The Fragile (halo)

Halo 14 - The Fragile

The Fragile (also known as Halo 14), released on September 21, 1999, is the fourth studio album by Nine Inch Nails.

The album features a rich array of electronic beats, ambient noise, and heavy guitar. While it received critical acclaim from many, it did not receive the commercial success that its predecessor, The Downward Spiral, did (attributed variously to the difference in musical climate, and insufficient promotion by Interscope Records).

Prior to its release, the single "The Day The World Went Away" came out on July 20; following The Fragile, "We're In This Together" was released in three parts on December 14. A collection featuring several remixes and new material from The Fragile was released as Things Falling Apart on November 21, 2000.

The Fragility 2.0 tour was filmed and released as "And All That Could Have Been" on 2-disc DVD (both Dolby Digital and DTS versions) and double VHS on January 22, 2002. It was also released as a live CD, eventually combined with a second disc of re-constructed material and new songs called Still.

10th anniversary Reissue

In a Question and Answer session with NIN fans, Reznor hinted at the reissue of The Fragile for early 2010, a statement repeated via the official twitter account, calling it an "Ultimate reissue".

Rob Sheridan has since mentioned that the project is delayed due to packaging decisions, and as yet there is no new reissue date.

Track Listing

CD Release

Left

Right

"The Way Out Is Through"
"Into The Void"
"Where Is Everybody?"
"The Mark Has Been Made"
"Please"
"Starfuckers, Inc."
"Complication"
"I'm Looking Forward To Joining You, Finally"
"The Big Come Down"
"Underneath It All"
"Ripe (With Decay)"

Vinyl Release

Disc one

Side A

"Somewhat Damaged" – 4:31
"The Day the World Went Away" – 5:01
"The Frail" – 1:54
"The Wretched" – 5:36

Side B

"We're in This Together" – 7:17
"The Fragile" – 4:35
"Just Like You Imagined" – 3:49
"Even Deeper" – 6:14

Disc two

Side C

"Pilgrimage" – 3:41
"No, You Don't" – 3:35
"La Mer" – 5:02
"The Great Below" – 5:17

Side D

"The Way Out Is Through" – 4:17
"Into the Void" – 4:49
"Where Is Everybody?" – 5:40
"The Mark Has Been Made" – 4:43

Disc three

Side E

"10 Miles High" – 5:13
"Please" – 3:30
"Starfuckers, Inc." – 5:00
"Complication" – 2:30
"The New Flesh" – 3:40

Side F

"I'm Looking Forward to Joining You, Finally" – 4:20
"The Big Come Down" – 4:12
"Underneath It All" – 2:46
"Ripe" – 5:15

Differences to the CD version

Many of the tracks on the vinyl release differ from the CD equivalent:

"The Day the World Went Away" has a longer guitar intro
"The Wretched" has an extended outro
"Even Deeper" features an elongated middle section
"La Mer" has a longer intro and an extended ending with more speech samples
"Pilgrimage" does not fade in, but rather begins building without any volume adjusting
"The Mark Has Been Made" does not feature the introduction of "10 Miles High" fading in at the end (the hidden bit of music in the pre-gap of "Please" on the CD version)
"I'm Looking Forward to Joining You, Finally" features an extra bar of strings and an extra bar of percussion before the lyrics
"Ripe" does not include the "With Decay" ending section, but rather fades out as the slinking guitars play the main riff
"The Wretched," "We're in This Together," "Even Deeper," "Pilgrimage," "The Mark Has Been Made," "10 Miles High," "The New Flesh," and "I'm Looking Forward to Joining You, Finally" all do not crossfade as on the CD version, because these songs either end or begin their respective sides

Cassette Release

The tracklist for the double cassette releases of The Fragile follow the CD tracklist, save for the insertion of "Appendage" onto the end of "Please" on US copies. The first tape splits between "Just Like You Imagined" and "Even Deeper," while the second tape splits between "Starfuckers, Inc." and "Complication."

