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The Fragile

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This is an old revision of this page, as edited by 70.119.247.185 (talk) at 03:37, 28 August 2010 (→‎"The New Flesh": cutting down New Flesh section. Undue weight for one song when no other songs on the album have coverage in this article. I assume this a ham handed attempt at a merger.). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

Untitled

The Fragile is the fourth studio release by American industrial rock act Nine Inch Nails, released on September 21, 1999, by Interscope Records. The album was produced by Nine Inch Nails frontman Trent Reznor and long-time collaborator Alan Moulder. In contrast to the heavily distorted instruments and gritty industrial sounds of Nine Inch Nails' previous album, The Downward Spiral, the double concept album[citation needed] relies more on soundscapes, electronic beats, ambient noise, and rock-laden guitar. Lyrically, the album is more introspective and personal than the act's previous releases.[1][2]

Upon release, The Fragile peaked at number 1 on the Billboard 200 chart, before quickly dropping to number 16.[3] The album was commercially successful, selling one million copies within its first month of release.[4] Despite some criticism for its length and lyrical substance,[5][6] the album received positive reviews from music critics with large amounts of praise being bestowed upon the album by several publications.

Background

Reznor described The Fragile in a 1999 interview:

There's a general theme to the album of systems failing and things sort of falling apart. In keeping with the idea of making everything sound a little broken, I chose stringed instruments because they're imperfect by nature. Although it may not sound like it, most of the album is actually guitar - and that includes the orchestral sounds and weird melodic lines. When it came to instruments that I didn't really know how to play - like the ukulele or the slide guitar - we were able to get some really interesting sounds by making the studio the main instrument.[7]

In terms of narrative, the album is an unofficial continuation of The Downward Spiral[citation needed]. Reznor compares the lyrical content of the two albums:

I wanted this album to sound like there was something inherently flawed in the situation, like someone struggling to put the pieces together. Downward Spiral, was about peeling off layers and arriving at a naked, ugly end. This album starts at the end, then attempts to create order from chaos, but never reaches the goal. It’s probably a bleaker album because it arrives back where it starts — (with) the same emotion. The album begins "Somewhat Damaged" and ends "Ripe (With Decay)".[8]

In a 2005 interview, Reznor reflected his thoughts on the album in retrospect:

The Fragile was an album based a lot in fear, because I was afraid as fuck about what was happening to me. That's why there aren't a lot of lyrics on that record. I couldn't fucking think. An unimaginable amount of effort went into that record in a very unfocused way.[9]

At a 2009 Nine Inch Nails performance in Mansfield, MA, Reznor discussed the origins of the song "La Mer":

About 10 years ago or so I locked myself away in a house on the ocean, and I tried to... I said I was trying to write some music. Some of which wound up on The Fragile. But what I was really doing was trying to kill myself. And the whole time I was away by myself, I managed to write one song, which is this song. So when I play it I feel pretty weird about it, because it takes me back to a pretty dark and awful time in my life. It's weird to think how different things are now: I'm still alive, I haven't died yet. And I'm afraid to go back to that place because it feels kind of haunting to me, but I'm going to go back. I'm going to get married there.[10]

The song "I'm Looking Forward to Joining You, Finally" is credited in the album's booklet as "for clara", suggesting that the song's topic, like "The Day the World Went Away", is about Reznor's grandmother, Clara Clark. [citation needed]

Packaging

The cover artwork was designed by David Carson. A section within his book Fotografiks[11] reveals that the top section of the album cover is from a photo of a waterfall and the bottom section is from a closeup photo of the inside of some kind of seashell. Carson elaborated on this further in an image on his website:

[...] back was going to be the front till the last moment. trent changed it saying it was kinda irritating yet something about it we liked so maybe it fit the music. front cover flowers i shot outside of Austin, Texas. the 1 hour place called and said they messed up and used the wrong chemicals and the film was ruined. i said lemme see em anyway. this is how they came out. cover image is a waterfall in iceland and a seashell in the west indies.[12]

Release and promotion

The first single, "The Day the World Went Away", was released two months before the album. "Into the Void" and "We're in This Together" proved to be the album's most successful singles. The B-side "Starfuckers, Inc." was released on the album as a track at the last minute [citation needed], and became The Fragile's last single.

