Rick Wakeman - (2001) Out The Blue

"I puchased this at Rick's concert in Atlanta and recommend it to everyone, but esp. to those who will be catching the remaining concerts on this tour since it is one of only 3 available at the shows! For those of you who haven't heard the current lineup of the ERE-it is definetely a "heavier" sound esp. due to Damien Wilson's vocals and Ant Glynne's guitar-which are both excellent and spotlighted on this live recording from 2001. The updated versions of "Journey", "Jane Seymour", and "No Earthly connection/the prisoner" are better than ever, the version of "Buried Alive" really rocks hard, and "Starship trooper" features great playing by Rick, his son Adam, and Ant. The only thing I really missed was a audio version of "Merlin" with the dueling keyboards of Rick and son like that featured on the DVD-I realize it is a different show apparantely. Overall, great production and mixing-all of the musicans are very tight. Great addition to your RW collection!
review by David Momberg on 27/10/2003"

Tracking List:
1 Journey to the Centre of the Earth 16' 43"
2 Buried Alive 6' 45"
3 Jane Seymour 4' 42"
4 No Earthly Connection/The Prisoner 11' 49"
5 Catherine Parr 9' 45"
6 The Visit 5' 40"
7 Return of the Phantom 2' 20"
8 Starship Trooper 7' 21"
9 Wurm 9' 2"
Artist List:
Rick Wakeman - Keyboards
Adam Wakeman - Keyboards & Backing Vocals
Tony Fernandez - Drums & Percussion
Damian Wilson - Vocals
Ant Glynne - Guitars & Backing Vocals
Lee Pomeroy - Bass

Rick Wakeman - (1999) Official Live Bootleg

"This two cd set was recorded live in front of 8,000 people in Buenos Aires, Argentina during August 1993. On this tour, Rick was accompanied by his son Adam who also plays keyboards, long time collaborator Tony Fernandez on drums and Alan Thomson on Bass. "Lure of the Wild" opens the first cd with an atmospheric intro and some typically dazzling speed playing from Rick. Live regulars "Catherine Howard" and "Catherine Parr" both give him the opportunity to play a bit with the basic pieces, a task he accepts with relish. Rick's arrangement of the Beatles' "Eleanor Rigby", is wonderful and a great live piece. Highlights from "The Myths and Legends of King Arthur" are played without the vocal accompaniment that makes an interesting change. The second cd is almost entirely devoted to "Journey to the Centre of the Earth" and very good it is too. Again, no vocals allows the music to paint the pictures and the arrangements are fantastic. Even if you know "Journey" really well, this live version will give you a whole new perspective on it. Rick's interpretation of "Paint it Black" the Rolling Stones hit, is the last track on the cd and is absolutely stunning. Throughout, it's practically note perfect and as the sleeve notes say, no jiggery-pokery has been done to the recording at the mastering stage so you can be assured this is exactly as the audience heard it. Rick Wakeman is at his very best in front of an audience and this cd proves it in great style.
review by Julia Harries on 11/11/2000"

Tracking List:
1 Lure of the Wild 7' 25"
2 Catherine Howard 9' 55"
3 Eleanor Rigby 7' 53"
4 The Myths and Legends of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table 12' 25"
5 Catherine Parr 9' 46"
6 Journey to the Centre of the Earth 38' 30"
7 Paint it Black 6' 20"

Artist List:
Rick Wakeman - Keyboards
Adam Wakeman - Keyboards
Alan Thompson - Bass
Tony Fernandez - Drums

Rick Wakeman - (1996) Vignettes

"A rather "poppy" album. The instrumentals are straightforward and the songs with vocals sound like American radio-rock especially the songs sung by Adam. The sound is also a little too safe for my taste. And there are no "dangerous" musical adventures at all on the album. So, a little uninteresting but not bad is my verdict.
review by Mats Landstrom on 24/09/1997"


Track List:
01 Waiting Alone 4' 18"
02 Wish I Was You 4' 5"
03 Sun Comes Crying 4' 42"
04 A Breath of Heaven 4' 55"
05 Moment in Time 3' 42"
06 The Artist's Dream 3' 31"
07 Change of Face 3' 4"
08 Madman Blues 3' 50"
09 A Painting of Our Love 5' 54"
10 Riverside 4' 20"
11 Need You 4' 58"
12 Simply Acoustic 3' 29"
13 Just Another Tear 5' 12"

Artist List:
Rick Wakeman Keyboards
Adam Wakeman Keyboards/Vocals
Chrissie Hammond Vocals
English Chamber Choir Choir
Fraser Thorneycroft-Smith Guitar
Phil Laughlin Bass
Stuart Sawney Percussion Programming/Guitar (13)
The String Ensemble Strings

Rick Wakeman - (1996) Tapestries

"Together with Romance of the Victorian Age these two albums form a piece of true piano art! Fast and slow pieces, good for dinner music but also very good for relaxing or intensive listening. Both are "must buy albums" for the piano fans.
review by Tim Boudewijn van der Wart on 26/10/2001"
"Tapestries is a very nice and relaxing father and son coproduction. Mainly acoustic, except for some calm and quiet synthesizers in the background, the album is perfect when you lie on the sofa and just want to relax and let your thoughts stray... The opening track is my favourite, but it is a good album all the way through. The up-tempo tracks are my favourites on this album, though.
review by Bjorn Olaf Syvertsen on 14/10/1999"


This is the second of Rick and Adam's albums for the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, and the CD booklet features images from tapestries in the museum's collection.

