steve Wilson could not have produced a more fitting tribute to our late, very great Chris Squire.

These 5.1 sets are great but you likely won't find any available today.Shame on the labels for not manufacturing enough product. Cost me premium money but that's what happens when your not fast to order.

I brought the Steve Wilson vinyl box set, i was so impressed, I was eager to hear what he could do with a 5.1 mix. its simply fantastic, it sound like someone has sat you down in the middle of the recording studio, with the band playing around you. As well as the 5.1 mix, there the hi res stereo mix, original vinyl needle drop mix, and various other addition track, well worth the money. Yes fans, jut get it for the experience, you wont be dissapointed.

one of the pillars of prog-rock when it was still something fresh and innovative and not mere show-off. in my humble opinion possibly the best YES line-up ever (although Moraz jazzy influences were remarkable to me) it combines gems of personal dexterity (e.g. Steve Howe's Mood For A Day) combined with supreme musical good taste to suites to become a whole side track (on vinyl records) as Close To The Edge would have forced later on. If you love music on its own sake, want to have an understating of Brit prog or approach YES this is a must have.Since I'm yet to receive the Steven Wilson Blu Ray Remaster, my comment is so fat confined to the music in the album. I'll post comments on this specific edition once I'l get it

Although I already own the DVD-A release from a few years back i decided to purchase this as a completist to hear the new material and the newer surround mixes. Musically its great. The downside for me was the format of playing it compared to the ease of the other 3 CD Blu ray releases on my PS3 - much more complicated and I don't see wht it had to be. If it wasn't for the helpful advice posted in other reviews of how to use the remote to navigate the menus Id've been a bit stuck

The new mix is extraordinarily good - like hearing the album for the first time with new ears. I don't have a surround sound system but listen to the stereo output of a BluRay player through a pretty modest hi-fi. Even so, the improvement over previous issues is astonishing. The extras are terrific too, particularly the a cappella mix of We Have Heaven. The track called All Fighters Past is also intriguing. It combines lyrics that eventually appeared as part of The Revealing Science of God with the big riff from Siberian Khatru. I can't recommend this highly enough. If you love Fragile as much as I do (which is a lot!), buy it.

Fragile still sounds as good as it did in 1971 and the SW version is superb. The extras are fully justified and I found myself almost preferring the alternative version of South Side of the Sky. Mood for another Day is also well worth investigating. As a guitarist, I have played Mood for a Day many times and it is easily playable by any competent classical guitar player; it was the piece which inspired me to take up the Spanish guitar. This version sounds much harder and is much more classical in the central sections, although the flamenco version is still intact. Fascinating stuff.

This is one of the band's most celebrated albums. Many consider the best what does not agree with my opinion (I prefer the following album "Close To The Edge"). In this album are presnte tracks of great success as "Roundabout", "Heart Of The Sunrise" and "Long Distance Runaround". No strip is disposable. It's a good album for anyone who wants to meet the band at this stage. This version with blu-ray audio features diversities of sound and extra tracks with remastering. It is an excellent material for fans. Very good! Note 9.0.