Editing The Fragile

{{short description|1999 album by Nine Inch Nails}}
{{About|the Nine Inch Nails album|the O'Hooley & Tidow album|The Fragile (O'Hooley & Tidow album)}}
{{redirect|Somewhat Damaged|the record label|The Naked and Famous}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=June 2017}}
{{Infobox album
| name         = The Fragile
| type         = studio
| artist       = [[Nine Inch Nails]]
| cover        = Nine Inch Nails - The Fragile.png
| border       = yes
| alt          = 
| released     = {{Start date|1999|9|21}}
| recorded     = January 1997 – July 1999
| studio       = [[Nothing Studios|Nothing]], New Orleans
| genre        = * [[Industrial rock]]
* {{nowrap|[[art rock]]}}
* {{nowrap|[[alternative rock]]}}
| length       = 103:39
| label        = * [[Nothing Records|Nothing]]
* [[Interscope Records|Interscope]]
| producer     = * [[Trent Reznor]]
* [[Alan Moulder]]
| prev_title   = [[Further Down the Spiral]]
| prev_year    = 1995
| next_title   = [[Things Falling Apart]]
| next_year    = 2000
| misc         = 
{{Extra chronology
 | artist     = [[Nine Inch Nails discography#Chronology|Halo numbers]]
 | type       = studio
 | prev_title = [[The Day the World Went Away|Halo 13]]
 | prev_year  = 1999
 | title      = Halo 14
 | year       = 1999
 | next_title = [[We're in This Together (Nine Inch Nails song)|Halo 15]]
 | next_year  = 1999
}}
{{Singles
 | name        = The Fragile
 | type        = studio
 | single1     = [[The Day the World Went Away]]
 | single1date = July 20, 1999
 | single2     = [[We're in This Together (Nine Inch Nails song)|We're in This Together]]
 | single2date = September 27, 1999
 | single3     = [[Into the Void (Nine Inch Nails song)|Into the Void]]
 | single3date = January 10, 2000
}}
}}

'''''The Fragile''''' is the third studio album by the American [[industrial rock]] band [[Nine Inch Nails]], released as a [[double album]] by [[Nothing Records]] and [[Interscope Records]] on September 21, 1999. It was produced by Nine Inch Nails frontman [[Trent Reznor]] and the English producer [[Alan Moulder]], a longtime Reznor collaborator. It was recorded throughout 1997 to 1999 in [[New Orleans]].

Looking to depart from the distorted production of their previous album, ''[[The Downward Spiral]]'' (1994), the album features elements of [[Ambient music|ambient]] and [[Electronic music|electronic]] music within a wide variety of genres. The album continues some of the lyrical themes from ''The 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 Fragile'' is 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 (Nine Inch Nails song)|We're in This Together]]", and "[[Into the Void (Nine Inch Nails song)|Into the Void]]", as well as the promotional single "[[Starfuckers, Inc.]]" and an accompanying tour, the [[Fragility 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 certified [[double platinum]] by the [[Recording Industry Association of America|RIAA]].

==Writing and recording==
{{Quote box
 |quote =''The Fragile'' was an album based a lot in fear, because I was afraid as fuck about what was happening to me&nbsp;... 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.|source =Trent Reznor<ref name="shadowofdeath"/> |align = left |width = 28% |border = 1px |fontsize = 90% |quoted = true |salign = center}}

''The Fragile'' was produced by [[Trent Reznor]] and [[Alan Moulder]] at Nothing Studios in [[New Orleans]]. There were some personnel changes within Nine Inch Nails after the Self-Destruct tour, which saw drummer [[Chris Vrenna]] replaced by [[Bill Rieflin]] and [[Jerome Dillon]], the latter of whom would become Nine Inch Nails' full-time drummer until late 2005. [[Charlie Clouser]] and [[Danny Lohner]] contributed occasional instrumentation and composition to several tracks although the album was predominantly written and performed by Reznor alone. ''The Fragile'' was mixed by Alan Moulder and mastered by Tom Baker. The packaging was created by [[David Carson (graphic designer)|David Carson]] and [[Rob Sheridan]].<ref>{{cite web
| title = ALBUMS/EPS
| url = http://www.nin.com/albums/
| website = NIN.com
| access-date = March 6, 2012
| url-status = dead
| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120303182518/http://www.nin.com/albums/
| archive-date = March 3, 2012
| df = mdy-all
}} Note: "info" must be selected for each release to verify</ref>

According to a February 2000 interview in Keyboard Magazine, two of the album's programmers, [[Charlie Clouser]] and Keith Hillbrandt, disclosed some synths used in the album's production, among them: [[Clavia Nord Lead 2]], [[Waldorf synthesizer|Waldorf Pulse and Microwave]], [[Minimoog]], [[Oberheim Xpander]], [[Novation Bass Station]], [[Prophet VS|Sequential Circuits Prophet-VS]], and the [[Access Virus]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Keyboard Magazine: February 2000 Issue |url=https://www.theninhotline.com/archives/textarch/article/keyboard_feb00.html |access-date=2023-01-16 |website=www.theninhotline.com}}</ref>

== 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 with [[nursery rhyme]]s over the top of it. A bunch of pop songs."<ref>''[[Q (magazine)|Q]]'', May 1998</ref>
<div style="float: right;">
{{listen
|pos=right
| filename     = TDtWWA.ogg
| title        = "The Day the World Went Away"
| description  = Album version, as it appeared on ''The Fragile''
| format       = [[Ogg]]
| filename2    = Nine Inch Nails - La Mer.ogg
| title2       = "La Mer"
| description2 = Album version, as it appeared on ''The Fragile''
| format2      = [[Ogg]]
}}
</div>
In contrast to the heavily distorted instruments and gritty [[Industrial music|industrial]] sounds of their previous album, ''[[The Downward Spiral]]'',<ref name="ABCNET">[http://www.abc.net.au/rage/guest/1999/NIN.htm Rage: August 21, 1999] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090906114219/http://www.abc.net.au/rage/guest/1999/NIN.htm |date=September 6, 2009 }} Last accessed April 15, 2007.</ref> ''The Fragile'' relies more on [[soundscape]]s, electronic beats, [[ambient music|ambient]] noise, rock-laden guitar, and the usage of melodies as [[Harmony|harmonies]]. Several critics noted that the album was seemingly influenced by [[progressive rock]], [[art rock]], [[electronica]], and [[avant-garde]] music.<ref name="Pareles"/><ref name="Lipton">{{cite web |last=Lipton |first=Mike |url=http://www.music.yahoo.ca/read/review/12041605 |title=The Fragile |website=[[Yahoo! Music]] |access-date=January 27, 2013 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130219192437/http://www.music.yahoo.ca/read/review/12041605 |archive-date=February 19, 2013 |url-status=dead |df=mdy }}</ref> It is categorized as an [[art rock]] album by ''[[The Rolling Stone Album Guide]]'' (2004),<ref name="RSguide"/> Edna Gundersen of ''[[USA Today]]'',<ref name="Gundersen"/> and [[Will Hermes]] of ''[[Entertainment Weekly]]''. Hermes views that, like "art-rockers" [[King Crimson]] and [[David Bowie]], Reznor incorporates elements of [[20th-century classical music]] on the album, "mixing prepared piano melodies à la John Cage with thematic flavor from [[Claude Debussy]]".<ref name="Hermes"/> Music journalist [[Ann Powers]] observes elements of progressive rock bands King Crimson and [[Roxy Music]], Reznor's influences, and the experimentation of electronica artists such as [[Autechre]] and [[Squarepusher]], and writes that ''The Fragile'' uses [[funk]] bass lines, [[North African music|North African]] minor-key [[modality (music)|modalities]], and the treatment of [[tonality]] by [[Symbolism (movement)|Symbolist]] composers like Debussy. The album also features several distorted guitar parts which Powers suggests that fans can enjoy.<ref name="Powers"/> [[Rob Sheffield]] observes a "prog-rock vibe" akin to [[Pink Floyd]]'s 1979 album ''[[The Wall]]'' and feels that ''The Fragile'' is similarly "a double album that vents ... alienation and misery into paranoid studio hallucinations, each track crammed with overdubs until there's no breathing room".<ref name="Sheffield"/>

