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70's progressive rock made Hands down the most creative music era. I highly suggest a band Called "Harmonium" any song from " L'heptade" or "La cinquieme saison", the fifth season, will blow your mind.
FWIW you're right. We had time to jam and hang with each other.. and jam again. Music was just more organic back then IMO. No computers, no click track, no digital editing.. you played it over and over until you played it well :)
14:43 Oh, man... *you clipped the ending of the song!!!* Just two more seconds. You've got to let it reverberate. Those boys worked so hard on that song, you must not abort the echo of their instruments...
Can't express enough how cool it is to watch people's reaction to this song. You're not even halfway through and calling it a masterpiece, with no clue of what else remains to be unveiled. Such a great band.
@@amjrpain919 A lot of these live performances are available online. In fact, ARW's Live at the Apollo is on here somewhere, and ARW is Anderson, Rabin and Wakeman, ; they were, in essence, Yes. Really well-documented and produced. You'd like it.
We had no idea at the time just how spoiled we were. The progression of music I lived through will never be duplicated. Beatles, Stones, The Who, The Animals, Cream, Led Zep, Pink Floyd, Yes, Doobie Brothers, Black Sabbath, CSNY, and hundreds more. We didn’t realize that music at that level wouldn’t last forever. I don’t want to downplay today’s music, but it just doesn’t compare to the explosion of creativity we saw through the 60s and 70s.
Don't apologize for wanting to hear Chris Squire's epic bass line several times. It's the right thing to do. Yes is a blend of 5 virtuosos, and this is an absolute masterpiece.
YES did ALL their tunes to perfection live. I began to expect it when I saw them live in Boston a number of times in the early '70s. Simply immaculate... with a complementary light show to boot! W O W ! ! !
1968 to1978 has to be the most amazing ten years of musical creativity ever. I was born in 1958 and spent my formative years immersed in this stuff. I honestly don’t think any other ten year span can come close.
58 here’s too! I am so lucky to have grown up in this time when musicians relied on nothing else but talent. No studio magic. Songs that told stories, songs that had so much power! I doubt we will ever see this again. Only now are they being recognized for their talent.
Me too 1958, so happy to have only listened to Yes, Led Zep, ELP, Deep Purple, Pink Floyd, Genesis, King Crimson, Caravan, The Strawbs, Camel and more, in my teens.....never bothered with Chart music...
63 here! My father grew up on Motown, My mother met Elvis when he first started. My brother introduced me to all of the Rock he could! There are too many bands and artists to list them All! However I feel so gifted to have grown up when we did! It was the most amazing time!
58 also! There’s a pretty good documentary on Apple TV I think called , 1971 The Year Music Changed Everything. It’s mind blowing the vast turn music took in those 2 decades ( 60’s and 70’s ) compared to the 2 previous decades of the 40’s and 50’s. Crazy.
Little yes story.. Me and my buddies are working the Gorge in WA state where we work concerts security ... making hamburgers, moving stuff setting up etc. We work this show with YES which I'd heard of but never really listened to them. They did a 3-4 hour show that BLEW OUR MINDS!.. Even us jaded workers were like holy shit this is amazing so after a long night we're cleaning up and tired as shit after a huge concert and the YES guys invite all the workers back stage and let us grub up all the rockstar food they had .. like shrimps the size of your arm. And they were hanging out with us.. the drummer (now dead I think sadly) was super cool. They were like you all worked so hard and we can't eat all this stuff .. go for it. And we did feast, We worked maybe 50 bands and they were the only ones who did this for the workers .. it was amazing. Cheers to them and that show was .. it's hard to describe.. fucking kick ass! thanks YES!
He is. The drummer referred to here is probably Alan White, who died in 2022. I can't think of another drummer with a higher talent to fame ratio. He should be a household word alongside greats like Bruford, Palmer, and Peart. Instead he remained obscure, seemingly by choice. My favorite illustration of White's genius is that he was brought in on one week's notice to replace Bruford on the "Close to the Edge" tour when Bruford suddenly moved to King Crimson. Bruford has one of the most technically complex styles in prog/jazz drumming, and White was able to pick it up perfectly in a week and save the tour. You can hear the results on the live album "Yessongs". In my view, this is nothing short of a miracle. White deserves vastly more credit than he ever received. Listen to the instrumental intro to "On the Silent Wings of Freedom" on the _Tormato_ album. It will change your understanding of what drumming can be.
