GOING FOR THE ONE

"Going For The One" is commonly acknowledged as Yes' last great album, and you can be sure they went out with a bang. Their sound is more modern than "The Yes Album", for instance, but it still retains that familiar Prog feel. The band was back after a long hiatus, Rick Wakeman returned, everyone was happy and you can tell. Now on to the songs:

"Going For The One": A pure rocker with a slight 50's vibe (think "All Good People"), this is an album standout and one of Yes' most accessible and enjoyable songs. Sure, it's certainly not the most proggressive song, but Yes had recorded at least 4 "progressive" albums and for God's sakes, they deserved a break. Besides, if it's this good, who cares?

"Turn Of The Century": This is where the album falls flat for me. Yes take a moment to get away from Jon Anderson's pseudo-spiritual style to tell a simple love story about a sculptor and his dying love. Problem is, the lyrics approach cheesy territory on a few occasions, and I personally like it better when the lyrics don't make sense. Plus the song seems to be leading to a big climax, but after 6 or so minutes all we get is an acoustic guitar solo and a "Moonchild"-styled outro (And we all know how everyone likes "Moonchild"). Some people claim see the "magic" in it, but I know I sure can't.

"Parallels": The most Prog song on here so far, it exists as sort of a cross between "GFTO" and "Awaken", which we'll get to later. The rock song that serves as the basis is okay enough, but gels suprisingly well with the church organ[!] to deliver a satisfyingly good track. It's definitely not one of Yes' all-time best, but it's certainly not one of their worst.

"Wonderous Stories": An under-4 minute Yes song? Wow! The most straightfoward Yes song since "Long Distance Runaround" (Beating out "GFTO" by a hair) is pretty damn good despite being the most poppy number on the album. It's definitely the better of the "soft" songs here, being more to the point and alltogether more enjoyable. LA AHA.

"Awaken": Now THIS is Yes. You think there's not enough Prog on the album? Well, here you go. A great piano intro starts off what is to be 15 minutes and 38 seconds of great music, with an ambient lyrical section following. Then the song EXPLODES, and Jon pulls out his strategy of chanting seemingly completely random words over hypnotizing instrumentation. And I'll be damned if that strategy doesn't work! Then the song gets more focused and we enter the great "Workings of Man" section. Wow! And it's not even the 8-minute mark yet! Then, the song becomes quiet, and for the next 4 or so minutes the song restarts with a semi-spiritual instrumental section with organ, harp, guitar, and a full chior[!] entering the fray. Not as good as the other parts up to it, but still very enjoyable. Then we enter the best part of the song as Jon starts the "Master of Images" section, describing the many features of God. I'm moved by this part, and I'm an Atheist! Then Jon stops singing, Rick gets a brief organ solo, and then...oh my God. The church organ returns full force, sounding even huger than it was in "Close to the Edge", the chior starts singing, and the music is moving enough to give the end of "Supper's Ready" a run for its money! The song then returns full circle to the ambient part from the beggining for the finish. Hands down the best on the album and one of Yes' "Classic" tracks, though I personally think that "The Gates of Delirium" cannot be topped. You have to hear it to believe it.

As for bonus tracks, there's simply TOO MANY of them. There are three short instrumentals, which are nothing extrordinary, and original versions of four out of the five songs on the album. I could have helped not knowing that "GFTO" originally sounded like crap. Just ignore them.

Is it Yes' greatest album? No. But it's still worth a look, with most of the tracks being very enjoyable. In fact, the whole album is very enjoyable and one of Yes' most accessible records, great for the Yes beginners. Don't let "Turn of the Century" and the glut of bonus tracks stop you from enjoying this one.