{{Quote box
 | quote  = "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 on ''The 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 [to [[Mariqueen Maandig]]] there."
 | source =&nbsp;—Reznor, on the origins of the song, "La Mer", at a 2009 performance in [[Mansfield, Massachusetts|Mansfield, MA]].<ref>{{YouTube|95jbTEb9mD0|La Mer Performance}}</ref>
 | width = 40%
 | align = right
 | style = padding:10px;
}}
Described by Reznor as a sequel to ''The Downward Spiral''—an album with a plot detailing the destruction of a man—''The Fragile'' is 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.<ref name="Ransom"/><ref name="shadowofdeath">{{cite magazine |last=Spitz |first=Marc |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=U1mdDlPSC9YC&pg=PA65 |title=The Shadow of Death |magazine=Spin |volume=21 |issue=5 |date=May 2005 |page=65 |issn=0886-3032 |access-date=January 27, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190106051241/https://www.spin.com/2013/08/nine-inch-nails-trent-reznor-cover-story-spin-2005/ |archive-date=2019-01-06 }}</ref> ''[[The Bulletin (Australian periodical)|The Bulletin]]'' interprets it as an industrial rock album about "fear and loathing that could compete with Pink Floyd's ''The Wall''".<ref>{{cite magazine |last1=Haynes |first1=J. |last2=Archibald |first2=J.F. |title=The Bulletin, Volumes 6314–6317 |magazine=[[The Bulletin (Australian periodical)|The Bulletin]] |year=2002 |volume=6314–6317 |issn=1440-7485 |quote=The tour was promoting The Fragile, an industrial-rock odyssey of fear and loathing to rival Pink Floyd's The Wall.}}</ref> In some ways, ''The Fragile'' is a response to ''The Downward Spiral''. Reznor compared the lyrical content of the two albums:

{{blockquote|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 Spiral'' was 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)".<ref name="Ransom">[http://www.ransomfellowship.org/articledetail.asp?AID=235&B=David%20John%20Seel,%20Jr.&TID=4 Nine Inch Nails: A Ransom Review] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111012212711/http://ransomfellowship.org/articledetail.asp?AID=235&B=David%20John%20Seel,%20Jr.&TID=4 |date=October 12, 2011 }} Last accessed April 15, 2007.</ref>}}

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. {{Citation needed|date=May 2008}}

''[[Fight Club (novel)|Fight Club]]'' author [[Chuck Palahniuk]] singled 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."<ref>''[[Q (magazine)|Q]]'', June 2006</ref>

According to a [[Central Intelligence Agency|CIA]] document entitled ''Guidelines for Interrogation Methods'' the song "Somewhat Damaged" was one of 13 songs played to detainees at [[Guantanamo Bay detention camp|Guantanamo Bay]], supposedly as a means of torture.<ref name="Kmov">[https://web.archive.org/web/20131114001352/http://www.kmov.com/news/slideshows/13-songs-used-for-torture-156396275.html?gallery=y&img=3&c=y 13 Songs used for torture] Last accessed July 6, 2016.</ref>

==Packaging==
[[File:The_Fragile_(1999)_instrumental_cover.png|thumb|upright|right|alt=|Cover of an instrumental version of ''The Fragile'', and the original full photograph of the waterfall]]

The cover artwork was designed by [[David Carson (graphic designer)|David Carson]]. A section within his book ''Fotografiks''<ref name="Carson">{{cite book| title = Fotografiks| author = David Carson and Philip B. Meggs| publisher = Gingko Press| year = 1999| page = 192| isbn = 978-1-58423-004-5}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|author=David Carson, Phillip B. Meggs |url=http://www.gingkopress.com/08-pho/fotografiks.html |title=Fotografiks: David Carson (by David Carson and Phillip B. Meggs) |publisher=Gingkopress.com |access-date=April 2, 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120323103826/http://www.gingkopress.com/08-pho/fotografiks.html |archive-date=March 23, 2012 |df=mdy }}</ref> reveals that the top section of the [[album cover]] is 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:

{{blockquote|[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 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 [[Öxarárfoss|a waterfall in Iceland]] and a seashell in the West Indies.<ref name="CoverExplanation">[http://www.ninwiki.com/images/thumb/0/02/Fragile_cover_explanation.jpg/800px-Fragile_cover_explanation.jpg Album cover explanation for ''The Fragile''] Last accessed April 24, 2010.</ref>}}

