ABWH - Roundabout (Shoreline Amphitheatre, Mountain View, CA 1989)
Video Overview & Insights
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I was there for this show, it was actually titled Anderson, Wakeman, Buford and Howe.. such great times in our world!!
That’s one hellish big drum kit, but it was all used in the band’s music somewhere. The overhead shots of the band from my viewpoint again prove that the drummer has the best seat in the house. Somewhere around the second verse at 1’27”, Jon’s shoulders roll and sway, showing me he’s into the groove bassist Jeff Berlin and I have cooked up.
If you take a leisurely scroll through the videos on this channel, you can’t fail to notice the variety of drum kits I seem to have used over the years. It even astonishes me. What was I thinking? The kits tell their own story, of reaction to changing technology, of the advent of electronics and samples, of changing music styles, of shipping costs. If you're interested in nuts and bolts, check out Rodrigo Delaveau Swett's run-down on my kits at https://billbruford.com/equipment/.
From a beginner’s Olympic kit in the late 60s, to a second-hand Ludwig kit (whose metal snare drum rang out through the original Yes’ ‘Roundabout’), passing through Ivor Arbiter’s Hayman kits (which many in the US took to be Camco drums because of the round lugs), I barely seemed to play the same kit for more than a year or two. I was looking not just for the ‘perfect’ (never a helpful word in music) drum sound, but for the most appropriate confection of percussion which would suit the demands of the musical situation of the day, which itself was changing frequently. With my own band Bruford in the late 70s, I met Remo Belli and the bright clanging of his Remo roto toms became a signature component of the band’s sound, as much as, say, Allan Holdsworth’s guitar sound.
where is Chris Squire?
In the 80s of course electronic drums arrived and somebody had to see if these things were more than toys. Simmons drums got steadily more sophisticated over a decade or so until it was possible to configure dozens of samples into ‘kits’ that could be changed at the touch of a button. Not quite on the bar line, but pretty close.
Business with King Crimson was good in the early 80s, so it was possible to stage three drumkits: 1) a main kit with a rear back rack of pads, side rack of smaller percussions and mallet instruments on tables; 2) six hexagonal pads, on which I and guitarist Adrian Belew (who started out as a drummer) could set up ‘Waiting Man’; and 3) a small set from which Adrian could play ‘Satori in Tangier’ or declaim ‘Indiscipline’ while I commented on proceedings from the main set. The ‘most expensive drum kit ever staged’, consisting of two Simmons SDX units (one being back-up) and multiple pads around an acoustic set, failed me spectacularly in a moment of hubris when the two computers were powered down in the intermission at Madison Square Gardens with Yes in the early 90s, and refused to power back up again. A less than perfect evening.
meme
In the intimate world of jazz performance there is neither desire, nor space on stage, nor finance for the transportation of large amounts of equipment. My career has swung between stadiums, theatres and small clubs with entirely different music, so equally different drumkits. When I began in the late 60s there was effectively no drum rental business, so we took our own gear everywhere. Decades later, drum rental is entirely possible in most major cities. As an endorsing artist for Tama Drums, I’ve been fortunate to have the company deliver drums to my specification at the beginning of a tour, and collect them at the end, thus saving big on expenses.
That’s a brief overview of ‘why’ and ‘what’ of the drumkits I sat at as the years rolled past. Broadly, the music dictated the instruments necessary to realise it, rather than the other way around. Even if you’re a non-drummer - especially if you’re a non-drummer – I hope you’ve found the above interesting! See you next week.
Gosh, they were brilliant!
#billbruford #yes #kingcrimson #jazzdrummer #electronicdrumkit #earthworks #tamadrums #drummer #drumsolos #billbrufordsearthworks
More User Perspectives
They were just really special with Bill on the drums.
@stevemd6488We were there.
@garyvanremortel5218YES! ❤
@bonesc7201ABWHS 2026
@michaeldavid4572Bizarre.
@PułkownikAntonio😢 This is the most uninspired version I've heard. Squire's absence is glaring.
@impulse60As with the first three or four B.O.C. albums, I have no worldly idea what these songs/lyrics are about, nor could I hope to memorize them, and I know hundreds of songs, and find, say, the 1,400 verses of Tangled Up in Blue less of a challenge.
@nowadayswithandywhere's Chris?
@drewkingsonI was at this very show. Tony Levin had the flu, and Jeff Berlin flew in to do the gig as it was being live simulcast (I set my VCR up to record). He did an amazing job considering the time he had to learn the material. I was 32, hard to believe it’s been 36 years. Shoreline Amphitheater in Mountain View, back when Silicon Valley was still Silicon Valley. I bought a DVD many years later when it became available, but don’t think the entire show is on it.
@slidetekI saw them 2 times in the early + mid 70's and 80's in the NOLA area. I really miss seeing them again because of my health.
