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Nine Inch Nails – The Fragile

Nine Inch Nails - The Fragile album cover

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Label:Nothing Records – B0025682-01, Interscope Records – B0025682-01
Series:NIN – Halo Fourteen
Format:
3 x Vinyl, LP, Album, Reissue, Remastered, Definitive Edition, 180g
Country:US
Released:
Genre:Electronic, Rock
Style:Industrial

Tracklist

A1Somewhat Damaged
Written-By, Guitar [Additional Guitars] – Danny Lohner
4:31
A2The Day The World Went Away
Backing Vocals [Backing Chants - Credited To The Buddha Debutante Choir] – Christine Parrish, Fae Young, M. Gabriela Rivas*, Heather Bennett, Judy Miller, Martha Wood, Melissa Daigle
5:04
A3The Frail1:54
A4The Wretched5:36
B1We're In This Together
Drums [Chorus] – Jerome Dillon
7:19
B2The Fragile4:32
B3Just Like You Imagined
Guitar [Additional Guitars] – Adrian Belew, Danny Lohner
Piano – Mike Garson
3:52
B4Even Deeper
Mixed By [Mixing Assistance] – Dr. Dre
Written-By, Drum Programming, Synthesizer [Additional Synthesizers] – Danny Lohner
6:16
C1Pilgrimage
Choir [Chanting] – The Buddha Boys Choir
Percussion [Additional Marching] – Steve Duda
Trumpet – Cherry Holly
3:41
C2No, You Don't3:36
C3La Mer
Cello – Willie
Drums – Bill Rieflin*
Vocals – Denise Milfort
5:10
C4The Great Below
Effects [Atmospheres] – Charlie Clouser
Guitar [Ambiences] – Danny Lohner
Guitar [End Melodic] – Adrian Belew
5:17
D1The Way Out Is Through
Piano – Mike Garson
4:17
D2Into The Void
Backing Vocals – Kim Prevost
Drum Programming – Charlie Clouser
4:49
D3Where Is Everybody?
Guitar [End Melodic] – Adrian Belew
5:40
D4The Mark Has Been Made4:46
E110 Miles High
Mixed By [Reconstructed Mixed By] – Keith Hillebrandt
5:09
E2Please3:31
E3Starfuckers, Inc.
Written-By – Charlie Clouser
5:00
E4Complication
Guitar [Additional Guitars] – Danny Lohner
2:27
E5The New Flesh3:42
F1I'm Looking Forward To Joining You, Finally4:20
F2The Big Come Down4:12
F3Underneath It All2:47
F4Ripe
Piano – Mike Garson
Violin – Steve Duda
5:18
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Companies, etc.

Credits

Notes

Repressed in Fall 2022

2017 Definitive Edition, Released during the last 2 weeks of 2016. Includes bundled download card.

From the NIN store description:
“High resolution download available immediately
The definitive version of the Fragile, meticulously prepared by Trent Reznor and NIN Art Director John Crawford.
Remastered from the original sources in 2016 on 180-gram Vinyl, with lots of details that you may never notice, but we care about.”

Recorded and mixed at Nothing Studios, New Orleans.
Supplemental drums recorded at Electrical Audio.
Remastered at Baker Mastering.
Vinyl mastering at Golden Mastering.

A spurious credit appears on the release for "additional vocals" on the Quiet version of 'The Day The World Went Away', a track found not on this release, but rather on The Day The World Went Away.
Some photographs in bundled essay credited to Nothing Studios.

℗©2017 Interscope Records.

Written by T Reznor ©1999 Leaving Hope/TVT Music Inc (ASCAP) administered by Leaving Hope Music Inc, except -
A1, B4: Written by T Reznor, D Lohner ©1999 Leaving Hope/TVT Music Inc (ASCAP) administered by Leaving Hope Music Inc/Wish It Away (ASCAP).
D1: Written by T Reznor, K Hillebrandt, C Clouser ©1999 Leaving Hope/TVT Music Inc (ASCAP) administered by Leaving Hope Music Inc/Hillebrandt/Hypercube Music/Warner Tamerlane Music (BMI).
E3: Written by T Reznor, C Clouser ©1999 Leaving Hope/TVT Music Inc (ASCAP) administered by Leaving Hope Music Inc/Hypercube Music/Warner Tamerlane Music (BMI)/Quackenbush Music Limited (ASCAP) administered by Polygram International Music Publishing Inc. Contains elements from 'Shout It Out Loud' performed by Kiss used courtesy of Mercury Records under license from Universal Music Special Markets Inc.