==Promotion==
On September 10, 1998, at the [[1998 MTV Video Music Awards]], a thirty-second teaser trailer was shown on television to promote the then untitled album.<ref name="MTV">{{cite web|url=https://www.kerrang.com/features/remember-when-nine-inch-nails-advertised-an-unfinished-album-at-the-mtv-awards/ |title=Remember When Nine Inch Nails Advertised An Unfinished Album At The MTV Awards? |work=Kerrang |access-date=February 2, 2019}}</ref> It would be more than a year before the album was finally released.<ref name="MTV"/> 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 (Nine Inch Nails song)|We're in This Together]]" proved to be the album's most successful singles.  The [[B-side]] "[[Starfuckers, Inc.]]" was released on the album as a track at the last minute {{Citation needed|date=May 2008}}, and served as a [[promotional single]] for ''The Fragile''. In support of ''The Fragile'', the [[Nine Inch Nails live performances|Nine Inch Nails live band]] reformed for the [[Fragility Tour|Fragility tour]].  The tour began in late 1999 and lasted until mid-2000, spanning Europe, Japan, New Zealand, Australia, and North America.<ref>{{cite news
  | url = http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=LVRB&p_theme=lvrb&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=0FD3937E043E83C4&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D
  | title = Quite a Contrast
  | first = Doug
  | last = Elfman
  | work = [[Las Vegas Review-Journal]]
  | date = June 2, 2000
  | access-date =February 1, 2008
  | format = fee required}}</ref>  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 of ''[[The Downward Spiral]]'', featuring [[Robin Finck]] on guitar, [[Charlie Clouser]] on keyboards, and [[Danny Lohner]] on bass guitar.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1429780/19990804/guns_n_roses.jhtml |access-date=February 8, 2008 |title=Guitarist Robin Finck Leaves GN'R To Return To NIN |date=August 4, 1999 |work=MTV |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051115075359/http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1429780/19990804/guns_n_roses.jhtml |archive-date=November 15, 2005 }}</ref><ref name="1.0">{{cite web
  | url = http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1432650/19990928/nine_inch_nails.jhtml
  | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20010725044359/http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1432650/19990928/nine_inch_nails.jhtml
  | url-status = dead
  | archive-date = July 25, 2001
  |work=MTV
  | access-date =February 8, 2008
  | title = Nine Inch Nails Line Up European Shows, But States Must Wait
  | date = September 28, 1999
  | first = Robert
  | last = Mancini}}</ref>  Reznor held open auditions to find a new drummer, eventually picking then-unknown [[Jerome Dillon]].<ref name="Modern Drummer">{{cite web
 |url=http://www.moderndrummer.com/updatefull/200001232 
 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051223111401/http://www.moderndrummer.com/updatefull/200001232 
 |url-status=dead 
 |archive-date=December 23, 2005 
 |title=Jerome Dillon – New With NIN 
 |work=[[Modern Drummer]] 
 |access-date=February 9, 2008 
 |last=Rashidii 
 |first=Waleed 
}}</ref> Nine Inch Nails' record label at the time, [[Interscope Records]], reportedly refused to fund the promotional tour following ''The 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."<ref>{{cite news
  | title = Rock's outlook bleak, but this Nail won't bend
  | last = Soeder
  | first = John
  | newspaper = [[Cleveland.com]]
  | date = April 9, 2000}}</ref> The tour featured increasingly large production values, including a [[triptych]] video display created by contemporary video artist [[Bill Viola]].<ref name="Gergiev">{{cite web
  | url = http://www.gergiev.nl/2007/html_ENG/deelnemers/viola.html
  | title = Bill Viola – Video Artist
  | publisher = Gergiev Festival
  | access-date =February 8, 2008}} {{Dead link|date=September 2010|bot=H3llBot}}</ref> ''[[Rolling Stone]]'' magazine named Fragility the best tour of 2000.<ref>{{cite news
 |url=http://media.www.westerncourier.com/media/storage/paper650/news/2002/02/01/TheEdge/Nin-It.Wasnt.All.It.Could.Have.Been-443708.shtml
 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20110718032029/http://media.www.westerncourier.com/media/storage/paper650/news/2002/02/01/TheEdge/Nin-It.Wasnt.All.It.Could.Have.Been-443708.shtml
 |url-status=dead
 |archive-date=July 18, 2011
 |title=NIN: It wasn't all it could have been 
 |first=Ryan 
 |last=Heinz 
 |work=[[The Western Courier]] 
 |date=February 1, 2002 
 |access-date=February 19, 2008 
}}</ref> In 2002, the tour documentary ''[[And All That Could Have Been]]'' was 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",<ref name="Rolling Stone">{{cite magazine
  | url = https://www.rollingstone.com/news/story/5931442/nin_doing_fragility_dvd
  | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080416133027/http://www.rollingstone.com/news/story/5931442/nin_doing_fragility_dvd
  | url-status = dead
  | archive-date = April 16, 2008
  | title = NIN Doing Fragility DVD
  | author = Saraceno, Christina and Austin Scaggs
  |magazine=Rolling Stone
  | date = June 8, 2001
  | access-date =February 1, 2008}}</ref> 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."<ref>{{cite web
  | archive-date = May 14, 2007
  | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20070514173115/http://www.nin.com/access/7_21_04/index.php
  | url = http://www.nin.com/access/7_21_04/index.php
  | title = Access
  | first = Trent
  | last = Reznor
  | author-link = Trent Reznor
  | publisher = NIN.com
  | date = July 21, 2004
  | access-date =February 1, 2008}}</ref>

===Reissue===
On September 21, 2009—the tenth anniversary of the album's release—a Nine Inch Nails official Twitter update hinted that a deluxe [[5.1 surround sound|5.1 surround audio]] reissue of ''The Fragile'' was in the works and was scheduled for a 2010 release.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://twitter.com/nineinchnails/status/4157519090|title=And... we've begun work on the ULTIMATE reissue coming 2010. #thefragile|first=nine inch|last=nails|date=September 21, 2009|website=twitter.com|access-date=June 29, 2017}}</ref>

During an interview with ''[[The New York Times]]'' that was broadcast on January 7, 2011, after questioned about the album Reznor explained:

{{blockquote|''The Fragile'' is 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, but [[Alan Moulder]]'s spent a couple of months restoring all the [[Multitrack recording|multitracks]], 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, much [[Radiohead]] style with ''[[Kid A]]'' and ''[[Amnesiac (album)|Amnesiac]]'', 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.<ref>{{YouTube|1ULtTE2lKtA}}{{dead link|date=April 2012}}</ref>}}

While on tour in 2014 in Australia and New Zealand, Reznor was interviewed by a local reporter and was quoted about the reissue stating:

{{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.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.3news.co.nz/Trent-Reznor-on-40-unreleased-demos-NZ-tour-Gone-Girl-Grammys/tabid/418/articleID/332710/Default.aspx |website=3 News |title=Trent Reznor on 40 unreleased demos NZ tour Gone Girl Grammys &#124; Entertainment &#124; Newshub<!-- Bot generated title --> |access-date=February 21, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140705185314/http://www.3news.co.nz/Trent-Reznor-on-40-unreleased-demos-NZ-tour-Gone-Girl-Grammys/tabid/418/articleID/332710/Default.aspx |archive-date=July 5, 2014 |url-status=dead |df=mdy-all }}</ref>}}

{{Quote box |align=right |salign=center |width=30em |quote="''The Fragile'' occupies 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 1'' represents 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."|source = — Reznor, in a press release for ''The Fragile: Deviations 1''<ref>{{cite web |last1=Phillips |first1=Amy |last2=Strauss |first2=Matthew |url=https://pitchfork.com/news/67281-nine-inch-nails-announce-new-ep-not-the-actual-events-vinyl-reissue-series/ |title=Nine Inch Nails Announce New EP ''Not the Actual Events'', Vinyl Reissue Series |website=Pitchfork |date=December 16, 2016 |access-date=January 2, 2017}}</ref>}}

In June 2015, an instrumental version of the album was released to [[Apple Music]].<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.spin.com/2015/06/nine-inch-nails-instrumental-the-fragile-apple-music/|title=Nine Inch Nails Release Instrumental Versions of 'The Fragile,' 'With Teeth' on Apple Music|work=Spin|date=June 30, 2015 |access-date=July 6, 2015|last1=Joyce |first1=Colin }}</ref> 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 from ''The Fragile'' ("The March" and "Can I Stay Here?")