Fragility tour

In support of The Fragile, the Nine Inch Nails live band reformed for the Fragility tour. The tour began in late 1999 and lasted until mid-2000, spanning Europe, Japan, New Zealand, Australia, and North America.[13] The tour consisted of two major legs, labeled Fragility 1.0 and Fragility 2.0. The live band lineup remained largely the same from the previous tour in support of The Downward Spiral, featuring Robin Finck on guitar, Charlie Clouser on keyboards, and Danny Lohner on bass guitar.[14][15] Reznor held open auditions to find a new drummer, eventually picking then-unknown Jerome Dillon.[16]

Nine Inch Nails' record label at the time, Interscope Records, reportedly refused to fund the promotional tour following The Fragile's lukewarm sales. Reznor instead committed himself to fund the entire tour himself, which had quickly sold-out. He concluded that "The reality is, I’m broke at the end of the tour," but also added "I will never present a show that isn’t fantastic."[17]

The tour featured increasingly large production values, including a triptych video display created by contemporary video artist Bill Viola.[18] Rolling Stone magazine named Fragility the best tour of 2000.[19]

In 2002, the tour documentary And All That Could Have Been was released featuring performances from the Fragility 2.0 tour. While making the DVD, Reznor commented on the tour in retrospect by saying "I thought the show was really, really good when we were doing it",[20] but later wrote that "I can't watch it at all. I was sick for most of that tour and I really don't think it was Nine Inch Nails at its best."[21]

Reissue

On September 21, 2009 (the tenth anniversary of the album's release), a Nine Inch Nails official Twitter update hinted that a deluxe reissue of The Fragile was in the works and is scheduled for a 2010 release.[22]

Reception

Sales and public reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic[23]
Robert Christgau(B)[24]
Entertainment Weekly(A-)[25]
Los Angeles Times[26]
The New York Times(favorable)[1]
Pitchfork Media(2.0/10)[5]
Rolling Stone[27]
Spin(9/10)[28]
USA Today[29]
The Village Voice(favorable)[30]

The album was not as much of a commercial success as The Downward Spiral. Despite a strong start at #1 on the Billboard Top 10, the album quickly slipped out of the charts only a week after its release.

On January 4, 2000, the album was certified double platinum in sales by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), following sales in excess of two million copies in the United States.[4]

Critical reception

The majority of critics responded to The Fragile positively with major publications such as Entertainment Weekly and Spin bestowing large amounts of praise upon it. It earned perfect ratings from publications such as the Alternative Press, Kerrang! and USA Today.[29][31][32] The Fragile was included on several magazines' "end-of-year" album lists, including The Village Voice (#14), Rolling Stone (#4), and Spin (#1).[33]

However not all critics were as receptive. Among these was Pitchfork Media who criticized the album for what they considered to be overly melodramatic lyrics.[5]

The Fragile was ranked #390 in the book The Top 500 Heavy Metal Albums of All Time by Martin Popoff.

Track listing

Compact Disc version

All tracks are written by Trent Reznor, except where noted

Left disc
No.TitleLength
1."Somewhat Damaged" (Reznor, Danny Lohner)4:31
2."The Day the World Went Away"4:33
3."The Frail"1:54
4."The Wretched"5:25
5."We're in This Together"7:16
6."The Fragile"4:35
7."Just Like You Imagined"3:49
8."Even Deeper" (Reznor, Lohner)5:48
9."Pilgrimage"3:31
10."No, You Don't"3:35
11."La Mer"4:37
12."The Great Below"5:17
Right disc
No.TitleLength
1."The Way Out Is Through" (Reznor, Keith Hillebrandt, Charlie Clouser)4:17
2."Into the Void"4:49
3."Where Is Everybody?"5:40
4."The Mark Has Been Made" (includes a hidden intro to "10 Miles High")5:15
5."Please"3:30
6."Starfuckers, Inc." (Reznor, Clouser)5:00
7."Complication"2:30
8."I'm Looking Forward to Joining You, Finally"4:13
9."The Big Come Down"4:12
10."Underneath It All"2:46
11."Ripe (With Decay)"6:34

Cassette version

This release is identical to the CD pressing, with the exclusive addition of "+appendage" attached to the end of "Please".

