Movatterモバイル変換


[0]ホーム

URL:


Jump to content
WikipediaThe Free Encyclopedia
Search

The Fragile

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
1999 album by Nine Inch Nails
This article is about the Nine Inch Nails album. For the O'Hooley & Tidow album, seeThe Fragile (O'Hooley & Tidow album).
"Somewhat Damaged" redirects here. For the record label, seeThe Naked and Famous.
"The New Flesh" redirects here. For the album, seeSylosis.

The Fragile
Studio album by
ReleasedSeptember 21, 1999 (1999-09-21)
RecordedJanuary 1997 – July 1999
StudioNothing, New Orleans
Genre
Length103:39
Label
Producer
Nine Inch Nails chronology
Further Down the Spiral
(1995)
The Fragile
(1999)
Things Falling Apart
(2000)
Halo numbers chronology
Halo 13
(1999)
Halo 14
(1999)
Halo 15
(1999)
Singles from The Fragile
  1. "The Day the World Went Away"
    Released: July 20, 1999
  2. "We're in This Together"
    Released: September 27, 1999
  3. "Into the Void"
    Released: January 10, 2000

The Fragile is the third studio album by the Americanindustrial rock bandNine Inch Nails, released as adouble album byNothing Records andInterscope Records on September 21, 1999. It was produced by Nine Inch Nails frontmanTrent Reznor and the English producerAlan Moulder, a longtime Reznor collaborator. It was recorded throughout 1997 to 1999 inNew Orleans.

Looking to depart from the distorted production of their previous album,The Downward Spiral (1994), the album features elements ofambient andelectronic music within a wide variety of genres. The album continues some of the lyrical themes fromThe Downward Spiral, including depression and drug abuse. The album notably contains more instrumental sections than their previous work, with some entire tracks being instrumentals.The Fragile is also one of the band's longest studio releases, clocking in at nearly 1 hour and 45 minutes long. The record was promoted with three singles: "The Day the World Went Away", "We're in This Together", and "Into the Void", as well as the promotional single "Starfuckers, Inc." and an accompanying tour, theFragility Tour, which spanned two legs. Several accompanying recordings were also released, including a remix album,Things Falling Apart (2000), a live album,And All That Could Have Been (2002), as well as an alternate version of the record,The Fragile: Deviations 1 (2016).

Upon release, critics applauded the album's ambition and composition, although some criticized its length and perceived lack of lyrical substance. However, in the years following its release, it has come to be regarded by many critics and listeners to be among the band's best work. The album debuted at number one in the U.S. to become the band's first chart-topper, and was eventually certifieddouble platinum by theRIAA.

Writing and recording

[edit]

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.

Trent Reznor[1]

The Fragile was produced byTrent Reznor andAlan Moulder at Nothing Studios inNew Orleans. There were some personnel changes within Nine Inch Nails after the Self-Destruct tour, which saw drummerChris Vrenna replaced byBill Rieflin andJerome Dillon, the latter of whom would become Nine Inch Nails' full-time drummer until late 2005.Charlie Clouser andDanny Lohner contributed occasional instrumentation and composition to several tracks although the album was predominantly written and performed by Reznor alone.The Fragile was mixed by Alan Moulder and mastered by Tom Baker. The packaging was created byDavid Carson andRob Sheridan.[2]

According to a February 2000 interview in Keyboard Magazine, two of the album's programmers,Charlie Clouser andKeith Hillebrandt, disclosed some synths used in the album's production, among them:Clavia Nord Lead 2,Waldorf Pulse and Microwave,Minimoog,Oberheim Xpander,Novation Bass Station,Sequential Circuits Prophet-VS, and theAccess Virus.[3]

Music and lyrics

[edit]

Over a year before the album's release, Reznor suggested, perhaps with intentional or dismissive misdirection, that the album would "be irritating to people because it's not traditional Nine Inch Nails. Think of the most ridiculous music you could ever imagine withnursery rhymes over the top of it. A bunch of pop songs."[4]

In contrast to the heavily distorted instruments and grittyindustrial sounds of their previous album,The Downward Spiral,[5]The Fragile relies more onsoundscapes, electronic beats,ambient noise, rock-laden guitar, and the usage of melodies asharmonies. Several critics noted that the album was seemingly influenced byprogressive rock,art rock,electronica, andavant-garde music.[6][7] It is categorized as anart rock album byThe Rolling Stone Album Guide (2004),[8] Edna Gundersen ofUSA Today,[9] andWill Hermes ofEntertainment Weekly. Hermes views that, like "art-rockers"King Crimson andDavid Bowie, Reznor incorporates elements of20th-century classical music on the album, "mixing prepared piano melodies à la John Cage with thematic flavor fromClaude Debussy".[10] Music journalistAnn Powers observes elements of progressive rock bands King Crimson andRoxy Music, Reznor's influences, and the experimentation of electronica artists such asAutechre andSquarepusher, and writes thatThe Fragile usesfunk bass lines,North African minor-keymodalities, and the treatment oftonality bySymbolist composers like Debussy. The album also features several distorted guitar parts which Powers suggests that fans can enjoy.[11]Rob Sheffield observes a "prog-rock vibe" akin toPink Floyd's 1979 albumThe Wall and feels thatThe Fragile is similarly "a double album that vents ... alienation and misery into paranoid studio hallucinations, each track crammed with overdubs until there's no breathing room".[12]

"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 onThe 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 [toMariqueen Maandig] there."