In 2017 a reissue of the vinyl version of ''The Fragile'' was released, alongside an expanded, instrumental version, titled ''The Fragile: Deviations 1.'' This version of ''The Fragile'' contains all songs in either instrumental or alternate formats, and combines them with newly released songs written and recorded during the sessions for ''The Fragile''. ''Deviations 1'' consists of a one-off 4×LP pressing.<ref name="deviations">{{cite web|url=https://store.nin.com/collections/music/products/the-fragile-deviations-1-2017|title=THE FRAGILE: DEVIATIONS 1 2017 LIMITED EDITION 4XLP + HI RES DIGITAL - Nine Inch Nails|website=NIN.com|access-date=December 16, 2016|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161220162428/https://store.nin.com/collections/music/products/the-fragile-deviations-1-2017|archive-date=December 20, 2016|df=mdy-all}}</ref>

==Critical reception==
{{Album ratings
| rev1 = [[AllMusic]]
| rev1Score = {{Rating|4.5|5}}<ref name="Erlewine">{{cite web|last=Erlewine|first=Stephen Thomas|author-link=Stephen Thomas Erlewine|url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/the-fragile-mw0000246196|title=The Fragile – Nine Inch Nails|website=[[AllMusic]]|access-date=May 27, 2019}}</ref>
| rev2 = ''[[Christgau's Consumer Guide: Albums of the '90s|Christgau's Consumer Guide]]''
| rev2Score = B<ref name="CG">{{cite book|last=Christgau|first=Robert|author-link=Robert Christgau|year=2000|page=227|title=Christgau's Consumer Guide: Albums of the '90s|publisher=[[Macmillan Publishers]]|isbn=0-312-24560-2|chapter=Nine Inch Nails: The Fragile|chapter-url=http://www.robertchristgau.com/get_album.php?id=2583|access-date=January 13, 2017|title-link=Christgau's Consumer Guide: Albums of the '90s}}</ref>
| rev3 = ''[[Entertainment Weekly]]''
| rev3Score = A−<ref name="Hermes">{{cite magazine|last=Hermes|first=Will|author-link=Will Hermes|url=https://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,270840,00.html|title=The Fragile|magazine=[[Entertainment Weekly]]|location=New York|issue=504|date=September 24, 1999|access-date=January 27, 2013|archive-date=June 25, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130625092355/http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,270840,00.html|url-status=dead}}</ref>
| rev4 = ''[[The Guardian]]''
| rev4Score = {{Rating|4|5}}<ref name="Sweeting">{{cite news|last=Sweeting|first=Adam|title=Nine Inch Nails: The Fragile (Nothing/Island)|newspaper=[[The Guardian]]|location=London|date=October 1, 1999}}</ref>
| rev5 = ''[[Los Angeles Times]]''
| rev5Score = {{Rating|3.5|4}}<ref name="Hilburn">{{cite news|last=Hilburn|first=Robert|author-link=Robert Hilburn|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1999-sep-19-ca-11777-story.html|title=The Haunting, Revisited by Trent Reznor|newspaper=[[Los Angeles Times]]|date=September 19, 1999|access-date=January 27, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160305050929/http://articles.latimes.com/1999/sep/19/entertainment/ca-11777|archive-date=March 5, 2016|url-status=live}}</ref>
| rev6 = ''[[NME]]''
| rev6Score = 5/10<ref name="NME">{{cite magazine|last=Segal|first=Victoria|url=https://www.nme.com:80/reviews/reviews/19991008153401.html|title=Nine Inch Nails – The Fragile|magazine=[[NME]]|location=London|date=October 8, 1999|access-date=January 27, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20000610054017/http://www.nme.com/reviews/reviews/19991008153401.html|archive-date=June 10, 2000|url-status=dead}}</ref>
| rev7 = ''[[Pitchfork (website)|Pitchfork]]''
| rev7Score = <div style="white-space: pre">2.0/10 (1999)<ref name="DiCrescenzo">{{cite web|url=https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/5799-the-fragile/|title=Nine Inch Nails: The Fragile|last=DiCrescenzo|first=Brent|date=September 21, 1999|website=Pitchfork|access-date=January 27, 2013}}</ref>
8.7/10 (2017)<ref name="Collins2">{{cite web|url=https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/22746-the-fragile-2017-definitive-edition-the-fragile-deviations-1/|title=Nine Inch Nails: The Fragile (2017 Definitive Edition)|last=Collins|first=Sean T.|date=January 11, 2017|website=Pitchfork|access-date=July 14, 2023}}</ref></div>
| rev8 = ''[[Rolling Stone]]''
| rev8Score = {{Rating|4|5}}<ref name="Sheffield">{{cite magazine|last=Sheffield|first=Rob|author-link=Rob Sheffield|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/albumreviews/the-fragile-19991014|title=The Fragile|magazine=[[Rolling Stone]]|location=New York|date=October 14, 1999|access-date=January 27, 2013}}</ref>
| rev9 = ''[[Spin (magazine)|Spin]]''
| rev9Score = 9/10<ref name="Powers">{{cite magazine|last=Powers|first=Ann|author-link=Ann Powers|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yjh_OmCmm-0C&pg=PA179|title=Building a Mystery|magazine=[[Spin (magazine)|Spin]]|volume=15|issue=11|location=New York|date=November 1999|pages=179–180|issn=0886-3032|access-date=January 27, 2013}}</ref>
| rev10 = ''[[USA Today]]''
| rev10Score = {{Rating|4|4}}<ref name="Gundersen">{{cite news|last=Gundersen|first=Edna|author-link=Edna Gundersen|url=https://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/USAToday/access/45364271.html?dids=45364271:45364271&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&type=current&date=Sep+21%2C+1999&author=Edna+Gundersen&pub=USA+TODAY&desc='The+Fragile'+is+eerily+glorious&pqatl=google|title='The Fragile' is eerily glorious|newspaper=[[USA Today]]|location=McLean|page=2.D|date=September 21, 1999|access-date=January 27, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160105065559/http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/USAToday/doc/408817175.html?FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&type=current&date=Sep%2021,%201999&author=Edna%20Gundersen&pub=USA%20TODAY&edition=&startpage=&desc=%27The%20Fragile%27%20is%20eerily%20glorious|archive-date=January 5, 2016|url-status=dead}}</ref>
}}
''The Fragile'' received generally positive reviews from contemporary critics.<ref>{{cite news|last=Morse|first=Steve|date=April 30, 2000|url=https://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/boston/access/53334108.html?FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&type=current&date=Apr+30%2C+2000&author=Steve+Morse%2C+Globe+Staff&pub=Boston+Globe&desc=TRENT+REZNOR+HAMMERS+OUT+HIS+OWN+TURF&pqatl=google|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130216175241/http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/boston/access/53334108.html?FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&type=current&date=Apr+30,+2000&author=Steve+Morse,+Globe+Staff&pub=Boston+Globe&desc=TRENT+REZNOR+HAMMERS+OUT+HIS+OWN+TURF&pqatl=google|url-status=dead|archive-date=February 16, 2013|title=Trent Reznor Hammers Out His Own Turf|newspaper=[[The Boston Globe]]|at=Arts section, p. K.4|access-date=January 27, 2013|quote=Critics have generally embraced The Fragile}}</ref> ''[[Mojo (magazine)|Mojo]]'' called it "an impressively multi-textured, satisfyingly violent sonic workout",<ref>{{cite magazine|title=Nine Inch Nails: The Fragile|magazine=[[Mojo (magazine)|Mojo]]|location=London|issue=73|date=December 1999|page=110}}</ref> and ''[[Alternative Press (music magazine)|Alternative Press]]'' found it "nothing short of astounding".<ref name="AP">{{cite magazine|title=Nine Inch Nails: The Fragile|magazine=[[Alternative Press (music magazine)|Alternative Press]]|location=Cleveland|issue=136|date=November 1999|pages=118–9}}</ref> [[Edna Gundersen]] of ''[[USA Today]]'' called 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."<ref name="Gundersen"/> [[Ann Powers]] of ''[[Spin (magazine)|Spin]]'' called the album "a good old-fashioned strap-on-your-headphones experience".<ref name="Powers"/> [[Jon Pareles]] of ''[[The New York Times]]'' wrote 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."<ref name="Pareles">{{cite news|last=Pareles|first=Jon|author-link=Jon Pareles|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1999/09/19/arts/music-a-rocker-practicing-the-power-of-negative-thinking.html?pagewanted=all|title=A Rocker Practicing the Power of Negative Thinking'|newspaper=[[The New York Times]]|date=September 19, 1999|access-date=August 29, 2009}}</ref> [[Will Hermes]] of ''[[Entertainment Weekly]]'' viewed that, even "if [Reznor's] emotional palette is limited, it remains broader than any of his metalhead peers", and that, "right now, [[hard rock]] simply doesn't get any smarter, harder, or more ambitious than this."<ref name="Hermes"/> [[Robert Hilburn]] of the ''[[Los Angeles Times]]'' wrote that, despite its length, "this is a profoundly challenging and moving work that strikes at the hollowness of most contemporary [[pop-rock]] with bullwhip force."<ref name="Hilburn"/> ''[[The Guardian]]''{{'}}s Adam Sweeting praised it as "a fearsomely accomplished mix of monster riffing, brooding melodies and patches of minimalist soul-searching".<ref name="Sweeting"/> ''[[Rolling Stone]]'' writer 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 digital [[Via Dolorosa|via dolorosa]]."<ref name="Sheffield"/>

