NIN - The Fragile...review...

Thoughts_Arrive

http://www.allmusic.com/album/the-fragile-r431157

Agree/Disagree with this review?
I disagree, I see this album as an absolute masterpiece.
Cannot believe this writer gave it such a negative review. :shock:

PJ88

I think that release is a great one. I usually find myself listening on repeat is La Mer. There is just something about that song that is hauntingly good.

belinda27

http://www.allmusic.com/artist/stephen- ... /biography

the guy that wrote that article has an interesting taste in music! check out the second record he bought! or what about his guilty pleasure!

NIN = awesome!

conman

completely disagree, love the fragile

Eraserhead

Amazing album. Maybe, just maybe some bloat towards the end of disc 2, but only a minor quibble.

Dead Man Walking

During the LITS tour when they were doing the Backstage Access stuff to fans, Trent Mentioned that he was working on a super deluxe re-issue of this album to be release in the "next few years"...I'm sure all the soundtrack/HTDA work has side racked him a bit but when this thing comes out, it's going to be phenomenal.

Jason P

I'm a big fan of NIN, but I could never really get into The Fragile. I wouldn't call it bad, but it hasn't grabbed a hold of me like much of his other work has.

Of course, I wasn't into No Code for like five years after it was released, and now it's my second favorite PJ record. Perhaps I'll give The Fragile another try.

uninnocent-

I can't read allmusic while at work; is it possible for someone to copy and paste the article? The Fragile is my favourite album, and although it appears this article is contrary to my own opinion I'd still like to read it.

Edrock78

Jason P wrote:

I'm a big fan of NIN, but I could never really get into The Fragile. I wouldn't call it bad, but it hasn't grabbed a hold of me like much of his other work has.

Of course, I wasn't into No Code for like five years after it was released, and now it's my second favorite PJ record. Perhaps I'll give The Fragile another try.

Your a big NIN fan but you never got into The Fragile? I'm confused.

Jason P

Edrock78 wrote:

Jason P wrote:

I'm a big fan of NIN, but I could never really get into The Fragile. I wouldn't call it bad, but it hasn't grabbed a hold of me like much of his other work has.

Of course, I wasn't into No Code for like five years after it was released, and now it's my second favorite PJ record. Perhaps I'll give The Fragile another try.

Your a big NIN fan but you never got into The Fragile? I'm confused.

I listen to Ghosts more then The Fragile. Maybe it had too much hype. Maybe it was because I didn't really like the songs that were released as singles. Maybe it was because it was a follow-up to a masterpiece and I was expecting more, especially after the five year wait.

But I'm not saying it's bad. I'm just saying I never got into it ... and I did try to get into it.

Of The Aggie

Always liked The Fragile. Just Like You Imagined is one of my favorite NIN songs.

conman

uninnocent- wrote:

I can't read allmusic while at work; is it possible for someone to copy and paste the article? The Fragile is my favourite album, and although it appears this article is contrary to my own opinion I'd still like to read it.

Reviewby Stephen Thomas Erlewine

As the double-disc The Fragile unfurls, all of Nine Inch Nails' trademarks -- gargantuan, processed guitars, ominous electro rhythms, near-ambient keyboards, Trent Reznor's shredded vocals and tortured words -- are unveiled, all sounding pretty much how they did on The Downward Spiral. Upon closer inspection, there are new frills, yet these aren't apparent without digging -- and what's on the surface isn't necessarily inviting, either. There is nothing as rhythmic or catchy as "Closer," nothing as jarring as the piano chorus of "March of the Pigs," no ballad as naked as "Hurt." When Reznor does try for something immediate and visceral, he sounds recycled. Fortunately, The Fragile lives up to its title once the first disc is over. There are some detours into noisy bluster (some, like the Marilyn Manson dis "Starfuckers, Inc.," work quite well) but they're surrounded by long, evocative instrumental sections that highlight Reznor's gifts for arrangement. Whenever Reznor crafts delicate, alternately haunting and pretty soundscapes or interesting sonic juxtapositions, The Fragile is compelling. Since they provide a change of pace, the bursts of industrial noise assist the flow of the album, which never feels indulgent, even though it runs over 100 minutes. Still, The Fragile is ultimately a letdown. There's no denying that it's often gripping, offering odd and interesting variations on NIN themes, but that's the problem -- they're just variations, not progressions. Considering that it arrives five years after Spiral, that is a disappointment. It's easy to tell where the time went -- Reznor's music is immaculately crafted and arranged, with every note and nuance gliding into the next -- but he spent more time constructing surfaces than songs. Those surfaces can be enticing but since it's just surface, The Fragile winds up being vaguely unsatisfying.

Of The Aggie

Jason P wrote:

I listen to Ghosts more then The Fragile.

Yikes!

Ghosts is the most boring recording I own! I've listened to it maybe twice. Then just flat out gave up.

Jason P

Of The Aggie wrote:

Jason P wrote:

I listen to Ghosts more then The Fragile.

Yikes!

Ghosts is the most boring recording I own! I've listened to it maybe twice. Then just flat out gave up.

To be truthful, it's usually only on when I'm going to bed.

I do need to give The Fragile another shot. I lost one of the CD's (I think "left") many moons ago.

uninnocent-

Thanks for posting it, conman. I guess you can't please everybody. I've always considered the Fragile to be Trent's finest hour, and it somewhat disappoints me that someone can pan it like this guy did. I fully disagree that it doesn't work as a whole; I think it actually works best as an album rather than individual songs. I know that once I hear Somewhat Damaged, there's no turning it off until the end of Ripe (With Decay).

SVRDhand13

3 out of 5 stars is not that bad. I honestly would give it even less. It feels like a jumbled mess to me.