WAKEMAN WITH WAKEMAN: NO EXPENSE SPARED

I have special impressions from this album. I heard it for the first time in the mid-nineties, when I didn't have the opportunity to listen to much different music. At that time, I was only familiar with a few albums by maestro Wakeman ? 6 Wives?, Myths and Legends of King Arthur?, Journey to the Centre of the Earth, Lisztomania. Perhaps that was all at that time. Therefore, I had no idea how Wakeman's music changed over the next decades. This album partially answered this question. Of course, it stands very far from progressive rock, although Rick Wakeman's recognizable virtuoso playing style has not gone anywhere. As well as his incredible ability to turn even simple pop melodies into an intricate web of keyboard passages. Yes, some of the keyboard parts were performed by his son Adam, but who can say where the son plays and where the father? The album charged me with incredible energy, and I feel like I'm going back 30 years when I listen to it. From the very first chords of the energetic opening song of the same name, it becomes clear that something grandiose awaits us further. Then the baton is picked up by the expressive Dylic with a powerful highlighted keyboard melody and hints of medieval flavor. One after another, the tracks sound very solemn, they are very complex in musical composition, in some places two or three keyboard themes can be traced simultaneously, in some places they intertwine, in some places they compete, and at the same time the overall melody remains simple and accessible. An incredible feeling! I especially want to highlight the beautiful airy ballads No One Cares, Dream The World Away and the very sad and sublime instrumental Children Of Chernobyl, the name speaks for itself.

In conclusion, I will say that despite the significant difference from the classical works of the maestro, I do not consider this musical experiment a failure. He showed that Rick Wakeman is as good at pop rock as he is at progressive rock. And he can play simple melodies in his signature style. And not everyone who tried to make forays beyond their usual style succeeded in doing this. Rick Wakeman was probably also pleased with the result of the experiment. He has several more albums recorded in the same style: Wakeman With Wakeman [Aka: Lure Of The Wild], Softsword, Fields of Green. But I still recommend starting your acquaintance with his work not with them, but with those albums that brought him well-deserved fame as a solo artist and are considered the best in his discography. I listed them at the beginning of this review.