Early Track Sequences

Alternate tracklists for The Fragile from the Fragility Tour Book

Prior to Bob Ezrin's treatment, the tracklist of The Fragile went through several transformations. Two of them were revealed within a photo from the Fragility Tour Book:

Order 1

Somewhat Damaged
La Mer
Into the Void
The Wretched
Even Deeper
The New Flesh
The Day . . .
Complication
Please
Starfuckers
Rotation
The Fragile
The Mark . . .
Stained
Anomaly
10 Miles High
Pilgrimage

Order 2

Somewhat
La Mer
Into the Void
Day
Even Deeper
New Flesh
Complication
Please
Anomaly
Starfuckers
Fragile
Mark
The Wretched
Stained
Rotation
10 Miles High
Pilgrimage

Alternate tracklist for The Fragile from the Fragility Tour Book

CD-R

Another image of a CD-R cover tracklist was included in the Fragility Tour Book:

Somewhat Damaged
La Mer
Into the Void
The Wretched
[Even Deeper (crossed out)] Ripe (With Decay)
The New Flesh
The Day the World Went Away
Complication
Please
Star Fuckers
Rotation
The Fragile
The Mark Has Been Made
Stained

Note that whilst "Anomaly" has been confirmed to be the working title of "The Way Out Is Through," the final titles for "Rotation" and "Stained" have not been revealed; "Underneath It All" may be the final title for the latter, based on its prominent lyrical use of the word.

The Lost Fragile Tracks

A photo uploaded to nin.com during The Fragile era hinted at a collection of unused songs called "The Lost Fragile Tracks." No other information was given besides this title for the in-studio CD-R.

Interestingly, the same photo also shows another CD-R featuring "Please Part 2" (presumably renamed to "Appendage" for The Fragile cassette version) and "The New Flesh."

Trent Reznor on The Fragile

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."

—Reznor [1]

In terms of narrative, the album is an unofficial continuation of The Downward Spiral. 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]."

—Reznor [2]

Cover Art

David Carson's explanatory image of The Fragile covers

A look through David Carson's book Fotografiks 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. He explained further in an image on his website:

"packaging for trent reznor, 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."

—David Carson

Bob Ezrin on Album Sequencing

Bob Ezrin posted on ETS about his experience working on The Fragile.

"Trent was anything but brain addled at the time we were completing the Fragile. He was brilliant and feverishly recording and mixing in 3 rooms at the same time to complete the project on time for its scheduled release. What he had realized was that he'd created a work that was much longer than was practical to release and that wasn't quite hanging together the way he had hoped when he created its individual parts. Remember, there are thousands of bits of music and lyric that went into this record and they were recorded asynchronously. So he called me for help. Luckily, I had just come off another project and was able to head to New Orleans immediately - supposedly for a few days.

My job was to take all of this work and reorganize it to more practically and effectively tell the story that originally generated all these bits. Sort of like editing a film. Trent had "shot" more than he needed and it wasn't hanging together the way he wanted. But he was also tied to the other studios recording and mixing while this was going on so he needed someone he trusted to come in and take over the "editing" process and help his "film" hang together better.

And it was a totally thrilling process. We had SO much stuff and so much to say but we needed to tighten it up and review the pacing etc. So we were literally working round the clock for what turned out to be weeks until we finally nailed it and I was able to go home.

I loved working with him - and his whole team in fact - on this project. It just increased my respect for him as an artist and a man."

— Bob Ezrin

Personnel

Tom Baker - Mastering
Adrian Belew - Guitars ("Just Like You Imagined," "The Great Below," "Where Is Everybody?")
Heather Bennet - Vocals (Background)
Paul Bradley - Programming
Buddha Boys Choir - Choir, Chorus, Chant
Buddha Debutante Choir - Vocals (Background)
Di Coleman - Vocals (Background)
Charlie Clouser - Programming, Atmosphere, Synthesizers
Melissa Daigle - Vocals (Background)
Paul DeCarli - Programming
Jerome Dillon - Drums (on "We're In This Together")
Dr. Dre - Mixing Assistant (on "Even Deeper")
Bob Ezrin - Album Sequencing Assistant
Mike Garson - Piano (on "Just Like You Imagined", "The Way Out Is Through" and "Ripe (With Decay)")
Page Hamilton - Guitar (on "No, You Don't") - uncredited
Tracy Hardin - Vocals (Background)
Leo Herrera - Engineer
Keith Hillebrandt - Programming, Choir, Chorus, Sound Design
Danny Lohner - Drum Programming, Ambiance, Synthesizers, Guitar on "Somewhat Damaged", "Just Like You Imagined", "The Great Below", "Complication"
Clint Mansell - Choir, Chorus
Alan Moulder - Producer, Engineer, Mixing
Dave Ogilvie - Engineer
Brian Pollack - Engineer
Trent Reznor - Vocals, Guitars, Cello, Piano, Synthesizers, Programming, Producer
Elquine Rice - Vocals (Background)
Terry Rice - Vocals (Background)
Bill Rieflin - Drums (on "La Mer")
Barbara Wilson - Vocals (Background)
Leslie Wilson - Vocals (Background)
Steve Duda - Programming, Choir, Chorus, Percussion, Violin
Eric Edmonson - Choir, Chorus
Cherry Holly - Trumpet
Doug Idleman - Choir, Chorus
Marcus London - Choir, Chorus
Denise Milfort - Vocals (on "La Mer")
Judy Miller - Vocals (Background)
Gary I. Neal - Vocals (Background)
Matthew Nicholls - Vocals (Background)
Christine Parrish - Vocals (Background)
Adam Persaud - Choir, Chorus
Martha Prevost - Vocals
M. Gabriela Rivas - Vocals (Background)
Nick Scott - Choir, Chorus
Rodney Sulton - Vocals (Background)
Stefani Taylor - Vocals (Background)
Nigel Wiesehan - Choir, Chorus
Willie - Cello
Martha Wood - Vocals (Background)

