GOING FOR THE ONE

This was the first Yes album that I bought on the day it was released. Rick Wakeman was back! It must be a great album. -- Initially I was disappointed with it, the songs sounding somewhat more contrived than the previous albums.

After many listens, I began to appreciate the album. Now I love it.

None of the songs are bad. Wonderous Stories, the song used as a single, is the lightest piece. The worst I can say about it is that it sounds too much like And You And I. Parallels is just okay. It's saved by a good bass line, and a strong keyboard sound. Going For The One is the song that I've change my mind the most about. On the surface, it sounds like a slightly country-flavored rock song. But it develops into a fairly complex work.

Turn Of The Century is one of the most beautiful pieces Yes ever produced. With the most coherent lyrics from Yes to date, the song is a poignant work about love and death. It begins with light guitar, and builds to a crescendo perfectly.

Awaken, the best song on the album, is a tour de force, mostly for Wakeman. It's no Close To The Edge, but it's still one of the top epics from a band that made many great epic songs.