1984 (Rick Wakeman album) After leaving Yes in early 1980, Wakeman resumed his solo career and reformed his band, the English Rock Ensemble, and completed a European tour. For his next project, Wakeman secured a recording deal with Charisma Records which granted him an advance and without a deadline to complete an album. Wakeman estimated the album took around two-and-a-half years to produce from conception to completion. It stemmed from his longtime wish of working with other musicians, blend electronic keyboards with an orchestra and choir, and to write an album based on the future rather than historical concepts. He chose to make a
The Fragile (Nine Inch Nails album) 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." "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." "The Fragile" debuted atop the "Billboard" 200 with 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