OLIVER WAKEMAN

I often feel that Oliver is somewhat overlooked when compared against his brother Adam, even though he has appeared on more than 60 albums, was a member of Yes, has toured and recorded with The Strawbs, as well as being responsible for a number of well-received collaborations with the likes of Steve Howe, Gordon Giltrap and Clive Nolan. In fact, one of those albums with Clive, 'The Hound of the Baskervilles' is still a frequent visitor to my player. Yet even I was not prepared for the sheer majesty and beauty of this album, which is surely going to end up in my Top Ten releases for 2024.

The genesis of this album began before Wakeman joined Yes in 2009, but it was only in 2023 that he finally set to and finished writing it. To help him achieve the vision, he then invited in Hayley Griffiths (Riverdance, Karnataka) on vocals, Troy Donockley (Nightwish) on pipes and whistles, Oliver Day (Fragile) on acoustic guitars, lute and mandolin, Scott Higham (Pendragon) on drums along with David Mark Pearce (electric guitar), Robert McClung (violin), Steve Amadeo (bass guitar) and Mick Allport (saxophone, clarinet). The album was mixed by Karl Groom (Threshold) and recorded by John Mitchell (Arena, It Bites, Frost*, Lonely Robot), so it was very much him working with people he knew very well indeed.

The result is an album which has Oliver's name on the front cover, but his role in this is to provide the perfect support to Hayley in an album which is very Celtic in nature with nods to Iona as much as to his more symphonic approach. Some of the flourishing and rippling piano is very much like his father, as he demonstrates his more progressive approach than his brother (who has always been more rock based to my ears, and it is perhaps not surprising he is most well-known these days for being sideman to the likes of Black Sabbath, Uriah Heep, Deep Purple and many more). There is a depth to this album which combines with a lightness of touch which is pure Oliver, with plenty of piano against the synths, acoustic instruments against the rock, with Troy making a huge difference whenever he comes in, yet he is not overplayed.

Yet Oliver has made this album all about Hayley, providing material and accompaniment to perfectly suit her voice, and she has grabbed this opportunity and run with it showing both her classical and rock chops as she moves much more into the folk field. That this is beautiful is to surely understate just how magical this truly is, with the album feeling very much like an ensemble with everyone playing their part to lift Hayley up and ensure the vocals truly shine. It will take a while for me to truly gauge if this is Oliver's best work yet, as 'Baskervilles' will take some toppling, but at present I think this may indeed take first place as this is faultless with a stunning guitar break here, the perfect violin there, punchy drums at the right time, all held together with magical keyboards and piano. Months on from its release I note this is the first review on PA, which means a gem is being missed out by many. Available through Cherry Red, this is sublime.

Back in 2001 drummer Dave Wagstaffe (Landmarq, Martin Turner's Wishbone Ash) contacted me to see if I would be interested in hearing the new album by Oliver Wakeman and Steve Howe which he had played on. Of course I was, and was soon thoroughly enjoying '3 Ages of Magick' but was incredibly disappointed to see it was not on a major label as it was a great album which surely would disappear without trace: it certainly never gained the acclaim it should have, even though it was reissued on Esoteric some years later. I have always had a soft spot for Oliver, as he has never really gained the recognition of his brother Adam, yet he is a great musician and 'The Hound of the Baskervilles' (recorded with Clive Nolan) could often be heard in my car when one of my daughters was there as it was her favourite album for years.

So when I heard there was a reissue boxed set coming out with remasters of both this and the album he later recorded with Gordon Giltrap, 'Ravens & Lullabies', I knew I was in for a treat and that was indeed the case. I know both those albums well, and have reviewed them previously, and they are quite different in their approach. The first is a true instrumental album where Oliver shows just how close he is to his father in many ways, with Tony Dixon (Uilleann Pipes, whistles, flute) probably having a bigger impact on the overall sound than Steve Howe who rarely makes his presence felt at all. There is a deftness of touch from all involved, and a strong use of space and knowing when not to play as well as when to make an entrance, as both elements are incredibly important. There is a Western Isles feel to this, and there are times when I am reminded quite strongly of Iona, and it is great to hear it here in its cleaned up form, although given that Rob Aubrey and Karl Groom were involved in the original it is not like it needed much work at all.

While Steve may have sat back a little on his collaboration, the same cannot be said of Gordon who opened the 'Ravens' albums by riffing his 12-string. This album has much more of a commercial feel than the former, with Paul Manzi (Arena) providing vocals, while Oliver also invited his ex-Yes bandmate Benoît David for one song. The drumming is also much more in your face with Johanne James (Threshold) joining in on the fun ? the line-up being completed by Steve Amadeo on bass. The album features pieces which originally started with Gordon, others with Oliver, and yet others are full band pieces. Some would have not sounded out of place on Gordon's classic 'Elegy' album, still one of my favourites some 40+ years after it was first released. The title of the album references the different styles included within, and the variety makes this an absolute delight.

