Album · Yes
Fragile by Yes
Fragile is an album by Yes, released in 1971. 3 songs from it have charted on rock radio countdowns, with 106 countdown appearances in total. The biggest is “Roundabout”, on 78 lists with a best position of #18.
Fragile, Yes's fourth album, landed on Atlantic late in 1971, and it's the sound of a band suddenly handed a whole new box of colors. Rick Wakeman had just replaced founding keyboardist Tony Kaye, who had balked at going beyond organ and piano, and with his classical training, Mellotron and Moog, Wakeman blew the band's palette wide open. Jon Anderson sings, Steve Howe's guitar darts and flickers, Chris Squire's bass growls up front, and Bill Bruford drums with a crisp, jazzy snap.
Recorded at Advision Studios with the band producing, it's split in two to save studio time and money: four full-band pieces, "Roundabout" and "Heart of the Sunrise" among them, and five solo spots, one for each member. An edited "Roundabout" got them onto American radio, and the album reached number 4 in the US. It also began Roger Dean's long run as their cover artist.
Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.
Songs from Fragile on radio countdowns
| # | Song | Strength | Lists | Best | #1s | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Roundabout#364 of all time | 78 | #18 | – | 1982–2026 | |
| 2 | Long Distance Runaround | 21 | #178 | – | 1997–2026 | |
| 3 | Heart of the Sunrise | 6 | #436 | – | 2001–2020 |
Only songs that appear on at least one countdown are listed. Release data from MusicBrainz.