2023-01-20: Some Albums Are Simply Not Suited For Vinyl
And that's perfectly okay.
After a lot of consideration, I've come to realise that The Fragile doesn't really work that well on vinyl. While there is definitely something to be said for the value of the "intermission" provided by flipping or changing a record, The Fragile is spread across six(!) sides. That's a flip, a disc change, a flip, a disc change, and another flip. Combine that with the compressed dynamic range of vinyl applied to such a high dynamic range piece of music, and you've got a deeply imperfect listening experience.
The fact of the matter is, The Fragile was composed and sequenced to fit onto two compact discs. There is one intermission, between "The Great Below" and "The Way Out Is Through." This is great. It neatly divides the album into two sonically distinct halves, and gives you a moment to breathe and consider what you've just heard between them. And it works beautifully.
Speaking of digital audio, though, the digital version of The Fragile's 2017 remaster is astounding. It's perfect in every way. It's the best thing that I've ever heard. Not only does it sound leagues better than both the original CD and the remastered vinyl, not only does it give you the option to preserve the original pacing, but it gives you the option to control it if you so wish. I personally do my best to stick to artistic intent, but the ability to tune one's experience to their liking can't be overlooked. Maybe you get more out of it by listening to it all at once. Your call!
Anyways, uh... listen to The Fragile. It's really good. I think it's the best album ever.