 —Reznor on the origins of the song "La Mer", at a 2009 performance inMansfield, MA.[13]

Described by Reznor as a sequel toThe Downward Spiral—an album with a plot detailing the destruction of a man—The Fragile is a concept album dealing with his personal issues, including depression, angst, and drug abuse. His vocals, for the most part, are more melodic and somewhat softer, a departure from his harsh and often angry singing in previous works. However, several music critics including Reznor noticed the lack of lyrics on the album.[14][1]The Bulletin interprets it as an industrial rock album about "fear and loathing that could compete with Pink Floyd'sThe Wall".[15] In some ways,The Fragile is a response toThe Downward Spiral. Reznor compared 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.The 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)".[14]

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]Fight Club authorChuck Palahniuk singled out "The Wretched" for comment: "I remember being amazed when I first heard this... This wasn't just ennui: this was an active, aggressive, angry lack of caring. It's not 'Let's kill ourselves'; it's 'Let's kill each other'... It's not rock 'n' roll and it's not classical. It's something in between."[16] According to aCIA document entitledGuidelines for Interrogation Methods the song "Somewhat Damaged" was one of 13 songs played to detainees atGuantanamo Bay, supposedly as a means of torture.[17]

Packaging

[edit]
Cover of an instrumental version ofThe Fragile, and the original full photograph of the waterfall

The cover artwork was designed byDavid Carson. A section within his bookFotografiks[18][19] reveals that the top section of thealbum cover is from a photo of a waterfall and the bottom section is from a closeup photo of the inside of aseashell. Carson elaborated on this further in an image on his website:

[The] back [cover] was going to be the front until 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 ofAustin, 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 isa waterfall in Iceland and a seashell in the West Indies.[20]

Promotion

[edit]

Fragility Tour

[edit]
See also:Fragility Tour
Ticket for a Nine Inch Nails concert inMadison Square Garden as part of the Fragility v2.0 Tour

On September 10, 1998, at the1998 MTV Video Music Awards, a thirty-second teaser trailer was shown on television to promote the then untitled album.[21] It would be more than a year before the album was finally released.[21] 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. TheB-side "Starfuckers, Inc." was released on the album as a track at the last minute[citation needed], and served as apromotional single forThe Fragile. In support ofThe Fragile, theNine Inch Nails live band reformed for theFragility tour. The tour began in late 1999 and lasted until mid-2000, spanning Europe, Japan, New Zealand, Australia, and North America.[22] 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 ofThe Downward Spiral, featuringRobin Finck on guitar,Charlie Clouser on keyboards, andDanny Lohner on bass guitar.[23][24] Reznor held open auditions to find a new drummer, eventually picking then-unknownJerome Dillon.[25] Nine Inch Nails' record label at the time,Interscope Records, reportedly refused to fund the promotional tour followingThe Fragile's lukewarm sales. Reznor instead committed to fund the entire tour himself, which 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."[26] The tour featured increasingly large production values, including atriptych video display created by contemporary video artistBill Viola.[27]Rolling Stone magazine named Fragility the best tour of 2000.[28] In 2002, the tour documentaryAnd 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",[29] 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."[30]

Reznor's drug dependence and overdose in 2000

[edit]

In the years leading up to the Fragility Tour, Reznor’s personal life had been complicated by addiction and grief. Following the commercial breakthrough ofThe Downward Spiral (1994), Reznor struggled privately withalcohol anddrug use, which intensified after the death of his grandmother, the woman who had raised him. The loss profoundly destabilized him, and he began using substances heavily to cope.[31]Cocaine and alcohol became central to his daily routine, with sessions often blurring into days ofself-destructive excess.[31] The recording ofThe Fragile took place during this period. Reznor later acknowledged that he was frequently incapable of writing lyrics or focusing on production because of withdrawal and intoxication.[31] AlthoughThe Fragile was widely acclaimed upon release in 1999,[32] Reznor himself could not appreciate its reception. In an interview cited byExclaim!, he admitted that during this era "nothing felt good anymore, not music, not success, not anything".[33] By the time the Fragility Tour began, Reznor was carrying the weight of his addictions into one of the most elaborate and demanding concert productions of his career.[34] The most serious crisis occurred in June 2000, during the European leg of the tour inLondon. According toThe Guardian, Reznor obtained what he thought was cocaine but which turned out to beheroin, specifically a highly potent form sometimes referred to as "China white", a type offentanyl.[34] After ingesting the drug, he collapsed and suffered a near-fataloverdose, requiring emergency medical care.[34] The episode forced the cancellation of concerts and marked the lowest point of Reznor's life.[34]

The overdose left Reznor shaken. Though he continued to downplay the severity of his addiction immediately afterward, the London episode planted the realization that he was no longer in control. Several planned European performances were canceled, and Nine Inch Nails temporarily withdrew from touring. By 2001, Reznor enteredrehabilitation, beginning the process of recovery. In interviews, he has repeatedly cited the 2000 overdose as the moment that forced him to confront the reality of his addictions.[35] In a 2005 conversation he stated: "If I drink again I’ll probably die. And I don’t want to die."[35]

Reissue

[edit]

"The Fragile occupies a very interesting and intimate place in my heart. I was going through a turbulent time in my life when making it and revisiting it has become a form of therapy for me. As an experiment, I removed all the vocals from the record and found it became a truly changed experience that worked on a different yet compelling level.The Fragile: Deviations 1 represents Atticus and I embellishing the original record with a number of tracks from those sessions we didn't use before. The result paints a complimentary but different picture we wanted to share."

