The Fragile

This article is about the Nine Inch Nails album. For the O'Hooley & Tidow album, seeThe Fragile (O'Hooley & Tidow album).

The Fragileis the third studio album by the Americanindustrial rockbandNine Inch Nails,released as adouble albumbyNothing RecordsandInterscope Recordson September 21, 1999. It was produced by Nine Inch Nails frontmanTrent Reznorand the English producerAlan Moulder,a longtime Reznor collaborator. It was recorded throughout 1997 to 1999 inNew Orleans.

The Fragile
Studio albumby Nine Inch Nails
Released	September 21, 1999(1999-09-21)
Recorded	January 1997 – July 1999
Studio	Nothing,New Orleans
Genre	Industrial rock art rock alternative rock
Length	103:39
Label	Nothing Interscope
Producer	Trent Reznor Alan Moulder
Nine Inch Nailschronology
Further Down the Spiral (1995) The Fragile (1999) Things Falling Apart (2000)
Nine Inch Nailsstudio album chronology
The Downward Spiral (1994) The Fragile (1999) With Teeth (2005)
Halo numberschronology
Halo 13 (1999) Halo 14 (1999) Halo 15 (1999)
SinglesfromThe Fragile
"The Day the World Went Away" Released: July 20, 1999 "We're in This Together" Released: September 27, 1999 "Into the Void" Released: January 10, 2000

Looking to depart from the distorted production of their previous album,The Downward Spiral(1994), the album features elements ofambientandelectronicmusic 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 Fragileis 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 platinumby theRIAA.

Writing and recording

The Fragilewas 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

The Fragilewas produced byTrent ReznorandAlan Moulderat Nothing Studios inNew Orleans.There were some personnel changes within Nine Inch Nails after the Self-Destruct tour, which saw drummerChris Vrennareplaced byBill RieflinandJerome Dillon,the latter of whom would become Nine Inch Nails' full-time drummer until late 2005.Charlie ClouserandDanny Lohnercontributed occasional instrumentation and composition to several tracks although the album was predominantly written and performed by Reznor alone.The Fragilewas mixed by Alan Moulder and mastered by Tom Baker. The packaging was created byDavid CarsonandRob Sheridan.

According to a February 2000 interview in Keyboard Magazine, two of the album's programmers,Charlie Clouserand Keith Hillbrandt, 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.

Music and lyrics

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 rhymesover the top of it. A bunch of pop songs. "

In contrast to the heavily distorted instruments and grittyindustrialsounds of their previous album,The Downward Spiral,The Fragilerelies more onsoundscapes,electronic beats,ambientnoise, rock-laden guitar, and the usage of melodies asharmonies.Several critics noted that the album was seemingly influenced byprogressive rock,art rock,electronica,andavant-gardemusic.It is categorized as anart rockalbum byThe Rolling Stone Album Guide(2004),Edna Gundersen ofUSA Today,andWill HermesofEntertainment Weekly.Hermes views that, like "art-rockers"King CrimsonandDavid Bowie,Reznor incorporates elements of20th-century classical musicon the album, "mi xing prepared piano melodies à la John Cage with thematic flavor fromClaude Debussy".Music journalistAnn Powersobserves elements of progressive rock bands King Crimson andRoxy Music,Reznor's influences, and the experimentation of electronica artists such asAutechreandSquarepusher,and writes thatThe Fragileusesfunkbass lines,North Africanminor-keymodalities,and the treatment oftonalitybySymbolistcomposers like Debussy. The album also features several distorted guitar parts which Powers suggests that fans can enjoy.Rob Sheffieldobserves a "prog-rock vibe" akin toPink Floyd's 1979 albumThe Walland feels thatThe Fragileis similarly "a double album that vents... alienation and misery into paranoid studio hallucinations, each track crammed with overdubs until there's no breathing room".

"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.

Described by Reznor as a sequel toThe Downward Spiral—an album with a plot detailing the destruction of a man—The Fragileis 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.The Bulletininterprets it as an industrial rock album about "fear and loathing that could compete with Pink Floyd'sThe Wall".In some ways,The Fragileis 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 Spiralwas 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)".

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.

Fight ClubauthorChuck Palahniuksingled 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."

According to aCIAdocument entitledGuidelines for Interrogation Methodsthe song "Somewhat Damaged" was one of 13 songs played to detainees atGuantanamo Bay,supposedly as a means of torture.

Packaging

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 bookFotografiksreveals that the top section of thealbum coveris from a photo of a waterfall and the bottom section is from a closeup photo of the inside of a seashell. 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 Icelandand a seashell in the West Indies.

Promotion

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.It would be more than a year before the album was finally released.

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,and served as apromotional singleforThe Fragile.

In support ofThe Fragile,theNine Inch Nails live bandreformed for theFragility tour.The tour began in late 1999 and lasted until mid-2000, spanning Europe, Japan, New Zealand, Australia, and North America.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 Finckon guitar,Charlie Clouseron keyboards, andDanny Lohneron bass guitar.Reznor held open auditions to find a new drummer, eventually picking then-unknownJerome Dillon.

