THE 3 AGES OF MAGICK

You would think it unfair to compare keyboardist Oliver Wakeman to his more famous father, but there's practically no way to avoid doing so. Even had Oliver had another name and no familial connection to the old Strawbs and Yes keysman, there's one specific composer and player that is evoked by most of the tracks here; the gold cape-wearer of yore.

Some might consider such a comparison a compliment, but let me assure you that I don't mean is as such. Wakeman the elder has always been a very weak composer, turning in all his best work as a session musician or fairly reigned-in band member.

And Oliver's compositions are incredibly similar to his dad's; as ingratiating as a Howard Shore soundtrack and as inconsequential as New Age meditation music. There isn't a single note here that goes beyond the obvious and treacly, with romantic schmaltz fairly dripping off the keyboard flourishes amid the candyfloss of poorly synthesized bombast and pomp.

The record is credited to Oliver Wakeman and Steve Howe, and Howe does pop in here and there, either to entirely inconsequential effect or as a rather incongruous presence. I suspect that the former comes from him playing to Wakeman's specifications and the latter from when he's been allowed some room to improvise. Overall Howe is surprisingly subduded throughout (with the exception of some fine layered work on the album closer Hy Breasail) and there are very few unmistakably Hovian moments.

There's no doubt that Oliver Wakeman is a skilled player who could probably turn in some really good performances in the right context, but unfortunately, he's inherited his father's tin ear for keyboard sounds and his one-dimensional pseudo-classical composing style.

This album would seem to appeal mostly to die-hard Rick Wakeman fans - most of which probably have at least half of his 96 or so solo albums, making this release somewhat superflous. However, anyone who felt the way I did about Return to the Center of the Earth (somewhere between tears and racuous laughter) should probably give The 3 Ages of Magick a wide berth.