— Reznor, in a press release forThe Fragile: Deviations 1[36]

On September 21, 2009—the tenth anniversary of the album's release—a Nine Inch Nails official Twitter update hinted that a deluxe5.1 surround audio reissue ofThe Fragile was in the works and was scheduled for a 2010 release.[37] During an interview withThe New York Times that was broadcast on January 7, 2011, after questioned about the album Reznor explained:

The Fragile is weird because when it came out it felt like everyone hated it to me, and now it feels like it's everyone's favorite album, fan-wise. I was probably going to save this for some other announcement, butAlan Moulder's spent a couple of months restoring all themultitracks, prepping for a surround mix, and we plan on doing that this spring, and I'm not sure when it's going to come out but it's just something I'd like to get done and there's no record better than that to get surround mixed. It has to be Alan Moulder, and we both look back at that record – I've just spent some time with him now, he's still a very good friend of mine – and the experience of doing it in the bound that we had in literally two years, every day working together on that, was one of the best times in our lives. I think, in hindsight, I should have had [The Fragile] two single records, muchRadiohead style withKid A andAmnesiac, recorded at once, broken into two digestible chunks. Hey, it is what it is, but I thought about going back, redoing bits that I would mess around with to see how it would be if I were to do that record now, but I don't know if I should phase. Sometime this year expect something to come out surround-wise.[38]

While on tour in 2014 in Australia and New Zealand, Reznor was interviewed by a local reporter and was quoted about the reissue stating:

Yeah, we've done a lot of the work for that. Really what it's come down to is with all the other stuff going on, theFragile thing in particular, I want to make sure I get it right. You know, we've mixed everything in surround, it sounds amazing, we have a great package ready to go. I just stumbled across 40-or-so demos that are from that era that didn't turn into songs, that range from sound effects to full-fledge pieces of music, and I kind of feel like - something should happen with that.And I think it has something to do with that package, and I just need the bandwidth to kind of calmly think about it, and decide how much effort I want to devote into that and what to do with it. I have a lot of ideas that could eat up immense amounts of time and I'm trying to weigh out - just think it through. I don't want to pull the trigger on something and go, 'Man, I should have done it in this way.' And I just haven't had a chance to be in a calm place where I can think it through completely and make that decision.[39]

In June 2015, an instrumental version of the album was released toApple Music.[40] This version of the album also includes alternative versions of "The Frail", "Just Like You Imagined", "Pilgrimage", "La Mer", "The Mark Has Been Made", and "Complication", the instrumental version of "The Day the World Went Away (Quiet)", an extended version of "+Appendage", a demo version of "10 Miles High" called "Hello, Everything Is Not OK", and two previously unreleased tracks fromThe Fragile ("The March" and "Can I Stay Here?")

In 2017 a reissue of the vinyl version ofThe Fragile was released, alongside an expanded, instrumental version, titledThe Fragile: Deviations 1. This version ofThe Fragile contains all songs in either instrumental or alternate formats, and combines them with newly released songs written and recorded during the sessions forThe Fragile.Deviations 1 consists of a one-off 4×LP pressing.[41]

Critical reception and legacy

[edit]
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusicStarStarStarStarHalf star[42]
Christgau's Consumer GuideB[43]
Entertainment WeeklyA−[10]
The GuardianStarStarStarStar[44]
Los Angeles TimesStarStarStarHalf star[45]
NME5/10[46]
Pitchfork
2.0/10 (1999)[47]8.7/10 (2017)[48]
Rolling StoneStarStarStarStar[12]
Spin9/10[11]
USA TodayStarStarStarStar[9]

The Fragile received generally positive reviews from contemporary critics.[49]Mojo called it "an impressively multi-textured, satisfyingly violent sonic workout",[50] andAlternative Press found it "nothing short of astounding".[51]Edna Gundersen ofUSA Today called it "meticulously honed and twisted to baffle, tantalize, disarm and challenge the listener", and wrote that "the coats of polish ... can't camouflage Trent Reznor's perverse and subversive paths to musical glory."[9]Ann Powers ofSpin called the album "a good old-fashioned strap-on-your-headphones experience".[11]Jon Pareles ofThe New York Times wrote that, although he "doesn't approach suicide as he did on"The Downward Spiral, "Reznor can hide in the studio and piece together music that's as cunning, and disquieting, as his raw anger used to be."[6]Will Hermes ofEntertainment Weekly viewed that, even "if [Reznor's] emotional palette is limited, it remains broader than any of his metalhead peers", and that, "right now,hard rock simply doesn't get any smarter, harder, or more ambitious than this."[10]Robert Hilburn of theLos Angeles Times wrote that, despite its length, "this is a profoundly challenging and moving work that strikes at the hollowness of most contemporarypop-rock with bullwhip force."[45]The Guardian's Adam Sweeting praised it as "a fearsomely accomplished mix of monster riffing, brooding melodies and patches of minimalist soul-searching".[44]Rolling Stone writer Rob Sheffield felt that the album's "excess is Reznor's chosen shock tactic here, and what's especially shocking is how much action he packs into his digitalvia dolorosa."[12]

