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Yes - Going for the One CD (album) cover

GOING FOR THE ONE

Yes

 

Symphonic Prog

4.06 | 2362 ratings

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Chicapah
Prog Reviewer
4 stars After the jazzier side of Yes surfaced on "Relayer" fans were wondering just where they would go from there. To the joy of many of us they took a step back to their roots by reacquiring Rick Wakeman and producing the more symphonic type atmospheres that endeared us to them in the first place. While the album gets off to a disturbing rocky start with Howe's grating slide guitar (not his forte although his steel guitar playing is fantastic on "Relayer") one must stay with it to reap the true benefits farther along. (I will go to my grave wondering why they didn't put the amazing "Awaken" first. Rick's stunning piano intro is worthy of that honor and would have set the true tone of the album much more gracefully). Once the strange "Going for the One" finally plays out you get to the beautiful "Turn of the Century" that features their best ensemble work as far as integrating their combined compositional skills into one song. "Parallels" is okay but it really sounds like a solo tune from Chris Squire that was brought in for filler. It ain't bad but it ain't great, either. "Wonderous Stories" is one of their top short tunes featuring one of Jon's better vocal performances. It is flawless and serves as a great lead-in to one of their best efforts ever. "Awaken" may be the perfect example of why Yes was one of the greatest bands that ever existed. I could go on and on and on but I'd soon run out of adjectives to describe it. Trust me, the song is as good as it gets in progressive rock. Steve redeems himself by closing the tune with a gorgeous guitar run that leaves you close to tears. The only other drawback is the cover art. Roger Dean should have provided another masterpiece to compliment the music within. Instead, we got some dude's backside. Thanks a lot, guys. It pains me to give it just 4 stars but it's an A- at least (mostly due to Howe's unforgivable and annoying slide guitar work) and I rank it right behind CTTE. Still one of their best.
Chicapah | 4/5 |

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