Rick Wakeman favourites

[pekadan]

Have you listened anything to the solo stuff Rick Wakeman's done? What's your favourite?

[Jbravo]

I used to like the first track from "white rock"

He made a track with John Inman called "do you believe in fairies" (or words to that effect) which was quite amusing - not one of his best though...

[harmony gardens]

Wow, Rick Wakeman... I like so many! I would say Catherine of Aragorn from Six Wives, or Merlin the Magician from King Arthur and the Knights of the Roundtable,,, or the whole Journey to the Center of the Earth album. I'm a total Rick Wakeman fan. I have some of his old albums with the Strawbs, and he did some great work with Yes. I do think his solo stuff is probably the best. He can cut loose a little more.

BTW, I remember a long time ago, seeing a video of the live performance of Jouney to the Center of the Earth, on PBS. Anyone know if there is a DVD of that concert?

[herodotus]

I never could get into most of the solo stuff, (although 'Criminal record' was fun).

But his work on Yes' "Close to the Edge" is just about as good as it gets. That was one kick ass album. (I get up.....I get down....I get up...I get down...BWAAHHHHH!!!!!!)

I love prog-rock.

[seamonkey]

Wow, Rick Wakeman... I like so many! I would say Catherine of Aragorn from Six Wives, or Merlin the Magician from King Arthur and the Knights of the Roundtable,,, or the whole Journey to the Center of the Earth album. I'm a total Rick Wakeman fan. I have some of his old albums with the Strawbs, and he did some great work with Yes. I do think his solo stuff is probably the best. He can cut loose a little more.

BTW, I remember a long time ago, seeing a video of the live performance of Jouney to the Center of the Earth, on PBS. Anyone know if there is a DVD of that concert?

Hi Harmony, I just checked on Borders/Amazon.com and the only DVD they have of that concert is from 1975,I have the VHS tape of the show you are referring to.
It is a retail version and not a bootleg.
It's pretty good but I found the vocals a bit offsetting because he kept going out of key.I think he was the original vocalist from the album.
I don't really watch it much anymore and I would be happy to mail it to you if you PM me with your address.

BTW, he is still playing with Yes.
Oh yes, I have a Strawbs tape (video)with Rick Wakemans first appearance with them.
If you go to the Strawbs site, I think they have David Cousins and he have collabed on a new one or they are at least in the planning stage.

It's funny, people used to try to decide who was better between him and Keith Emerson.
They are both great keyboard players with different styles.
I enjoy them both but feel they shine even more as ensemble players and then their solo's really stand out.

[Meffy]

seamonkey, I agree that Keith and Rick are both ace key-ticklers. But, y'see, Wakeman has the revolutionary Melohman octave... ;-)

Meffy
gd&r

[harmony gardens]

I used to try to figure out whether Emerson or Wakeman was better, and I decided it just depended on which I was listening to at the time. I would give the edge to Wakeman, like Meffy. They inspired me to practice and tickle my ear drums for years. I also love Close to the Edge. They just make magic together.
I got a chance to see Wakeman at a club in Madison WI. There were maybe 300 people there. It was quite intimate. He did a lot of the Six Wives, Journey, and King Arthur stuff. It was probably the most excited I've ever been! lol. It was a great show.

Thanks seamonkey. I agree his singers were a little flat on the album, too.

[nuffink]

Wakeman or Emerson? It's tough, but I don't think you can ignore Clayderman in this kind of comparison.

[Bluezplayer_AJ]

30+ years later and still that Emerson vs Wakeman thing. LOL.. Now THAT is staying power. I used to argue for K E back in the day, but really both are so damned good that I don't even think of the comparisons much anymore.

Close to the edge.. man that was awesome stuff. Relayer too.. Gates of Delirium.

Brain Salad Surgery, Tarkus.. Pictures from an Exhibition.. I loved all that stuff too. .. still do.

AJ

[pekadan]

Alright then, so what softmoog do you think Wakeman plays better then Emerson, minimonsta or minimoog V?

Kidding! Not another X vs Y thread!

I was just curious if you like Wakeman's solo-, or other-than-Yes-projects. Is the King Arthur & Lord of the Ring stuff he's done the most interesting? (I'm not really into fantasy myself). What about the more recent albums Out There and Out of the Blue for example? What are they like?

[Sepheritoh]

Journey to the centre was the only solo album from Rick I owned. I thought it was pretty good.

Didn't he play on the "I've seen all good people" song with Yes? That was one of my favourites.

[herodotus]

Journey to the centre was the only solo album from Rick I owned. I thought it was pretty good.

Didn't he play on the "I've seen all good people" song with Yes? That was one of my favourites.

Actually, the keys on that song were played by Tony Banks.

[herodotus]

And the keys on Relayer were played by Patrick Moraz.

BTW, I have been listening to these albums a lot lately and have been really blown away by the production. Eddie Offord has got to be one of the most underrated engineers ever. And they did it with TAPE!!!! No digital editing to hide f**k-ups.

Humbling, it is.

[gravehill]

I haven't listened to Wakeman's solo material that much. I bought "Fields of green" to hear what it's like and I didn't like it. On the other hand, none of you guys have mentioned this album as your fave so am I missing something here? Are the others in different style somehow?

[munchkin]

...Clayderman...

It's like punk never happened.