In a negative review,Pitchfork's Brent DiCrescenzo panned the album's lyrics as "overly melodramatic".[47] John Aizlewood ofQ felt that it is "let down by Reznor's refusal to trouble himself with melody and by some embarrassing lyrics".[52]NME's Victoria Segal panned its music as "background" and accused it of "chas[ing] 'crossover'", with "grey rock sleet masquerading as a storm beneath a haze of 'experimental' textures."[46] Scott Seward ofThe Village Voice facetiously commended Reznor for "once again ... pioneering the marriage of heavy guitars, moody atmospherics, electronic drones and beats, and aggressive singing. Just likeKilling Joke 20 years ago."[53]Village Voice criticRobert Christgau was even less receptive: "After six fucking years, genius-by-acclamation Trent Reznor delivers double-hoohah, every second remixed till it glistens like broken glass on a prison wall. Is the way he takes his petty pain out on the world a little, er, immature for a guy who's pushing 35? Never mind, I'm told—just immerse in the music. So I do. 'Dream job: emperor,' it says. 'More fun than death by injection.'"[43]

The Fragile was included on several magazines' "end-of-year" album lists, includingThe Village Voice (number 14),Rolling Stone (number four), andSpin (number one).[citation needed] In a retrospective review,The Rolling Stone Album Guide (2004) gave it three-and-a-half out of five stars and wrote that, as "NIN's monumental double-disc bid for the art-rock crown,The Fragile sounds fantastic from start to finish, but there aren't enough memorable tunes underneath the alluring surfaces."[8]AllMusic editorStephen Thomas Erlewine offered similar criticism, writing that "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."[42] In 2005,The Fragile was ranked number 341 inRock Hard magazine's bookThe 500 Greatest Rock & Metal Albums of All Time.[54] In 2016,Exclaim! listedThe Fragile at number two on their "Essential Albums" list for Nine Inch Nails, citing it as their most ambitious work and "a tragic if not stunning portrait of depression."[55]Pitchfork would later reassess the album in their review of the album's 2017 "Definitive Edition", with a score change going from 2.0 to 8.7, describing it as Reznor's "magnum opus...The Fragile scrapes the sky like never before."[56]

InMetal Hammer, it was named one of the 10 bestindustrial metal albums as well as one of the 20 best metal albums of 1999.[57][58]

Commercial performance

[edit]

The Fragile debuted atop theBillboard 200 with first-week sales of 229,000 copies, earning the band their first number-one album on the chart.[59] The album fell to number 16 the following week, becoming thelargest drop from number one at the time.[60] On January 4, 2000, the album was certified double platinum by theRecording Industry Association of America (RIAA),[61] and by May 2005, it had sold 898,000 copies in the United States.[59]

Steven Hyden ofThe A.V. Club wrote that Reznor developed Nine Inch Nails from its role as a prominent rock act and by the time he finished recordingThe Fragile,alternative rock's overall popularity declined with several of Nine Inch Nails' contemporaries being disestablished or displaced by newer bands. Hyden also attributes the album's commercial performance to the rise of file-sharing on the Internet, which deviated from the alternative rock movement's emphasis on "fetishized vinyl" and "music festivals as peaceful places for young people to commune and dream of better futures."[62]

Track listing

[edit]

All tracks are written byTrent Reznor, except where noted.

Left disc
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Somewhat Damaged"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
5:47
9."Pilgrimage" 3:31
10."No, You Don't" 3:35
11."La Mer" 4:37
12."The Great Below" 5:17
Total length:54:51
Right disc
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."The Way Out Is Through"
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" 3:31
6."Starfuckers, Inc."
  • Reznor
  • Clouser
5:00
7."Complication" 2:31
8."I'm Looking Forward to Joining You, Finally" 4:14
9."The Big Come Down" 4:12
10."Underneath It All" 2:46
11."Ripe (With Decay)" 6:34
Total length:48:48 1:43:39

The Fragile: Deviations 1

[edit]
The Fragile: Deviations 1
Compilation album by
ReleasedDecember 23, 2016 (2016-12-23)
StudioNothing, New Orleans
Genre
Length155:46
LabelThe Null Corporation
Producer
Nine Inch Nails chronology
Not the Actual Events
(2016)
The Fragile: Deviations 1
(2016)
Add Violence
(2017)
Halo numbers chronology
"Halo 29"
(2016)
"Halo 30"
(2016)
"Halo 31"
(2017)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusicStarStarStarHalf star[63]
Pitchfork6.6/10[64]

The Fragile: Deviations 1 is an alternate version ofThe Fragile that contains all of the original songs in either instrumental or alternate forms, and combines them with newly released tracks written and recorded during the sessions forThe Fragile.Deviations 1 consists of a one-off, limited edition four-LP pressing that was not made available on CD.[41]

Critical reception

[edit]

