GOING FOR THE ONE

After the bloated white elephant and the somewhat rather abrasive Relayer, Yes well and truly returned to form with Going For The One. With the return of Rick Wajkeman in the fold , fans would have expected a great album especially now that Jon Anderson was coming up with more straightforward songs and they were not let down, Going For the One is a truly great album.The five tracks featured are all excellent and there is absolutly no filler.The opening Title track isa enegetic pop-rocker witha memorable hook and some fine slide guitar from Steve How,"Turn of The Century" is a moving song about a man who makes a sculpture of his recently deceased wife which then appears to magically come to life.I must admit it is a relief when Anderson's lyric actually mean something rather than his usual aerie fairy nonsense.Chris Squire's "Parallels" is a great big fat prog rocker with a titanic church organ providing the central riff. "Wonderous Stories" is a lovely little folk-pop-witha catchy chorus number with just enough keybpard flourishes to make it truly memorable.And finally the epic "Awaken" which takes up most of side 2.It truly is a superb slice of long-form progressive rock easily on par with 'Close To The Edge" The production on this album is just about perfect. Yes managed to streamline their playing making the music gutsier than ever but somehow while retaining their core sound. An absolute masterpiece-5 stars