Hype sticker on front:
The definitive vinyl edition of the Fragile, meticulously prepared by Trent Reznor and NIN art director John Crawford. Remastered 2017 audio on 180-Gram Vinyl, remastered artwork and more.
halo fourteen
Original release date: September 21, 1999

Barcode and Other Identifiers

  • Barcode (Text, sticker, back of shrink wrap): 6 02557 14277 8
  • Barcode (String, sticker, back of shrink wrap): 602557142778
  • Matrix / Runout (Side A Runout, etched, stamped): B0025682-01-A HALO 14-A GOLDEN JG P. USA -43731-
  • Matrix / Runout (Side B Runout, etched, stamped): B0025682-01-B HALO 14-B GOLDEN JG P. USA -43731-
  • Matrix / Runout (Side C Runout, etched, stamped): B0025682-01-C HALO 14-C GOLDEN JG P. USA -43733-
  • Matrix / Runout (Side D Runout, etched, stamped): B0025682-01-D HALO 14-D GOLDEN JG P. USA -43733-
  • Matrix / Runout (Side E Runout, etched, stamped): B0025682-01-E HALO 14-E GOLDEN JG P. USA -43734-
  • Matrix / Runout (Side F Runout, etched, stamped): B0025682-01-F HALO 14-F GOLDEN JG P. USA -43734-
  • Matrix / Runout (Side A label): B0025682-01-LP01-A
  • Matrix / Runout (Side B label): B0025682-01-LP01-B
  • Matrix / Runout (Side C label): B0025682-01-LP02-C
  • Matrix / Runout (Side D label): B0025682-01-LP02-D
  • Matrix / Runout (Side E label): B0025682-01-LP03-E
  • Matrix / Runout (Side F label): B0025682-01-LP03-F
  • Rights Society: ASCAP
  • Rights Society: BMI
  • Other (Number, sticker, back of shrink wrap): B0025682-01ST02

Other Versions (5 of 72)

View All
Title (Format)LabelCat#CountryYear
Recently Edited
The Fragile (2×CD, Album, Tri-Fold Digipak)Nothing Records, Interscope Records0694904732US1999
Recently Edited
The Fragile (3×LP, Album)Nothing Records0694904731US1999
The Fragile (2×Cassette, Album)Nothing Records, Nothing Records490 474-4, 490 475-4Poland1999
Recently Edited
The Fragile (2×CD, Album, Repress, SMEA)Nothing Records, Interscope Records490 473-2Australia1999
The Fragile (2×CD, Album, Digipak)Nothing Records490 473-2Europe1999

Recommendations

Reviews

Show All 58 Reviews
  • MxSelfDestruct's avatar
    MxSelfDestruct
    Edited one month ago
    Great record, and this is an excellent pressing of it... However, this album really isn't suited for vinyl. IMHO, spreading it across six sides *really* messes with the flow. These songs were written to be spread across two CDs. On that note, though, the digital version of this album is absolutely incredible. This is my favourite album in the entire world, and the remastered digital version takes it to a whole new level. I don't regret paying MSRP for this, but unless you really love this album like I do, you might consider just pirating it.
    • evandavis47's avatar
      evandavis47
      Listening to my copy last night revealed a sad reality. This isn't an album that's suited for vinyl at all. I'm no audio engineer but these mixes are just so massive and polished to an absolute digital sheen with no mind paid for vinyl that the effect is comparable to watching an old DVD on a giant 4K TV. It doesn't sound terrible or anything, but I personally don't believe there is any real fidelity to be gained from it. Songs like 'We're In This Together' sound super muddy when that behemoth of a chorus kicks it. Quieter parts with more space sound nice, but that's mostly just because the vinyl came super clean and quiet. The '99 CD sounds great and there are also super high res digital audio files of the vinyl version available with the extra songs (which btw seems like they were left off for good reason). That said, the packaging looks fucking awesome and the booklets included are great.
      • Bpietrok's avatar
        Bpietrok
        Can anyone tell me what outter sleeve to protect this with? The spine is very big. Thanks.
        • Aynddufraine's avatar
          Aynddufraine
          Scored this for $37 on AcousticSounds! 😎