Neil Z. Yeung ofAllMusic recommended that fans listen to and understand the original album first before delving intoDeviations 1.[63] Ultimately, he said that the release "serves as both a sonic time capsule and a reminder of one of NIN's most rewarding and underrated efforts."[63] Writing forPitchfork, Sean T. Collins foundDeviations 1 interesting but simultaneously perplexing, saying "Far too many ofDeviations' freshly vocal-free songs sound like karaoke versions rather than instrumentals that can stand on their own. The result is a listening experience that outstays its welcome on a song-by-song basis, let alone over the course of its massive 150-minute running time."[64]

Track listing

[edit]
Disc one, side A
No.TitleLength
1."Somewhat Damaged" (instrumental)4:53
2."The Day the World Went Away" (instrumental)5:29
3."The Frail" (alternate version)1:46
4."The Wretched" (instrumental)6:00
Total length:18:08
Disc one, side B
No.TitleLength
1."Missing Places"1:26
2."We're in This Together" (instrumental)6:50
3."The Fragile" (instrumental)4:48
4."Just Like You Imagined" (alternate version)3:46
5."The March" (instrumental)3:42
Total length:20:32
Disc two, side A
No.TitleLength
1."Even Deeper" (instrumental)6:19
2."Pilgrimage" (alternate version)3:04
3."One Way to Get There"2:44
4."No, You Don't" (instrumental)3:16
5."Taken"3:35
Total length:18:58
Disc two, side B
No.TitleLength
1."La Mer" (alternate version)4:54
2."The Great Below" (instrumental)5:25
3."Not What It Seems Like" (instrumental)3:30
4."White Mask"3:22
5."The New Flesh" (instrumental)3:40
Total length:20:51
Disc three, side A
No.TitleLength
1."The Way Out Is Through" (alternate version)4:26
2."Into the Void" (instrumental)4:44
3."Where Is Everybody?" (instrumental)4:55
4."The Mark Has Been Made" (alternate version)4:44
Total length:18:49
Disc three, side B
No.TitleLength
1."Was It Worth It?" (instrumental)5:03
2."Please" (instrumental)3:30
3."+Appendage" (instrumental)3:19
4."Can I Stay Here?" (instrumental)4:25
5."10 Miles High" (instrumental)5:16
Total length:21:33
Disc four, side A
No.TitleLength
1."Feeders"2:02
2."Starfuckers, Inc." (instrumental)5:33
3."Complication" (alternate version)2:55
4."Claustrophobia Machine (Raw)"2:39
5."Last Heard From"2:06
Total length:15:15
Disc four, side B
No.TitleLength
1."I'm Looking Forward to Joining You, Finally" (instrumental)4:17
2."The Big Come Down" (instrumental)4:05
3."Underneath It All" (instrumental)3:21
4."Ripe (With Decay)" (instrumental)7:35
Total length:19:18
2:35:46

Personnel

[edit]

Credits taken fromThe Fragileliner notes.[65]

Musicians

[edit]
  • Trent Reznor – vocals, all musical performance except as noted,programming andproduction
  • Adrian Belew – guitars on "Just Like You Imagined", "The Great Below" and "Where Is Everybody?"
  • Charlie Clouser – programming, additionalsound design; atmospheres on "The Great Below" anddrum programming on "Into the Void",sound design on “Starfuckers Inc.”
  • Jerome Dillon – chorusdrums on "We're in This Together"
  • Steve Duda – marchingpercussion, programming and production on "Pilgrimage"; chorus on "Starfuckers, Inc.";violin on "Ripe (With Decay)"; additional sound design
  • Mike Garsonpiano on "Just Like You Imagined", "The Way Out Is Through" and "Ripe (With Decay)"
  • Keith Hillebrandt – programming and additional production on "The Way Out Is Through"; chorus on "Starfuckers, Inc."; additional sound design
  • Cherry Holly –trumpet on "Pilgrimage"
  • Danny Lohner – guitars on "Somewhat Damaged", "Just Like You Imagined", "Even Deeper", "The Great Below", "Where Is Everybody?" and "Complication"; drum programming and synthesizers on "Even Deeper"
  • Denise Milfort – vocals on "La Mer"
  • Kim Prevost – backing vocals on "Into the Void"
  • Porter Ricks – keyboards, programming and synthesizer
  • Bill Rieflin – drums on "La Mer"
  • Willie –cello on "La Mer"

Production and technical personnel

[edit]

Choirs

[edit]
  • Buddha Debutante Choir(track 2):
    • Heather Bennett
    • Melissa Daigle
    • Judy Miller
    • Christine Parrish
    • M. Gabriela Rivas
    • Martha Wood
    • Fae Young
  • Choir(track 8):
    • Di Coleman
    • Tracy Hardin
    • Gary L. Neal
    • Traci Nelson
    • Elquine L. Rice
    • Terry L. Rice
    • Rodney Sulton
    • Stefani Taylor
    • Barbara Wilson
    • Leslie Wilson
  • Buddha Boys Choir(tracks 9 and 18):
    • Eric Edmonson
    • Doug Idleman
    • Marcus London
    • Clint Mansell
    • Adam Persaud
    • Nick Scott
    • Nigel Wiesehan

Charts

[edit]

