Originally Posted by
frankieteardrop
long story short, it was considered a disappointment after the downward spiral. there was so much hype around the fragile--- tons of press, a well received VMA performance, ads everywhere, and when it dropped, it came off as dense and uniniviting. not enough hit potential, dissonant, sprawling, a lot of music over lyrics, etc. while it's my favorite release by far, i completely understand why some of the kids who loved the fast & dirty crunch of downward spiral and expected more naughty commercial singles couldn't hang with that sort of opus. it's many hardcore fan's favorite release, but a disappointment to the general public, and quickly slipped down the charts.
speaking of, i found a second copy of the vinyl on a wall in NYC for a mere $100. liberated it for a friend who stupidly sold his for $15 to a second hand shop many moons ago. i almost feel as if he doesn't deserve a second chance. still have mine, got it for $17.99 at hot topic :P.