GOING FOR THE ONE

"Going for the One" marks the end of a string of classic Yes albums that most people consider to be their absolute best, and I consider this album to be an exclusion from that string.

The music on this album comes of as sounding strange to me, and mostly boring. The title track is fun, wild, and very accessible, though the southern twang present on Howe's guitar is a bit off-putting. The vocals in the title track are also very memorable and it's easy to sing along.

Unfortunately, no other track really stands out to me. "Turn of the Century" at first listen sounds like a beautiful ballad, and it is, but I kept waiting for development in the song and it never happens. It's very monotonous and extremely forgettable, in my opinion. "Parallels" brings back the punch from the first track, but seems to be not thought out very well and not one second of this track stands out, nor does it progress any. "Wondrous Stories" is mostly an acoustic song accentuated by keys, but is short, bland, and entirely uninteresting.

After the previous three tracks, all highly forgettable, I had high hopes for the epic track. "Awaken" is a decent track within the context of this album, but is insignificant in the Yes catalog. There are a few nice guitar lines in the first half of the track but becomes boring and over stays the track's +15 minute duration. Apparently this track is a classic in the Yes catalog. Weird.

Though I couldn't find much to love about this album, it is highly regarded among some Yes fans as an overlooked gem. Since fans are divided between the conclusion of masterpiece and insignificant, this is either a love it or hate it kind of album.