In a negative review, ''[[Pitchfork (website)|Pitchfork]]''{{'}}s Brent DiCrescenzo panned the album's lyrics as "overly melodramatic".<ref name="DiCrescenzo"/> John Aizlewood of ''[[Q (magazine)|Q]]'' felt that it is "let down by Reznor's refusal to trouble himself with melody and by some embarrassing lyrics".<ref name="Qmag">{{cite magazine|last=Aizlewood|first=John|title=Nine Inch Nails: The Fragile|magazine=[[Q (magazine)|Q]]|location=London|issue=159|page=142|date=December 1999}}</ref> ''[[NME]]''{{'}}s Victoria Segal panned its music as "[[background music|background]]" and accused it of "chas[ing] '[[crossover (music)|crossover]]'", with "grey rock sleet masquerading as a storm beneath a haze of 'experimental' textures."<ref name="NME"/> Scott Seward of ''[[The Village Voice]]'' facetiously commended Reznor for "once again ... pioneering the marriage of heavy guitars, moody atmospherics, electronic drones and beats, and aggressive singing. Just like [[Killing Joke]] 20 years ago."<ref name="Seward">Seward, Scott. [http://www.villagevoice.com/1999-10-12/music/expose-yourself/ Review: ''The Fragile''] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090820083018/http://www.villagevoice.com/1999-10-12/music/expose-yourself/ |date=August 20, 2009 }}. ''The Village Voice''. Retrieved on August 29, 2009.</ref> ''Village Voice'' critic [[Robert Christgau]] was even less receptive: "After six fucking years, genius-by-acclamation Trent Reznor delivers double-[[wikt:hoo-ha#English|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.'"<ref name="CG"/>

''The Fragile'' was included on several magazines' "end-of-year" album lists, including ''[[The Village Voice]]'' (number 14), ''[[Rolling Stone]]'' (number four), and ''[[Spin (magazine)|Spin]]'' (number one).{{CN|date=December 2023}} 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 Fragile'' sounds fantastic from start to finish, but there aren't enough memorable tunes underneath the alluring surfaces."<ref name="RSguide">{{cite magazine|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/artists/nine-inch-nails/albumguide|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110118052138/http://www.rollingstone.com/music/artists/nine-inch-nails/albumguide|url-status=dead|archive-date=January 18, 2011|title=Nine Inch Nails: Album Guide|magazine=Rolling Stone|access-date=January 27, 2013}}</ref> [[AllMusic]] editor [[Stephen Thomas Erlewine]] offered 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 Fragile'' winds up being vaguely unsatisfying."<ref name="Erlewine"/> In 2005, ''The Fragile'' was ranked number 341 in ''[[Rock Hard (magazine)|Rock Hard]]'' magazine's book ''The 500 Greatest Rock & Metal Albums of All Time''.<ref>{{cite book|title=Best of Rock & Metal - Die 500 stärksten Scheiben aller Zeiten|year=2005|publisher=[[Rock Hard (magazine)|Rock Hard]]|language=de|isbn=3-89880-517-4|page=73}}</ref> In 2016, ''[[Exclaim!]]'' listed ''The Fragile'' at 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."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://exclaim.ca/music/article/an_essential_guide_to_nine_inch_nails|title=An Essential Guide to Nine Inch Nails|website=exclaim.ca|access-date=June 29, 2017}}</ref> ''Pitchfork'' would 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 Fragile'' scrapes the sky like never before."<ref name="Collins">{{cite web|last=DiCrescenzo|first=Brent|url=https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/5799-the-fragile/|title=Nine Inch Nails: The Fragile|work=[[Pitchfork (website)|Pitchfork]]|location=Chicago|date=September 21, 1999|access-date=June 2, 2022}}</ref>

In ''[[Metal Hammer]]'', it was named one of the 10 best [[industrial metal]] albums as well as one of the 20 best metal albums of 1999.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.loudersound.com/features/ten-best-industrial-metal-nin-ministry-rammstein|title=The 10 Best Industrial Metal Albums|date=July 18, 2016 }}</ref><ref name="MHtop2099">{{cite web |title=The Top 20 best metal albums of 1999 |url=https://www.loudersound.com/features/the-top-20-best-metal-albums-of-1999/2 |website=[[Metal Hammer]]  |access-date=6 March 2021 |date=21 January 2021}}</ref>

==Commercial performance==
''The Fragile'' debuted atop the [[Billboard 200|''Billboard'' 200]] with first-week sales of 229,000 copies, earning the band their first number-one album on the chart.<ref name="Sparkle">{{cite magazine |last=Whitmire |first=Margo |url=https://www.billboard.com/articles/news/62958/nins-teeth-sparkle-at-no-1 |title=NIN's 'Teeth' Sparkle At No. 1 |magazine=[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]] |date=May 11, 2005 |access-date=January 2, 2017}}</ref> The album fell to number 16 the following week, becoming the [[Billboard 200#Largest drops from No. 1|largest drop from number one]] at the time.<ref>{{cite magazine |last=Bronson |first=Fred |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dQgEAAAAMBAJ&q=nine+inch+nails+fragile&pg=PA102 |title=Backstreet Vs. 'N Sync: Who'll Be No. 1 |magazine=Billboard |volume=111 |issue=42 |date=October 16, 1999 |page=102 |issn=0006-2510 |access-date=January 2, 2017}}</ref> On January 4, 2000, the album was certified double platinum by the [[Recording Industry Association of America]] (RIAA),<ref name="RIAA"/> and by May 2005, it had sold 898,000 copies in the United States.<ref name="Sparkle"/>

