GOING FOR THE ONE

This is quite a sad album in that it was the last real masterpiece that Yes released, so when you listen to Awaken, the album closer, it's pretty poignant stuff. I'm quite surprised the average score is 4.06 at the time of writing this. I truly believe this to be on par with close to the edge, fragile and relayer though. When i first listened to this album, i didn't think the same way, but it grew on me...it really is a great album, and almost certainly contains some of Rick Wakemans best works within it.

The album opens with the title track Going for the One, beginning with Steve Howes slide guitar riff, the slide guitar dominating much of the song along with Jons lyrics. It's very upbeat, it has a sorta feel good factor to it, it's just a great opener to the album. It does get a little repetitive but it's still a briliant song and showcases Steve Howes incredible talent on steel guitar. Next comes Turn of the Century, admittedly this took a while to grow on me but i'm glad it did, it's a very beautiful song, once again showcasing Howe's talent, and how both Howe and Wakeman combine brilliantly. The whole song, dominated by classical guitar and piano work, sort of makes you think of, well, the turn of the century really...it really takes you somewhere else (yes, without drugs). Third song is parallels, certainly one of the strongest songs on the album. Here Howe and Wakeman do what they do best, most noticabely Wakeman, dominating the song with a church organ. Most people say that awaken is the gem of the album, and i agree, but this is certainly a song that can't be overlooked. Epic, just epic. Rick Wakeman is often referred to as one of the greatest keyboard players in rock, and this is definitely a reason why! The next song Wonderous Stories is probably the weakest song on the album, a very laid back short one (well for yes anyway). It's not a bad song, but is pretty overshadowed by the rest. I guess it sets you up for the grand finale... Awaken, THE grand finale, the grandest of finales. It contains all of the above pretty much and more. The album is more than worth purchasing for this song alone, a cliche i know but who cares when it's so true. The song contains epic church organs, intense bass and drums, gentle and strong guitar parts, and terrific vocals and lyrics that make absolutely no sense. Yet, as i said before it's very sad in a way hearing the utterly awesome ending, knowing this was to be the last epic yes album before they became commercial and torn.

It's great to hear a band 5 years after their peak and find they're still as good as they were, and this album shows that yes were just that, though they had changed from their close to the edge days, as does every band. This album is certainly a masterpiece in my opinion, and i've no problem with it gettin 5/5. It's not Close to the Edge, it's not Fragile, but then it doesn't try to be, it's unique. A great swan song for clssic Yes.