GOING FOR THE ONE

Going for the One is the well polished back bookend of the highly imaginative and well wrought collection of albums which represents the core of Yes' discography. Like the lead album of this pack, the Yes Album, Going for the One lacks some of the grandeur and complexity which characterize the strongest albums in the set, but what it lacks there, it makes up for in charm.

Shorter tracks make up the first portion of the album, two hard and two soft. I find the harder tracks, Going for the One and Parallels to be the stronger of them. Parallels especially is remarkable for Rick Wakeman's commanding church organ. Of the softer tracks, Turn of the Centuries stands further out. It is somewhat reminiscent of the more coherent moments from Tales from Topographic Oceans. I've always considered Wondrous Stories to be something of a throwaway. If you subscribe to the cynical view that the popularity of a song is inversely proportional to its progressiveness then there may be something to it, as it was a top ten hit in the UK for YES at the height of Punk.

The second portion of the album is the last hurrah for Yes' seriously progressive side, the 15+ minute epic Awaken. Much like its counterpart Starship Trooper on the Yes Album, awake is very good in many ways, but somewhat incomplete when put up next to the big boys from Closer to the Edge and Relayer. For my part, I much prefer the up tempo first half to the calm and sleepy second half. As a result, Awaken is good, but not quite sufficient to carry the album into the top echelon of progressive rock.

Going for the One is reputed to be something of a fan favourite. It's easy to see why. It has very broad appeal while still maintaining its progressive chops. I don't think there is anybody I wouldn't really recommend this album too. It's both diverse and entertaining if not completely essential. I give it 4 out of a possible 5 stars.