Steven Hyden of ''[[The A.V. Club]]'' writes that Reznor developed Nine Inch Nails from its role as a prominent rock act and by the time he finished recording ''The 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."<ref>{{cite news|last=Hyden|first=Steven|date=July 10, 2012|url=https://www.avclub.com/trent-reznor-made-alt-rock-s-last-stand-with-the-fragil-1798232159|title=Trent Reznor made alt-rock's last stand with The Fragile|newspaper=[[The A.V. Club]]|location=Chicago|access-date=January 28, 2013}}</ref>

==Track listing==
===CD===
{{Track listing
| headline = Left disc
| all_writing = [[Trent Reznor]], except where noted

| title1 = Somewhat Damaged
| writer1 = {{hlist|Reznor|Danny Lohner}}
| length1 = 4:31

| title2 = [[The Day the World Went Away]]
| length2 = 4:33

| title3 = The Frail
| length3 = 1:54

| title4 = The Wretched
| length4 = 5:25

| title5 = [[We're in This Together (Nine Inch Nails song)|We're in This Together]]
| length5 = 7:16

| title6 = The Fragile
| length6 = 4:35

| title7 = [[Just Like You Imagined]]
| length7 = 3:49

| title8 = Even Deeper
| writer8 = {{hlist|Reznor|Lohner}}
| length8 = 5:47

| title9 = Pilgrimage
| length9 = 3:31

| title10 = No, You Don't
| length10 = 3:35

| title11 = La Mer
| length11 = 4:37

| title12 = The Great Below
| length12 = 5:17

| total_length = 54:51
}}

{{Track listing
| headline = Right disc
| title1 = The Way Out Is Through
| writer1 = {{hlist|Reznor|Keith Hillebrandt|Charlie Clouser}}
| length1 = 4:17
| title2 = [[Into the Void (Nine Inch Nails song)|Into the Void]]
| length2 = 4:49
| title3 = Where Is Everybody?
| length3 = 5:40
| title4 = The Mark Has Been Made
| note4 = includes a hidden intro to "10 Miles High"
| length4 = 5:15
| title5 = Please
| length5 = 3:31
| title6 = [[Starfuckers, Inc.]]
| writer6 = {{hlist|Reznor|Clouser}}
| length6 = 5:00
| title7 = Complication
| length7 = 2:31
| title8 = I'm Looking Forward to Joining You, Finally
| length8 = 4:14
| title9 = The Big Come Down
| length9 = 4:12
| title10 = Underneath It All
| length10 = 2:46
| title11 = Ripe (With Decay)
| length11 = 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".

{{Track listing
| headline = Side 1.A

| title1 = Somewhat Damaged
| writer1 = {{hlist|Reznor|Lohner}}
| length1 = 4:31

| title2 = The Day the World Went Away
| length2 = 4:33

| title3 = The Frail
| length3 = 1:54

| title4 = The Wretched
| length4 = 5:25

| title5 = We're in This Together
| length5 = 7:16

| title6 = The Fragile
| length6 = 4:35

| title7 = Just Like You Imagined
| length7 = 3:49

| total_length = 32:03
}}

{{Track listing
| headline = Side 1.B

| title1 = Even Deeper
| writer1 = {{hlist|Reznor|Lohner}}
| length1 = 5:48

| title2 = Pilgrimage
| length2 = 3:31

| title3 = No, You Don't
| length3 = 3:35

| title4 = La Mer
| length4 = 4:37

| title5 = The Great Below
| length5 = 5:17

| total_length = 22:48
}}

{{Track listing
| headline = Side 2.A

| title1 = The Way Out Is Through
| writer1 = {{hlist|Reznor|Hillebrandt|Clouser}}
| length1 = 4:17

| title2 = Into the Void
| length2 = 4:49

| title3 = Where Is Everybody?
| length3 = 5:40

| title4 = The Mark Has Been Made
| note4 = includes a hidden intro to "10 Miles High"
| length4 = 5:15

| title5 = Please (+Appendage)
| length5 = 6:19

| total_length = 26:20
}}

{{Track listing
| headline = Side 2.B
| title1 = Starfuckers, Inc.
| writer1 = {{hlist|Reznor|Clouser}}
| length1 = 5:00
| title2 = Complication
| length2 = 2:30
| title3 = I'm Looking Forward to Joining You, Finally
| length3 = 4:13
| title4 = The Big Come Down
| length4 = 4:12
| title5 = Underneath It All
| length5 = 2:46
| title6 = Ripe (With Decay)
| length6 = 6:34
| total_length = 25:15  1:46:26
}}

===Vinyl / 2017 Definitive Edition===
This release of ''The Fragile'' contains 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.

{{Track listing
| headline = Disc one, side A

| title1 = Somewhat Damaged
| writer1 = {{hlist|Reznor|Lohner}}
| length1 = 4:31

| title2 = The Day the World Went Away
| length2 = 5:01

| title3 = The Frail
| length3 = 1:54

| title4 = The Wretched
| length4 = 5:36

| total_length = 17:02
}}

{{Track listing
| headline = Disc one, side B

| title1 = We're in This Together
| length1 = 7:16

| title2 = The Fragile
| length2 = 4:35

| title3 = Just Like You Imagined
| length3 = 3:49

| title4 = Even Deeper
| writer4 = {{hlist|Reznor|Lohner}}
| length4 = 6:14

| total_length = 21:54
}}

{{Track listing
| headline = Disc two, side A

| title1 = Pilgrimage
| length1 = 3:31

| title2 = No, You Don't
| length2 = 3:35

| title3 = La Mer
| length3 = 5:02

| title4 = The Great Below
| length4 = 5:17

| total_length = 17:25
}}

{{Track listing
| headline = Disc two, side B

| title1 = The Way Out Is Through
| writer1 = {{hlist|Reznor|Hillebrandt|Clouser}}
| length1 = 4:17

| title2 = Into the Void
| length2 = 4:49

| title3 = Where Is Everybody?
| length3 = 5:40

| title4 = The Mark Has Been Made
| length4 = 4:43

| total_length = 19:29
}}

{{Track listing
| headline = Disc three, side A

| title1 = 10 Miles High
| length1 = 5:13

| title2 = Please
| length2 = 3:30

| title3 = Starfuckers, Inc.
| writer3 = {{hlist|Reznor|Clouser}}
| length3 = 5:00

| title4 = Complication
| length4 = 2:30

| title5 = The New Flesh
| length5 = 3:40

| total_length = 19:53
}}

{{Track listing
| headline = Disc three, side B
| title1 = I'm Looking Forward to Joining You, Finally
| length1 = 4:13
| title2 = The Big Come Down
| length2 = 4:12
| title3 = Underneath It All
| length3 = 2:46
| title4 = Ripe
| length4 = 5:15
| total_length = 16:26  1:52:09
}}