@@isomeme Likely .. likesay I had no experience with this band besides working the show and they were by far the coolest of all the performers worked with.
I have to admit, it's fun to watch someone listen to this track for the first time. I've probably heard this over 10,000 times including live in concert, but your reaction made it seem fresh and new. Props and thanks.
There is NO song that reminds me of my summer days as a teenager back in the 70s more than Roundabout. Add in Sunshine of Your Love by Cream, House of the Rising Sun by The Animals, Kashmir by Led Zeppelin and Baba O'Riley by The Who and you've got my perfect summer day throwing a frisbee or a football. Magical.
@@girlweena Well I am into a lot of 60s thru 90s rock, but certain songs evoke those carefree summer days of my youth. It's like a scent or a taste that can bring you right back to a moment or memory...
I was barely a tweenager when I'd play my older brothers albums, Fragile Yes, DisraileyGears Cream, Machinehead Deep Purple, Black Sabbath, Goatshead Soup Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin. No portable music back then - just taking your records to parties and turning it when the adults were out.😊
Out of all the people who I know who play a Rickenbacker 4001, Chris Squire is the only one who actually uses Rick-O-Sound. Among bass players, John Entwistle is my favorite. But Chris Squire has the absolute best tone on his instrument of anyone.
This reminds me of an episode of Star Trek, where everybody on the Bridge got a mental message from some scary beings (the Tholians, I think) which each person hears in his/her first language. Spock heard it in perfect Vulcan, Uhura heard it in Swahili, Kirk heard it in English. So we are about this band (and probably a lot of others). I, as a singer, first fell madly in love with the vocals, especially Jon's. I always felt that his unique sound, and his writing of most of their lyrics and melodies, made HIM the shining force of Yes. It's only just in the last few years that I've come to appreciate Chris more. As a keyboard player, I flipped out over Wakeman. I think we each hear the language we understand best. So I wouldn't say Chris was the end-al and be-all of Yes. But then, I'm biased.
Didn't Rick Wakeman play the Moog synthesizer? YES is and always will be one of my favorite groups of all time. I've seen them many times. It's one of those rare groups that sounds just as good, if not better live.
High school 1975, a laser show did a demonstration set to Roundabout. It blew our minds. So so good. And yes, 70s music was simply amazing, no voice balancers and recorded live. Edited and mixed yes, but computer tuned, no. Good times!
I'm 65, heard this song thousands of times, twice live it never gets old, just me. Ha! It's great watching you experiencing songs from my era and hoping you'll like them like I did first time hearing them and you do. Back then you had to go (ride my bike) to the music store seeing all the happy people thumbing thru hundreds of albums in alphabetical order while new music promo's played. It was a thrill and we couldn't wait till Led Zeppelin 3 came out or Black Sabbath Technical Ecstasy, Yes, Doobies,ELP,Beatles etc......Holding an Album w/art n pictures, I do miss ✌️
Whats amazing about this channel is your genuine first reactions allow ME to remember my own original reactions, lost decades ago. That is a rare GIFT. Thank you Polo
I'm 72 and still enjoy listening to Yes!!!! I think that Yes is hard to describe and especially this song. But my attempt is to say that they are f*cking awesome!!!! Rock on!
Yes are an English progressive rock band formed in London in 1968. The band has undergone numerous line-up changes throughout its history, up to nineteen musicians have been full-time members. They have had a lot of great songs such as "Owner Of A Lonely Heart", "Starship Trooper", "Going For The One", "Masquerade", "Yours Is No Disgrace", "Heart Of The Sunrise", "The Gates Of Delirium", "And You & I", "Close To The Edge" etc. Sadly drummer Alan White passed away recently.
Just as sad was when Chris Squire passed away. He being the only original member to be on every LP until his death. His impact on the music world with his innovative bass techniques, his near demonic bass sound influenced a lot of bass players. I am grateful that the rest of the greats from this band are still with us
Sorry but "Owner of a Lonely Heart" was crap. It was from Yes' sellout/MTV pop phase. A much better song would be "Endless Dream" from their "Talk" album in 1996.
@Lewis9700 How can you call it crap, ? what an insult to the musicians, after all, even if as you say it was a sell out, it is still a brilliant piece of music. .. I think you may havea very twisted logic
This song is where Chris made alot of amateur bass players decide to become insurance salesmen. 💯🤣 If ANYTHING can make someone give uonon the idea of playingvthe bass in a band, THIS is it. 💯 Theres an interview somwhere where Boosty Collins talks about that bass line... He's humbled as shit.