Wakeman father and sons have a wonderful relationship with their live sound engineers over the years, with Rick performing one of his most enjoyable concerts ever then coming off the stage and moaning to the engineer he so wished they had arranged to record it only to be told it had been (later released as 'The Oscar Concert' ? superb). It was during lockdown that Oliver was approached by the sound engineer from one of the Giltrap/Wakeman concerts to say he had found a multitrack recording from a Christmas concert Oliver and Gordon had performed at with special guest Paul Manzi, where they played songs from these two albums (plus a few others) in a very different style, just the musicians bouncing off each other and Paul joining in for a few numbers. One of these is from the 'Baskervilles' album, originally sung by Bob Catley, here given a very different and delicate feel by the trio and is an absolute delight. The set ends with the one song everyone seems to know of Gordon's, "Heartsong", where he is joined by Oliver to create something quite special. It is this last album which I enjoyed most as here Oliver shows just how much like his father he really is, not only in his playing but also with his very dry sense of humour.

Whenever anyone hears the name Wakeman one always thinks of Rick, who casts an enormous shadow over all keyboard players, let alone his sons, but both Adam and Oliver need recognising in their own right and this is the place to start for the older brother.

The recent re-release by Esoteric Recordings includes three previously unreleased tracks and lots of looking back at the time when the elder son of Rick Wakeman had made his solo debut and was friendly contacted by Steve Howe. The collaboration however didn't start immediately, and perhaps Howe's role in the end product was primarily one of a mentor and producer, and to a lesser portion one of a co-musician. At least I would have wanted to hear much more of his guitars. The arrangements are extremely keyboard-oriented.

I have no urge to compare Oliver to his famous father as I'm not a fan of the latter (I do appreciate his collaborations in YES, but his solo output is usually too overblown and pretentious to my taste), and furthermore this is the only album I've heard from Oliver this far, but why stubbornly avoid some inevitable comparisons either? Oliver's composing style is much softer, not quite as oriented to the showing off in the keyboard virtuosity - who would ever expect it to be either. The atmosphere often approaches New Age; nocturnal, slightly mysterious, deeply romantic and with the inevitable "Celtic" flavour. Yes, quite beautiful and pretty, but on the other hand a bit clichéd and toothless. As I only had the CD in loan, I chose the best tracks to keep, but frankly the number of them was a small minority, in the end. Back in the early nineties when I listened to a lot of New Age and such, I would have been much more impressed. Some more edge and richer arrangements, please!

Oliver seems to be more busy than his brother these days. In the next issue I will be reviewing his new album with Clive Nolan, but first here is an instrumental album that he has recorded with Steve Howe providing all of the guitar parts. I am indebted to Dave Wagstaffe (Landmarq etc) who plays drums on this album, as it was only through his contact that I knew that this album had even been released.

To have not heard this would have been a shame as there are some glorious 'songs' to be heard. Steve seems inspired and produces some of his finest guitar work for a long time. The music is very emotive and the keyboards drive along in songs such as "Mind Over Matter" that make one feel that vocals would be an unwanted distraction. When reading the booklet it transpires that Karl Groom mixed the album and Rob Aubrey mastered it which is why the sound is so good.

In fact, the only disappointing thing about the album (love the front cover) is that it was released on Resurgence, which is an imprint of Voiceprint. This album deserves to be heard, and many prog fans would snap this up if only they knew that it was available. A prog album that can be enjoyed at all levels, first time.

Originally appeared in Feedback #65, Dec 01

Walk away

I was familiar with eight out of the nine songs of this studio album as they were included (in live versions) on the live concert DVD Coming To Town that was recorded and filmed in Poland in October 2007. Compared to the live versions, these studio versions sound rather tame and watered down. In the live concert setting, the songs sounded invigorated and much improved. This is one of the reasons that I rate this studio album a bit lower. It is not bad at all as such, but also not particularly special either.

For those who are new to Oliver's music it should be pointed out that he has picked up more than a few tricks form his legendary father. But the music of Mother's Ruin is however more towards melodic Hard Rock with some progressive touches than to classic Rick Wakeman-esque Symphonic Prog. The compositions are rather conventional. The vocals are by Paul Manzi who would later go on to become Arena's new vocalist. He does a fine job, but he lacks a unique and distinctive voice.

