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[[Image:Fragile_cover_big.jpg|thumb|Halo 14 - ''The Fragile''<br />[http://www.amazon.com/gp/redirect.html?ie=UTF8&location=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.amazon.com%2Fs%3Fie%3DUTF8%26x%3D0%26ref_%3Dnb%5Fsb%5Fnoss%26y%3D0%26field-keywords%3Dnine%2520inch%2520nails%2520the%2520fragile%26url%3Dsearch-alias%253Daps&tag=thniinnawi-20&linkCode=ur2&camp=1789&creative=390957 Find on Amazon] - [http://rover.ebay.com/rover/1/711-53200-19255-0/1?icep_ff3=9&pub=5574848848&toolid=10001&campid=5336384580&customid=&icep_uq=nine+inch+nails+the+fragile&icep_sellerId=&icep_ex_kw=&icep_sortBy=12&icep_catId=&icep_minPrice=&icep_maxPrice=&ipn=psmain&icep_vectorid=229466&kwid=902099&mtid=824&kw=lg Find on eBay]]]
'''''The Fragile''''' (also known as '''''[[Halo numbers|Halo 14]]'''''), released on September 21, 1999, is the fourth studio album by [[Nine Inch Nails]].
==Track List==
====Left====
#"[[Somewhat Damaged]]" - 4:31
The track list for the double cassette releases of ''The Fragile'' follow the CD track list, save for the insertion of "[[+Appendage]]" onto the end of "Please" on US and EU copies. The first tape splits between "Just Like You Imagined" and "Even Deeper," while the second tape splits between either "Please (+ Appendage)" and "Starfuckers, Inc." (most US versions) or "Starfuckers, Inc." and "Complication" (non-US and also some US versions). ''The Fragile'' was the final NIN release to be officially issued on cassette. Subsequent albums have been issued on cassette in other countries, though they are of questionable authenticity.
==Instrumental VersionVersions=====''The Fragile Instrumental''===[[Image:FragileInst.jpg|thumb|''The Fragile Instrumental'' Artwork]] ''The Fragile Instrumental'' was made available on June 30th , 2015 via Apple Music. It contained instrumentals of every track, with some also being alternate versions (see the [[Remixes#The_Fragile_Era|remixes]] page for details.)
It also contained three previously unheard tracks:
It was released along with ''[[With Teeth (halo)|With Teeth Instrumental]]'', and is exclusive to the Apple Music platform. It is also notable that it contains the first non-cassette version of "+Appendage". "The Frail" and "Pilgrimage" were not included in the playlist posted on Apple Music, but are still available as tracks on the service.
===''[[The Fragile: Deviations 1]]''===On December 16, 2016 an expanded instrumental version of ''The Fragile'' on 180 gram vinyl was announced. Entitled ''The Fragile: Deviations 1'', it began shipping in June 2017 and contains over an hour of unreleased material. ==Sequencing=====For Different Formats===[[Trent Reznor]] on the different track sequencing for different formats: <blockquote><p>"Hello everybody. I've been doing a lot of European press lately and they've been mentioning the various configurations of 'the fragile' and wondering if there was a reason (other than to make the hard-core fan buy them all) to have some different tracks on them. <br><br>If you're curious, here's why. We agonized over the sequencing of the record and focused solely on the CD config. as the definitive one. After the decision was made to move to two CDs the problem then became removing tracks to get the right feel and flow. <br><br>Taking the new flesh' off the CD was a tough call because Alan and myself really like the track, but it destroyed the balance and it just didn't fit. <br><br>When we assembled the cassette, we now had four beginnings and endings to contend with instead of two of each (for the CD) follow? It worked out pretty well just dividing the songs up, but we wanted the A sides of the cassettes to be slightly longer than the B sides (so that when the tape flips over you are not in the middle of the first song on that side). We added the 'appendage' to 'please' to make that work. <br><br>For the vinyl, the decision to move to three discs was based on fidelity. (you can only fit so many minutes on a side of vinyl before it degrades the sound) <br><br>So now we are faced with SIX beginnings and endings. Simply splitting the sides up didn't work as well this time so we decided to include the other two tracks we had been considering ('10 miles high' and 'the new flesh') as well as use the full unedited versions of all the other songs on the record. The vinyl sequencing has actually grown on me lately as a viable alternate! -just thought you might want to know…"</p> <p>—Reznor [http://www.theninhotline.net/archives/articles/xart180.shtml]</p></blockquote> ===Early Track Sequences===
[[Image:Fragile_alt_tracklists_big.jpg|thumb|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
#10 Miles High
#Pilgrimage
====Order 2====
#Somewhat
#La Mer
#Pilgrimage
[[Image:Fragilecdr.jpg|thumb|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
#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. ===Bob Ezrin on Album Sequencing===Bob Ezrin posted on [http://www.echoingthesound.org/phpbbx/viewtopic.php?p=1966685&sid=9660ab52e8096b0e71a1bf91d0198514#1966685 ETS] about his experience working on ''The Fragile''. <blockquote><p>"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.</p> <p>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.</p> <p>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.</p> <p>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."</p><p>— Bob Ezrin</p></blockquote>
