The Fragile

Performer: Nine Inch Nails
Artist: Adrian Belew; Mike Garson
Producer: Alan Moulder; Trent Reznor
Distributor: Universal Distribution

Notes: Nine Inch Nails: Trent Reznor (vocals, various instruments, programming). Additional personnel: Keith Hillebrandt, Charlie Clouser, Paul Decarli, Steve Duda, Clinton Bradley (programming). Engineers include: Alan Moulder, Brian Pollack, Steve Albini. Recorded at Nothing Studios, New Orleans. Louisiana. THE FRAGILE was nominated for the 2000 Grammy Award for Best Alternative Music Performance. "Starfuckers, Inc." was nominated for the 2000 Grammy Award for Best Metal Performance. "Into The Void" was nominated for the 2001 Grammy Award for Best Male Rock Vocal Performance. Personnel: Denise Milfrot, Martha Prevost (vocals); Buddha Boys Choir (chant); Danny Lohner (guitar, synthesizer, drum programming); Adrian Belew (guitar); Steve Duda (violin, percussion, programming); Willie (cello); Cherry Holly (trumpet); Mike Garson (piano); Jerome Dillon, Bill Rieflin (drums); Paul Bradley, Keith Hillebrandt, Trent Reznor, Paul DeCarli, Charles Clouser (programming); Christine Parrish, Martha Wood, M. Gabriela Rivas, Di Coleman, Melissa Daigle, Rodney Sulton, Terry Rice, Gary I. Neal, Judy Miller, Buddha Debutante Choir, Tracy Hardin, Heather Bennet, Stefani Taylor, Elquine Rice, Leslie Wilson, Barbara Wilson (background vocals). Audio Mixer: Alan Moulder. Recording information: Nothing Studios, New Orleans, LA. Photographer: David Carson. Trent Reznor's brainchild, Nine Inch Nails, has had a lasting influence on the alternative rock scene ever since the band rocketed to critical acclaim with PRETTY HATE MACHINE. 1999's THE FRAGILE is a double-CD that boasts 23 tracks of pure energy and creativity. Reznor said of THE FRAGILE, "I wanted to try new things, fully utilizing the studio while putting more effort into melody and structure." From song one, it's clear that he's accomplished just this. Tracks like "Into the Void" are replete with sounds and textures that no NIN album to this point contained. THE FRAGILE took more than two years to put together and includes songs bursting with melody and life. There are graceful and haunting tracks like "La Mer" and "The Great Below" and songs of despair and hopelessness like "Somewhat Damaged" and "No You Don't." Other highlights include "Starfuckers, Inc.," "Where Is Everybody," and "The Day the World Went Away."

Rolling Stone (10/14/99, p.120) - 4 stars out of 5 - "...[Reznor's] version of Pink Floyd's THE WALL...[venting] his alienation and misery into paranoid studio hallucinations, each track crammed with overdubs until there's no breathing room....it's New Wave with its finger on the trigger..." Spin (11/99, pp.179-80) - 9 out of 10 - "...[Reznor's] epic portrayal of the endless, aimless inner din....THE FRAGILE is a good old-fashioned strap-on-your-headphones experience....a concept album....He tries to leap into an ocean of sound, but a breakbeat throws him back on shore..." Entertainment Weekly (9/24/99, pp.142-3) - "...THE FRAGILE feels freshest, and most like a progression from THE DOWNWARD SPIRAL when the music struggles upward toward some sort of transcendence....hard rock simply doesn't get any smarter, harder, or more ambitious than this." - Rating: A- Q (12/99, p.142) - 3 stars out of 5 - "...Reznor expertly sculpts his sounds like an electro-grunge Henry Moore..." Alternative Press (11/99, pp.118-9) - 5 out of 5 - "...relevant as ever....nothing short of astounding....THE FRAGILE is Reznor's bid to be not only successful but also Important. And I think he's made it..." Kerrang (Magazine) (p.53) - "[I]t really is Reznor at his multi-layered, emotionally charged, experimental best." Mojo (Publisher) (12/99, p.110) - "...an impressively multi-textured, satisfyingly violent sonic workout..."

Before Nine Inch Nails, electronic-based rock was often considered devoid of feeling and danger. Leader Trent Reznor merged synths with tortured vocals/lyrics, distorted guitar, and repetitive, slamming rhythms into an unpredictable amalgam, helping to popularize industrial rock in the '90s. In the process, Nine Inch Nails became one of the biggest alt-rock acts of the era, responsible for enduring hits like "Head Like a Hole" and "Closer," while inspiring legions of younger bands. The ever-stoic Reznor continued to evolve and create innovative music well into the band's third decade.

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