==''The Fragile: Deviations 1''==
{{Infobox album
| name       = The Fragile: Deviations 1
| type       = compilation
| artist     = [[Nine Inch Nails]]
| cover      = The_Fragile_-_Deviations_1_(2016).jpg
| border     = yes
| alt        =
| released   = {{Start date|2016|12|23}}
| recorded   = 
| studio     = [[Nothing Studios|Nothing]], New Orleans
| genre      = {{hlist|[[Alternative rock]]|[[art rock]]|[[ambient music|ambient]]|[[instrumental rock]]}}
| length     = 155:46
| label      = The Null Corporation
| producer   = {{hlist|[[Trent Reznor]]|[[Alan Moulder]]|[[Atticus Ross]]}}
| prev_title = [[Not the Actual Events]]
| prev_year  = 2016
| next_title = [[Add Violence]]
| next_year  = 2017
| misc       = {{Extra chronology
 | artist     = [[Nine Inch Nails discography#Chronology|Halo numbers]]
 | type       = compilation
 | prev_title = "[[Not the Actual Events|Halo 29]]"
 | prev_year  = 2016
 | title      = "Halo 30"
 | year       = 2016
 | next_title = "[[Add Violence|Halo 31]]"
 | next_year  = 2017
}}
}}
{{Album ratings
| rev1 = [[AllMusic]]
| rev1score = {{rating|3.5|5}}<ref name="allmusicdev1">{{cite web|last1=Yeung|first1=Neil|title=The Fragile: Deviations 1, Nine Inch Nails|url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/the-fragile-deviations-1-mw0003023769|website=allmusic.com|publisher=[[AllMusic]]|access-date=November 24, 2017}}</ref>
| rev2 = ''[[Pitchfork (website)|Pitchfork]]''
| rev2Score = 6.6/10<ref name="pfdev">{{cite web|url=https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/22746-the-fragile-2017-definitive-edition-the-fragile-deviations-1/|title=Nine Inch Nails: The Fragile (2017 Definitive Edition) / The Fragile: Deviations 1 Album Review - Pitchfork|website=pitchfork.com|date=January 11, 2017 |access-date=June 29, 2017}}</ref>
| noprose = yes
}}

''The Fragile: Deviations 1'' is an alternate version of ''The Fragile'' that 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 for ''The Fragile''. ''Deviations 1'' consists of a one-off, limited edition four-LP pressing that was not made available on CD.<ref name="deviations" />

===Critical reception===
Neil Z. Yeung of [[AllMusic]] recommended that fans listen to and understand the original album first before delving into ''Deviations 1''.<ref name="allmusicdev1" /> 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."<ref name="allmusicdev1" /> Writing for ''[[Pitchfork (website)|Pitchfork]]'', Sean T. Collins found ''Deviations 1'' interesting but simultaneously perplexing, saying "Far too many of ''Deviations''' 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."<ref name="pfdev" />

===Track listing===
{{Track listing
| headline = Disc one, side A
| title1 = Somewhat Damaged
| note1 = instrumental
| length1 = 4:53
| title2 = [[The Day the World Went Away]]
| note2 = instrumental
| length2 = 5:29
| title3 = The Frail
| note3 = alternate version
| length3 = 1:46
| title4 = The Wretched
| note4 = instrumental
| length4 = 6:00
| total_length = 18:08
}}

{{Track listing
| headline = Disc one, side B
| title1 = Missing Places
| length1 = 1:26
| title2 = [[We're in This Together (Nine Inch Nails song)|We're in This Together]]
| note2 = instrumental
| length2 = 6:50
| title3 = The Fragile
| note3 = instrumental
| length3 = 4:48
| title4 = [[Just Like You Imagined]]
| note4 = alternate version
| length4 = 3:46
| title5 = The March
| note5 = instrumental
| length5 = 3:42
| total_length = 20:32
}}

{{Track listing
| headline = Disc two, side A
| title1 = Even Deeper
| note1 = instrumental
| length1 = 6:19
| title2 = Pilgrimage
| note2 = alternate version
| length2 = 3:04
| title3 = One Way to Get There
| length3 = 2:44
| title4 = No, You Don't
| note4 = instrumental
| length4 = 3:16
| title5 = Taken
| length5 = 3:35
| total_length = 18:58
}}

{{Track listing
| headline = Disc two, side B
| title1 = La Mer
| note1 = alternate version
| length1 = 4:54
| title2 = The Great Below
| note2 = instrumental
| length2 = 5:25
| title3 = Not What It Seems Like
| note3 = instrumental
| length3 = 3:30
| title4 = White Mask
| length4 = 3:22
| title5 = The New Flesh
| note5 = instrumental
| length5 = 3:40
| total_length = 20:51
}}

{{Track listing
| headline = Disc three, side A
| title1 = The Way Out Is Through
| note1 = alternate version
| length1 = 4:26
| title2 = [[Into the Void (Nine Inch Nails song)|Into the Void]]
| note2 = instrumental
| length2 = 4:44
| title3 = Where Is Everybody?
| note3 = instrumental
| length3 = 4:55
| title4 = The Mark Has Been Made
| note4 = alternate version
| length4 = 4:44
| total_length = 18:49 
}}

{{Track listing
| headline = Disc three, side B
| title1 = Was It Worth It?
| note1 = instrumental
| length1 = 5:03
| title2 = Please
| note2 = instrumental
| length2 = 3:30
| title3 = +Appendage
| note3 = instrumental
| length3 = 3:19
| title4 = Can I Stay Here?
| note4 = instrumental
| length4 = 4:25
| title5 = 10 Miles High
| note5 = instrumental
| length5 = 5:16
| total_length = 21:33
}}

{{Track listing
| headline = Disc four, side A
| title1 = Feeders
| length1 = 2:02
| title2 = [[Starfuckers, Inc.]]
| note2 = instrumental
| length2 = 5:33
| title3 = Complication
| note3 = alternate version
| length3 = 2:55
| title4 = Claustrophobia Machine (Raw)
| length4 = 2:39
| title5 = Last Heard From
| length5 = 2:06
| total_length = 15:15
}}

{{Track listing
| headline = Disc four, side B
| title1 = I'm Looking Forward to Joining You, Finally
| note1 = instrumental
| length1 = 4:17
| title2 = The Big Come Down
| note2 = instrumental
| length2 = 4:05
| title3 = Underneath It All
| note3 = instrumental
| length3 = 3:21
| title4 = Ripe (With Decay)
| note4 = instrumental
| length4 = 7:35
| total_length  = 19:18 <br/> 2:35:46
}}

==Personnel==
Credits adapted from [[AllMusic]],<ref name="allcredits">{{cite web|url={{AllMusic|class=album|id=the-fragile-mw0000246196/credits|pure_url=yes}} |title=The Fragile - Nine Inch Nails {{!}} Credits |work=[[AllMusic]] |publisher=[[All Media Network]] |access-date=November 29, 2018}}</ref> and ''The Fragile'' [[liner notes]].<ref name="credits">Track listing and credits as per liner notes for ''The Fragile'' album</ref>

===Musicians===
* [[Trent Reznor]] – vocals, all musical performance except as noted, [[Programming (music)|programming]] and [[Record producer|production]]
* [[Adrian Belew]] – guitars on "Just Like You Imagined", "The Great Below" and "Where Is Everybody?"
* [[Charlie Clouser]] – programming, additional [[sound design]]; atmospheres on "The Great Below" and [[drum programming]] on "Into the Void", [[sound design]] on “Starfuckers Inc.”
* [[Jerome Dillon]] – chorus [[Drum kit|drums]] on "We're in This Together"
* [[Steve Duda]] – marching [[Percussion instrument|percussion]], programming and production on "Pilgrimage"; chorus on "Starfuckers, Inc."; [[violin]] on "Ripe (With Decay)"; additional sound design
* [[Mike Garson]] – [[piano]] on "Just Like You Imagined", "The Way Out Is Through" and "Ripe (With Decay)"
* Keith Hillebrandt – programming and additional production on "The Way Out Is Through"; chorus on "Starfuckers, Inc."; additional sound design
* Cherry Holly – [[trumpet]] on "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 – [[cello]] on "La Mer"