This is the song that pushed me to become a better bass player. I bought a Rickenbacker and spent hours after school decoding Chris's bass lines! He was my first teacher.
But it's not just the bass line (which is thunder and lightening), it's the fact that Chris changed the bass, the way it was played, forever. First musician to use a Ricky. First one to tinker with it so it'd be stereo. To play bass with a pick. To play with the sound the way he did. He was truly a genius. His loss is a very sad one.
I was fortunate enough to have been a teenager in the '70's. The '60's & '70's were a phenomenal and intense time to be alive. The musicianship in that time will never be matched. The song writing and creativity was all around. Hit after hit was "hitting" the airwaves, week after week. Am Radio played mostly pop music and Top 20 hits, while FM Radio was playing rock music. It was a great time to be alive.
I am 68 years young. I have been listening to this song/album since its inception in 1971. To this day it makes the hair on my arms stand up and I get goosebumps. There are three albums, that came before this album, all also very good, starting in 1968. I still have my original copy in excellent condition. I'm glad to hear you enjoyed it.
Saw them three times, twice in Knoxville Tn and once in Greenville SC. In Greenville they were on a rotating stage witha light show, that was incredible back in the mid Seventies. Always love to here Rick Wakeman play the all his keyboards. One of many crazy over the top performing bands.
You are SO right. We didn't have a ton of distractions. There was TV -- like 4 channels to choose from. There was radio. And there was playing albums. When you got together with friends, you played albums on the record player. That's how we hung out.
I fully grew up on Yes! I still can't listen to the "Close to the Edge" album without crying because it reminds me of those magical years of childhood with my mom and brother. My mom's musical catalog was vast and ranging (from Yes to Rick James to the Smother's Brothers). I'm so grateful for her providing Yes as part of my childhood soundtrack. So happy you enjoyed it :)
As time goes on 1958-1983 will be recognized as the era of the most amazing confluence of musical artistry in history. With the seventies being the pinnacle of this 25-year span of amazing enjoyable ear candy. So much began with the introduction of the electric guitar and then was paired with the beat of the drums. I feel so lucky to have lived through that era, it was so appreciated at the time that we were experiencing greatness.
Always loved Yes, the bassist Chris Squire is the star of this particular track but also for his incredible vocal harmonies. Personally, himself and Jon Anderson were the greatest. Keep up the good work, Cheers!!
After reading through the comments, I didn't see anyone talking about Eddie Offord (producer) and Gary Martin (engineer)...they got that amazing sound on analog tape! 70's music showcased the talents of the band members and the people behind the board. If I had a band back then I would have sought out Eddie and Gary to put their amazing touch to my music. Simply brilliant.
The thing about a Yes song is they will do something completely new and amazing every 20 seconds in a song that goes on for 8 minutes. You feel worn out and exhilarated simultaneously after it's over and then feel better about being alive. That's pretty good for a rock band.
Should have see these guys perform live back in the day. Rick Wakeman, keyboards, had this long straight blonde (almost white) hair and would wear these long flowing capes on stage and was just surrounded by keyboards. Truly looked and played like a wizard! Great reaction!!
Absolutely, feel blessed to have known him back in the day, during the time we both lived in Switzerland - an absolute gem of a guy. Even my dad thought him a great guy
I was working on a kibbutz in Israel whilst taking a years break from university and there was a late night rock radio station i used to listen to called " The voice of peace".....late one night they played this......like you i was mesmerised......became a yes fan there and then.....45 years later im still mesmerised!!!! Rush were influenced so much by these guys.....especially Geddy Lee.
“Like you’re inside the guitar!” 🥰 The first time I heard this song was when it came on the radio as I was driving to work. I had to pull over I was SO BLOWN AWAY!!! And that was the short radio version. I bought the album immediately, and found an amazing journey!! I still get goosebumps all these decades later! ☮️❤️
This song is a masterclass in 70's rock. There's a story behind this song for me. I remember the first time I heard this song in 76", I was 10 years old. It came on the radio and I asked my dad what the name of the song was and who did it. He said " Do you like that song?" and I said "Yes!" He said "You just answered part of your own question". I looked at him with a puzzled look on my face and he just busted out laughing and then went on to explain what he meant and told me about the band and the song. I'll never forget it. I remember listening to the radio all day waiting to hear it again. I've absolutely loved this song ever since.
