Roundabout may be links the "casual' Yes fan with the fanatical Yes fan

[lrs]

I have noticed something, Roundabout may be the song that links the "casual' Yes fan with the more fanatical Yes fan. So what do some of the "Yesfans" membership (who may be considered more fanatical than the general population) think of Roundabout?

I will admit to an ambivalent relationship to the song. I sometimes think it is a very poppy song that i can ignore in favour of other more "reputable" yessongs. However, at other times I think it is an amazing song that expresses the Yesethic (excellent musicianship, joy, the complexity of emotion, the affirmation of life, etc.) completely.

[CybrKhatru]

I never tire of the studio version of 'Roundabout'.

To be quite honest, I've never really enjoyed hearing it live. Oh, sure, it's a song everyone gets up and dances to, which is enjoyable, but I've never thought it sounded right live.

That studio version has some mojo about it that the band IMO never recaptures when they play it onstage. It's a different experience...

[lrs]

You might have something there, I have heard it live several times, and have heard the recorded live versions many times, and those versions do not seem to have the "mojo" of the original.

i think it may be because everybody (including the band) feels it "should" be the climax to a commercial experience, rather than a song that was written for its own reasons.

[JaneEyre]

It think 'Roundabout' brings lots of music fans Yes' way and has done for years (just as a much-maligned song did in the 1980s). Or, in other cases, and in my experience, it's the Yes song people know.

[90125yes]

i never tire of roundabout

it was the classic of the 70's as OOALH was to the 80's

[maninthemoon]

I think the studio version is a perfect song. They should be in the HOF for that song alone.

[gathernear]

Roundabout is in here somewhere.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pfwjMTTM03w

[brianos]

For me, Roundabout is akin to Zep's Stairway... an amazing song which is inextricably linked to the band. With both songs I've gone through times of skipping over the track due to 'overexposure fatigue', but both songs have stood the test of time. When I hear Roundabout on the radio now, I'll crank it up & enjoy the warmth of the masterpiece like a fine vintage wine.

I like to hear Roundabout live - just not as the encore!

[Orbert]

"Roundabout" was the song that got me into Yes. I can understand "overexposure fatigue" (cool term, very descriptive and accurate) but since I rarely listen to the radio, I'm pretty safe from that, and I never tire of hearing it. Or "Stairway to Heaven" for that matter.

There is a mentality among some prog fans that if a song is popular, then it can't be very good, at least not good in the way that attracts prog fans. I disagree. "Roundabout" is one of those rare tunes that encompasses everything that is Yes (Steve's acoustic, Chris' manic bass, Bill's mastery of percussion, Rick on Hammond, and of course Jon) but is still a catchy song with wide appeal. When I first heard "Roundabout" on my old AM radio, I knew there was something more to this band, and I spent my paper route money that week picking up Fragile. The rest is history.

[fovman]

"Roundabout" is a holy song for me. It was the first to flip my music paradigm switch (on radio) since the Beatles did.

"Good Times, Bad Times" flipped me also... with Led Zeppelin.