Side one.a
No.TitleLength
1."Somewhat Damaged" (Reznor, Danny Lohner)4:31
2."The Day the World Went Away"4:33
3."The Frail"1:54
4."The Wretched"5:25
5."We're in This Together"7:16
6."The Fragile"4:35
7."Just Like You Imagined"3:49
Side one.b
No.TitleLength
1."Even Deeper" (Reznor, Lohner)5:48
2."Pilgrimage"3:31
3."No, You Don't"3:35
4."La Mer"4:37
5."The Great Below"5:17
Side 2.a
No.TitleLength
1."The Way Out Is Through" (Reznor, Keith Hillebrandt, Charlie Clouser)4:17
2."Into the Void"4:49
3."Where Is Everybody?"5:40
4."The Mark Has Been Made" (includes a hidden intro to "10 Miles High")5:15
5."Please (+appendage)"6:19
Side 2.b
No.TitleLength
1."Starfuckers, Inc." (Reznor, Clouser)5:00
2."Complication"2:30
3."I'm Looking Forward to Joining You, Finally"4:13
4."The Big Come Down"4:12
5."Underneath It All"2:46
6."Ripe (With Decay)"6:34

Vinyl version

This release of The Fragile contains the songs "10 Miles High" and "The New Flesh" (both of which were later released as part of the "We're in This Together" single.) "The Day the World Went Away", "The Wretched", "Even Deeper" and "La Mer" are all extended mixes, while the opening and closing of each side eliminates the crossfading between songs found on the CD/cassette versions, due to the nature of the vinyl medium. Finally, "Ripe" was shortened by removing the conclusive "(With Decay)" portion of the song.

Disc 1 Side A
No.TitleLength
1."Somewhat Damaged" (Reznor, Danny Lohner)4:31
2."The Day the World Went Away"5:01
3."The Frail"1:54
4."The Wretched"5:36
Disc 1 Side B
No.TitleLength
1."We're in This Together"7:16
2."The Fragile"4:35
3."Just Like You Imagined"3:49
4."Even Deeper" (Reznor, Lohner)6:14
Disc 2 Side A
No.TitleLength
1."Pilgrimage"3:31
2."No, You Don't"3:35
3."La Mer"5:02
4."The Great Below"5:17
Disc 2 Side B
No.TitleLength
1."The Way Out Is Through" (Reznor, Keith Hillebrandt, Charlie Clouser)4:17
2."Into the Void"4:49
3."Where Is Everybody?"5:40
4."The Mark Has Been Made"4:43
Disc 3 Side A
No.TitleLength
1."10 Miles High"5:13
2."Please"3:30
3."Starfuckers, Inc." (Reznor, Clouser)5:00
4."Complication"2:30
5."The New Flesh"3:40
Disc 3 Side B
No.TitleLength
1."I'm Looking Forward to Joining You, Finally"4:13
2."The Big Come Down"4:12
3."Underneath It All"2:46
4."Ripe"5:15

"The New Flesh"

"The New Flesh" appears on the vinyl version of The Fragile, disc 1 of the European and Japanese "We're in This Together" 3-disc single, and the Australian "Into the Void" single.

