THE MYTHS AND LEGENDS OF KING ARTHUR AND THE KNIGHTS OF THE ROUND TABLE

Flush from his success with the "Journey To The Center of The Earth" tour, Wakey decided to approach an equally grandiose subject. However, in his quest to do so, he got a little too full of himself, a few pints and no small amount of Broadway-style cheese-wiz that would probably embarass Andrew Lloyd-Webber (as if THAT were actually possible).

End result, some of the CORNIEST, STOOOOPIDEST lyrics you ever heard in your life (they make "Hello Dolly" sound like Shakespeare by comparison) that permeate nearly ALL the tracks, save for the largely instrumental "Merlin The Magician" though this has cheese- whiz issues of its own, trying to jump to every musical style it can in the space of 6 or 7 minutes). The proceedings are NOT helped in any fashion by Ashley Holt's abysmal vocalizing (heck, William Shatner could outsing him and at least be somewhat entertaining) and the rather pedestrian band (although the orchetra and choir do get to flex their muscles periodically) as Wakey lets forth Mini-Moog and piano assaults aplenty. There are odd musical moments though that actually threaten to get good and interesting but that is QUICKLY dealt a death blow when the Broadway/Stage impulses take over.

With the lone exception of "Six Wives of Henry The VIII", Wakey has NEVER been able to compose anything meaningfully deep or substantial, sounding more like Romantic/Post- Romantic period cliches strung together with other odd bits. He can play his keys like a fiend and contribute colorful passages in the confines of Yes, he can wear the coolest capes on the planet, but the boy CANNOT WRITE!

You want high-concept hijinks that are actually FUN? May I suggest William Shatner's "The Transformed Man" (at least it was FUNNY!). This thing however just takes itself WAAAAAAAAAAAYYY too seriously and tries to overcompensate with bombastic cheese whiz (I'm just glad he didn't attempt a collaboration with Elvis on a redux of "Hamlet").

Best used for extracting confessions from criminals or getting rid of unwanted party guests. Otherwise, steer clear.

Share this RICK WAKEMAN review

Social review comments () BETA

---

---

Review related links

• Send comments to The Owl
• Report this review (#27366)
• Buy RICK WAKEMAN music online with PA partners
• Show all RICK WAKEMAN MP3/Stream
• Go to RICK WAKEMAN page for videos, full discography with ratings, reviews and much more
• Go to The Myths And Legends Of King Arthur And The Knights Of The Round Table page for more details, where to buy and ratings/reviews
• Search the Forum for RICK WAKEMAN related discussions