{"product_id":"yes_fragi_2606","title":"Yes - Fragile - Nearly White Hot Stamper","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e*NOTE:\u003c\/strong\u003e There is a stitch that plays 10 times lightly at the start of track 1 on side 1, \"Roundabout.\"\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThese \u003ca href=\"\/collections\/nearly-white-hot\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eNearly White Hot Stamper\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e pressings have top-quality sound that's often surprisingly close to our White Hots, but they sell at substantial discounts to our Shootout Winners, making them a relative bargain in the world of Hot Stampers (\"relative\" meaning relative considering the prices we charge). We feel you get what you pay for here at Better Records, and if ever you don't agree, please feel free to return the record for a full \u003ca href=\"\/pages\/money-back-guarantee\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003erefund\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e, no questions asked.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003chr\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWe doubt you’ve heard too many (if any) rock records that sound as amazing as this one. It’s dynamic, punchy and powerful, with the kind of super-low distortion sound that lets you really crank the levels, \u003ca href=\"\/search?q=tag:%22turn-up-your-volume%22\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003ethe louder the better\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e. How many Yes records will let you do that? This one will. That’s what you get for your money -- the kind of sound that can blow your mind over and over again for as long as you live, or at least as long as your hearing holds out.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eBoth sides are smooth and sweet with virtually no smearing up top or distortion on the piano. There's lots of meaty, punchy bass that really propels the music far beyond what you hear on the typical pressing. The overall sound is airy, open, spacious, and three-dimensional. The grit, grain and spit that characterize most copies are nowhere to be found here.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIf you exclusively play modern repressings of vintage recordings, I can say without fear of contradiction that you have never heard this kind of sound on vinyl. Old records have it -- not often, and certainly not always -- but maybe one out of a hundred new records do, and those are some pretty long odds.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eWhat The Best Sides Of Fragile Have To Offer Is Not Hard To Hear\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe biggest, most immediate staging in the largest acoustic space\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe most Tubey Magic, without which you have \u003ci\u003ealmost\u003c\/i\u003e nothing. CDs give you clean and clear. Only the best vintage vinyl pressings offer the kind of Tubey Magic that was on the tapes in \u003ca href=\"\/search?q=tag:%221971%22\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e1971\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e\n\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eTight, note-like, rich, full-bodied bass, with the correct amount of weight down low\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eNatural tonality in the midrange -- with all the instruments having the correct timbre\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eTransparency and resolution, critical to hearing into the three-dimensional studio space\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eNo doubt there's more but we hope that should do for now. \u003ci\u003ePlaying the record is the only way to hear all of the qualities we discuss above,\u003c\/i\u003e and playing the best pressings against a pile of other copies under rigorously controlled conditions is the only way to find a pressing that sounds as good as this one does.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eWhat a Record\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFragile has been a member of our \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/better-records.com\/pages\/top-100\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eTop 100\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e since Day One, and a copy like this will show you exactly why.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI would venture to guess that not many audiophiles have a rock record that sounds this good in their collections (excluding those of you who have managed to acquire some of our best Hot Stampers; those audiophiles own the real thing and the real thing just can't be beat.)\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThere is no way this record is not cut from the master tape. Dubs just don't sound like this. This record should give any record you own a run for its money. It's as \u003cu\u003ebig\u003c\/u\u003e and as \u003cu\u003ebold\u003c\/u\u003e a statement about raising the bar for rock recordings as any I know. Without a doubt one of the Best Rock Recordings of all time.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eFragile: The Checklist\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eHere are some of the qualities we were listening for during our most recent shootout:\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e1. \u003cstrong\u003eDynamics\u003c\/strong\u003e - The better copies have amazing dynamics which are most easily recognized in the cymbal crashes, the pounding of the piano, and in the door that slams shut on the track \"We Have Heaven,\" just to pick a few obvious examples.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWhen these sounds aren't startling in their power, the pressing at hand is obviously missing some of its dynamic contrasts. There is compression on this recording in places; don't get me wrong, we can hear it as well as anyone. But other passages of this music really get up and go. On the hottest Hot Stamper pressings they exhibit tremendous life and energy. The ability to get louder and bigger during the most powerful passages of the music is what we mean by dynamics.