Personnel

Credits for The Fragile adapted from liner notes:[34]

Chart history

Chart positions

Chart procession and succession

Preceded by Billboard 200 number-one album
October 9–15, 1999 		Succeeded by

References

  1. ^ a b Pareles, Jon. Review: The Fragile. The New York Times. Retrieved on 2009-08-29.
  2. ^ Lipton, Mike. Review: The Fragile. Yahoo! Music. Retrieved on 2009-08-29.
  3. ^ Columnist. "Review: The Fragile". Access Magazine: January 2000.
  4. ^ a b Gold & Platinum: Searchable Database. Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). Retrieved on 2009-08-29.
  5. ^ a b c DiCrescenzo, Brent. Review: The Fragile. Pitchfork Media. Retrieved on 2009-08-29.
  6. ^ Columnist. Review: The Fragile. NME. Retrieved on 2009-08-29.
  7. ^ Rage: 21 August 1999 Last accessed April 15, 2007.
  8. ^ Nine Inch Nails: A Ransom Review Last accessed April 15, 2007.
  9. ^ Spitz, Marc (June 2005). "The Shadow of Death". Spin. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help); Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  10. ^ La Mer Performance
  11. ^ David Carson and Philip B. Meggs (1999). Fotografiks. Gingko Press. p. 192. ISBN 9781584230045. Retrieved 2010-04-24.
  12. ^ Album cover explanation for The Fragile Last accessed April 24, 2010.
  13. ^ Elfman, Doug (2 June 2000). "Quite a Contrast" (fee required). Las Vegas Review-Journal. Retrieved 2008-02-01.
  14. ^ "Guitarist Robin Finck Leaves GN'R To Return To NIN". MTV.com. 4 August 1999. Retrieved 2008-02-08.
  15. ^ Mancini, Robert (28 September 1999). "Nine Inch Nails Line Up European Shows, But States Must Wait". MTV.com. Retrieved 2008-02-08.
  16. ^ Rashidii, Waleed. "Jerome Dillon – New With NIN". Modern Drummer. Retrieved 2008-02-09. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  17. ^ Soeder, John (2000-04-09). "Rock's outlook bleak, but this Nail won't bend". Cleveland.com.
  18. ^ "Bill Viola – Video Artist". Gergiev Festival. Retrieved 2008-02-08.
  19. ^ Heinz, Ryan (2002-02-01). "NIN: It wasn't all it could have been". Western Courier. Retrieved 2008-02-19.
  20. ^ Saraceno, Christina and Austin Scaggs (8 June 2001). "NIN Doing Fragility DVD". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2008-02-01. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  21. ^ Reznor, Trent (21 July 2004). "Access". Nine Inch Nails. Archived from the original on 14 May 2007. Retrieved 2008-02-01.
  22. ^ Twitter / Nine Inch Nails: And... we've begun work on...
  23. ^ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. Review: The Fragile. Allmusic. Retrieved on 2009-08-29.
  24. ^ Christgau, Robert. "Consumer Guide: The Fragile". The Village Voice: January 2000.
  25. ^ Hermes, Will. Review: The Fragile. Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved on 2009-08-29.
  26. ^ Hilburn, Robert. "Review: The Fragile". Los Angeles Times: 72. September 19, 1999. Archived from the original on 2009-08-29.
  27. ^ Sheffield, Rob. Review: The Fragile. Rolling Stone. Retrieved on 2009-08-29.
  28. ^ Powers, Ann. "Review: The Fragile". Spin: 179–180. November 1999.
  29. ^ a b Gundersen, Edna. "Review: The Fragile". USA Today: 02.D. September 21, 1999. Archived from the original on 2009-08-29.
  30. ^ Seward, Scott. Review: The Fragile. The Village Voice. Retrieved on 2009-08-29.
  31. ^ Columnist. "Review: The Fragile". Alternative Press: 118–119. November 1999.
  32. ^ Columnist. "Review: The Fragile". Kerrang!: September 1999.
  33. ^ Accolades: The Fragile. Acclaimed Music. Retrieved on 2009-08-29.
  34. ^ Track listing and credits as per liner notes for The Fragile album
  35. ^ a b c "Billboard Music Charts - Search Results - Nine Inch Nails". Billboard. Retrieved 2007-09-28. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help); Text "0" ignored (help)
  36. ^ "Nine Inch Nails Survivalism". Top40-Charts.com. 22 April 2007. Retrieved 2007-06-01.
  37. ^ "Chart Stats - Nine Inch Nails". Chart Stats. Retrieved 2007-09-28.

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