          Screw off scalpers!
          • SalViscuso's avatar
            SalViscuso
            Edited 5 months ago
            I really hate to say this because I love this album so much, but the praise for this release and resultant prices are waaaaaaaay overblown. On the positive side, the quality of the pressing itself as well as the jacket and artwork are all great. Vinyl is quiet, well-centered, flat, and free of almost all surface noise. That said, the quality of the mastering is pretty poor. The entire album sounds flat, compressed, and closed in. Trent's voice and the instruments all occupy the same exact location in the sonic plane. The fine detail in the music is there, but it just sounds so dull and lifeless. The versions of this album currently available on Tidal and Qobuz sound so much more alive and dynamic.

            I notice there is quite a lot of deadwax and a fat lead-in on several sides while other sides (particularly side B) are crammed with over 20 minutes of music. I feel like they had to EQ the entire album down to the level of the packed sides to make them fit properly, and the overall quality suffers. For $40-$50, this is a good buy. Spending over $100 for it is insane even if The New Flesh is your favorite song of all time. Personally, I would be happy to pay a bit more for a 4xLP version with proper dynamics.

            For context, my turntable generally outperforms my digital front end technically and in terms of my personal enjoyment. MoFi Ultradeck with an ATOC9XML cart + Pro-Ject DS3 B vs. Schiit Bifrost 2 being fed by Roon. I'm comparing using my ZMF Verite headphones which are very resolving.
            • Funnystuff's avatar
              Funnystuff
              The music itself sounds awesome. Or it could, to be more exact; Sadly, the pressing quality is a real dissapointment and at times severly impairs the listening experience (audio/vinyl):

              A: some light ticks/plain
              B: returning whooshy „scratch“ all over/light bump
              C: constant crackling & returning scratchy sound (la mer!)/off center
              D: little noise on the outer tracks getting less towards the middle/off center
              E: quiet/warped
              F: quiet/small bumpy „hick up“

              Looking forward to the next re-press, I guess …
              • rhombus47's avatar
                rhombus47
                I can't begin to say how high of a standard this sets for vinyl albums. This is easily one of the best sounding, if not THE best sounding, albums in my collection. Volume is good, bass is punchy, mids and highs are crystal clear. This album is packaged flawlessly too - definitely a must-have if you can find it at a good price.
                • km_cdn's avatar
                  km_cdn
                  Just received this today - and 5 of 6 sides sound fantastic. Unfortunately, the B side of the first disc has a persistent surface noise, or more accurately, static about once a revolution. It's present after multiple cleans on the record cleaning machine. There is no visible surface flaws, but the LP is fairly warped (probably from the shrink packaging). The surface noise is persistent in the quiet passages on all the songs, with an added couple ticks at the end of Even Deeper. It does seem to correlate with the warp in the record, so I'm hoping that as it flattens out on my shelf that the noise goes down. Unfortunately, this LP is so hard to get ahold of, and return shipping isn't cheap so I'll probably keep, but a bit of a letdown on the one side.

                  Probably a victim of tight shrink wrap and bulky packaging. Would have been better if it was spread out over three separate sleeves.
                  • threeAMproject's avatar
                    threeAMproject
                    What is everyone using for a polybag sleeve for this one? It's spine is over 1/2 inch thick. It won't fit in normal polybags. Any suggestions are much appreciated
                    • tr303808's avatar
                      tr303808
                      Amazing, no surface noise, dynamics are stunning, loud and crisp!

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