Like the first, Romance of the Victorian Age, this is a piano-based collection, though there are slightly more other instruments added here.

Also like the first, Rick and Adam's compositions alternate, but this one also features a classical adaptation, a version of Debussy's "Clair de Lune" arranged by Rick.

Again like the first, the album begins with its liveliest piece, here Rick's "Fremiet's Cat," and thereafter features mainly slower and more contemplative music, with simpler and more restrained pieces (mainly Adam's) contrasting with more complex ones (mainly Rick's).

And finally, like the first, this one features fine playing by both men. But overall, the first one is better.

Track List:
01 Fremiet's Cat 4' 7"
02 Time Will Tell 4' 24"
03 Fountains Of Love 4' 20"
04 A View from a Window 4' 54"
05 Les Vendanges 5' 13"
06 Summer's End 3' 26"
07 Clair De Lune 2' 50"
08 A Brighter Dawn 4' 10"
09 The "Blue Lily" 4' 23"
10 Tapestries 3' 43"
11 The Garden Party 3' 51"
12 Portraits in a Gallery 4' 42"
13 The Daydream 4' 11"
14 The Storyteller 4' 26"

Artist List:
Rick Wakeman - Piano/Keyboards
Adam Wakeman - Piano/Keyboards
Fraser Thorneycroft-Smith - Acoustic/Classical Guitar
Phil Laughlin - Bass
Stuart Sawney - Percussion Programming

Rick Wakeman - (1995) Romance of the Victorian Age

"Another one of the quiet and gentle instrumental album, containing mostly piano music. Every other track is Adam's, like on the "Tapestries" album - the most obvious album to compare this one to. "Tapestries" is perhaps somewhat better, but not much. If you like "Tapestries" you'll like this one too. Esepcially the opening track is very good.
review by Bjorn Olaf Syvertsen on 01/09/2003"
"Thank you Rick and son, Adam, for showing us the degree of emotional beauty and balance you are capable of. A must have. Now where is that piano concerto?
review by Marco Cazzola-Gonsenheim on 04/08/2002"

Track List:
01 Burlington Arcade 2' 48"
02 If Only 4' 20"
03 The Last Teardrop 3' 25"
04 Still Dreaming 4' 11"
05 Memories Of The Victorian Age 3' 33"
06 Lost In Words 6' 6"
07 A Tale Of Love 7' 55"
08 Mysteries Unfold 3' 3"
09 Forever In My Heart 6' 1"
10 Days Of Wonder 6' 54"
11 The Swans 4' 43"
12 Another Mellow Day 5' 29"
13 Dance Of The Elves 3' 21"
BEAUTIFUL!

Artist List:
Rick Wakeman - Piano/Keyboards
Adam Wakeman - Piano/Keyboards/Classical Guitar
Stuart Sawney - Acoustic Guitar (1)/Percussion Programming

Rick Wakeman - (1995) Cirque Surreal

"Whilst a huge fan off all Rick's early, I haven't been a devoted follow for years. So naturally with the huge number of releases many have slipped by me. The last few years have been devoted to remedying that situation. Amongst the "new" discoveries is Cirque Surreal. Any what a find it is! If you like vintage Rick and all the great synth sounds, melodies and generally mind blowing playing, then get this album. Some stand out tracks for me Gnash, Wired for sound and Juliet. The whole band is a tight as all heck with precision playing throughout. Some pretty good guitar from Fraser Thorneycroft-Smith and the vocals from Chrissie Hammond (not all tracks) are superb. All in all a great Wakeman album.
review by Ian Rutherford on 30/05/2003"
"Rick goes to the circus! I've never seen Cirque Surreal, but the music does seem to convey that kind of circus atmosphere, something to accompany feats of daring, constantly active performance that you would expect. Wings Of Fortune and Static seem to convey this to me most strongly, with that carnival-like organ playing. I must freely admit I don't know much about keyboards, but at least one used here sounds exactly the same as that used in Return To The Centre Of The Earth (only 4 years between them after all), and so I was sometimes reminded of that album, especially during the songs on Cirque Surreal. I'm afraid that the songs here did little for me. They don't sound bad, but they don't stand out. To put it another way, if this had been the first RW album I'd ever heard, I would've concluded "Stick to the instrumentals Rick, that's where you shine so well." Of course I do know better, and he has written some great songs, from Guinevere to Still Waters Run Deep. But that greatness does not shine here for me. As I intimated though, the instrumentals are excellent. It probably comes as no surprise then that my favourites on Cirque Surreal are devoid of lyric, they being the aforementioned Wings Of Fortune, Static, and the final track, The Jig. The Jig is wonderfully upbeat, and sounds like modern day Celtic folk music. It's a perfect finale to the album. Overall, I think Cirque Surreal should appeal to those of you that liked Return To The Centre Of The Earth. It isn't the same huge production, but Rick and his band are so pumped up here, it doesn't need to be. There are definitely at least a few tracks here that deserve to stand out up among the greats.
review by Ben Jordan on 26/01/2003"
GREAT ALBUM!

