Yes: Going for the One (1977)

Would the magician’s return signal a continuation of Tales or mark the beginning of a new chapter?

Kronomyth 10: The magician’s return.

Rick Wakeman’s return was the fairy-tale followup that Yes fans had been wishing and waiting for ever since Tales from Topographic Oceans. That the band would never reach such sublime heights again is a matter of opinion, but for me Going for the One is the band’s last magical album. Oh, there were moments of inspiration that followed to be sure, but there’s not a single moment on Going for the One that doesn’t take my breath away. The title tracks scales dizzying heights and the listener doesn’t return from the album’s celestial palace of sound until the last note of Awaken fades. In between those bookends you’ll find a love story spun from pure sunlight, Turn of the Century, a towering cathedral of sound, Parallels, and a perfect story that wraps the band’s mythology around them like a mithril cloak, Wonderous Stories. I am one of those people who believes that God, the creator, breathes his spirit into our greatest creations. Going for the One is God-breathed music. There is a deep mysticism at work in songs like “Wonderous Stories” and “Awaken” that approaches our (or at least my) understanding of God. Seeking and finding such a treasure after a three-year journey (although Olias of Sunhillow was hardly unprofitable), I’ve spent many an hour poring over subsequent releases from Yes in search of the same. There are pockets of gold in Drama and Tormato and The Ladder, et cetera, though nothing that outshines the drabbest passages of Going for the One. It is, in short, a miracle, an answer to prayer, and a shining illustration of man channeling the divine.

Original elpee versi0n

A1. Going for the One (Jon Anderson) (5:30)
A2. Turn of the Century (Jon Anderson/Steve Howe/Alan White) (7:58)
A3. Parallels (Chris Squire) (5:52)
B1. Wonderous Stories (Jon Anderson) (3:45)
B2. Awaken (Jon Anderson/Steve Howe) (15:38)

CD reissue bonus tracks
6. Montreux’s Theme
7. Vevey
8. Amazing Grace
9. Going for the One (rehearsal)
10. Parallels (rehearsal)
11. Turn of the Century (rehearsal)
12. Eastern Numbers

The Players

Jon Anderson (vocals, harp), Steve Howe (steel guitar, acoustic & electric guitar, vachalia, vocals), Chris Squire (bass guitar, vocals), Rick Wakeman (piano, electric keyboards, church organ, polymoog), Alan White (drums, percussion). Arranged & produced by Yes; executive producer: Brian Lane; recording engineered by John Timperley.

The Pictures

Sleeve design and photography by Hipgnosis. Yes logo by Roger Dean. Graphics by George Hardie. Inner spread photo by Alex Grab and Jaques Streassle.

The Plastic

Released on elpee, cassette and 8-track on July 7, 1977 in the UK (Atlantic, K/K4-50379), the US (Atlantic, SD/TP 19106), Argentina (Atlantic, 16043), Germany and the Netherlands (Atlantic, ATL 50379), Japan (Atlantic, P-10304A) and Yugoslavia (Suzy, ATL 50379) with trifold cover and lyrics innersleeve. Reached #1 on the UK charts and #8 on the US charts (RIAA-certified gold record).

1. Re-issued on compact disc and cassette in July 1988 in the US (Atlantic, A2/CS-19106).
2. Re-issued on remastered compact disc on August 16, 1994 worldwide (Atlantic, 82670).
3. Re-issued on expanded, remastered compact disc on August 26, 2003 in the US (Rhino, 73793) with 6 bonus tracks.