===Production and technical personnel===
* [[Steve Albini]] – [[Audio engineer|engineering]] and supplemental drum recording
* Tom Baker – [[Audio mastering|mastering]]
* Clinton Bradley – programming; technical assistant to Bob Ezrin
* Paul Bradley – programming
* [[David Carson (graphic designer)|David Carson]] – [[Art director|art direction]], design and [[photography]]
* Paul DeCarli – programming
* [[Dr. Dre]] – additional production and mixing assistance on "Even Deeper"
* [[Bob Ezrin]] – additional production (album sequencing)
* [[Ken Friedman]] – additional sound design
* Leo Herrera – additional engineering
* [[Alan Moulder]] – production, engineering and [[Audio mixing (recorded music)|mixing]]
* [[Dave Ogilvie]] – additional engineering
* Brian Pollack – engineering

===Choirs===
{{div col|colwidth=35em}}
* Buddha Debutante Choir {{small|(track 2)}}:
** Heather Bennett
** Melissa Daigle
** Judy Miller
** Christine Parrish
** M. Gabriela Rivas
** Martha Wood
** Fae Young
* Choir {{small|(track 8)}}:
** Di Coleman
** Tracy Hardin
** Gary L. Neal
** Traci Nelson
** Elquine L. Rice
** Terry L. Rice
** Rodney Sulton
** Stefani Taylor
** Barbara Wilson
** [[New Birth (band)|Leslie Wilson]]
* Buddha Boys Choir {{small|(tracks 9 and 18)}}:
** Eric Edmonson
** Doug Idleman
** Marcus London
** [[Clint Mansell]]
** Adam Persaud
** Nick Scott
** Nigel Wiesehan
{{div col end}}

==Charts==
{{col-begin}}
{{col-2}}

===Weekly charts===
{| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"
|-
! scope="col"| Chart (1999)
! scope="col"| Peak<br>position
|-
{{album chart|Australia|2|artist=Nine Inch Nails|album=The Fragile|rowheader=true|access-date=January 2, 2017}}
|-
{{album chart|Austria|14|artist=Nine Inch Nails|album=The Fragile|rowheader=true|access-date=January 2, 2017}}
|-
{{album chart|Flanders|36|artist=Nine Inch Nails|album=The Fragile|rowheader=true|access-date=January 2, 2017}}
|-
{{album chart|BillboardCanada|2|artist=Nine Inch Nails|rowheader=true|access-date=January 2, 2017}}
|-
! scope="row"| [[European Top 100 Albums|European Albums]] (''[[Music & Media]]'')<ref>{{cite magazine |url=https://worldradiohistory.com/UK/Music-and-Media/90s/1999/MM-1999-10-16.pdf |title=European Top 100 Albums |magazine=[[Music & Media]] |volume=16 |issue=42 |date=October 16, 1999 |page=12<!-- 10 in PDF file --> |oclc=29800226 |access-date=June 3, 2020 |via=American Radio History}}</ref>
| 17
|-
{{album chart|Finland|10|artist=Nine Inch Nails|album=The Fragile|rowheader=true|access-date=January 2, 2017}}
|-
{{album chart|France|27|artist=Nine Inch Nails|album=The Fragile|rowheader=true|access-date=January 2, 2017}}
|-
{{album chart|Germany4|17|id=8788|artist=Nine Inch Nails|album=The Fragile|rowheader=true|access-date=January 2, 2017}}
|-
! scope="row"| Japanese Albums ([[Oricon Albums Chart|Oricon]])<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.oricon.co.jp/prof/artist/118277/ranking/cd_album/ |script-title=ja:ナイン・インチ・ネイルズのCDアルバムランキング |trans-title=Nine Inch Nails CD album ranking |language=ja |publisher=[[Oricon]] |access-date=January 2, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131011201816/http://www.oricon.co.jp/prof/artist/118277/ranking/cd_album/ |archive-date=October 11, 2013}}</ref>
| 15
|-
{{album chart|New Zealand|28|artist=Nine Inch Nails|album=The Fragile|rowheader=true|access-date=January 2, 2017}}
|-
{{album chart|Norway|9|artist=Nine Inch Nails|album=The Fragile|rowheader=true|access-date=January 2, 2017}}
|-
{{album chart|Scotland|19|date=19991003|rowheader=true|access-date=January 2, 2017}}
|-
{{album chart|Sweden|18|artist=Nine Inch Nails|album=The Fragile|rowheader=true|access-date=January 2, 2017}}
|-
{{album chart|UK2|10|date=19991003|rowheader=true|access-date=June 2, 2020}}
|-
{{album chart|Billboard200|1|artist=Nine Inch Nails|rowheader=true|access-date=January 2, 2017}}
|}
{{col-2}}

===Year-end charts===
{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"
|-
! scope="col"| Chart (1999)
! scope="col"| Position
|-
! scope="row"| US ''Billboard'' 200<ref>{{cite magazine |url=https://www.billboard.com/charts/year-end/1999/the-billboard-200 |title=Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 1999 |magazine=Billboard |access-date=January 2, 2017}}</ref>
| 164
|}
{{col-end}}

==Certifications==
{{Certification Table Top}}
{{Certification Table Entry|region=Canada|artist=Nine Inch Nails|title=The Fragile|award=Platinum|number=2|type=album|relyear=1999|date=January 19, 2000|access-date=January 2, 2017}}
{{Certification Table Entry|region=United Kingdom|artist=Nine Inch Nails|title=The Fragile|award=Silver|type=album|id=10352-2237-2|relyear=1999|date=July 22, 2013|access-date=January 2, 2017}}
{{Certification Table Entry|region=United States|artist=Nine Inch Nails|title=The Fragile|award=Platinum|number=2|type=album|relyear=1999|date=January 4, 2000|access-date=January 2, 2017|salesamount=1,000,000<sup>{{double dagger}}</sup> |salesref=<ref name="Sparkle"/>|refname="RIAA"}}
{{Certification Table Bottom|nosales=yes}}

==See also==
* [[List of Billboard 200 number-one albums of 1999]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20091130231358/http://www.avclub.com/articles/nine-inch-nails-the-fragile,21156/ Album review] at ''[[The A.V. Club]]''
* [https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/WPcap/1999-09/29/038r-092999-idx.html Album review] at ''[[The Washington Post]]''
* [http://www.stylusmagazine.com/articles/playing_god/nine-inch-nails-the-fragile.htm Playing God: ''The Fragile''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100205055130/http://stylusmagazine.com/articles/playing_god/nine-inch-nails-the-fragile.htm |date=February 5, 2010 }} at [[Stylus Magazine]]

{{Nine Inch Nails}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fragile, The}}
[[Category:1999 albums]]
[[Category:Albums produced by Alan Moulder]]
[[Category:Albums produced by Trent Reznor]]
[[Category:Art rock albums by American artists]]
[[Category:1990s concept albums]]
[[Category:Interscope Geffen A&M Records albums]]
[[Category:Interscope Records albums]]
[[Category:Nine Inch Nails albums]]
[[Category:Nothing Records albums]]