GOING FOR THE ONE

A mediocre album from Yes, which has one potential saving grace at the end of the album. "Going for the One" has a few pitfalls from which it seems it cannot recover, the most glaring being its tendency to wander.

I. "Going for the One": From the starting point, it is easy to tell that Yes has become significantly different since 1974's "Relayer". There are a multitude of short pieces that do not match the glory of 1972-1974; the greatest example of this is the title track. First off, a musician can be heard counting off "one, two, three, four", an evolution of Yes' part to 4/4 tempo in music. This shift to a standard pop rhythm, along with the bass/drums/guitar/vocals setup of the title track, produces a truly generic rock piece. Although there are several vocal harmonies toward the end that are quite beautiful, and the band remembers that they have a synthesizer for a few seconds, it is not enough to make this piece great. Howe's guitar playing is good, and signature in its bizarre effects, but isn't enough to rescue this so-so rocker.

II. "Turn of the Century": Another repetitive song, this time in the form of an acoustic ballad instead of generic Album Oriented Rock. There is a very nice sense of calming added by the acoustic guitar and synthesizer/organ combination, but the vocals feel misplaced at times. Anderson is a tad desparate sounding, which really ruins the pastorality of the music during certain points. Half-way through the piece is semi-rescued by Wakeman's classical piano which awakens the listener to the realization that this is still Symphonic Prog. Some excellent synthesizer in the background sets up a nice mood, but eventually the song moves back to "beauty ballad" formula. Howe does trade in his acoustic guitar to belt off a nice electric guitar part, but eventually it merely highlights how long the song goes on without real release. There is no disputing Wakeman's playing and Howe's excellent Segovia-born playing, but I believe they do not utilize their skills to the highest degree possible. Despite it all, one of the better pieces of Romanticism on the album.

III. "Parallels": Interesting opening; powerful playing; weak concept and execution. The song has very powerful church organ and madness on the electric guitar, but this reliance does not allow the other elements to shine. There is a feeling of steely cold emotionlessness, as if the song was pumped out merely to fulfill the requirements for the album. Choruses repeat themselves endlessly, without very much variation... the power is meant to mislead the listener and make him/her believe that it is amazing. In a way, the music is good, but it truly goes nowhere and sits around on guitar and organ solos. The percussion is fine... bass can be hard to distinguish, but it is okay.

IV. "Wonderous Stories": Typical rock/happy acoustic ballad in the vein of "Turn of the Century", yet not as interesting. There is a small amount of synthesizer and synthesized horn, but it goes as far as "Parallels" ever went: nowhere. "Wonderous Stories" can be nice to listen to once in a while, but its uninspired meandering does not lend itself well to the name "Yes".

V. "Awaken": Finally, something classical-born on the album! "Awaken" is the potential saving grace of "Going for the One"; it even begins with Wakeman's improved-since-1973 piano playing. This piece actually evolves from piano to synthesizer waves to electric guitar, to organ and back again. There is an infinite cycle of movement and the typical beautiful philosophical wanderings of Anderson. What is excellent to hear again is the rhythm section rising to prominence, rivalling 1971's "Roundabout" for groove. Squire's bass guitar truly shines, also for the first time, in accordance with his pre-"Relayer" playing. Alan White's massive drums pound out intensely fast descending smashes to mold out the groove. Above this quagmire of noises is Rick Wakeman, shining (here's that phrase again!) for the first time since before "Tales from Topographic Oceans". All in all, "Awaken" really moves forward, yet it is indistinct in that each part molds together to form a definite and technically amazing whole. In the end, though, the organ (solo!), drums, bass, guitar, synthesizers, and Anderson's voice do not equal enough to make the entire outing a classic.

Perhaps if the team had really worked together on side one in the fashion they do on "Awaken", this album would have become something more. At the conclusion of listening, though, 3/5 of "Going for the One" is comes off as filler and is overshadowed by the preceding album material. 3.9/5 stars for effort and "Awaken"....