When I was in high school, this album was considered a "masterpiece" by many of my peers. I never got it then, and I don't get it now. All this hype about "virtuosity" and "instrumental brilliance" can't hide the fact that this music has no soul, no passion. It us utterly unlistenable. Bad techno rock. Yuck.

This review is about the DVD-Audio version - if you're even looking at this version, I'll bet you're already familiar with the music.
Let me tell you, if you've got the right equipment, then you really have to get it! The sound quality is amazingly clear - I've purchased other DVD-A's where the enhanced sound showed up limitations in the source tape or unintentionally showed where seperate musical parts came in and out. Not this one! Right from the beginning, when that famous acoustic guitar intro kicks in, you'll be impressed by use of 'space' in the sound. The surround tracks has a real feel of space without it sounding like the remixers were trying to show off. I can't reccomend it enough - I'd been listening to this album for years, but hearing the DVD-A gives me a whole new level of appreciation for it.

I have to admit, it took me awhile before I broke down and bought this. I can understand if any of you are hesitant to buy another version of this CD, much as you may like it. But now I wish I'd bought it much sooner. So in a word, BUY IT! It's definitely worth the money! If you're buying it for the first time, and have the right equipment, THIS is the version to get. And if you already own it............ well, it's got the full-length version of "America" as a bonus track, and it's not any more expensive than the "Fragile" *CD* remaster, so what could possibly be holding you back??? :)

The reviewers below really hit it dead on: this is not Yes' most cohesive or best album, but it still is one of the essential albums in any rock collection. Every member of Yes is incredibly talented: Jon Anderson's raspy voice sounds like two people singing at the same time; Chris Squire plays bass as if it was a lead instrument; Steve Howe's guitar at times rings with classical underpinnings and at other times rips out overwhelming lightning fast rock riffs; Wakeman's only peer on keyboards is Keith Emerson; and I suspect Bill Bruford is one of the few drummers who could possibly anchor this much talent.

Without reviewing the songs individually, the music is some of the most complex to be produced by a mainstream rock band with extended instrumental passages which paint great musical landscapes. The lyrics are pure poetry, the meaning of which is not always ascertainable. In a way this enhances the band in that it allows Jon Anderson's voice to be a musical instrument communicating pure emotion without the necessity of resorting to the meaning of the words he is voicing.

Amazingly, 30 years after this album was released, YES! can still fill the 2500 seat Universal Amputheater in Los Angeles, with seats going for an average of $... a pop. That says a lot for the quality of the musicians and their compositions. And that is why this album is essential to a music collection.

Why buy the DVD-Audio?

CDs are harsh and brittle. They produce listening fatigue in minutes, and have always left me fiddling with the trebble in a feeble attempt correct the uncorrectable sound. Nothing worked. So, for serious music appreciation, I needed to resort to the long playing vinyl album. These have their own problems such as limited dynamic range, transient distortion, poor pressing quality, tape hiss and noise, scratches and thousands of pops and ticks, rumble, wow and flutter, and expensive playback equipment which needed care and tuning. And worst of all, I had to get up to flip the album half-way through!

DVD-Audio and SACDs fix these problems. Initially, I put on the CD of Yes' "Close to the Edge" just to assure myself that CDs aren't for extended listening. I then played the DVD-A and the vinyl of Fragile at the same time and flipped back and forth. The stereo track on the DVD-A revealed instruments which were burried on the vinyl: Steve Howe's guitar has a beautiful warmth to it which is missing on the vinyl -- the ring and sustain of the guitar notes at the beginning of Roundabout held on longer; the echo from the room in which Anderson was singing became more apparent; Wakeman's synthesizers sounded crystaline without harshness; and you could hear with clarity the wood of Bruford's sticks as they hit the rim of a drum. The 5.1 track reveals even more, most notably in "Cans and Brahms" when Wakeman hits a deep bass organ peddle and the room vibrates.

A must have album. If you have a DVD player, I also recommend Yes Live at the House of Blues and Keys to Ascension.

Some very well written reviews already appear in this list. As a long time Yes fan (Yes, I remember when this one hit the shelves), Fragile stands out as a classic LP. The only other two that top it for me are The Yes Album (1971) and Close to the Edge (1973). And, I would have to rate the compilation album "Yesterdays" a fourth best.

I too feel that Kaye was underrated. It may have taken this album for Wakeman to get comfy in Yes. By the time Close to the Edge rolled around, he had found himself. For that reason, I would say that Fragile was a transitional ablum for this group. Its too bad that they went down the tubes just a few years later with Relayer in '74.

To "Duran Duran's Greatest Fan" (the ONLY fan they had)...Justin Timberlake is better than Yes? What are you smoking? The only thing Timberlake will ever be known for is the Janet Jackson debacle. And yes I am old and proud of it...music from the 60s and 70s was way better than the junk that passes for music these days. Spears & Aguilera have no talent except for taking their clothes off, but musically, forget it. YES rules!!!!