Going for the One (1977)
1. Going for the One
2. Turn of the Century
3. Parallel Lives
4. Wonderous Stories
5. Awaken
After a three-year recording hiatus, Going for the One marked a very welcome return for Yes—a band that had a lot to prove after the excesses of Tales from Topographic Oceans and the slightly polarizing sprawl of Relayer. This time, they managed to evolve without losing themselves, dialing back the labyrinthine structures and moving toward something—if not exactly “pop”—at least more accessible. This isn’t a singles album by any stretch, but it’s clear they were no longer hell-bent on making everything sound like a mystical riddle with 37 time changes per minute.
Of course, any new Yes release requires a lineup update. Rick Wakeman is back in the fold, reclaiming the keyboard chair he’d stormed out of after Tales. Legend has it he heard the early demos for this project and found them far less disastrous than his previous experience. With mutual forgiveness in the air, he signed back on. His return isn’t just symbolic, either. Wakeman’s fingerprints are everywhere here, largely defining the album’s new sonic palette.
Wakeman seems reinvigorated, gleefully deploying both cutting-edge synthesizers and old-school church organ. Yes had always flirted with grandiosity, but here the organ adds gravitas without drowning the mix. The result is atmospheric, layered, and surprisingly tasteful. Even better, the rest of the band seems to have learned the value of restraint. Chris Squire’s bass—usually a snarling, dominant force—feels dialed back, meshing smoothly with Alan White’s drumming to create a more conventional (for them, anyway) rhythm section. The overall impression is of a band no longer trying to prove how many notes they can squeeze into a bar, but instead serving the songs themselves.
But does this approach actually work? For the most part, yes—though not without missteps. The biggest offender, at least for this reviewer, is the title track Going for the One. As the lead single and album opener, it clearly had the band’s vote of confidence. Yet it sounds like they’re straining to be contemporary, with Steve Howe channelling equal parts Chuck Berry and Jimmy Page in a rock ‘n’ roll pastiche that doesn’t suit them. Add in Wakeman’s keyboard pyrotechnics and Jon Anderson’s most piercing vocals, and it becomes a bit much. To be fair, plenty of fans love it—but for others, it’s an uneasy listen.
Fortunately, the rest of the record is nothing short of excellent. Turn of the Century is a complete course correction, all ethereal beauty and storytelling. It’s precisely the kind of lush, emotive music Jon Anderson was born to sing. Parallels treads a fine line between the old complexity and the new directness. It’s not the most remarkable song in their catalog, but it shows the band adapting to a changing musical landscape without betraying their identity. Wondrous Stories, meanwhile, is as inviting as its title suggests—a compact, shimmering track that feels like classic Yes distilled to its essence.
Then there’s Awaken. The album’s final and longest piece, it stands as the last great Yes epic to join their live setlists for decades to come. Unlike their earlier multi-part marathons, Awaken doesn’t try to show off at every turn. Instead, it unfolds with patience and grace, dominated by Wakeman’s majestic church organ and Howe’s intricate but lyrical guitar work. Anderson’s vocals are plaintive and mystical, tying the whole thing together with a serene confidence. It’s arguably one of their most cohesive large-scale compositions—a masterclass in atmosphere over bombast.
Commercially and critically, Going for the One was a success, welcomed as a sign that Yes could evolve without alienating their longtime fans. It proved that complexity and accessibility weren’t mutually exclusive—and after a turbulent few years, it was exactly the kind of rejuvenation they needed. Of course, in true Yes fashion, the rollercoaster was far from over, and there were plenty of sharp turns still to come.
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