I did not expect the musical revelation of experiencing Yes’ uncut, 10-minute-plus cover of Simon and Garfunkle’s “America,” which is included as a bonus track – it’s worth the price of admission alone.

Having been conditioned to the four-minute “single edit” of “America” included in the YesYears four-CD box set released in 1991, experiencing the full version in 96/24 5.1 surround at reference level was unbelievable. It’s musical ecstasy, quite frankly, and the tinge of sadness that lingered as the song faded and the disc stopped spinning was the realization that there is absolutely nothing in new, popular rock music these days that even approaches the recklessly surreal abandon and ambitious musicianship on this disc. The music is challenging and rewarding, abrasive and sweet, and it’s not for everyone. Neither is Life, one could argue.

Now that I’ve gotten that out of my system, Yes fans should rejoice: Fragile has never sounded better now that it’s on DVD-Audio. More on the disc in a bit.

Fragile, Yes’ follow-up to their successful The Yes Album, serves as the maiden voyage of what is arguably the band’s finest line-up: Jon Anderson (vocals), Bill Bruford (drums and percussion), Steve Howe (electric, acoustic guitars and vocals), Chris Squire (bass guitars and vocals) and Rick Wakeman (organ, grand piano, electric piano, harpsichord, mellotron and synthesizer). Four songs proper are peppered amongst solo works by each of the five band members, and what may have been an uneven and ego-driven exercise in less able hands instead serves as a successful example of the “concept album”, before the concept lost its relevancy. Also remarkable is the revelation that one of the band’s biggest hits, “Roundabout,” and other classic Yes stalwarts, “Long Distance Runaround” and “Heart of the Sunrise” can be traced back to Fragile. This union of artistic and commercial success is remarkable and is certainly a factor in Fragile’s status of a classic.

If you’re a traditionalist, the Fragile DVD-Audio disc includes the original stereo mix in impressive 96khz/24-bit audio (DVD-Audio players only, and not 192/24 as labeled on the package). Compared to the album’s remastered CD release in the 1990s, the difference in audio quality is clearly evident – there is an increased dynamic range with sharper transients in the DVD-Audio, along with a smoother mid-range. Yes’ sound, particularly during the 1970s, leans toward an aggressive and biting mid-range. From Steve Howe’s stratospheric guitar melodies to Chris Squire’s growling Rickenbacher bass lines, the mid-frequencies certainly receive a workout. At reference level, this can usually prove to be fatiguing, but not on the DVD-Audio. What a joy! Compared to the original Fragile CD release in the 1980s, there’s no comparison: the DVD-A just blows it away. Yes’ catalog, when it first premiered on CD, had an oddly muffled quality. Filtering was probably done to the masters at the time to reduce tape noise (which was the big evil way back then – remember “DDD” or “Full Digital Recordings”?). Unfortunately, the early digital noise reduction techniques also killed the music’s upper frequency information, and as a result, the original Fragile CD sounds like crap. For adventurous fans, a new 5.1 surround mix of the album produced, engineered and mixed by Tim Weidner will truly astound and amaze. DVD-Audio players have access to the uncompressed MLP 96khz/24-bit track, while DVD-Video players have the option of DTS or Dolby Digital versions of the 5.1 re-mix. Some of the surround mix choices are a departure from the “sound” of the original stereo mix, but what is different in acoustical space arrangement is offset by faithfulness in spirit.

Some examples: “Roundabout” opens with the famous crescendo (recorded backwards) followed by Howe’s plucked acoustic guitar harmonics. On the original stereo mix, the guitar is dry and intimate. On the 5.1 re-mix, the guitar is placed in a slightly more formal, “roomier” environment, which foreshadows the broad aural assault to come. Whether this is a good or bad thing is debatable, but to my ears, it doesn’t
seem inappropriate for the 5.1 soundstage - just different. Another evident mix departure can be found in Anderson’s vocal-centric piece, “We Have Heaven”. The stereo mix prominently showcases the singer’s contrapuntal backing vocals, while the 5.1 re-mix subdues the vocals to the benefit of a more cohesive soundscape. Again, this is simply a different experience. Bruford’s percussion piece, “Five Per Cent For Nothing” is mixed aggressively, and provides key percussive accents which move around the five speakers of the listening space. Given the experimental nature of this track, it’s fantastically effective. The one gripe I do have is that Wakeman’s “Cans and Brahms” sounds a bit loud compared to the rest of the album. However, this track – filled with Wakeman’s synthesizer lines – sports some of the disc’s lowest frequencies. The room shakes with those low synth notes! Since the inside of the DVD-Audio Super Jewel Box indicates that the “disc was approved by the artists,” I’m assuming these changes are officially endorsed by the band.

The longer pieces, “South Side of the Sky,” “Heart of the Sunrise” and the bonus track, “America,” are simply awesome in their 5.1 listening environments. The tracks usually begin with a front-heavy soundstage, the band widely spread across the front three speakers. Additional vocals and instruments fill the surround channels, and the songs’ extended instrumental middle sections soar exquisitely in 5.1.

The high-resolution 5.1 re-mix’s sound quality improves on the disc’s excellent uncompressed stereo option. Instrument tracks are cleaner, less distorted and breathe easier in their new space. Compressed Dolby Digital and DTS 5.1 tracks are also included, along with the original mix in Dolby Digital 2.0. These choices are only accessible with DVD-Video players; DVD-Audio players only have access to the high-resolution options (actually, I was able to access the DTS track on my Panasonic RP-91 DVD-A player by selecting “Group 2” on the remote and then pressing “enter”). The 5.1 DTS track exhibits excellent spatial imaging and is preferred over the Dolby Digital alternative, which sounds more discrete by comparison. The compressed Dolby Digital 2.0 track is a bit of a waste. With so many DTS-compatible DVD-Video players, it’s a shame the Dolby Digital 5.1 and 2.0 tracks were not sacrificed in order to provide the space to include an uncompressed PCM stereo track of the original mix (for DVD-Video player compatibility). But really, let’s be honest: if you want a decent, stereo-only version of Fragile, and you don’t have a DVD-Audio player, the remastered CD more than satisfies. If you want a mind-blowing experience, pick up the DVD-Audio disc.

Yes Guitarist,

Steve Howe

The disc is authored so that the uncompressed MLP 5.1 and stereo 96/24 mixes are located in “Group 1” of the DVD-Audio menu structure. To easily toggle back and forth between the stereo and surround options without navigating menus using a monitor, simply press the “Audio” button on your remote while in “Group 1.”

On the Extras front, the “America” bonus track speaks for itself – or at least I did on its behalf a few paragraphs ago. Listen to it; it’s breathtaking. The sound quality is on par with the rest of the album. In fact, it almost feels as if “America” is an official part of Fragile (much like “Silver Springs” is now arguably a part of Fleetwood Mac’s Rumours). Lyrics are included for all the non-instrumental songs, and are accessible while listening to the music. Alas, the lyrics are not reprinted in the booklet (which instead has a nice article on the history of Fragile in a retrospective interview format).

Other disc extras include a photo gallery of about 20 pictures circa 1971-1972, and a wonderful Yes Timeline: 1968-1972, which documents the band’s formation, rise and history through Fragile’s original release in 1972 via writings, pictures and memorabilia.