RICK WAKEMAN & THE ENGLISH ROCK ENSEMBLE: A GALLERY OF THE IMAGINATION

Que faire? The candle is going out. Nothing can last forever. A talent is sooner or later exhausted, a source of new ideas is sooner or later running low. Now, after Wakeman's glorious 1970s, ragged 1980s, all that ensued and, finally, his alleged 'return to genuine Wakeman prog' in 2020s, there's a reason to suppose that the great musician Richard Christopher Wakeman will be remembered mostly from his 1970s. My personal opinion is that, for example, Myths And Legends..., No Earthly Connection and the 'Airs' trilogy will be remembered for decades to come, while Criminal Record and Aspirant Sunrise will be remembered for centuries to come. The composer Rick Wakeman will take his place in the history of music somewhere between Beethoven and Richard Strauss, the keyboard player Rick Wakeman will be considered a virtuoso comparable to Gilels or even Richter... but mostly due to his legendary 1970s works. Moreover, his future audience should forgive and forget most of his later releases just to appreciate him as a musical genius.

Indeed, while Wakeman's 1980s were ambiguous (at least to me The Gospels, The Family Album, A Suite Of Gods and all the three 'Airs' are masterpieces, while The Burning, Silent Nights or Time Machine are hooey), what followed in 1990s, 2000s and 2010s was a sort of musical graphomania. Three albums per year, four albums per year... even seven albums per year! Many of them were just collections of reworked versions of old tracks. (A neat way to make a 'new' album, isn't it?) Three albums (Aspirant Sunrise, Aspirant Sunset and Aspirant Sunshadows) formed Suntrilogy, an underrated masterpiece from 1990-1991. As for the rest...

Well, some people scold Wakeman's 1990s to 2010s albums as 'boring new age'. To me, no matter if it's (so-called) 'prog rock', or (ce qu'on appelle) 'new age', or (il cosiddetto) 'neo classical'. The only thing to be taken into account is the relationships between musical sounds that a composer builds. I dislike most of Wakeman's 1990s-2010s studio releases just due to poor, often vulgar, sometimes boorish, sometimes outspokenly plebeian musical thinking. In Criminal Record, or Myths And Legends..., or Journey To The Centre Of The Earth, or even Lisztomania, Wakeman discovered new worlds. Later, he put tons of platitudes on his listeners' heads. Of course not every album was as awful as Fields Of Green (when I first listened to it I could hardly believe that it's Wakeman). But most of them were composed really clumsy. And looks like none was really inspired.

With The Red Planet, Wakeman reportedly returned to his roots. Sorry but I cannot share the audience's enthusiasm about this album. No, it's not a new Six Wives Of Henry VIII, far from that. I cannot compare it even to White Rock. I find The Red Planet just being a 'counterfeit' version of 1970s 'Wakeman prog', a forgery. Though I must admit that South Pole and the intro to The North Plain add something new and important to 'the idea of Rick Wakeman' we used to know since 1973.

Finally, this narrow path has led to A Gallery Of The Imagination. I think the album is a logical conclusion of the entire Wakeman's way as a musician: from majesty - through fuss - to failed recovery. Fortunately, there's no more attempt to imitate 'Wakeman prog' in the new Wakeman album. I'd say due to this circumstance, the album is much better than The Red Planet. It does not simulate a 'drive' that is in fact missing. What's remarkable here? Very nice and heartfelt melody in A Mirage In The Clouds. The Creek is an amazing instrumental piece for piano, more or less in the vein of Chopin. What else? Inventive melody in Only When I Cry. A nice musical surprise is Cuban Carnival, unusual and unexpected, but (on the other hand) rather a memory of the carnival that ended many years ago than a current carnival. The rest is sometimes pleasantly quiet and thoughtful, sometimes unpleasantly rocky and fussy (especially The Dinner Party!), and anyway full of banalities. I'm afraid Mr Wakeman spent too much time for trifles in the previous three decades. This could damage even so mighty talent.