==The Lost Fragile Tracks==
[[Image:Nindotcom991013.jpg|thumb|"The Lost Fragile Tracks"]]
==Proposed 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 [http://twitter.com/nineinchnails/status/4157519090 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 release date. [[Alan Moulder]] has completed a 5.1 surround sound mix for the re-issuereissue.[http://recforums.prosoundweb.com/index.php/mv/msg/32698/502417/0/#msg_502417]
In a February 2014 interview with New Zealand's ''News 3'', Reznor gave the following update:
<blockquote>"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, the Fragile 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."[http://www.3news.co.nz/Trent-Reznor-on-40-unreleased-demos-NZ-tour-Gone-Girl-Grammys/tabid/418/articleID/332710/Default.aspx]</blockquote>
===Definitive 2017 Edition Vinyl===
A vinyl reissue was announced in December 2016 and began shipping in August 2017, with further vinyl reissues of the other major NIN releases to follow.[http://www.nin.com/nine-inch-nails-records-reissued-vinyl/]
<blockquote>"Trent Reznor and NIN art director [[John Crawford]] set out to make the “definitive editions” of all the main NIN releases on vinyl. Reznor: 'We want to present the catalog as it was intended to be, with no compromises. That means a careful remastering of the audio from the original sources, a careful and painstaking recreation of the artwork, pristine materials, some surprises and an insane attention to detail that you probably won’t notice… but it matters to us. No extra bullshit and gimmicks – the “real” records in their truest form available at a reasonable price.'"</blockquote>
This edition of the vinyl also comes with a booklet containing photos and an essay about the sequencing of the album, written by Bob Ezrin.
==Touring==
''For more information, see [[Fragility]]''
The album was supported by a tour that visited North America, Europe, Australia and Japan. The chaos of earlier tours was beginning to subside and the shows were somewhat more focused on production and good performance. During the North American portion of the tour, three tall rectangular screens were lowered mid-set for showing pieces of film. Despite the fact that [[Trent Reznor]] was in the throes of addiction during this tour, it was well-received by fans and critics alike. The [[Fragility 2.0]] tour was filmed and released as ''[[And All That Could Have Been (halo)|And All That Could Have Been]]'' on 2-disc DVD (both Dolby Digital and DTS versions) and VHS in 2002. It was also released as a live CD, at one point combined with a second disc of re-constructed material and new songs called ''[[Still]].''
==Concept and Interpretations==
<blockquote>
<p>"There's a general theme to the album of systems failing and [[Things Falling Apart|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".</p>
<p>—Reznor [http://www.abc.net.au/rage/guest/1999/NIN.htm]</p>
==Recurring themes and styles==
* The main melody piano and bassline of "La Mer" is repeated in the intro of reused for "Into The Void", and the bass line is reused on the entire track. A similar but much slower The piano melody motif is also played at the end of "We're In This Together"at a slower tempo.* The piano melody of in "The Frail" is repeated in the guitar solo of "The Fragile".* The descending wah guitar melody played during the intro of "We're In This Together" is similar to the wah guitar that occurs roughly halfway into "Complication".* The three note motif used in the first part of "The Great Below" is briefly quoted in the ending of "We're In This Together" two semitones down and at a slower tempo. This melody may also be used to end the guitar solo, and may be played on a background synth at the end of the first verse of "The Wretched".* "The Great Below" climax melody and bassline are reused for a quiet bridge in the leftover/outtake "[[And All That Could Have Been (song)|And All That Could Have Been]]".* A sampler keyboard pad created from Reznor's voice is used for "The Frail" and leftover/outtake "[[Leaving Hope]]".* Rapidly ascending, very chromatic guitar riffs are prominently featured in "Somewhat Damaged", "The Day The World Went Away", and "The Wretched".* Mike Garson's piano improvisations are prominently featured on "Just Like You Imagined", "The Way Out is Through", and "Ripe (With Decay)".* The lyric "underneath it all" from "The Way Out is Through" is repeated in and used to title "Underneath It All".* The lyrics "now you know/this is what it feels like" are the refrain for both "The Wretched" and leftover/outtake "[[The Great Collapse]]".
* The lyric "[[Nothing Can Stop Me Now|nothing can stop me now]]" appears in "La Mer" and "We're In This Together", albeit translated into French Creole on the former and altered to "none of them can stop us now" on the latter. The same phrase was previously used in "[[Piggy]]", "[[Ruiner]]" and "[[Big Man With A Gun]]" and would recur later in "[[Sunspots]]".
