Rick Wakeman Wakeman later called it "dreadful" as contractual disputes between Atlantic Records, who had signed Yes, and A&M prevented him from writing his own composition. Wakeman claimed his contributions to the group written tracks were not credited, that management had agreed to "sort something out on the publishing side" but never took care of it. Wakeman "enjoyed the music too much" to cause a rift about the issue, but said it amounts to "a fair bit of money." "Fragile" reached the top ten in the UK and the US; the Fragile Tour marked Wakeman's first visit to North America. Its commercial
Journey to the Centre of the Earth (album) lasted 55 minutes but it was reduced to 40 so it could fit the time constraints of an LP. Malone called the project a challenge and "completely different" to what he had been involved with previously. A&M Records had wanted Wakeman to select a group of known musicians to play in his rock band, but he opposed to the idea as he intended for the public to like the album for its music rather than the performers. Wakeman chose a group that he used to play with at the Valiant Trooper, a pub in Holmer Green in Buckinghamshire. "I'd played