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."

The tour featured increasingly large production values, including atriptychvideo display created by contemporary video artistBill Viola.Rolling Stonemagazine named Fragility the best tour of 2000.

In 2002, the tour documentaryAnd All That Could Have Beenwas 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",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."

Reissue

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 audioreissue ofThe Fragilewas in the works and was scheduled for a 2010 release.

During an interview withThe New York Timesthat was broadcast on January 7, 2011, after questioned about the album Reznor explained:

The Fragileis 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, muchRadioheadstyle withKid AandAmnesiac,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.

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, theFragilething 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.

"The Fragileoccupies 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 1represents 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

In June 2015, an instrumental version of the album was released toApple Music.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 Fragilewas released, alongside an expanded, instrumental version, titledThe Fragile: Deviations 1.This version ofThe Fragilecontains all songs in either instrumental or alternate formats, and combines them with newly released songs written and recorded during the sessions forThe Fragile.Deviations 1consists of a one-off 4×LP pressing.

Critical reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic
Christgau's Consumer Guide	B
Entertainment Weekly	A−
The Guardian
Los Angeles Times
NME	5/10
Pitchfork	2.0/10 (1999) 8.7/10 (2017)
Rolling Stone
Spin	9/10
USA Today

The Fragilereceived generally positive reviews from contemporary critics.Mojocalled it "an impressively multi-textured, satisfyingly violent sonic workout",andAlternative Pressfound it "nothing short of astounding".Edna GundersenofUSA Todaycalled 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."Ann PowersofSpincalled the album "a good old-fashioned strap-on-your-headphones experience".Jon ParelesofThe New York Timeswrote 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."Will HermesofEntertainment Weeklyviewed that, even "if [Reznor's] emotional palette is limited, it remains broader than any of his metalhead peers", and that, "right now,hard rocksimply doesn't get any smarter, harder, or more ambitious than this. "Robert Hilburnof theLos Angeles Timeswrote that, despite its length, "this is a profoundly challenging and moving work that strikes at the hollowness of most contemporarypop-rockwith bullwhip force. "The Guardian's Adam Sweeting praised it as "a fearsomely accomplished mix of monster riffing, brooding melodies and patches of minimalist soul-searching".Rolling Stonewriter 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."

In a negative review,Pitchfork's Brent DiCrescenzo panned the album's lyrics as "overly melodramatic".John Aizlewood ofQfelt that it is "let down by Reznor's refusal to trouble himself with melody and by some embarrassing lyrics".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. "Scott Seward ofThe Village Voicefacetiously commended Reznor for "once again... pioneering the marriage of heavy guitars, moody atmospherics, electronic drones and beats, and aggressive singing. Just likeKilling Joke20 years ago. "Village VoicecriticRobert Christgauwas 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.' "

The Fragilewas included on several magazines' "end-of-year" album lists, includingThe Village Voice(number 14),Rolling Stone(number four), andSpin(number one).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 Fragilesounds fantastic from start to finish, but there aren't enough memorable tunes underneath the alluring surfaces. "AllMusiceditorStephen Thomas Erlewineoffered 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 Fragilewinds up being vaguely unsatisfying. "In 2005,The Fragilewas ranked number 341 inRock Hardmagazine's bookThe 500 Greatest Rock & Metal Albums of All Time.But, even if initial reception was mixed, the album has gotten acult followingfrom Nine Inch Nails fans. In 2016,Exclaim!listedThe Fragileat 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."Pitchforkwould 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 Fragilescrapes the sky like never before. "

InMetal Hammer,it was named one of the 10 bestindustrial metalalbums as well as one of the 20 best metal albums of 1999.

Commercial performance

The Fragiledebuted atop theBillboard200with first-week sales of 229,000 copies, earning the band their first number-one album on the chart.The album fell to number 16 the following week, becoming thelargest drop from number oneat the time.On January 4, 2000, the album was certified double platinum by theRecording Industry Association of America(RIAA),and by May 2005, it had sold 898,000 copies in the United States.

Steven Hyden ofThe A.V. Clubwrites 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."

Track listing

CD

All tracks are written byTrent Reznor,except where noted

Left disc

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
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	5:47
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.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
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"		3:31
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

Cassette

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

Side 1.A

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Somewhat Damaged"	Reznor 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
Total length:			32:03

Side 1.B

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
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
Total length:			22:48

Side 2.A

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"The Way Out Is Through"	Reznor Hillebrandt 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
Total length:			26:20

Side 2.B

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
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
Total length:			25:15 1:46:26

Vinyl / 2017 Definitive Edition

This release ofThe Fragilecontains the songs "10 Miles High" and "The New Flesh" (both of which were later released as part of the "We're in This Together" and "Into the Void" singles, dependent on territory.) "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 and cassette versions, due to the nature of the vinyl medium. Finally, "Ripe" was shortened by removing the conclusive "(With Decay)" portion of the song. All of these changes made for the vinyl carry over to the Definitive Edition pressings, released digitally in 2016 and on vinyl in 2017.

