The almost 7-minute song is in two parts; the first, titled "Your Move", was released as a single in 1971 which peaked at number 40 in the US, which helped the group build momentum.
It has received positive reviews from several critics and has been considered one of Yes's best-known songs, with AllMusic's Mike DeGagne stating that "the harmonies are resilient from start to finish" and that the track "still stands as one of their most appealing" works.
[5] Examples include the phrases "move me onto any black square", "make the white queen run so fast", and "the goal is for us all to capture only one".
"[11] In the studio recording on The Yes Album, the song opens with Jon Anderson, Chris Squire and Steve Howe singing the sentence "I've seen all good people turn their heads each day so satisfied I'm on my way" twice a cappella, in three-part harmony.
Anderson has stated that he wanted to have the song develop quietly but then open up into a big grandiose, church organ sound.
[11] The Village Voice critic Robert Christgau called the song a "great cut", being one in which he thought Yes' "arty eclecticism comes together.