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

For his second studio album as a solo artist, "The Myths And Legends Of King Arthur And The Knights Of The Round Table", which captures events and characters from the life of the legendary king from his fabled ascent to the throne until his death, Rick Wakeman fuses his usual artillery of keyboards and rock instruments with orchestral grandiloquence, generating that epic, medieval atmosphere that accompanies the work as it unfolds; And, unlike the instrumental debut album "The Six Wives of Henry VIII", this time it is accompanied by a loquacious narrative in the powerful voices of Ashley Holt and Gary Pickford Hopkins.

The orchestration takes on special relevance in pieces such as the opening and descriptive "Arthur", the vertiginous and remarkable "Sir Lancelot and the Black Knight" (the best track on the album), or the choral "Sir Galahad", where Wakeman masterfully incorporates classical pianos and the exuberance of the moog, instrument that also takes a leading role along with the harpsichord and Roger Newell's defiant bass in the mesmerising "Merlin the Magician", a piece that also adds unexpected and contrasting elements taken from the Charleston. And amidst the stories of the knights and their fierce battles, the delicate "Guinevere" pauses to introduce Arthur's wife with a beautiful and accessible melody guided by classical piano, synthesizers and the melancholy effect of mellotrons, supported by a gentle chorus, acoustic chords and Jeffrey Crampton's guitar solo.

The concluding, languid "The Last Battle" takes elements from all the previous tracks and harmonises them into an unhurried finale, which indulges in a prolonged instrumental build-up, sadly reviews the final days of Arthur's reign at the hands of the Saxons and orchestrally closes the album.

"The Myths And Legends Of King Arthur And The Knights Of The Round Table is one of Wakeman's most ambitious conceptual works. Although it is blamed for the overflowing virtuosity that the musician can sometimes use and abuse, it is one of the indispensable albums of his discography.

3.5/4 stars