This song is in my top 5. Basically a perfect song. Everyone in the band shines. The pacing, the mix, the different sections. Even after all these years, it's still blows my mind every time I listen to it. It's amazing to see other people discover it!
I am 60 now. Found yes when I was 14, saw them when in my 20’s. Still listen to all their albums regularly. Hard to imagine that they were masters when they were basically still kids.
Love your reactions man. I have been listening to some of these bands since I was in high school in the 70's. That is a long time. I am tired of most songs and most artists. I never get tired of this song, and I am not even a rocker. My favorite 70's band was Earth Wind and Fire, but somehow this song, Roundabout, represents to me 8 minutes of pure musical pleasure. You can just feel the joy in the song, you don't even need to know the lyrics, just a bunch of talented musicians pleasing themselves and each other. It is such a joy to experience songs like this through new ears. You notice things I stopped noticing or never noticed, and you bring new insights apt descriptions to this kind of music. I want to share this with everyone, just the simple enthusiasm and joy that music can bring, the constant variations and discovery, the lyrics at times simple, at times deep. Just a guy driving home to see his girl, passing over Roundabouts on English roads, observing the sky and the lakes, anticipating seeing his girlfriend at the end of the trip. I am in my 60's now, and sometimes, when I feel tired, I go and crank up the RU-vid video of these dudes playing this song in their 70's with all the energy in the world, and think, man if they can still do it, so can I. Nothing I love more than turning on my computer and seeing you have reacted to a song from my childhood. I get to discover it all over again like hearing it for the first time. Thank you for what you do.
You Sir. ,are the reason why this world is still a great place to live in.... I loved your description. riding round the English countryside ...it was just just so real,... You should be a writer. Thank you , and I agree with the new view on some music, I am 64 and it never ceases to bring tons of pleasure .
Definitely grew up listening to YES. I saw them in concert in 1980 in Chicago. Absolutely loved it. I will never forget the stage being in the middle of the auditorium and it rotating. STUNNING
I was in 6th grade (‘76) and went to friend’s house for sleepover and was walking past his brother’s room and he had this on his record player and was hooked. I’ve seen them in concert more than 50 times over the years and took my son to see them when he was 10 (his 1st rock concert). Kudos on a great reaction. Takes me back to all those years ago standing in my friend’s brother’s doorway.
When we grew up this was normal just another one of the many excellent bands we listened to That’s how it was in the early 70’s just so MANY good artists. And music is definitely not like that nowadays and probably never will be again this is 50 years old and probably will still be listened to when it’s 100 years old can’t say that about today’s music
I was two years old when this came out. The music of the '70s was an absolute trip to grow up to through the small years. I thought dazzling musicianship was at least half the point of music. And I'm still that way. I love a good beat and trip out on trance at the gym, but _Roundabout_ is deep in my soul: that impeccable bass groove and Bill Bruford's drums are so fonky, the guitars are so soulful and the keyboards so precise they make me shiver, and Jon Anderson's vocals and the harmonies just soar! Really glad that it's still getting discovered.
Not my time, but the 70s was the highpoint of popular music; prog rock, jazz fusion, reggae, funk, outlaw country, etc., not to mention the birth of punk, heavy metal, and 2-tone ska.
The radio in those days were Am and FM. Am would play all the top popular songs which were only 3 minutes air time however, FM was geared toward playing an entire album side of a record long with no interuptions. This gave the musicians freedom to create and many of the best lp's of the day were the ones who would be featured on this format. Check out the history of what I am talking about.
Yes, I grew up listening to Yes, and saw them twice. The talent level is off the chain, and they bring you their heart and soul in a show. Jon Anderson's angelic vocals, Steve Howe's insane guitar/mandolin riffs, Chris Squire's monster bass lines, Bill Bruford's jazz/prog/rock beat, and Rick Wakeman's stratospheric keyboards...
Lets not forget the great Rick Wakeman on keyboards and composer of this masterpiece. Jon Anderson on lead vocals……Wow, I lived through a very musically rich era. I saw them twice when I was at the University of Kentucky at Lexington. The groups that came through during the 70s, just phenomenal! What a great time for great music and groups. I was blessed!
