GOING FOR THE ONE

The return of Rick Wakeman, and the three year hiatus was over. After two far out albums, Tales from Topographic Oceans and Relayer, Yes scaled back the ambitions a notch or two with Going For The One. GFTO is a mixed bag and it seems to be a the last of the great Yes albums of the classic era. I say mixed bag because two of the tracks hint at a more rock flavor (Going For The One and Parallels) while 2 others are more classical influenced (Wondrous Stories and Awaken). Even though the flow of the album is somewhat disjointed by the contrast of the styles, the material is strong throughout and at times comes close to the heights of The Yes Album - Close To the Edge era Yes. The production is a little unclear and sloppy, but not bad. So Yes ends their classic era with a great album, not quite as great as their best but there are moments that are among the best. The 15 minute "Awaken" is worth the price alone and at times, I think it could stand side by side with Close To The Edge.

A Strong 4 stars. Yes will release some good stuff after this but this is where their essential works end.