Album Credits

Writing and performance: Trent Reznor (except where noted on Song pages)
Production: Trent reznor, Alan Moulder
Management: John A. Malm, Jr. for Conservative
Engineering and mix: Alan Moulder

Final continuity and flow: Bob Ezrin

Programming: Keith Hillebrandt, Charlie Clouser, Trent Reznor, Paul Decarli, Steve Duda, Clinton Bradley
Second engineering: Brian Pollack
Additional engineering: Leo Herrera. Dave “Rave” Ogilvie
Supplemental drum recording: Steve Albini at Electical Studio
Additional sound design: Keith Hillebrandt, Charlie Clouser, Steve Duda
Mastering: Tom Baker at Precision Mastering

Recorded and mixed at Nothing Studios, New Orleans

Art direction and design: David Carson
Photography: David Carson
Artist relations: Jeff Anderson
Publicity: Susan Swan for Nothing
Legal necessities: Ross Rosen
Booking: Alex Kochan for Artist & Audience and Emme Banks for Helter Skelter
Merchandising: David "Khan" Johnson for Object
Web integration: Rob Sheridan
Being there provided by Jerry Meltzer

Nine Inch Nails Live: Charlie Clouser, Jerome Dillon, Robin Finck, Danny Lohner, Trent Reznor

Thank you for the continuing belief and support: Steve Berman, Chris Blackwell, David Cohen, Ted Field, Jimmy Iovine, Marc Marot, Jacqueline McPherson, Michael S. Toorock, Tom Whalley

Thank you very much: Cemal Adiguezel, Gretchen Anderson, Simon Baeyertz, Roy Bennett, Nancy Berry, Michael Blum, Steve Bottomley, David Bowie, Steve "Coco" Brandon, Tim Buckley, Karen Ciccone, Paul Connolly, Melissa Daigle, Daisy May, Renee Dodson, Duane Fogg, Ernie Fortunato, Ken Friedman, Gerry Gerrard, Erin Gilligan, Robert Hales, Toni Halliday, Page Hamilton, Mike Harris, Dan Hill, Doug Idleman, Stuart Issleib, Leslie Kaufman, Martin Kierszenbaum, Sam Kirby, Paris Langford, John Lewis, Tim Lightfoot, Tiffany Luning, Clint Mansell, Denise Milfort, Tina Montalbano, Mike Montero, Chuck Ortner, Dean Parker, Mark Pellington, Lynn Pompey, Gina Pontius, Kim Prevost, Porter Ricks, Rodney Robertson, Lu Rojas, Mark Romanek, Rick Rubin, Barry Sanders, Trish Schultz, Nick Scott, Winston Simone, Jeff Slippen, Nick Stern, Rick Szekelyi, Tony Thompson, Tomato, Bob Uzzo, Ed Vigueira, Larry Weinstein, Nigel Wiesehan, Angele Ylisastigui, Dawn Zillich, Sioux Zimmerman, Aqua Marine, Brennan's, Clavia, DigiDesign, Jason Lamb and Dod, eMagic, Sean Wilhelmson and EMU Systems, Rob Timmons and Fernandez, Geoff Farr and GSF Agency, Id Software, Jens Gellhaar, K-Paul's, Brad Strickland and Korg/Parker, Tim Godwin and Line 6, Greg Perry, DK Sweet and Mackie, Musician's Friend (New Orleans), Bill Noll at Neoview, N.O. Music Exchange, Nola, Opcode, Pedalman, Solid State Logic, Sound Chek (New Orleans), Waves, Werlein's Music

External links

Discography

Previous release - "The Day The World Went Away"

Halo number: 14

Next release - "We're In This Together"