Both the aforementioned live concert DVD and the all instrumental album Oliver did with Steve Howe called 3 Ages Of Magic are better places to start with Oliver's career. In addition to almost the whole of the Mother's Ruin album the DVD also offers five songs from Oliver's collaborations with Clive Nolan with four of them from Jabberwocky and one from Hound Of The Baskerville. The DVD is thus a better way to get acquainted with both Mother's Ruin and Jabberwocky. Only fans need this CD in addition, hence the two star rating.

Like father....

"Heaven's isle" is the début album by keyboards virtuoso Rick Wakeman's eldest son Oliver. He makes an inauspicious start here, with an album of mood music rather than something which reflects his true talents.

The "Isle" in question is called Lundy, located at the mouth of the Bristol Channel between Wales and England in the south west of the United Kingdom. Oliver was inspired by a day trip to this protected island which is a wildlife haven and picturesque location. Heaven was the appropriate surname of the minister who at one time owned the island, and built the church there. Oliver used to visit the island regularly, and was inspired by it to write this music under the endorsement of the current administrators of the island, the Landmark trust.

"Heaven's Isle" contains 13 tracks, each of which attempts to paint a picture of an aspect of the island. Thus we have sea birds soaring above high cliffs, seals swimming in the sea, pirates attacking shipping in the channel, dolphins passing by, and so forth. In reality, what we have musically is a succession of pleasant but undemanding synthscapes which lean towards new age. I hesitate to label the album as such, as there is a bit more life to most of the tracks than that, but the music never ventures beyond the pleasant.

"Heaven's isle" is very much a chip off the old block in that it mirrors the plethora of albums Rick recorded to pay the heating bills in the 80's and 90's. It is hard to be critical of such music as it is charmingly inoffensive. Thankfully, Oliver has since found his own identity with his "Mother's ruin" album and his recent superb live DVD.

On the Vergalas releases, two of the tracks are re-recorded. The accompanying booklet gives picturesque descriptions for each track, acting as a sort of marketing brochure for what is undoubtedly a beautiful part of Britain.

Mother's Ruin live

This live concert was recorded and filmed in Poland in October 2007 and features Oliver Wakeman and his band. The set list relies heavily on Oliver's most recent Mother's Ruin album with no less than eight out of nine songs from that album being performed here. But we also get five songs from Oliver's collaborations with Clive Nolan with four of them from Jabberwocky and one from Hound Of The Baskerville. Perhaps surprisingly, we get nothing at all from the all instrumental album Oliver did with Steve Howe called 3 Ages Of Magic which in my opinion is his best effort. But maybe is would be hard to perform those pieces without Howe. Anyway, what we get here is appealing and I think that this DVD is a great way to get acquainted with both Mother's Ruin and Jabberwocky. Indeed, I think that the songs here sound invigorated and improved compared to their original studio versions. Jabberwocky suffered from having different vocalists on different tracks making it a bit incoherent and also some distracting narration by Oliver's famous father (who is a great narrator, but as with all narration on musical albums I tend to get tired of it after the first listen).

The set is varied, alternating between rockers, ballads and instrumentals to great effect. The band is good with drums, bass, guitars and vocals by Dave Wagstaffe, Paul Brown, David Mark Pearce and Paul Manzi respectively. Needless to say, the keyboards are all handled by Oliver himself. For those who are new to Oliver's music it should be pointed out that he has picked up more than a few tricks form his father, but has also developed a personal style from Rick's teachings. The music itself, however, is more melodic Hard Rock than classic Wakeman-esque Symphonic Prog. Though, this is keyboard driven melodic Hard Rock with progressive touches. Oliver thanks his family, Steve Howe, Karl Groom (of Threshold and Shadowland), "the Starcastle guys", Bob Catley (of Magnum) and Clive Nolan among others in the liner notes. These names certainly give some indication about his inspiration. Guitarist David Mark Pearce thanks Yngwie Malmsteen, Ritchie Blackmore, Ronnie James Dio and others. It is funny that he actually even looks a lot like Yngwie Malmsteen hair, clothes and all!

This is a good live performance captured in high sonic and visual quality. This DVD proves not only that Oliver is a great keyboard player but also that he has gathered a very competent band around him to perform some fine material. It will probably not appeal to all Prog fans, but for those who are interested in Oliver's career this is a fine addition to your collection.

As a bonus feature there is an interview with Oliver.

This is a very good album, the combination between Oliver and Steve are excelent, I can see how Oliver takes the Rick's heritage but with his own style. is a serious work and worty to have. The ejecution is perfect and the band work as if there were playing for long time togeter. This album remembers me the Steve Howe and Billy Currie Transportation.