@nolaservI saw Bill Bruford perform as a trio at the New Cross Inn, London a couple of months ago and had to keep reminding myself that the master on the stage featured on all of my favourite prog rock bands from my teenage years in the mid ‘70s
@abrarahmed1888Bill Bruford the best drummer in the world. ABWH the best part of YES music. Thank you for all. You are my childhood and love you for all my life ❤
@obiravskyJ ai rarement entendu Steve aussi performant sur le plan vocal... Bill or Alan on drum ? It still be Yes, même avec Jeff Berlin.
@ericcalame9154Rick Wakeman looks like he could be from Southern Alabama
@JMKopuspure art!
@jvidalwMore than half a century after this song first came out, it remains a landmark.
@deonventer5615Roland d-50, I still have one.
@jds9958Thanks mr Bruford, still headless you are incredible
@missanyWoooWW !😍
@thierrysaussez8830Can’t help missing the Squire’s touch,but love the boys!
@CharlieKassenAbsolutely Amazing live version on this Classic
@martinlopez1353Yes is big big band no questions👍👮♂️
@AbelBravo-b6jI was 18 in 1989 and had just ventured to the US to study. One afternoon, while working at the Four Season Hotel in Philly, I was asked to deliver a room service order. I went up to the room, knocked, and to my surprise, who opens the door?: Jon Anderson!! He was so nice, down to earth and very interested in my background and what I was doing in the US. He made me feel like I was the interesting person in the room, not him. He then proceded to grab a pen & paper and asked me to write my name. “There will be 4 tickets waiting for you at the Spectrum for tonight’s show”, he said. It was my first concert ever. Just an amazing experience! I still listen to this album today, not only because I love the music, but also in gratitude for his kindness. God bless him!
@ivanmachado2087💙
@cmr7854I have to loudly protest that such an amazing bassist as Jeff Berlin is buried in the mix and only appears on video in the background.
My buddy who is a bassist took me to see one of his clinics. He was the first bassist that I saw perform Bach’s compositions on the bass. I literally gasped. He deserves more appreciation, this song is so entwined around the incredible bass lines of Chris Squire, with his pick and guitar speakers, and it’s barely audible in the background.
God bless Bill Bruford, the drummer that changed the world.
@SIVA6619I remember when Bill Bruford started adding synth drums to his kit, and then basically replaced the whole kit with synth drums. And I thought it was FANTASTIC. Now I think it's a bit embarrassing to hear those early one-oscillator thuds, but it was the times of digital sounds. Wakeman as well is using digital samples instead of the organs, mellotrones and moog synthesizers. I'm not sure I would have appreciated it if it was played today, but this was the 90'es. And it was the absolutely coolest thing ever. The ABWH album is still one of my most played records. And, for me, it is the "lost Yes album" that should get more respect - synth drums or not. Just the intro of the album gives me goose bumps. Wakeman's piano going "bada bi-baa bada bi-baa", and building up to the drum break that opens the first song. It's magic. It's a warm cup of chocolate on a cold winters day.
@larseikind666As great as this is, they are really missing Chris Squire’s backing vocal really badly in that middle part.
@kilehussey9919Bill...🥁🔥🙏👏desde Argentina 🇦🇷 ✌️
@AlbertoSilvioOrtegaMan, this is BIZARRELY good..
His voice is like DIAMONDS..
You could say that this song was quite UNBREAKABLE quality wise!
Thx for the post upload. I love yes in all teams. There is so much joy in everyone here but specially in Steve Howe.
@jrl-wb9leGreat pocket on the verses and great flow thru the whole song. hope the Simmons pads didn't wreak havoc on your hands...
@MoRoberts61Truly breath-taking! 🍾❤️
@MikeFloutierOk..but I look for something different at this point..spice it up ?
@SuperQdaddyWhere is Chris Squire? I can’t see him. Is there is another Bass Player playing? Why don’t you feature him? It’s a bit insulting for the Bass Player that you don’t show him in this clip. As a huge lifelong fan of Yes I have to say I’m a little bit disappointed that you have ignored the bass player!
@DaveColliLove it, just missing the S
@SnakeGodDiamondThe bass is the most important instrument in this song .... WTF ?
@scottunderwood5439🎽🌀💎🌀💎🌀💎🌀💎🌀💎🌀🩴
@Ĵõvëŋëůẃæỳ寿 で良かった
寿司だったらどうしようかと
Jethro Tull circa 1970 and their backup band was some unheard of group called Yes. Lucky me. I still have my $4.50 ticket stub.
@stargate1555I've been to a majority of Yes shows in my state since the ABWH tour. This show was my favorite. The only thing that could have made it better would have been to have Chris Squire there. Still, I remember it as a perfect concert experience. It was magical.
@jonnyups2312Timeless and still awsome.........!
@mikegarrett861素晴らしいです。懐かしいですね。
@秀策久野❤❤❤Fan since I was 12 years old! Seen only once in 2002 at the Brighton Dome, super fantastic. ❤❤❤
@stefaniabrazzi1358Bill was used to working with Jeff Berlin from playing on Kazumi Watanabe's "Spice of Life."
@kevintralle6487Bruford is just the master of an economy of movement. His poly rhythms are fierce and yet he is so controlled. So refreshing. A master.
@georgegeysen6499