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Yes - Going for the One CD (album) cover

GOING FOR THE ONE

Yes

 

Symphonic Prog

4.06 | 2367 ratings

From Progarchives.com, the ultimate progressive rock music website

porter
5 stars What an album. It's the kind of album you get to love more every time you listen to it. I admit that at first I wasn't that excited about it, and the main reason is that I was expecting another Relayer or CTTE. This is pretty different from both and from all of the other "classic" Yes albums. The difference is in the production, which is more focussed and modern, the sound is crisper and, I would say, more leaning towards what was to be the typical 80's fashion. And the songs have a more apparent "rock format", except for Awaken, which belongs to the Yes's epics tradition.

The tracklist comprises five songs, which are not very lenghty considering Yes's standards, apart from Awaken which goes for 15+ minutes. Many reviews tend to say that the only worth track on the album is Awaken; this is far from being true. We have 4 other great Yes tunes, maybe not "typically" Yes, but still strongly Yes.

1) Going for the one: great (and kind of shocking at first listen) southern rock like intro, with slide electric guitar by Steve Howe, for a positive, good-feeling kind of song. Almost an anthem in some respects. The structure is pretty straightforward, I don't find particular complexities here, but that's not what makes a song great, so it's not a problem.

2) Turn of the century: beautiful (and very sad) love song, a true Yes classic. It may sound as a "never-reaching-the-point" kind of song, but it's really not. It's pretty heart- rending, especially in the middle section where we have a minor key Wakeman piano solo (which turns to a major key before going back to the verse; this has a wonderful "hope producing" effect, imo). There's a great instrumental work here especially by Howe, but the rest of the band shines no less.

3) Parallels: one of my favorite Yes songs ever. Very energetic, again a straightforward song, church organ-driven by Wakeman who plays a simple but great riff. There's also a great organ solo (possibly my favorite Wakeman solo in Yes), and a great middle section led by a clever bass riff by Squire. Again, the message seems to be "Hope".

4) Wonderous stories: beautiful ballad, somewhat childish but really beautiful and dreaming. It may also be a bit cheesy, but in case it would be one of the best cheesy songs I've ever heard. As someone stated before, there's so many instruments here, it almost sounds like an orchestra.

5) Awaken: here we go back to Yes's symphonic side. Another classic epic in their catalog, 15 minutes of grandiosity led by one of Steve Howe's best guitar riff's ever, and some incredible arrangements for church organ and choir by Wakeman. Great structure, especially in which I call "the clock part" (because it reminds me of the sound of a clock) in the middle of the song. It's a song of hope and mystery at the same time, ranging from optimism to kind of a sense of lostness at the knowing of the universe. Reminds me a lot of CTTE in terms of concept. The final part almost makes you shiver courtesy of the choir which, if possible, adds even more magic to the song.

This album is indeed a masterpiece. And, if the first two or three listenings don't tell you much, be patient, and it will reveal itself for the great work it is.

Porter

porter | 5/5 |

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