* The guitar melody played during the intro lyrics of "We're In This TogetherThe Great Below" is similar to the melody that occurs roughly halfway into and "ComplicationUnderneath It All". ==Formats==Reznor on are similarly composed, and both use the different track sequencing for different formats: <blockquote><p>refrain "Hello everybody. I've been doing a lot of European press lately and they've been mentioning the various configurations of 'the fragile' and wondering if there was a reason (other than to make the hard-core fan buy them all) to have some different tracks on them. <br><br>If can still feel you're curious, here's why. We agonized over the sequencing of the record and focused solely on the CD config. as the definitive one. After the decision was made to move to two CDs the problem then became removing tracks to get the right feel and flow". <br><br>Taking the new flesh' off the CD was a tough call because Alan and myself really like the track* The lyric "could have been" is prominently used in "The Wretched", but it destroyed the balance "The Great Below" and it just didn't fit"And All That Could Have Been". <br><br>When we assembled the cassette, we now had four beginnings and endings to contend with instead * The mid-song verse of two of each (for the CD) follow? It worked out pretty well just dividing the songs up, but we wanted the A sides of the cassettes to be slightly longer than the B sides (so that when the tape flips over you are not in the middle of the first song on that side). We added the both "I'appendage' to 'please' to make that work. <br><br>For the vinylm Looking Forward To Joining You, the decision to move to three discs was based on fidelity. (you can only fit so many minutes on a side of vinyl before it degrades the sound) <br><br>So now we are faced with SIX beginnings Finally" and endings. Simply splitting the sides up didn"No, You Don't work as well this time so we decided to include the other two tracks we had been considering ('10 miles high' and 'the new flesh') as well as " use the full unedited versions of all the other songs on the recordsame lyrical meter. The vinyl sequencing has actually grown on me lately as a viable alternate! -just thought you might want to know…"</p> <p>—Reznor [http://www.theninhotline.net/archives/articles/xart180.shtml]</p></blockquote>
==Alan Moulder on Songwriting==
[[Image:TFconceptart1.jpg|thumb|''The Fragile'' concept art]]
[[Image:TFconceptart2.jpg|thumb|''The Fragile'' concept art]]
A look through David Carson's book ''Fotografiks'' reveals that the top section of the album cover is from a photo of a Öxarárfoss waterfall in Iceland and the bottom section is from a closeup photo of the inside of some kind of seashell. The flowers on the back cover are widely assumed to be a variety of Indian Paintbrush. He explained further in an image on his website:
<blockquote>
<p>"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."</p>
</blockquote>
Several other designs for the album cover were also created, and images of this concept art were posted on nin.com. Many images that were used in the booklet for ''The Fragile'', as well as the artwork for its associated singles, can be found in the ''Fotografiks'' book. The cover art for ''The Fragile Instrumental'' used an uncropped and unpixelated version of the aforementioned waterfall photo. ==Bob Ezrin on Album Sequencing==Bob Ezrin posted on [http://www.echoingthesound.org/phpbbx/viewtopic.php?p=1966685&sid=9660ab52e8096b0e71a1bf91d0198514#1966685 ETS] about his experience working on ''The Fragile''. <blockquote><p>"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.</p> <p>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.</p> <p>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.</p> <p>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."</p><p>— Bob Ezrin</p></blockquote>
==Personnel==
==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<br><br>*Final continuity and flow: Bob Ezrin<br><br>*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<br><br>Recorded and mixed at [[Nothing Studios]], New Orleans<br><br>
*Art direction and design: David Carson
*Photography: David Carson
*Merchandising: David "Khan" Johnson for Object
*Web integration: [[Rob Sheridan]]
*Being there provided by Jerry Meltzer<br><br>*Nine Inch Nails Live: Charlie Clouser, [[Jerome Dillon]], [[Robin Finck]], [[Danny Lohner]], Trent Reznor<br><br>*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<br><br>
*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
*[http://nineinchnails.tumblr.com/post/51370793367/the-fragile-production-journals-published-on-the ''The Fragile'' production journals from nin.com]
*[http://nincatalog.com/the-fragile/ ''The Fragile'' at nincatalog.com]
*[http://www.disinfo.com/archive/pages/article/id1983/pg1/index.html Disinfo.com: ''A listener's guide to 'The Fragile''']
*[http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/may00/articles/alan.htm Sound On Sound: Interview with Alan Moulder with info on the making of ''The Fragile'']
*[http://www.theninhotline.net/archives/articles/xart183.shtml ''Keyboard'' Magazine article about the making of ''The Fragile'']
*[http://itunes.apple.com/us/playlist/the-fragile-instrumental/idpl.c1edd8f6d21446efa04f1423f522e2af ''The Fragile Instrumental'' at Apple Music]
*[http://www.amazon.com/gp/redirect.html?ie=UTF8&location=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.amazon.com%2Fs%3Fie%3DUTF8%26x%3D0%26ref_%3Dnb%5Fsb%5Fnoss%26y%3D0%26field-keywords%3Dnine%2520inch%2520nails%2520the%2520fragile%26url%3Dsearch-alias%253Daps&tag=thniinnawi-20&linkCode=ur2&camp=1789&creative=390957 ''The Fragile'' at Amazon]
*[http://rover.ebay.com/rover/1/711-53200-19255-0/1?icep_ff3=9&pub=5574848848&toolid=10001&campid=5336384580&customid=&icep_uq=nine+inch+nails+the+fragile&icep_sellerId=&icep_ex_kw=&icep_sortBy=12&icep_catId=&icep_minPrice=&icep_maxPrice=&ipn=psmain&icep_vectorid=229466&kwid=902099&mtid=824&kw=lg ''The Fragile'' at eBay]
{{Halo
|number=14