Track List:
01 Gnash
02 Balance of Power
03 Wings of Fortune
04 Static
05 The Party
06 Wired For Sound
07 Juliet
08 Tubular Balls
09 Carlos
10 The Love That I Know
11 The Jig

Artist List:
Rick Wakeman - Keyboards
Adam Wakeman - Musical Director
Chrissie Hammond - Vocals
Fraser Thorneycroft-Smith - Guitar
Phil Laughlin - Bass
Tony Fernandez - Drums/Percussion

Rick Wakeman - (1993) Wakeman with Wakeman - No Expense Spared

"This marvellous recording is in my opinion very overlooked and underated to say the least. This masterpiece by the undisputed King and Prince of the Keyboard Kingdom is a wide variety of different sounds which will evoke a myriad of feelings from the listener. Some of the highlights of this recording are the songs "Dylic", the melodic and breathtaking "Children of Chernobyl", the get you out of chair and up dancing "Jungle", "Is it Spring", and "It's your Move." In addition to these excellent songs Rick and Adam once again demonstrate their committment to the causes of those less fortunate than ourselves with the heart breaking song "Dream the World Away" which speaks to the terrible tragedy of child neglect and abuse. Please do not overlook this stellar work by the Wakemans because it is just too incredible and powerful to not have in your RW and AW collection.
review by Joost Warners on 11/12/1997"

Track List:
01 No Expense Spared 5' 33"
02 Dylic 4' 28"
03 It's Your Move 3' 54"
04 No One Cares 7' 1"
05 Luck of the Draw 5' 50"
06 Dream The World Away 3' 32"
07 Is it the Spring? 4' 6"
08 Nothing Ever Changes 5' 2"
09 Number 10 5' 29"
10 Jungle 5' 39"
11 Children of Chernobyl 4' 58"
12 Find The Time 4' 41"

Artist List:
Rick Wakeman - Keyboards
Adam Wakeman - Keyboards/Vocals
Alan Thompson - Bass/Guitars
Chrissie Hammond - Vocals
Dr Doom - Guitar
Stuart Sawney - Percussion Programming
Tony Fernandez - Drums/Percussion

Rick Wakeman - (1993) Wakeman with Wakeman

"There's really only one word to sum up this album - STUNNING. Beautifully recorded with everything sounding bright and lively. Caesarea is one track that proves the point showing off Rick's classical training and ability to blend in a modern tempo in the same piece of music. This should be considered a real Wakeman masterpiece - it's simply gorgeous and I never get tired of listening to this, and all the other tracks. Paint It Black could have been left off in all honesty becuase Rick really shines through best when the music is written by him, rather than a cover version of someone else's material.
Review by Ken Matthews on 04/06/2003"


Track List:
01 Lure of the Wild 7' 6"
02 The Beach Comber 4' 6"
03 Megalomania 3' 5"
04 Raga and Rhyme 3' 2"
05 Sync or Swim 6' 5"
06 Jiggajig 3' 58"
07 Caesarea 9' 14"
08 After the Atom 4' 54"
09 The Suicide Shuffle 3' 18"
10 Past and Present 3' 20"
11 Paint It Black 5' 36"

Artist List:
Rick Wakeman - Keyboards
Adam Wakeman - Keyboards

YES - (2001) Yes Friends and Relatives

Boxset/Compilation, released in 2001

Track Listings

Disc One: (60:16)
1. Yes - "New State Of Mind"
2. Esquire - "Big Girls Don’t Cry"
3. Steve Howe & Jon Anderson - "Sad Eyed Lady Of The Lowlands"
4. Rick Wakeman - "Merlin The Magician"
5. Chris Squire & Billy Sherwood - "Days Of Wonder"
6. Anderson - "Magic Love"
7. Bill Bruford's Earthworks - "Footloose & Fancy Free"
8. Adam Wakeman - "Madman Blues"
9. Howe - "Night Trade"
10. Yes - "New Language"

Disc Two: (58:43)
1. Yes - "Homeworld"
2. Howe & Annie Haslam - "It’s All Over Now Baby Blue"
3. Rick Wakeman - "Catherine Howard"
4. Anderson - "Faithfully"
5. Esquire - "Coming Home"
6. Squire & Sherwood - "Red Light Ahead"
7. Yes - "From The Balcony"
8. Wakeman With Wakeman - "Number 10"
9. Earthworks - "Dewey Eyed, Then Dancing"
10. Yes - "Finally"

Total Time: 118:59

Line-up/Musicians:

Various artists