GOING FOR THE ONE

Yes

Symphonic Prog

4.06 | 2374 ratings

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Easy Livin
Special Collaborator
Honorary Collaborator / Retired Admin

"So I'm thinking should I go and write a punch line? But they're so hard to find in my cosmic mind"

One of Wakeman's many returns to the fold produced this excellent collection of wondrous Yes tracks.

The music throughout is beefy with an almost Phil Spector type wall of sound on "Going for the one" and "Parallels". The title track was something of a change for Yes, being overtly commercial (perhaps with the singles market in mind), and bearing a fine repetitive hook. "Parallels" is a heavy organ driven number, with echoes of Vanilla Fudge or even Uriah Heep. It is interesting to hear on the extended remastered CD, how this track developed from Chris Squire's apparently tuneless demo, to the full blown masterpiece on the album.

There's also a greater than usual leaning towards softer acoustic sounds with "Turn of the century" and "Wonderous stories" basking the listener in washes of smooth, at times almost folk like music. Once again, these tracks are more commercial than much of Yes' pervious work, reflecting the atmosphere of the period and record companies demands for product which was likely to appeal to a wider audience.

The masterpiece track is "Awaken", a very appropriate title in many ways as it's been something of a sleeper over the years. The song has only in comparatively recent times received due recognition as one of Yes' finest ever pieces. Wakeman is very much to the fore on this track, not so much in the form of overt soloing, more in creating an atmosphere upon which the rest of the band build intertwining layers. The piece moves from fragile beauty through eloquent, at times almost ambient, phases to awesome majestic power. The final climb to the crescendo is quite overwhelming, and when played live invariably causes the audience to rise as one, as if uplifted from their seats by an unseen power, before being gently lowered back to earth by the ethereal ending.

"Going for the One" represented a major step forward for Yes, as they developed a more mature yet accessible sound, while retaining their ability to compose "classical" music.

Easy Livin | 4/5 | 2004-6-28

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