Kind of their big run at being a commercial thing, which flopped. And Curt in a frock is somewhat Beachist. I love every note they ever recorded though, in fact I like many of the records on this thread!
It is for me. Some of that was setting in on Pussycats where you can hear him beginning to self-destruct, but overall, it had better songs. Duit On Mon Dei had a couple of songs I like ("Salmon Falls" and "Kojak Columbo") but it also had a lot of uninspired silly novelty songs like "What's Your Sign", "It's a Jungle Out There", and "Good For God." "Jesus Christ You're Tall" worked better in its finished form on Sandman (which still had some of the drunken party vibe but he was beginning to find his way back and his voice was recovering). As for calypso and steel drums, I personally like them in small doses.
How Going For The One can be nominated is beyond me. The title track sees Yes in a really vibrant mood, great melody and Howe is on fine form. Turn Of The Century is a beauty the delicate build up is exquisite. Parallels has some rocky church organ with Squires bass bouncing along, Wonderous Stories is just a very pretty tune that deserved its chart success and the epic Awaken is one of the best songs the band ever recorded. The only below par element was the crap album cover. The album (IMHO) is a Yes classic. Tormato, on the other hand...
I must add that (misleadingly perhaps) my choices were only about the covers, not the music. Legendary Hearts is a classic Reed album
I can't relate to someone who thinks Going For the One was a drop in quality. I think it's the best thing Yes ever produced. And the album cover is fine. My candidate pick? Joni Mitchell - Wild Things Run Fast
I think the difference is that the Lou Reed photo more or less fits the greasy, rebellious, f-you image that he tended to cultivate, while EL&P looking like they were gracing the cover of a Jimmy Buffett album was just so laughably out of character.
I see the difference. But for me it's Reed posing in a kind of hetero-macho cheese-ball normal American man way. Of course, I can deal with it – because the album is so good.
Obviously one for me is Born In The USA: denim clad **** on the cover, atypically commercial music with contemporaneous instrumentation within. The catch is that it’s actually a really good album.
Really!!??? This was their idea of a commercial record!!?? I mean I really like this album but it is hardly a comercial sound!
I’m curious as to how this qualifies at all. A fan from before the album, there are days when this album is top 3 Pups for me. I can understand the album that follows (to a point), and Golden Lies is an album by another band that happens to have Curt in it, so a label makes it into a Meat Puppets album, but THTD is possibly even a step up from two albums prior, Monsters - and even that has very high highs, no pun. If one was upset that they were popular when this album came out, or was still holding a grudge that they stopped being sloppy hardcore after 1982? Those are about the only real criteria I can see for this to be seen as “weaker”, but not even close to Love Beach. I’m aware of London strong arming them into putting a bridge in “Backwater”, as well as making the band re-record older songs, but it’s not like any of it is even close to “bad”.