Disc one, side A

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Somewhat Damaged"	Reznor Lohner	4:31
2.	"The Day the World Went Away"		5:01
3.	"The Frail"		1:54
4.	"The Wretched"		5:36
Total length:			17:02

Disc one, side B

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
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
Total length:			21:54

Disc two, side A

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Pilgrimage"	3:31
2.	"No, You Don't"	3:35
3.	"La Mer"	5:02
4.	"The Great Below"	5:17
Total length:		17:25

Disc two, side B

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"The Way Out Is Through"	Reznor Hillebrandt Clouser	4:17
2.	"Into the Void"		4:49
3.	"Where Is Everybody?"		5:40
4.	"The Mark Has Been Made"		4:43
Total length:			19:29

Disc three, side A

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
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
Total length:			19:53

Disc three, side B

No.	Title	Length
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
Total length:		16:26 1:52:09

The Fragile: Deviations 1

The Fragile: Deviations 1
Compilation albumby Nine Inch Nails
Released	December 23, 2016(2016-12-23)
Studio	Nothing,New Orleans
Genre	Alternative rock art rock ambient instrumental rock
Length	155:46
Label	The Null Corporation
Producer	Trent Reznor Alan Moulder Atticus Ross
Nine Inch Nailschronology
Not the Actual Events (2016) The Fragile: Deviations 1 (2016) Add Violence (2017)
Halo numberschronology
"Halo 29" (2016) "Halo 30" (2016) "Halo 31" (2017)

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic
Pitchfork	6.6/10

The Fragile: Deviations 1is an alternate version ofThe Fragilethat 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 1consists of a one-off, limited edition four-LP pressing that was not made available on CD.

Critical reception

Neil Z. Yeung ofAllMusicrecommended that fans listen to and understand the original album first before delving intoDeviations 1.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."Writing forPitchfork,Sean T. Collins foundDeviations 1interesting but simultaneously perple xing, 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. "

Track listing

Disc one, side A

No.	Title	Length
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.	Title	Length
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.	Title	Length
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.	Title	Length
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.	Title	Length
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.	Title	Length
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.	Title	Length
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.	Title	Length
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

Credits adapted fromAllMusic,andThe Fragileliner notes.

Musicians

• Trent Reznor– vocals, all musical performance except as noted,programmingandproduction
• 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 programmingon "Into the Void",sound designon “Starfuckers Inc.”
• Jerome Dillon– chorusdrumson "We're in This Together"
• Steve Duda– marchingpercussion,programming and production on "Pilgrimage"; chorus on "Starfuckers, Inc.";violinon "Ripe (With Decay)"; additional sound design
• Mike Garson–pianoon "Just Like You Imagined", "The Way Out Is Through" and "Ripe (With Decay)"
• Toni Halliday– additional vocals
• Keith Hillebrandt – programming and additional production on "The Way Out Is Through"; chorus on "Starfuckers, Inc."; additional sound design
• Cherry Holly –trumpeton "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 –celloon "La Mer"

Production and technical personnel

• Steve Albini–engineeringand supplemental drum recording
• Tom Baker –mastering
• Clinton Bradley – programming; technical assistant to Bob Ezrin
• Paul Bradley – programming
• David Carson–art direction,design andphotography
• Paul DeCarli – programming
• Dr. Dre– additional production and mi xing assistance on "Even Deeper"
• Bob Ezrin– additional production (album sequencing)
• Ken Friedman– additional sound design
• Leo Herrera – additional engineering
• Alan Moulder– production, engineering andmi xing
• Dave Ogilvie– additional engineering
• Brian Pollack – engineering

Choirs

• 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

Weekly charts

Chart (1999)	Peak position
Australian Albums (ARIA)	2
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)	14
Belgian Albums (UltratopFlanders)	36
Canadian Albums(Billboard)	2
European Albums(Music & Media)	17
Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista)	10
French Albums (SNEP)	27
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)	17
Japanese Albums (Oricon)	15
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)	28
Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)	9
Scottish Albums(OCC)	19
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)	18
UK Albums(OCC)	10
USBillboard200	1

Year-end charts

Chart (1999)	Position
USBillboard200	164

Certifications

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada)	2× Platinum	200,000^
United Kingdom (BPI)	Silver	60,000^
United States (RIAA)	2× Platinum	1,000,000‡
^Shipments figures based on certification alone.

See also

• List of Billboard 200 number-one albums of 1999

External links

• Album reviewatThe A.V. Club
• Album reviewatThe Washington Post
• Playing God:The FragileArchivedFebruary 5, 2010, at theWayback MachineatStylus Magazine