Weekly charts

[edit]
Chart (1999)Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[66]2
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[67]14
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[68]36
Canadian Albums (Billboard)[69]2
European Albums (Music & Media)[70]17
Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista)[71]10
French Albums (SNEP)[72]27
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[73]17
Japanese Albums (Oricon)[74]15
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[75]28
Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)[76]9
Scottish Albums (OCC)[77]19
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[78]18
UK Albums (OCC)[79]10
USBillboard 200[80]1
Chart (2025)Peak
position
Greek Albums (IFPI)[81]1

Year-end charts

[edit]
Chart (1999)Position
USBillboard 200[82]164

Certifications

[edit]
RegionCertificationCertified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada)[83]2× Platinum200,000^
United Kingdom (BPI)[84]Silver60,000^
United States (RIAA)[61]2× Platinum1,000,000[59]

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^abSpitz, Marc (May 2005)."The Shadow of Death".Spin. Vol. 21, no. 5. p. 65.ISSN 0886-3032. Archived fromthe original on January 6, 2019. RetrievedJanuary 27, 2017.
  2. ^"ALBUMS/EPS".NIN.com. Archived fromthe original on March 3, 2012. RetrievedMarch 6, 2012. Note: "info" must be selected for each release to verify
  3. ^"Keyboard Magazine: February 2000 Issue".www.theninhotline.com.Archived from the original on January 13, 2023. RetrievedJanuary 16, 2023.
  4. ^Q, May 1998
  5. ^Rage: August 21, 1999Archived September 6, 2009, at theWayback Machine Last accessed April 15, 2007.
  6. ^abPareles, Jon (September 19, 1999)."A Rocker Practicing the Power of Negative Thinking'".The New York Times.Archived from the original on August 12, 2017. RetrievedAugust 29, 2009.
  7. ^Lipton, Mike."The Fragile".Yahoo! Music. Archived fromthe original on February 19, 2013. RetrievedJanuary 27, 2013.
  8. ^ab"Nine Inch Nails: Album Guide".Rolling Stone. Archived fromthe original on January 18, 2011. RetrievedJanuary 27, 2013.
  9. ^abcGundersen, Edna (September 21, 1999)."'The Fragile' is eerily glorious".USA Today. McLean. p. 2.D. Archived fromthe original on January 5, 2016. RetrievedJanuary 27, 2013.
  10. ^abcHermes, Will (September 24, 1999)."The Fragile".Entertainment Weekly. No. 504. New York. Archived fromthe original on June 25, 2013. RetrievedJanuary 27, 2013.
  11. ^abcPowers, Ann (November 1999)."Building a Mystery".Spin. Vol. 15, no. 11. New York. pp. 179–180.ISSN 0886-3032. RetrievedJanuary 27, 2013.
  12. ^abcSheffield, Rob (October 14, 1999)."The Fragile".Rolling Stone. New York.Archived from the original on May 26, 2018. RetrievedJanuary 27, 2013.
  13. ^La Mer Performance onYouTube
  14. ^abNine Inch Nails: A Ransom ReviewArchived October 12, 2011, at theWayback Machine Last accessed April 15, 2007.
  15. ^Haynes, J.; Archibald, J.F. (2002). "The Bulletin, Volumes 6314–6317".The Bulletin. Vol. 6314–6317.ISSN 1440-7485.The tour was promoting The Fragile, an industrial-rock odyssey of fear and loathing to rival Pink Floyd's The Wall.
  16. ^Q, June 2006
  17. ^13 Songs used for torture Last accessed July 6, 2016.
  18. ^David Carson and Philip B. Meggs (1999).Fotografiks. Gingko Press. p. 192.ISBN 978-1-58423-004-5.
  19. ^David Carson, Phillip B. Meggs."Fotografiks: David Carson (by David Carson and Phillip B. Meggs)". Gingkopress.com. Archived fromthe original on March 23, 2012. RetrievedApril 2, 2012.
  20. ^Album cover explanation forThe FragileArchived September 30, 2011, at theWayback Machine Last accessed April 24, 2010.
  21. ^ab"Remember When Nine Inch Nails Advertised An Unfinished Album At The MTV Awards?".Kerrang. RetrievedFebruary 2, 2019.
  22. ^Elfman, Doug (June 2, 2000)."Quite a Contrast".Las Vegas Review-Journal. Archived fromthe original(fee required) on July 27, 2020. RetrievedFebruary 1, 2008.
  23. ^"Guitarist Robin Finck Leaves GN'R To Return To NIN".MTV. August 4, 1999. Archived fromthe original on November 15, 2005. RetrievedFebruary 8, 2008.
  24. ^Mancini, Robert (September 28, 1999)."Nine Inch Nails Line Up European Shows, But States Must Wait".MTV. Archived fromthe original on July 25, 2001. RetrievedFebruary 8, 2008.
  25. ^Rashidii, Waleed."Jerome Dillon – New With NIN".Modern Drummer. Archived fromthe original on December 23, 2005. RetrievedFebruary 9, 2008.
  26. ^Soeder, John (April 9, 2000). "Rock's outlook bleak, but this Nail won't bend".Cleveland.com.
