There was no significant promotion or build up to the release of the fourth Nine Inch Nails album here in the UK, and I wasn't really aware of it until I saw it on the shelves of my local Virgin Megastore.
When I reached the till to complete my purchase, the guy behind the counter said, "Oh you get this free poster with that CD," and handed me a machine numbered 12"x12" print of the sleeve. I still have that "flat" (as I believe they were called in the industry) but I have no idea why it was given to me. It seems these flats were included in the promotional triple LP, so how it became separated from the vinyl and ended up in a retail store is a mystery.
The confused and slightly muted approach to the release of this album is cited as one reasons "The Fragile" did not sell nearly as well as its predecessor. However, my hunch is that this record failed to find an audience as it fell between two camps. Neither the rock audience attracted by "The Downward Spiral" nor the electronic industrial audience of "Pretty Hate Machine" would have been satisfied with the music on this album.
Here I am listening to the ruinously expensive 2017 definitive edition which is pressed on three 180g LPs and features remastered audio. The first time I listened to this album, the bizarre acoustic guitar riff of "Somewhat Damaged" instantly turned me off and I began to worry this was gong to be another guitar driven rock album. Yet as the beat and stuttering synth noises began, my worries eased somewhat. Whilst there aren't too many lyrical or melodic hooks on this song it makes for a good introduction.
"The World Went Away" was released as a single in some territories but not here in the UK - which is just as well as this chugging guitar track is devoid of a rhythm and is of limited interest. Reznor's distinctive piano playing features on the short instrumental "The Frail" which segues into the atmospheric "The Wretched". This song is much more like the material on "Broken" that I enjoyed so much as is a highlight of the album for me.
The single "We're In This Together" ushers in the start of the b-side with its acoustic drums and distorted guitars. The chorus of this song is undoubtedly driving and melodic but the verses are a little tedious. The title track is fair enough but as "Just Like You Imagined" begins I realise I've never really warmed to these songs due to the acoustic drums. The final track on the first disc "Even Deeper" does benefit from drum programming and some instrumentation that isn't entirely reliant on distorted guitars, so all is not lost.
"Pilgrimage" is an instrumental that repeats a leitmotif across different arrangements and instruments without really advancing much. "No, You Don't" is a fast paced and catchy song that seems to cross metal with soft synths and somehow make it work. It's much more successful than tracks like "The World Went Away" and would have made a great single.
The instrumental "La Mer" is distinctive piece that utilises a bassline we will hear later on the record but it runs out of steam well before its five minutes are up. The first song that harks back to a more electronic sound is "The Great Below" which ebbs and flows before succumbing to the inevitable acoustic drums.
For some strange reason I went to see a film called "Final Destination" in March 2000. Whilst watching the movie I realised the brilliant song that was playing was by Nine Inch Nails and must be on their latest album. Back then I had dismissed "The Fragile" as just "noise" and I missed this magnificent return to form. This is the best song on the album by a county mile.
I like "Where Is Everybody?" simply because it uses synths and programmed beats as a nice change from most of what has gone before. "The Mark Has Been Made" is another atmospheric but ultimately disposable instrumental that points to Reznor's future career as a soundtrack composer. "Please" blends synths, electric bass an those horrible acoustic drums, but it just ends up being too noisy to discern any meaning from what is going on. "Starfuckers Inc." has some great rhythmical elements during the verses but the chorus descends into the bland guitar nonsense we are accustomed to by this point.
There's even more senseless noise with "Complication" and the truly dreadful "The New Flesh". As I turn over to the final side I'm beginning to feel like I've broken the back of this record and the groove on "The Big Comedown" proves to be a good reward for sticking with it this long. The stuttering and noisy "Underneath It All" is fairly short but the final instrumental "Ripe" is pretty tortuous.
My disinterest in this album has always been driven by the fact that it is too long and overblown. I have a playlist that strips things down to the six tracks I enjoy and intersperses them with a few of the more interesting (i.e. short) instrumentals as album filler. But even this short version doesn't get played much to be honest. 3/5