In 1976 I was watching the just released movie Yessongs in a small cinema and went to Vintage Keyboard Heaven during Rick Wakeman his solo performance: wearing long blond hair and a glitter cape, Rick stunned the audience with his virtuosity and creativity, especially the Mellotron part is mindblowing symphonic rock magic, goose bumps! I turned into a huge Rick Wakeman aficionado and one year later I succeeded to see 'the caped crusader' live during the Going For The One tour, one of the best progrock gigs I have ever seen with Rick Wakeman parading between his huge array of keyboards, including 5 Minimoogs! More than 30 years later Rick Wakeman has two grown up sons who are both professional keyboardplayers, I had seen Adam on the DVD Live In Buenos Aires (with father Rick) but I was not familiar with the work of 'other son' Oliver.

Well, watching this concert in Poland by The Oliver Wakeman Band, it's incredible to notice how much Oliver looks like his father Rick, both visually as musically: if I listen to Oliver his sparkling piano runs and his flashy synthesizer flights and look at his face and way of playing, I tend to think that "it's Rick Wakeman Junior!" But seriously, in the Extra's you can find an interview in which Oliver tells about his love for Jon Lord and Deep Purple, listening to this live DVD that influence is very obvious: singer Paul Manzi can be described as a 'laidback version of Ian Gillan' while the powerful rhythm-section and the heavy guitarwork sounds as the foundation Jon Lord had in Deep Purple. But Oliver doesn't use the organ sound very much, he colours the melodic rock music very tastefully (but less abundant than his father) with a varied sound, from dazzling and fat sounding synthesizer runs (spectacular solos in Don't Come Running, Three Broken Threads, I Don't Believe In Angels and the titletrack with sensational use of the pitchbend button) and sumptuous classical orchestrations (The Agent and Three Broken Threads) to dreamy or sparkling (like in Dangerous World and Enlightenment) work on the piano. Despite those excellent keyboard escapades Oliver remains a teamplayer but looking at the camera positions, it's quite obvious why the band is named The Oliver Wakeman Band! Watching this live DVD I got more and more impressed by the very tasteful and professional melodic rock, from fluent mid- tempo songs to compelling bombastic or moving ballads and Heavy Prog (like Deep Purple, Uriah Heep and Steve Perry era Journey). I am also very pleased with guitarplayer David Mark Pearce, he sounds like an archetypical rock guitarist but more varied, in the track Enlightenment he got room and he used it to the limit! And in The Agent and the epic Wall Of Water the interplay between the guitar and keyboards is awesome and exciting, this band rocks.

So don't expect progrock or keyboard driven music, just enjoy this alternating and pleasant melodic rock, embellished with an inventive lightshow. My rating: 3,5 stars.

www.progwalhalla.com

Reinventing the "wheel"

It is difficult to know how to classify this album, as it is not an official release by Oliver in the strictest sense. He does indeed write and perform all the tracks here single handed, but this is a "commissioned work". The music was specifically composed and recorded for the Balance and Harmony record label for their "Spiritual vitamins" series of releases. As such, there is no artist mentioned on the front cover of the digipak sleeve, although Oliver does receive a small compositional credit on the back, and a performance credit in the accompanying booklet. This was the only work recorded by Wakeman for the "Spiritual Vitamins" series, although he has worked on other commissions.

Given the background to the album, it becomes apparent that this will not be an album of rock orientated material, but a collection of relaxing, new age sounds. The tracks are based on the seven "Chakras", each running to between 5 and 11 minutes. The only instrumentation is the piano and electronic keyboards of Wakeman, devoid of drums, bass, guitar etc. The sleeve notes helpfully encourage us to "Float away with the music and become enveloped in waves of reflective calm as your body responds".

The music uses the usual new age techniques such as repetitive motifs, wave like sounds, and floating synths. Oliver's keyboard talents are most apparent in his piano leads, which naturally reflect similar albums recorded by his father and his brother.

In all, a pleasantly relaxing album of excusable ubiquity and anonymity. Those who have come to appreciate the music of Oliver through his rock orientated work should not expect to hear anything of that nature here. On the other hand those who enjoy the new age work of Rick and Adam should seek this one out too.

The sleeve notes (written in 6 different languages) explain that "Chakras" relate to the energy channel of the body which runs from the top of the head to the base of the torso. Along this channel are spinning "wheels" called Chakras. Each of these has a name, which perform various functions according to their location. In short, the state of each of these Chakras dictates our physical, metal and spiritual health. The track titles use the Sanskrit names for these Chakras, which in English correspond to areas such as the heart, the throat, and the solar plexus.