  27. ^"Bill Viola – Video Artist". Gergiev Festival. Archived fromthe original on September 1, 2013. RetrievedFebruary 8, 2008.
  28. ^Heinz, Ryan (February 1, 2002)."NIN: It wasn't all it could have been".The Western Courier. RetrievedFebruary 19, 2008.{{cite news}}:|archive-url= is malformed: timestamp (help)CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  29. ^Saraceno, Christina and Austin Scaggs (June 8, 2001)."NIN Doing Fragility DVD".Rolling Stone. Archived fromthe original on April 16, 2008. RetrievedFebruary 1, 2008.
  30. ^Reznor, Trent (July 21, 2004)."Access". NIN.com. Archived fromthe original on May 14, 2007. RetrievedFebruary 1, 2008.
  31. ^abcKara, Scott (April 30, 2005). "Trent Reznor back from the wasteland".The New Zealand Herald.
  32. ^Morse, Steve (April 30, 2000)."Trent Reznor Hammers Out His Own Turf".The Boston Globe. Arts section, p. K.4. Archived fromthe original on February 16, 2013. RetrievedJanuary 27, 2013.Critics have generally embraced The Fragile
  33. ^Lindsay, Cam (April 7, 2013)."Trent Reznor - Further Down the Spiral".Exclaim!.Archived from the original on November 19, 2023. RetrievedAugust 26, 2025.
  34. ^abcdBeaumont, Mark (August 8, 2013)."The nine lives of Trent Reznor".The Guardian.Archived from the original on May 10, 2017. RetrievedAugust 26, 2025.
  35. ^ab"TRENT REZNOR DESCENDS — 25 YEARS OF NINE INCH NAILS THE FRAGILE".Adam Steiner. September 22, 2024.Archived from the original on July 25, 2025. RetrievedAugust 26, 2025.
  36. ^Phillips, Amy; Strauss, Matthew (December 16, 2016)."Nine Inch Nails Announce New EPNot the Actual Events, Vinyl Reissue Series".Pitchfork.Archived from the original on December 29, 2016. RetrievedJanuary 2, 2017.
  37. ^nails, nine inch (September 21, 2009)."And... we've begun work on the ULTIMATE reissue coming 2010. #thefragile".twitter.com.Archived from the original on March 5, 2016. RetrievedJune 29, 2017.
  38. ^Video onYouTube[dead link]
  39. ^"Trent Reznor on 40 unreleased demos NZ tour Gone Girl Grammys | Entertainment | Newshub".3 News. Archived fromthe original on July 5, 2014. RetrievedFebruary 21, 2014.
  40. ^Joyce, Colin (June 30, 2015)."Nine Inch Nails Release Instrumental Versions of 'The Fragile,' 'With Teeth' on Apple Music".Spin.Archived from the original on July 8, 2015. RetrievedJuly 6, 2015.
  41. ^ab"THE FRAGILE: DEVIATIONS 1 2017 LIMITED EDITION 4XLP + HI RES DIGITAL - Nine Inch Nails".NIN.com. Archived fromthe original on December 20, 2016. RetrievedDecember 16, 2016.
  42. ^abErlewine, Stephen Thomas."The Fragile – Nine Inch Nails".AllMusic.Archived from the original on August 4, 2021. RetrievedMay 27, 2019.
  43. ^abChristgau, Robert (2000)."Nine Inch Nails: The Fragile".Christgau's Consumer Guide: Albums of the '90s.Macmillan Publishers. p. 227.ISBN 0-312-24560-2.Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. RetrievedJanuary 13, 2017.
  44. ^abSweeting, Adam (October 1, 1999). "Nine Inch Nails: The Fragile (Nothing/Island)".The Guardian. London.
  45. ^abHilburn, Robert (September 19, 1999)."The Haunting, Revisited by Trent Reznor".Los Angeles Times.Archived from the original on March 5, 2016. RetrievedJanuary 27, 2013.
  46. ^abSegal, Victoria (October 8, 1999)."Nine Inch Nails – The Fragile".NME. London. Archived fromthe original on June 10, 2000. RetrievedJanuary 27, 2013.
  47. ^abDiCrescenzo, Brent (September 21, 1999)."Nine Inch Nails: The Fragile".Pitchfork.Archived from the original on August 22, 2009. RetrievedJanuary 27, 2013.
  48. ^Collins, Sean T. (January 11, 2017)."Nine Inch Nails: The Fragile (2017 Definitive Edition)".Pitchfork.Archived from the original on August 6, 2021. RetrievedJuly 14, 2023.
  49. ^Morse, Steve (April 30, 2000)."Trent Reznor Hammers Out His Own Turf".The Boston Globe. Arts section, p. K.4. Archived fromthe original on February 16, 2013. RetrievedJanuary 27, 2013.Critics have generally embraced The Fragile
  50. ^"Nine Inch Nails: The Fragile".Mojo. No. 73. London. December 1999. p. 110.
  51. ^"Nine Inch Nails: The Fragile".Alternative Press. No. 136. Cleveland. November 1999. pp. 118–9.
  52. ^Aizlewood, John (December 1999). "Nine Inch Nails: The Fragile".Q. No. 159. London. p. 142.
  53. ^Seward, Scott.Review:The Fragile .The Village Voice. Retrieved on August 29, 2009.
  54. ^Best of Rock & Metal - Die 500 stärksten Scheiben aller Zeiten (in German).Rock Hard. 2005. p. 73.ISBN 3-89880-517-4.
  55. ^"An Essential Guide to Nine Inch Nails".exclaim.ca.Archived from the original on October 11, 2016. RetrievedJune 29, 2017.