They wrote this song travelling from Aberdeen to Glasgow, a 2-hour drive....with lots of roundabouts. Steve Howe started picking on his guitar and Jon Anderson followed and together they made the song, in 2 bloody hours. It was recorded 2 days later, if I remember correctly.
Awesome video. I still get chill-bumps when I hear this song for the first time in a while. I grew up listening to my big brother’s Fragile, and though my friends listened to Donny Osmond and the like, I preferred Yes, Jethro Tull, The Rolling Stones, Jimi Hendrix, Led Zeppelin, and The Who. A decade later, I bought their albums myself and later bought them again as CD’s. It’s so good to see you and others recognizing this enduring talent some 50 years later. Good music never dies. Rock on!
Chris Squire was aware of John Enteistle from the Who and that's where Chris's got the idea for that bass tone. He took it even further and expanded on it.
I once saw a RU-vid video titled "How to get that Chris Squire bass sound". The first thing the presenter said was "You won't, but here's how to get kind of close." 😁
This band, and a few others, altered my music journey forever in the early 70s when I was going off to college. What we now know as 'Prog Rock' has direct lineage to Yes, Emerson Lake & Palmer, King Crimson and a few others. This song, 'Roundabout', was actually a very big radio hit and was on every juke box in every college bar. Thanks for digging into this one!
The 70's were truly a renaissance period in music comparing it to the music of the decades that followed up until today. Of course at the time, we just listened to it and lived our lives enjoying whatever we fancied but what was amazing about that decade was the sheer variety and scope of music that was available. Since the main avenue to discover new music was on the radio which most people listened to, we heard all kinds of music often on the same stations so the whole experience was not fragmented as it has been in the last 25 years. This is why so many of the younger generations have never heard of so much great music because they just found what they liked and indulged in just narrower scope suited to their taste. Historically, you had what was called the British invasion of music starting in the 60's that introduced us to many amazing groups and that continued and evolved into the 70s. There was also the war and its influences here at home which brought in psychedelic, folk, rock, soul, R&B and more adding to the amazing soundtrack of that period. Jazz also expanded with the joining of rock music and electric instrumentation and brought us into yet another expansion. There was truly amazing creativity and genius of all genres during that period which I am glad you are experiencing in your musical exploration as you do these videos. Thanks!
Great reaction‼️😊👍🏻 My husband (my then boyfriend) took me to see YES live in concert in 1977 at the El Paso County Coliseum, El Paso TX My mind was blown 🤯 Enjoyed every minute of it Thank You My ♥️ for ALL the memories… 🌿Rest In Peace 🕊️🙏🏻
I'm a boomer who grew up with these bands and saw yes in concert. What a show! Never thought geezer rock would live forever. Looking back, it was the golden age of rock. Even my 35 year old, who grew up listening to our music admits it the best. Heard of Moody Blues? Check them out.
Yeah... I'm an old guy. Saw them live three times. They put their stage in the middle of the floor. Everyone had a great view, and of course, the sound was amazing. Money and time well spent. High on the good memories of my life. Being a kid in the 60s... a teenager in the 70s... and in my 20s in the 80s. I hit the sweet spot of life.
Agree 100%! Recently saw The Eagles and they had a “Joe Walsh” segment in the 2nd set and Joe says “Before we get started, I just got tell y’all, it was a lot more fun being 20 in the 70’s than it is being in your 70’s in the 20’s’” All the old timers like us went nuts!!!! Stay safe Brother The World’s gone Bat Shit Crazy ☠️😉☠️
I got to see this live in 1971 when they came through Houston on tour.....Incredible!!!! I was SO lucky to be in my teens during this time frame in musical history.....LOTS of live KILLER music that broke the mold!!!! Try on "Long Distance Runaround" for size....You'll like that one too!!
@@djknox2 GREAT concerts almost every week.....Yes....Zep....Pink Floyd....Trapeze.....on and on and on!!!! I saw The Boss live at a little bar called Liberty Hall in 1974 and had never even heard of him before...Cost me $5 to get in.....At the door I thought that was too much for some dude from up north I'd never heard of.... I was wrong!!! Here is a cut from the show: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-efLelUQkir0.htmlsi=5g4MZrg6_VqX_Wk9 Great show...worth every penny!!
