Yes – “Roundabout” (1972) Review | Love Makes the World Go Round
Kronomyth 4.1: Mamas come out of the sky and they stand there.
In a brutally butchered three-and-a-half-minute version, Roundabout became the band’s biggest American hit. “Your Move” certainly captured peoples’ attention, but “Roundabout” captured their imagination. It was unlike anything else on the radio: the impossible bass playing of Chris Squire, the unconventional time signatures, and the way it just all came together like its melody was the most obvious and natural thing. The same could be said of Long Distance Runaround, which technically makes this a double-single, since both songs were played constantly on the radio. Mercifully, this song was short enough that it didn’t need to be edited, although they never found a graceful way to separate it from “Schindleria Praematurus.” Radio stations eventually decided to let “Long Distance Around” play through to the next song, after they figured out that eight minutes of Yes wasn’t going to kill anyone.
The Product
A1. Roundabout (Jon Anderson/Steve Howe) (3:27)*
B1. Long Distance Runaround (Jon Anderson) (3:15)
*In Spain, the A side was titled as “Carrusel.”
The Plastic
Released on 7-inch single on January 4, 1972 in the US (Atlantic, 45-2854), France (Atlantic, No 10133) [mono], Japan (Atlantic, P-1119A) and Spain (Atlantic, HS-826) with regional picture sleeve. Reached #13 on the US charts (charted on February 12, 1972 for 13 weeks). Also released as gold vinyl promotional 7-inch single in 1972 in the US (Atlantic, 45-2854) feat. A stereo & mono versions.
- Re-issued on 7-inch single in the US (Atlantic Oldies Series, OS-13140) [black & tan label].
- Re-issued on 7-inch single in the US (Atlantic Oldies Series, OS-13140) [black & silver label].
Tell me about. The single edit left out of some my favorite parts. Also, I remember another entry you had on your old webpage on how you described Phil Collins: “Prog-rock drummer turned pop superstar.”
Again, there was NO FM rock radio in my embarassingly provincial state of origin in the 70’s. Oddly, enough, I remember hearing BOTH sides of this single on AM radio, I’m convinced that Rick Wakeman’s carnivalesque organ is the key to what made this a hit. It wasn’t until college that I heard what I missed in the full version. I had a similar experience with “Won’t Get Fooled Again”. That single edit is even more of a hack job than this one.