HEAVEN'S ISLE

"Heaven's isle" is the début album by keyboards virtuoso Rick Wakeman's eldest son Oliver. He makes an inauspicious start here, with an album of mood music rather than something which reflects his true talents.

The "Isle" in question is called Lundy, located at the mouth of the Bristol Channel between Wales and England in the south west of the United Kingdom. Oliver was inspired by a day trip to this protected island which is a wildlife haven and picturesque location. Heaven was the appropriate surname of the minister who at one time owned the island, and built the church there. Oliver used to visit the island regularly, and was inspired by it to write this music under the endorsement of the current administrators of the island, the Landmark trust.

"Heaven's Isle" contains 13 tracks, each of which attempts to paint a picture of an aspect of the island. Thus we have sea birds soaring above high cliffs, seals swimming in the sea, pirates attacking shipping in the channel, dolphins passing by, and so forth. In reality, what we have musically is a succession of pleasant but undemanding synthscapes which lean towards new age. I hesitate to label the album as such, as there is a bit more life to most of the tracks than that, but the music never ventures beyond the pleasant.

"Heaven's isle" is very much a chip off the old block in that it mirrors the plethora of albums Rick recorded to pay the heating bills in the 80's and 90's. It is hard to be critical of such music as it is charmingly inoffensive. Thankfully, Oliver has since found his own identity with his "Mother's ruin" album and his recent superb live DVD.

On the Vergalas releases, two of the tracks are re-recorded. The accompanying booklet gives picturesque descriptions for each track, acting as a sort of marketing brochure for what is undoubtedly a beautiful part of Britain.