JOURNEY TO THE CENTRE OF THE EARTH

I am rating myself at around a level 2.5 for this. I have played it in its entirety before, but I also have another version with more tracks, so I am a bit confused. It seems that he re-did the album in 2012, so that explains it. I am going with the original live version from 1974, as is shown on the picture for this post.

(Some versions of this have it in 2 tracks, but Apple Music has it divided into 4, so I'm going with that.)

Here we go!

Track 1 - The Journey

We begin with an orchestral fanfare, joined by choral-style vocals singing "ahhhs". We hit the main theme at around 1:30. Lead vocals begin at 3:30. Wakeman himself finally becomes prominent at around 4:30 with a melodic synth solo. When the vocals return with harmonies, they aren't exactly 100% in tune. Narration begins at 6:15. I believe the text is straight from the Jules Verne novel of 110 years earlier. A fair opening track.

Track 2 - Recollection

This one begins with Wakeman synth with bass and drum accents. The main orchestral theme returns at roughly 2:15. We get a groovy clavinet at around 4 minutes. This section is very funky! Not the greatest guitar solo I have ever heard, but it fits the groove of the music. The choir returns with ahhs as the section winds down. Ashley Holt's vocals are adequate, if unspectacular. Whoever is singing the lower harmony is a bit flat. There are intermittent bits of narration throughout. The music gets more dramatic at around 10:30. Pretty good track, I like it better than the opener.

Track 3 - The Battle

We begin with narration here. The clavinet returns next, but not so funky this time. The orchestra & rhythm section play a variation on the main theme while Wakeman does what he does best? dazzle on the synth. The singing & harmonies are better here. The choir integrates nicely. All drop out except the Narrator, then Rick and the rock band come back strong. So far this is my favorite track, as it features more of Wakeman's synth solos. After another bit of narration, Rick is on the electric piano, with the vibrato turned way up. Holt has another feature on vocals.

Track 4 - The Forest

This one begins as the electric piano of the previous track winds down. A bit of a bluesy turnaround before the rhythm section joins in. Then we get another verse. Following that, we have more narration. We get some rockin' synth at around 2:30 OK, then we get a bit of "The Hall of the Mountain King." I like how Wakeman's synth joins into it, then he takes over with his own melodies. There is a moment at around 5:30 where it begins to remind me of a section of "The Remembering" from Tales from Topographic Oceans." Next, we return to the main theme in dramatic fashion. This leads to the ending crescendos.

OVERALL IMPRESSIONS:

It does have its moments of brilliance, but I much prefer Six Wives which was ranked at # 92 in this list. I understand the grand scale that Rick was trying to achieve here, but I'd much rather hear him wail with a rock band (Preferably YES). I gave Six Wives a perfect 5 out of 5 stars. This one gets a 3.75 out of 5. (BTW, I think the version I heard before was the 2012 album).

Clicked 4, but really 3.75.