Going For The Last (Virtuoso 149/150)
Pavillion De Paris, Paris, France – December 6th, 1977
Disc 1 (64:08): Firebird Suite, Parallels, I’ve Seen All Good People, Close To The Edge, Wonderous Stories, Colours Of The Rainbow, Turn Of The Century, Tour Song, And You And I
Disc 2 (55:09): Little Jam, Going For The One, Flight Jam, Awaken, Roundabout, Nous Sommes Du Soleil, Starship Trooper
Yes’ tour for Going For The One is one of their most enjoyable. The music they created with in Montreux in late 1976 was another twist in their musical expression. The songs from the album (all of which were played on the tour) remain unique, indescribable and sublime. The melodies and clean and the arrangements uncluttered.
It is also probably the tour with the greatest number of releases. Going For The Last on Virtuoso documents the final night of the four month long tour on December 6th at the Pavillion De Paris in Paris, France. Moments Delight (Going For To Paris) (Highland HL 272/273), released about fifteen years ago also features this show along with the encore set from the December 5th Paris show. Highland has very good sound quality but runs at the wrong speed.
Virtuoso uses the same tape as Highland. The sound is cleaner, runs at the right speed and is a remarkable upgrade.
The tape picks up with the “Firebird Suite” introduction leading into “Parallels.” The opening song from the LP and the tour, it perfectly sets the mood with its rocking church organ, galloping bass and soaring vocals. It would be performed in a handful of shows during the Tormato and Drama eras, but would never again be important for the band’s live show.
“I’ve Seen All Good People” segues into “Close To The Edge,” the first epic of the night. Jon Anderson greets the audience, telling them it’s the “last night of the tour after being the road for four months.” The stage was littered with confetti and party streamers (which can be seen in the footage on Going For The Best (Virtuoso DVD 001/002)), and Anderson confesses “we’re having a little party here.”
“Wonderous Stories” and “Turn Of The Century,” with the short “Colours Of The Rainbow” interlude, are two exulted and sublime masterpieces. Before “And You And I” they thank Paris for coming with their “Tour Song.” It changed from city-to-city (and from show-to-show). For the final night in Paris Anderson sings:
“We’ve been travelling, travelling, travelling, for a long time / yes we have
You’ve been travelling, travelling today / to see the show
Well, we’d like to thank you all very much / for taking the time for coming to have a good time
‘Cause we really really feel this is the last time we’ll be singing
It’s good to be with you
It’s good to be with you
It’s good to be with you
It’s good to be with you
It’s good to be with you
Paris is a beautiful place / we always have a good time
Walking around the shops / spending our last dime
Most of all it’s good to see / all you people
That’s the way I see it
It’s good to be with you
It’s good to be with you
It’s good to be with you
It’s good to be with you
It’s good to be with you
Oh Mr. Rick Wakeman, he plays a little keyboard
Mr. Steve Howe on guitar
Mr. Chris Squire on bass
Mr. Alan White on the drums
It’s good to be with you
It’s good to be with you
It’s good to be with you
It’s good to be with you
It’s good to be with you.”
And it ends with shouts of “Vive la Paris … vivre à la française.”
The “Little Jam” at the beginning of the second disc is a ninety second Anderson acoustic guitar strumming introduction to “Going For The One.” The little piece of rock and roll is played for the final time until its resurrection at the San Luis Obispo reunion shows in 1996 almost twenty years later.
The flight jam lasts four minutes before seguing into the show’s finale “Awaken.” The singular creation is the perfect summery of their current aesthetic. Heavy on light percussion, the various parts of the suite blend perfectly into a sublime whole. “Roundabout” is the expected first encore. After singing the “Nous Sommes Du Soleil” chorus from “Ritual,” they end the night with “Starship Trooper.”
Going For The Last has good graphics for the era complete with photos from the European leg of the long tour. Overall this is an excellent title to have and a worthy upgrade over the Highland released many years ago.
