GOING FOR THE ONE

This is a definite level 4 for me, as it is a top 5 Yes Album in my book. I even have an autographed copy on LP that my lovely wife got for me many years ago. So, yeah, an excuse to listen to one of my all-time favorite albums? Absolutely! Let's go!

Track 1 - Going for the One

Steve Howe's slide guitar kicks us off on this rocker. I love how Jon comes in on the high note. Chris Squire's countermelody vocals are a favorite touch of mine. Howe keeps sliding through the whole thing. Wakeman (who had just returned to the band) plays some nice rock piano underneath. Alan White and Chris Squire show why they are always going to be regarded as one of the greatest rhythm sections in prog (may they both RIP). I love the way they keep adding harmony vocal lines as the song reaches a climax on "Talk about sending love?." Great energetic track.

Track 2 - Turn of the Century

From a rocking opener to an almost classical song in Turn of the Century. It tells the story of a sculptor named Roan, whose wife passes away in the winter. In his grief he carves a statue of her, and it returns to life. Alan White was instrumental in writing the melody of this one on piano. Anderson wrote the lyrics based on ideas from both the opera La Boheme and the classical Greek story of Pygmalion. How helped to refine White's initial chord progression. Howe begins the song on classical guitar, to be joined by Anderson's vocals. Wakeman enters on keys at around 1 minute with subtle string-like chords. Harmony vocal "ahhs" begin around 3 minutes before Squire begins harmonizing the lyrics with Anderson. The music turns more dramatic at around 4 minutes with Wakeman's beautiful piano parts, and Howe switching to electric lead guitar lines. A build-up begins around the 5-minute point and reaches a climax at around 5:15. Howe's guitar lines are triumphant along with the vocals. He returns to classical guitar for the closing part of the song just before the 7-minute mark. This song is pure art.

Track 3 - Parallels

We begin with Wakeman on a pipe organ, while Squire's bass brings the rhythm section in along with lead guitar from Howe. The vocals begin in harmony at 50 seconds. This song was written by Squire for Fish out of Water, but didn't make the cut for his solo album. He played it for the band, and they loved it. There is a really cool bass & drum fill at around 1:55. Squire's bass line drives the song throughout. There is a nice solo from How just before the 3-minute mark, and brilliant fills follow along. I love the instrumental organ feature that starts around 3:30. Jon's vocals at 4:13 are amazing, as are the harmonies that follow. Someone, Howe I believe, is singing a countermelody in my left speaker I never noticed before in all of the times I have listened to this song! Amazing that I still hear new things on a song that I've heard countless times. The band really jams out the final minute of the song with Howe's glorious guitar leads.

Track 4 - Wondrous Stories

Time for Howe to bring back the Portuguese guitar from I've Seen All Good People, recorded 6 years earlier. This one, as Wakeman put it on the Yesyears video, is from Jon's "renaissance" period. Jon's beautiful vocals with Squire's harmonies are brilliant. Wakeman's keys are equally so. I love how Anderson & Squire do the call and response vocals on the following verse after the keyboard solo, then come together on "So cautiously at first and then so hiiiiiigh!. Howe's lead guitar work is the icing on the cake at the ending section. Brilliant song!

Track 5 - Awaken

This is tied with Close to the Edge for being my favorite Yes song. They are both so incredible, I can't put one over the other. It begins with Wakeman's virtuoso piano playing. He hits the low note and then he and Howe create a dreamy backdrop for Anderson's ethereal vocals. Squier joins on a harmony countermelody. The band then creates a whirling dervish of sound with sustained harmony vocals over the top. Howe's guitar part is very hard to reproduce correctly. Not to mention his brilliant lead lines between verses. I love how the band accents behind him at around 3:25. Anyone who thinks Steve Howe can't shred, needs to listen to this. It isn't shredding in the metal sense, but it is shredding, nonetheless. The band brings things down a bit at around 4:30, then just before the 5-minute mark, Wakeman, Squire, and Howe play the melody in turns on their respective instruments, fantastic! By 5:10 however there is a transition to a 6-8 rhythm and a new melody. Wakeman's organ is fantastical. Jon comes back in with "Workings of man?" I don't know of any other band who could come up with this song and pull it off. Then things wind down to a halt at 6:30. Alan White brings things back with a tuned percussion part on a bell-like instrument. Wakeman and Howe play little bits along with Jon playing a harp. By a little after 8 minutes the rhythm is fully established, and Wakeman begins playing amazing melodies on the organ with Squire and Howe maintaining a backing underneath. Then? the boys choir comes in?I know, right! Howe plays some nice lead lines around the 10-minute mark, and we build up to my favorite part. The "Master of Images" section. As if everything before this wasn't enough, when Jon starts singing that line at around 10:35 until the end with the boys' choir behind him and Squire joining on harmonies is absolutely otherworldly. The band keeps slowly building up, Howe gives a masterclass in playing guitar, and then the organ break at 12:15, exquisite. But the crescendo that follows is spine tingling. First at around 12:49, then when you think they just can't get any more powerful, they do at 13:00 when the choir gets prominent. Wow! But even the calm after the storm is still a thing of beauty. The wash of guitar and keyboards in a sea of reverb with Squire and White giving a bit of thunder underneath. Then Howe's final guitar tag is the punctuation that closes this masterpiece.

OVERALL IMPRESSIONS:

The fact that this album sits at around #4 in my Yes album rankings says a lot about how great Yes were in the 70s in particular. Awaken, of course, by itself ranks at the top, only equaled in quality by the (song) Close to the Edge. The other songs are strong indeed, definitely classics, but maybe not as strong as the main songs on The Yes Album, Fragile & Close to the Edge (album). I am still giving it a 5 out of 5 stars, but as I have said before, my favorite Yes albums are only a few atoms away from each other in my book. Highly recommended album of brilliance.