This video is from the Deluxe Edition of the "Songs from Tsongas" bluray / CD package. It includes the bonus show of the Lugano Jazz Festival played on July 8th, 2004 that was originally a TV / Satellite Swiss/Italian TV broadcast from Lugano, Switzerland. The full Lugano show is only available on the Japanese version of the Deluxe Edition, which this video was taken from. The international version is missing eight songs from the concert, many of which were some of the best of the show. The Japanese version is very difficult to find and can be quite expensive. I was lucky enough to find a dealer in Japan that had it and shipped it to me. The complete show is full on electric without the acoustic versions of some songs on the "Songs from Tsongas" bluray, which pleased me greatly!
The Lugano concert was recorded in standard definition with 720x480 resolution. I have upscaled the video to be in 1920x1080 resolution for a better viewing experience.
Yes were on their 35th anniversary tour in 2004, which was the last time they played with original singer Jon Anderson and classic-era keyboardist Rick Wakeman. They played their final show with Anderson and Wakeman in Monterrey, Mexico three months later.
"Roundabout" is the opening song from the band's 4th studio album "Fragile" recorded at Advision Studios, Fitzrovia, Londonin with audio engineer Eddy Offord as their co-producer in September of 1971 & released on November 26, 1971. It was the band's first album to feature keyboardist Rick Wakeman, who replaced founder member Tony Kaye after the group had finished touring their breakthrough record, The Yes Album. The artwork for the album was the band's first to be designed by Roger Dean, who would design many of their future covers and stage sets.
"Roundabout" was Yes' breakthrough hit and one of their most well-known songs. The song originated in March 1971 when the band were on tour promoting The Yes Album, travelling from Aberdeen to Glasgow after a gig in Aviemore, Scotland. They encountered many roundabouts on the way; Anderson claimed "maybe 40 or so", which inspired Anderson and Howe to write a song about the journey as they sat in the back of the band's transit van, and include the roundabouts and the surrounding mountains into the lyrics. (A roundabout is a kind of traffic circle that substitutes for a stoplight and confounds tourists who are unfamiliar with them) Per Anderson: "It was a cloudy day, we couldn't see the top of the mountains. We could only see the clouds because it was sheer straight up ... I remember saying, "Oh, the mountains–look! They're coming out of the sky!", and began to write the song's lyrics in his notebook in a free-form style with minimal edits. A lake they passed as they neared Glasgow became the idea behind the line "In and around the lake". The band had been touring for about a month, and Anderson was looking forward to his imminent return to London, where he could once again see his wife at the time, Jennifer. The lyrics, "Twenty four before my love you'll see I'll be there with you" indicate that he is just 24 hours away from being with her again. Upon their arrival at their hotel in Glasgow, Anderson and Howe began to put down song ideas on their recorder. The lyrics describe a psychedelic-country life, with allusions to driving.
In its original form, the song began with the acoustic guitar, but the group soon thought a more dramatic opening was needed. This led to Wakeman playing a note on the piano that was recorded and played backwards, creating an effect that Howe described "as if it's rushing towards you". Wakeman played the lowest E note on his grand piano with the E an octave higher which gave it "a fatter feel".
*This performance is an abbreviated form of the song, leaving out the fourth verse and following bridge section, going straight into Rick Wakeman's keyboard solo and band instrumental section. It also has an abbreviated into.
*The song uses multiple time signatures. While most of the song is in a simple 4/4, the choruses are in 14/4 and the ending vocal segment 7/4.
*The lake mentioned in this song ("In and around the lake...") is Loch Ness, which Jon Anderson saw when he was riding through Scotland.
*"Roundabout" was played during Yes' induction to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2017. The song was performed by keyboardist Rick Wakeman, vocalist Jon Anderson, guitarists Steve Howe and Trevor Rabin, and drummer Alan White with Rush bassist Geddy Lee filling in for Chris Squire, who died in 2015.
*"Roundabout" has become one of the best-known Yes songs; it has been performed at nearly every concert since its release.
#MysticRhythmsLive
