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THYes performing “Roundabout” Live at the Rainbow Theatre in London UK in December of ’72
In a nutshell, this song was the band’s breakthrough hit and it came at a time when they weren’t looking for a hit. When released as a single, the song climbed to #13 on the US Hot 100. From a musical standpoint, Steve Howe recalled that the song was originally “a guitar instrumental suite” and had a basic outline worked out when he first developed it. “All the ingredients are there—all that’s missing is the song. “Roundabout” was a bit like that; there was a structure, a melody, and a few lines.”
Originally, the song comprised of Steve playing the guitar parts on a 1953 Martin 00-18, however, he wanted a more dramatic opening and this promoted Rick Wakeman to play a note on the piano that was recorded and played backward, creating an effect that Howe described “as if it’s rushing towards you”. What he did was play the lowest E note on his grand piano with the E an octave higher which gave it “a fatter feel”. Bassist, Chris Squire played his bass guitar parts with an overdub that was one octave higher using Howe’s Gibson ES-150 electric guitar and mixed with his bass track.
In an effort to compliment Squire’s playing, Wakeman played arpeggios on his Hammond C3 organ on his right hand while playing Squire’s bass parts with his left. For the song’s slower section, he plays a Minimoog synthesizer and flute sounds on a Mellotron which he said gave the section a “Strawberry Fields mood”.
Source: Yesstories: “Yes” in Their Own Words
What do you think of the song? Leave a comment, I’d love to hear your thoughts!
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