My mother bought this Album for me for my 14th Birthday, in 1972, so I have been a YES fan all my life. I am glad you are able to appreciate it, when you feel like you are ready, Listen to Awaken, and HomeWorld. Cheers my friend spread the news. ✨
I'm 57 and became a huge Yes when I was 15 starting with The Yes Album, then Close To The Edge and Fragile, and so on. Was lucky enough to watch them live many years ago. It was a dream come true. A truly amazing band.
As a teenager in the 1970s, I had zero disposable cash for things like rock concerts, but I spent my grass-cutting or snow-shoveling money to buy a ticket to see Yes because I loved this song so much. It's length meant pop stations may not have played it, but the serious stations bit the bullet and put it in their playlist because their audience loved it.
I’m 71 (2024), and this was my college soundtrack. Bass player us Chris Squire, died a few years ago. They had to ask Jaco Pastorius to stand in for him on the next tour.
I'm 54 and saw YES for their "Union" tour in Cleveland. I've been to louder concerts but YES was the only one I FELT! (It was loud too. Ha!) Chris Squire's Bass went right "through" me. It was so intense it truly felt like a spiritual experience.
It’s mind blowing how good a lot of these seventies bands were especially the British bands. Every musician is top notch. Many of the British bands from this period were made up of musicians with formal classical training and it shows
only Rick wakeman was classically trained, although he didnt finish is education as his tutor advised him to quit because even at a very young age he was overrun with session work
I can't get enough of Yes! I've seen them 4 times in concert. Can you just imagine the sounds filling an arena? Each musician is a master at his craft! Oh, check out the live version of this song at the induction of Yes into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame! Geddy Lee (Rush) sits in on bass. Phenomenal!
@@martinreed5964 Yes, Chris Squire was the master. But, since the band couldn't raise him from the dead, Geddy Lee has stated many times that Yes was a big influence on him, and it was just a nod. I didn't see any people at the induction asking for their money back.
Bill Bruford tuned his snare so high because in early Yes rehearsals he couldn't hear the bloody thing over Chris Squire's enormous bass sound. That's where his "thonk!" comes from :)
Rick Wakeman keyboardist extraordinaire. Grew up listening to Yes in the early 70's while stationed in Japan. One of the first albums I ever bought. I liked the artwork on the cover. This song was always playeing on the jukebox at the gedunk we all hung out after school on base. Brings back a lot of great memories. I miss all the great bands from the 70's. Nothing compares in todays music.
20 years ago a guy I knew was telling me how great his generation's music was. I listened patiently. After a while I told him his music was okay but my generation had great music. I put this song on. His reaction was priceless. That settled that.
My favorite fact about the album this song is from, Fragile, is that it was meant to be a showcase of Yes to US audiences. There are only 4 full-band songs on it, with the other 5 songs more like interludes meant to be a display of each individual member’s talent. This is my favorite album of all time! Awesome reaction, and love your channel!
I was a teen during the 70's. What was wild was there would be these stadium shows with 5 or 7 Huge bands that would play from noon to midnight. Van Halen, REO, Doobie Brothers, Head East, The Cars, and Heart was just one day.
I was a freshman in college when this album came out, and, as someone else commented, I’ve probably listened to it thousands of times. I so appreciate the way you really, really listen. THANK YOU for loving the music of our youth!
I had this album on repeat for 2 months in my twenties. The roundabout is a timeless stellar tune. Zeplin, Fleetwood Mac, Pink Floyd, Eagles, Stones, Tom Petty, Boston were all everyday listening back then. It was a era of great music.
Polo you are absolutely correct. There was no RU-vid and social media. The escape was through the music. You could listen to these tracks for hours on end to listen to each and every change throughout the song and appreciate it, then have discussions with friends when you came together. When playing the songs with friends you would just look at one another the way you did ( amazed ) during your listening session and jam away together. At a live concerts it was ( an event ) and better because you would see and hear it live and wait for each change of the texture of each song. And lets remember these guys were in their prime young and agile. The anticipation was crazy.Somewhere, sometime a rebellion occurred in the late 70's and early 80"s, there was rebellion which started with punk rock and then through MTV and music videos ( the precursor to social media ) All was lost after that... commercialism came for better or worse new forms of music arrived and thrived, back to dance, pop, etc. Progressive rock came to an end thereafter not be revived until you and others that love music resurrect these timeless gems for a new generation to hear and admire and one day replicate again. We can only hope because commercial business has no need for this music and will not promote it financially. Do you notice now there are no more garage bands? Just name acts ( one name acts ) Justin Timberlake, Taylor Swift, Beyonce, Shakira this truly started with the singing competitions through corporate sponsorship. But thats alright all these artists are great in their own right I like this music as well,. in the meantime thanks for educating the new listeners and confirming and affirming what many of us felt when this music first arrived.
