stonefish9's Full Review: Going for the One [Bonus Tracks] [Remaster] by Yes
British progressive rock band Yes had just finished doing a world tour with Pat Moraz on keyboards, and they were about to work on a follow-up to Relayer (1974) after a two-year hiatus. But then, the band chose to get rid of Pat, due to musical and personality differences. He later joined the Moody Blues.
In the process of working on their next LP, the band asked Rick Wakeman to come back to the band. He had left Yes a few years earlier citing musical differences. After settling his differences with them, he obliged and worked with the band in Switzerland on what many (myself included) consider to be one of their best albums.
Originally released by Atlantic Records in 1977, Going For The One is another classic LP from the band, showcasing them making rock and roll which took from blues, folk, and classical elements to make it quite good.
The one thing I hate about this LP is that there ain't no cover artwork by Roger Dean (other than the logo; I heard he fell out with the group over something but I can't confirm that). Instead, we have cover artwork done by Hipgnosis (best known for their work with Pink Floyd, among others), which shows a nude man standing in front of a bunch of tall city buildings with multicolored lines surrounding him. I feel it doesn't really represent Yes (well, they had a nude woman on the British cover of Time And A Word but it's cheesy too), but what is funny to me is that my old lady thinks the cover is quite sexy. Go figure. Now onto the music.
The first side starts off with the title track. Written by lead singer Jon Anderson, this is a tongue-in-cheek number about pursuing victory at all costs. What I like about this song is guitarist Steve Howe's slide guitar work, done on a lap steel guitar. I always thought that Duane Allman did some great slide guitar work with the Allman Brothers, but this definitely gives Duane a run for his money. Jon also sings his highest on here, which sounds quite soulful.
Next, we have the track "Turn Of The Century". Written by Jon, Steve, and drummer Alan White, this is a song about a sculptor who does a sculpture of his wife who passed away some years earlier. As he does the sculpture, she comes to life! Interesting story indeed. Music-wise, this is a beautiful song that borders between classical music and new age. Steve does some great classical guitar work, Rick provides some ambient keyboards, and Alan does some subtle percussion work. Steve does some soulful electric guitar at the end too. Even though the song is about eight minutes long, it should have gotten more airplay because it's so good.
Closing out side one is the track, "Parallels". Written by bassist Chris Squire, this is a song about universal love. On here, I like how Jon and Chris harmonize throughout the song. But what makes the song interesting, is how Rick plays the pipe organ on the song (yes, I said pipe organ, recorded at a Catholic church in Switzerland). It's perhaps the best straight-ahead rocker I've heard with a pipe organ, since Styx's "Father O.S.A."(from the Styx II album). Steve also does some guitar work, while Alan really rips on the drums.
Side two starts off with "Wonderous Stories". Written by Jon, this is about a traveler who meets an old hermit who tells mystical stories about his life to the amazement of the traveler. Music-wise, this is another mix of folk and quasi-classical. with Steve playing jazzy electric guitar and vachilia, while Rick plays some colorful synthesizer lines on his Poly-Moog synthesizer.
Closing out side two is the best cut on the album, entitled "Awaken". Written by Jon and Steve, this is one of the band's more spiritual songs dealing with the relationship of God and man (no, it's not a gospel song but has plenty of spiritual overtones dealing with life and love). Musically, I think it's one the band's most ambitious pieces of music, considering that it clocks in at over fifteen minutes. It seems to be done in three parts. I like how Rick starts of with an acoustic piano intro (done in a manner like the Rufus song "Packed My Bags"), and then Jon sings the intro with acoustic guitar and keyboards floating in the background. Then the band goes into full speed ahead, with Steve playing some lightning fast riffs on an electric 12-string guitar (amazing, ain't it?). I also like the multipart harmonies in this first part of the song.
The second part of the song features Rick playing the pipe organ again, while the music here is somewhat waltzy with Alan playing real jazzy drums and then it breaks down. Rick still plays the organ, while there is interplay between Rick, Jon, and Alan. Jon plays the harp, Alan plays crotales, and Rick provides the organ. There is also a choir (the popular British choral ensemble known as the Richard Williams singers), which provides sweetening of the song.
The third part of the song really majestic with Jon and Chris singing their butts off. I also like how the choir really sing like angels, and then there is a climax with Rick playing majestically on the organ while Steve does a mournful solo. Then it ends with Jon singing with the final verses with Rick's keyboards in the background along with choir. It then ends with Alan playing kettledrums, then a guitar coda from Steve.
Why I like this is because it's a great fusion of rock, classical, and English church music. As someone who happens to have heard this in church during mass (Anglican, by the way), I was quite impressed with it when they did it live too.
On the 2003 re-master, we get some bonus tracks. The first one if the track "Montreux's Theme". Written by the band save for Rick, this features Jon on rhythm guitar, while Steve plays some jazzy leads. This is also the band dabbling in jazz fusion with Alan playing some jazzy drums ALA Lenny White.
Next, we have "Vevey (Revisited)". Written by Jon and Rick, this is another classical piece with Jon on harp and Rick Wakeman on pipe organ. To me, it sounds like the preludes that the organist would play in church right before the service would start. Go figure.
Next, there's the church hymn, "Amazing Grace". No, this doesn't have Rick playing pipe organ again. Rather, it's Chris doing this on a bass guitar through a fuzzbox unit. Although it shows how good a bass guitarist he really is, it doesn't really do much for me. I think that the Groundhogs' version of the song is much better (from the Who Will Save The World?" album; the review is right here:http://www.epinions.com/content_179805720196).
Next, we treated to a studio rehearsal of the title track, which is boring beyond all belief, which shows that Chris, Jon, and Alan are pretty good as a power trio, though.
Next, we then have a studio rehearsal of "Parallels". I happen to like this, because it has more of a rawer, more organic feel than the official version. Rick plays Hammond organ instead of a pipe organ, as well as his Moog synthesizers. Steve's playing is a little more aggressive with him playing slide guitar again. But more importantly, Chris does most of the lead vocals on this track, showing he is a capable lead vocalist.
Next, we get a studio rehearsal version of "Turn Of The Century". Where the official version is a quasi-classical piece, this is more of a slow rocker with some great guitar work from Steve.
Closing out the CD is a early version of "Awaken", entitled "Eastern Number". It's about twelve minutes long. It doesn't have the energy of the official version, and a few verses are left out. It does show the beginning of a great song though.
Also, on the CD version we get additional pictures of the band, as well as interviews with them about making the album and stuff. So you do get your money's worth on the C.D.
Going For The One is another classic album from this British band that showed strength, subtlety, and power. The band really hit their creative stride with this one, and they never again hit the heights that they had with this album.
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