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e2. \u003cstrong\u003eSmoothness\u003c\/strong\u003e - This album can be harsh and unpleasant if the upper midrange is boosted at all, or lacks enough lower midrange to balance out the upper mids. The last thing in the world that you want is a bright, harsh Yes record. Take it from us, we know whereof we speak. We've played them by the score. The pressings with the five digit catalog numbers (SD 19132) are the worst offenders in this area, but plenty of originals (SD 7211) have the same problem.)\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e3. \u003cstrong\u003eBass\u003c\/strong\u003e - Bass definition and weight are crucial to the sound of this album. The copies that lack bass and are consequently thin-sounding are simply not enjoyable. (Acoustic Sounds, we have a problem.)\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e4. \u003cstrong\u003eDistortion\u003c\/strong\u003e - Almost all copies have distortion on the piano in \"South Side of the Sky.\" It is the rare copy that doesn't have at least a trace of breakup on the piano. Some of that breakup can be heard on the CD, so it's not entirely the LP's fault.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eThe Seventies - What a Decade!\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003ca href=\"\/search?q=tag:%22tubey-magical-acoustic-guitars%22\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAcoustic guitar\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e reproduction is superb on the better pressings of this record. The harmonic coherency, the richness, the body and the phenomenal amounts of Tubey Magic can be heard on every strum. (This is of course where the AP Heavy Vinyl pressing fails completely.)\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFragile is arguably the pinnacle of High-Production-Value rock music recorded the 60s and 70s. The amount of effort that went into the recording of this album is comparable to that expended by the engineers and producers of bands like Supertramp, The Who, Jethro Tull, Ambrosia, Pink Floyd and far too many others to list.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIt's clear that Eddie Offord and the band spared no effort or cost in making the home listening experience as compelling as the recording technology of the day permitted.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eBig Production Tubey Magical British Prog Rock just doesn't get much better than Fragile.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eQuiet Vinyl? Hey, We're Doing the Best We Can\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIt's unusual to find this record with surfaces remotely close to Mint Minus; a step down from that grade is roughly as quiet as can find them, and even those are fairly rare. There are a number of quiet passages on this album, which is partly what makes it such an amazing listening experience. It's dynamic -- it gets very loud and it gets very quiet. For goodness sake, that's what you want.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe intro on side one, to take just one example, will almost always have some noise issues. Those of you who place a high premium on quiet surfaces may find yourselves frustrated with the vinyl on our carefully cleaned Hot Stampers, but we're hoping the dynamic, exciting sound will win you over. Either way we guarantee your satisfaction one hundred per cent.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThose of you looking for exceptionally quiet vinyl will have to settle for the sound of later pressings and Heavy Vinyl reissues, purchased elsewhere of course, as we have no interest in selling records that don't have the vintage analog magic of these wonderful originals.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIf you want to make the trade-off between bad sound and quiet surfaces with whatever Heavy Vinyl pressing might be available, well, that's certainly your prerogative, but we can't imagine losing what's good about this music -- the size, the energy, the presence, the clarity, the weight -- just to hear it with less background noise.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eTrack Commentary\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe \u003cstrong\u003eTracklist\u003c\/strong\u003e tab above will take you to a select song breakdown for each side, with plenty of What to Listen For advice.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eOther records with track breakdowns can be found \u003ca href=\"\/search?q=tag:%22track-commentary%22\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003ehere\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eA Must Own Record\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWe consider this album a Prog Rock \u003ca href=\"\/search?q=tag:%22rock-masterpiece%22\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMasterpiece\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e. It's one of three Yes recording that belongs in any serious rock music collection (the other two, of course, being The Yes Album and Close to the Edge).\u003c\/p\u003e \n\u003cp\u003eOthers that belong in that category can be found \u003ca href=\"\/search?q=tag:%22core-rock-collection%22\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003ehere\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Yes","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51949088637224,"sku":"yes_fragi","price":999.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0257\/3415\/2295\/files\/yes__fragi_2008ex_1132693758_9b3af547-b87b-4f52-8a28-cc0f847c1641.jpg?v=1700683422","url":"https:\/\/better-records.com\/products\/yes_fragi_2606","provider":"Better Records","version":"1.0","type":"link"}