For all intents and purposes, “Fragile” was my introduction to ‘progressive rock’, and the sudden stylistic shift alarmed my parents.

I distinctly remember my mother asking me why I suddenly started listening to “long-hair” music (her term for European classicists a la Mozart, Brahms, etc.). I didn’t get her meaning at first – after all, everything I listened to was by long-haired rock and rollers, so her joke went right over my head at the time.

Frankly, I didn’t listen to “Fragile” to hear “Cans and Brahms” (Rick Wakeman’s solo piece – each bandmember has one on “Fragile”), but the incredible musicianship of the band, churning in a spectacular manner under Jon Anderson’s pleasant tenor. Yes, the times they were a-changing.

​Roundabout

​Cans and Brahms

​We Have Heaven

South Side of the Sky

Five Percent for Nothing

Long Distance Runaround

The Fish

Mood for a Day

Heart of the Sunrise

January 1972 - Billboard Charted #4