  56. ^DiCrescenzo, Brent (September 21, 1999)."Nine Inch Nails: The Fragile".Pitchfork. Chicago.Archived from the original on August 22, 2009. RetrievedJune 2, 2022.
  57. ^"The 10 Best Industrial Metal Albums". July 18, 2016.
  58. ^"The Top 20 best metal albums of 1999".Metal Hammer. January 21, 2021.Archived from the original on April 5, 2023. RetrievedMarch 6, 2021.
  59. ^abcWhitmire, Margo (May 11, 2005)."NIN's 'Teeth' Sparkle At No. 1".Billboard.Archived from the original on February 23, 2016. RetrievedJanuary 2, 2017.
  60. ^Bronson, Fred (October 16, 1999)."Backstreet Vs. 'N Sync: Who'll Be No. 1".Billboard. Vol. 111, no. 42. p. 102.ISSN 0006-2510. RetrievedJanuary 2, 2017.
  61. ^ab"American album certifications – Nine Inch Nails – The Fragile".Recording Industry Association of America. January 4, 2000. RetrievedJanuary 2, 2017.
  62. ^Hyden, Steven (July 10, 2012)."Trent Reznor made alt-rock's last stand with The Fragile".The A.V. Club. Chicago.Archived from the original on July 24, 2021. RetrievedJanuary 28, 2013.
  63. ^abcYeung, Neil."The Fragile: Deviations 1, Nine Inch Nails".allmusic.com.AllMusic.Archived from the original on December 1, 2017. RetrievedNovember 24, 2017.
  64. ^ab"Nine Inch Nails: The Fragile (2017 Definitive Edition) / The Fragile: Deviations 1 Album Review - Pitchfork".pitchfork.com. January 11, 2017.Archived from the original on August 6, 2021. RetrievedJune 29, 2017.
  65. ^The Fragile (Album liner notes).Nine Inch Nails. 1999.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  66. ^"Australiancharts.com – Nine Inch Nails – The Fragile". Hung Medien. Retrieved January 2, 2017.
  67. ^"Austriancharts.at – Nine Inch Nails – The Fragile" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved January 2, 2017.
  68. ^"Ultratop.be – Nine Inch Nails – The Fragile" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved January 2, 2017.
  69. ^"Nine Inch Nails Chart History (Canadian Albums)".Billboard. Retrieved January 2, 2017.
  70. ^"European Top 100 Albums"(PDF).Music & Media. Vol. 16, no. 42. October 16, 1999. p. 12.OCLC 29800226.Archived(PDF) from the original on September 28, 2021. RetrievedJune 3, 2020 – via American Radio History.
  71. ^"Nine Inch Nails: The Fragile" (in Finnish).Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland. Retrieved January 2, 2017.
  72. ^"Lescharts.com – Nine Inch Nails – The Fragile". Hung Medien. Retrieved January 2, 2017.
  73. ^"Offiziellecharts.de – Nine Inch Nails – The Fragile" (in German).GfK Entertainment charts. Retrieved January 2, 2017.
  74. ^ナイン・インチ・ネイルズのCDアルバムランキング [Nine Inch Nails CD album ranking] (in Japanese).Oricon. Archived fromthe original on October 11, 2013. RetrievedJanuary 2, 2017.
  75. ^"Charts.nz – Nine Inch Nails – The Fragile". Hung Medien. Retrieved January 2, 2017.
  76. ^"Norwegiancharts.com – Nine Inch Nails – The Fragile". Hung Medien. Retrieved January 2, 2017.
  77. ^"Official Scottish Albums Chart on 3/10/1999 – Top 100".Official Charts Company. Retrieved January 2, 2017.
  78. ^"Swedishcharts.com – Nine Inch Nails – The Fragile". Hung Medien. Retrieved January 2, 2017.
  79. ^"Official Albums Chart on 3/10/1999 – Top 100".Official Charts Company. Retrieved June 2, 2020.
  80. ^"Nine Inch Nails Chart History (Billboard 200)".Billboard. Retrieved January 2, 2017.
  81. ^"Official IFPI Charts Top-75 Albums Sales Chart (Combined) – Εβδομάδα: 37/2025" (in Greek).IFPI Greece. Archived fromthe original on September 17, 2025. RetrievedSeptember 17, 2025.
  82. ^"Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 1999".Billboard.Archived from the original on October 11, 2014. RetrievedJanuary 2, 2017.
  83. ^"Canadian album certifications – Nine Inch Nails – The Fragile".Music Canada. January 19, 2000. RetrievedJanuary 2, 2017.
  84. ^"British album certifications – Nine Inch Nails – The Fragile".British Phonographic Industry. July 22, 2013. RetrievedJanuary 2, 2017.

External links

[edit]
Studio albums
Studio extended plays
Live releases
Remix releases
Soundtracks
Singles
Promotional singles
Other songs
Promotional releases
Games
Tours
Touring members
Current
Former
Guitarists and bassists
Drummers
Keyboardists
Backing vocalists
Related
Bands
People
Albums and songs
Films
Festivals
Articles
Authority control databasesEdit this at Wikidata
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=The_Fragile&oldid=1337840441"
Categories:
Hidden categories:

[8]ページ先頭

©2009-2026 Movatter.jp