LIVE AT THE LONDON PALLADIUM 2023

For once all that praise seems justified: this is one hell of a live album! Hate Rick Wakeman? Then don't bother. Like his best albums? Then by all means give this a spin, since Rick really takes his old tunes to a higher level. Admittedly, his new approach does not ALWAYS work. In THE SIX WIVES for example, there's the odd passage where the original studio recording was subtle and moving while the new one merely sounds brash. Nonetheless, most of the new interpretations happily carried me along. On the CLASSIC YES disc, 'Starship Trooper' is drawn out too long - but don't let that deter you; 'And You and I' is played so beautifully it brought tears to my eyes. To a large extent, the success of that Yes disc (and of this 4-CD set as a whole) is due to the vocal talents of Hayley Sanderson, a very soulful singer whose voice reminded me a little of Tina Turner's. Take JOURNEY TO THE CENTRE OF THE EARTH, for example. In its original 1970s incarnation the album always seemed amateurish to me, partly because the two male vocalists were so melodramatic. Hayley Sanderson, on the other hand, sounds wonderfully earthy, and it's bizarre-but-highly-exciting to hear her against the background of the (sometimes eerie, sometimes rather churchy) English Chamber Choir. (Together with that same choir, she also gives a wonderfully rousing performance of 'Lancelot and the Black Knight'.) Another thing that makes the new JOURNEY TO THE CENTRE OF THE EARTH so special: Mr Wakeman's 'English Rock Ensemble' rocks harder than ever! Lee Pomeroy must be the most gifted bassist Rick ever used, Dave Colquhoun delivers amazing power chords throughout (he also gets a chance to play some blistering solos) and because there are TWO virtuoso keyboard players in the band, there's no need for the strings and brass of an old-fashioned symphony orchestra. The new-style JOURNEY feels proggier than ever, since an entire orchestra is expertly 'realised' by a five man rock band.