Yes
Going for the One

Did your girlfriend leave you? Worse yet, she told you she's two months pregnant and you haven't slept with her in three months?? Something else troubling you??? "Going For The One", the first track of the self-titled album, won't solve your problem but will lift you from despair for 5 minutes and 32 seconds. 

There are albums worth buying just for the immense beauty of one track (I write buying pretending that the internet doesn't exist), such as "On An Island" by the great Daviddone John Gilmour for its title track or "World Record" by VDGG for the fantastic "Mergluys III". "Going For The One" is one of those albums. The originality of the melody and arrangement, the captivating rhythm make it a track that sends you into ecstasy when you listen to it.

1977: Yes have surpassed the peak of their production, and the descending phase of their artistic parabola is beginning (They, the beacon of progressive), Bill Bruford is no longer part of the legendary lineup. Their sound, the Yessound, is truly unique, thanks mainly to the combination of a peculiar broad-spectrum voice such as John Anderson's, the talent of guitarist Steve Howe, Rick Wakeman on keyboards, and Chris Squire on bass, and the skill and originality of Bill Bruford, personally considered one of the most virtuosic rock drummers and the best in progressive. Credit for the original way of interweaving solo instruments to form a complex but easy-to-listen-to harmony.
I wholeheartedly agree with a well-known progressive manual that places Yes at the top of an equilateral triangle a notch above all other equally talented bands of such a musical genre. At the other two vertices, King Crimson and Genesis. The Yessound is lively, bursting with vibrancy from every pore (the only exception being the mishap known as "Tales From Topographic Oceans") and in this respect, it stands at the opposite extreme of the gloomy sound of Van Der Graaf.

I was saying about "Going For The One", a dazzling start to the album, which manages to evoke in me that exhilaration that I only experience, staying within the Yes production, when listening to "Close To The Edge". The structure is original, typical of the progressive that begins with the verse that has something genius, imperious. The refrain is slightly banal, but it leads into the actual chorus that presents a spectacular labyrinth of sounds where Anderson's voice (here's another originality) does the opposite of the norm: it acts as a musical net in which guitar, bass, and keyboards intertwine in solos (try listening to that passage focusing on everything that isn't the voice). The finale is another gem, with its rhythmic breaks and choruses. Okay, for prog purists, it may be considered a "song". But a complex song as only prog can invent. With a specific gravity, meaning intensity over time, that surpasses "Nettunio". 

Also noteworthy is the second track "Turn Of The Century", where Jan showcases his vocal prowess, admirably accompanied by an acoustic guitar and piano, in a crescendo. The other following tracks ("Parallels" hi-light - "Wonderous Stories" bland - "Awaken" suite neither here nor there) do not reach sufficiency. The suite in particular, for its inconsistency, closely resembles the disjointed pieces of "Tales From Topographic Oceans".

Unfortunately, the album suffers from the flaw of almost the entire Yes production, which is that the sound quality is poor, the recording leaves much to be desired. The cover is different in style from the others designed by Roger Dean, it's a sign of the times, romanticism giving way to other genres in the commercial '80s.  

Listen to it, folks, perhaps at high volume. Perhaps program only the first two tracks on your player, maybe even just the first to give you a boost. They will be magical moments of music at the highest levels.