Grew up and loving Yes! My favorite band for many years. Memories of listening to them on albums in my cheaply paneled 70’s basement bedroom. My son (who passed )envied that time of music that I loved listening to back then. Hope generations to come continue to find and appreciate this kind of classic rock.
On thing I always loved about YES is they give that fabulous bass up front with every other instrument. They never treat it as a background instrument. You can listen to this and individually pick out every instrument.
Excellent reaction, glad you appreciated this masterpiece. It's definitely a smorgasbord of sound! You were also spot on in your insight about the level of musicianship in the 70's--- we definitely didn't have the endless distractions of social media, and there was less to do for amusement, so it was easy to spend hours with musical instruments. In general, people had much longer attention spans back then.
As usual, I am impressed by your understanding of different styles of music. Interesting about the length of the song. Actually, these extended tunes were reaction to over 10 years of two minute songs. The Beatles were forced to write super short songs, and as they reached towards the end of the band in 68 and 69 the songs got longer and their frustration reached a peak. Yes, were kind of like a jazz, funk rock band. They basically invented the term progressive. Progressive rock was never a term until Yes, King Crimson, and others. I was 14 when this song came out, I’m 66 now lol! At that time, musicians were expanding, stretching the boundaries, unlike anything that’s happening now. And you’re right about the attention span. At the time, the record companies were absolutely terrified to release a 12 minute song. The bean counters were positive it would not work. But also FM radio in stereo was just beginning this had a huge influence, because now you could listen on high, Fidelity speakers to stereo, and listening to these longer songs, but also remember the Moody blues, all of this became possible because of FM radio. Remember, most of us couldn’t afford these records But we could listen to them on FM radio. In the 60s all I had was tiny a.m. Japanese radio with 3 inch speaker. Yes was one of the bands that could actually write & perform what essentially is a progressive Rock/Funk song AND you could remember the melody. But that same year Elton John was recording Rocket Man. Earth, wind and fire, Kool and the gang, endless pop, rock, funk, soul, blues, you name it. And the musicianship was stunning. Roundabout is considered yes’ signature song. There was no time in music history that was richer. An interesting note about the bass. Cris squire who founded the band is the bass player. He didn’t like that bass guitars sound muffled, so he rewired his bass so that the treble pick up was wired separately and went to its own amp, and the bass pick up, the second one, went to a different amp., So he could bring up the treble picking, because he used a pick. No one has ever done that before, and that is exactly why he sound is so extraordinary. Wowie
This track was all over radio, it permeated the US consciousness. It also influenced so many musicians, and music lovers. This was heavy stuff. Obviously it hit many people's hearts, over many years, their tours were legendary. Listen how the keys aren't dominating the track, but they come in when they need to. That's Yes...only what's necessary, it gives it so much more impact. Good stuff.
When this cut came to the radio, it came to me on an FM station… in stereo. Even with the compression of radio, this song made me vibrate. It was one of the best engineered songs out there, and the arrangement from beginning to end engaged the listener. I’m so happy you found the same enjoyment…I could see your face discovering and appreciating what I did so long ago……❤️
In and around the lake Bass is magnificent and then the keyboards following it, circulars boards - PRICELESS!! One of my favorites, glad you're enjoying it... when music WAS real music....😊😊😊 When you mentioned the longevity of songs back in the day, well what it was, was just jamming out great riff after great riff, and believe me ALL of them could have jammed out for 10-15 minutes and it'd still give you chills and have you longing for more. Shortened down for radio, but concerts??? WOW is all I got left to say...
I was a teenager in the 70s and I can't believe how I took these performers and their music for granted. Years and decades later, I came to understand how talented they were, because they *had to be*. Nobody's instrumentation or singing was enhanced. It was pure talent. And, it wasn't all about doing jazzercise on the stage in next to no clothes. I know I sound like a granny, but that's not talent.
Yes, for those of us in our teens and early twenties back in the 70's we had it all. The best groups, songs, and great times in the clubs and concerts, seeing the cream of musicians performing. The mere fact that their music lives on is testament to the genius of their creativity and sheer brilliance of songwriting and performance
