Rick Wakeman: The Caped Crusader of Prog

Excellent! I look forward to hearing your commentaries throughout your journey.

Btw, Rick spells it Plaice. 

 

 

 

"Much has been documented about this album so it's difficult to say anything new except that the stinking reviews it got when it came out really hurt me. Also the fact that A&M records hated it didn't help. I felt very much alone with this album until help came in the form of Tony Burdfield and Terry O'Neill at A&M who actually liked it because it was different and worked their socks off to give it a fair hearing."

 

 

"I'm very proud of this album and all who played their part in recording it and making it a success."

 

Catherine Howard (video courtesy of Dacrequena) - https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLoIDt_C5y1LtZowz5527OrFUPTS44Xpuc

 

 The Myths and Legends of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table (1975) - My all-time favourite Rick Wakeman album.

 

 

"This is in many ways a musical autobiography. Much was written in my head whilst lying in Wexham Park Hospital after my first minor heart attack. The Last Battle I wrote after being advised by the specialist, in front of my management, that he recommended I stopped playing and retired in order to give myself a chance of a reasonable recovery."

 

"I was 25."

 

"Thankfully I ignored the advice, wrote The Last Battle that night, and carried on. Heart surgery has come a long way since the mid seventies as well thankfully!"

 

 

"A very hard album for me to listen to as I can hear the real story within the music. Having said that I think the main theme is probably the best I have written and I am genuinely quite proud of it."

 

 

 

 

"This was indeed a very interesting filming as the show was recorded at the Maltings in Farnham in the early evening and was actually broadcast that same evening around 11pm. There is very little on film that includes the brass section of Reg Brooks and the late Martyn Shields and so it was a time when the ERE was going through quite a metamorphism with a new guitar player as well in John “Dusty” Dunsterville, who was a very funny guy in many respects and his rendition, (and altered lyrics), of the Johnny Cash classic, “I Walk The Line” was a regular occurrence on stage and indeed appears toward the end of this concert too!"

 

Live at the Maltings (video courtesy of Rick Wakeman) - https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLoIDt_C5y1LvcL_8Yny_oJ-CcJn7BMhMe

 

 

 Rick Wakeman's Criminal Record (1977) - A criminally underrated record!

 

 

"This was always a loosely based concept album that was recorded in Switzerland with Alan White on drums and Chris Squire on bass. The album never really turned out as I wanted it to except perhaps for the Judas Iscariot track. The drums and bass were recorded after the keyboards and they did such an excellent job that I wanted to redo some of the keyboards again and change a few things I'd played....but there were no tracks left and no money either."

 

 

"A "nearly" album. It was intended to be another 6 Wives but for me it never quite made it. Perhaps it was a mistake to try for another such album. Some excellent all round performances though."

 

Statue of Justice (video courtesy of Dacrequena) - https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLoIDt_C5y1Ls_2pVHejy2XkIqbTXkL-H0

 

 

Review by Marianne Donnachie on 10th October 2005:-

 

"How does one describe such a seminal piece of music history? This album has been my all time favourite for many years and for many reasons. The six pieces of musical composition has everything, from the humour of The Breathalyser to the primeval gut wrenching emotion of Judas Iscariot. I defy anyone with a soul to listen to Judas Iscariot and not be moved. The sheer power of the Church Organ and choral vocals make the hairs stand up on your neck. This piece leads one through the betrayal of Christ and to his ultimate crucifixion, portrayed by the popular hymn 'there is a green hill far away without a city wall'. It ends with the moving music depicting Judas Iscariots suicide and his obvious angst and regret. I simply cannot hear this piece and not be absorbed by it. I can only liken it to Samuel Barber’s Adagio for Strings. It has that sort of power to evoke feelings of longing, of understanding regret. Quite simply moving. Conversely The Breathalyser makes one smile. The car chase reminds me of the old keystone cops music and the choice of Bill Oddie for the vocals is pure genius! The Birdman of Alcatraz is a wonderful piece, Rick accurately has depicted birds in flight so well. Those who know the story will easily recognise the dichotomy of a prisoner and the freedom of birds in flight. Take my advice...listen to Chamber of Horrors in the dark and imagine yourself locked in there after dark, that girl's scream makes me jump every time! Don't analyse this album by genre or even in comparison with Rick's other albums. Just get it! It is simply a work of pure genius. Thanks so much Rick for the many happy hours I’ve had with this masterpiece."