THE MYTHS AND LEGENDS OF KING ARTHUR AND THE KNIGHTS OF THE ROUND TABLE

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Another one of these tackily ambitious project/concept came with a "holiday on ice"show . No wonder that punk came along. Well executed music does not save this horrendously ridicule idea. I happen to think also that the sound is horrible and the production is poor, the composition are weak and some of those vocals hurt my ears . I kept my vinyl for a long time , hoping one day to get into this , but did get rid of it after one last listen at the end of the 80's. Recently (last year ) I rented it again from the library in Cd form thinking this might sound better but still not.Wakeman fans will love this one , but I only moderately appreciate the artist and his grandiloquence.

Well honestly this time Rick WAKEMAN is not completely inspiring from the point of view of his symphonic composition (except on the first stunning track, which has recently become also the most important reference for a couple of keyboardists, A. Bassato & M. Bon from Le ORME), whose main symphonic theme is similar to that one which will bring about a strong epic impact, inside the latest album "Elementi" by Le ORME, talking about the intro of "King Arthur..." by WAKEMAN!!). Nevertheless the songs are a bit simplistic and formulaic, in other circumstances, too, talking about the arrangement. As for the previous explanations, this album is not completely recommended, despite of being interesting as a reference for every "prog keyboardist" (forget only a few boring parts!)

On "Six Wives" (1973), Wakeman experimented with his plethora of keyboards, playing around with different sounds and textures, and creating fabulous compositions using those sounds and textures. On "Journey to the Centre of the Earth" (1974), he made his first attempt to meld rock, orchestra and chorus in a storytelling genre, and was generally successful, though the effort was ultimately "immature." With "Myths and Legends," Wakeman hits the perfect blending of rock, orchestra and chorus, creating an amazing album that will send chills up your spine. / The album opens with a deep voice speaking the famous inscription on the stone that held the legendary sword, Excalibur: "Whosoever pulleth this sword from this stone and anvil is the trueborn king of all Britain." It then launches into the main theme - a majestic and perfect medieval motif - which segues directly into the first song, "Arthur," which tells of the quest to find a new king. Following this is "Lady of the Lake," the first of three short acappella vocal vingnettes, full of beautiful medieval harmonies. This brings us to "Guinevere," which tells of Arthur's wife's precarious situation - being loved by, and in love with, both Arthur and Lancelot. It also contains the first of many excellent Wakeman solos, during a beautiful, mellow jam. We then come to the centerpiece of the album, "Sir Lancelot and the Black Knight," which may not only be the most perfect single blending of rock, orchestra and chorus ever written, but among the best, most exciting prog-rock compositions ever written. Opening with a "restatement" of the main theme, it launches quickly into successive single measures of 7/8, 8/8, 9/8 and 10/8, settling into 7/8. After a couple of verses, it moves into an extended jam which contains some of Wakeman's most spine-tingling solos. I could listen to this single piece over and over and never tire of it. We then have the second of the brief acappella vocal vignettes, introducing us to the next composition, "Merlin the Magician," a multi-section instrumental. The second section, a 5/4 jam, contains more of Wakeman's most compelling solo work. The third section is repeated twice, the first time using multi-layered keyboards (including one that sounds like a banjo!), the second time arranged for orchestra. We then have the third and final acappella vignette, introducing us to our next character, "Sir Galahad," which segues into the final composition, "The Last Battle." Opening with a great double entendre - "Gone are the days of the knights" - it tells of the end of the Round Table, and Arthur's death, and features another mellow jam containing yet more marvelous Wakeman solo work, and ends with a masterfully orchestrated final statement of the main theme. / If a masterpiece is a work which is compositionally, musically, vocally and lyrically perfect, in which not a single note is out of place or misused, and which features exceptional production qualities, then "Myths and Legends" is an unequivocal masterpiece. So much so, in my opinion, that I have included it in my "desert island discs (DIDs)"; i.e., one of the ten albums I would choose to take to a desert island if I was confined to only ten albums. In any event, "Myths and Legends" is a must-have for any serious prog collection.

My all time favorite WAKEMAN's album, combines energy and melody in an amazing way. Each character has his/her own distinctive melody created by the magician of the synths. I never understood why Wakeman always recruits Ashley Holt as a vocalist, he's simply terrible, but in this album his out of key voice helps to create the medieval atmosphere because he sounds as a travelling juggler telling the story.

Rick starts with the classic and medieval "Arthur", solemn but aggressive, great chorus and beautiful changes, then comes "The Lady of the Lake", somehow mystical and oneiric. The romantic "Guinevere" is probably the weakest moment of the album, but is a great relief before the violent "Lancelot and the Black Knight". "Merlin the Magician" is one of the highest points, combines the mystic sound with a bit of comedy, describing Merlin as a mixture of mysterious, magician and comedy relief, amazing song.

But my favorite song is "The Last Battle", simply beautiful, jumps from the battle sounds to the melancholic parts with brilliance, ending with the narration that gives more power and credibility to the story.

WAKEMAN at his best.

Tales from Pendragon Castle

Wakeman was truly inspired when he decided that the legendary King Arthur was to be the subject of his next project. While the album will not really serve as a definitive historical document, it does capture the essence of the Myths and Legends of that period. (For those who have seen the recent film "King Arthur", this album bears little relation being steeped in the mythology of the period, rather than attempting to impart any historical accuracy in the way the film does.)

As with the previous "Journey to the centre of the earth", the album is heavily orchestrated, with choirs and plenty of accomplished solo musicians. This time however, Wakeman reverted to the studio to record the album, and thus the sound quality is excellent.

Two of the tracks, "Guinivere" and "Merlin the Magician" are sketches of the characters. The latter is one of Wakeman's finest instrumental pieces, with synthesisers soaring and diving among a myriad of different sounds and atmospheres. Those with suspect woofers in their hi-fi system are warned to beware of the very deep notes Wakeman hits at certain points!

The other tracks tell different parts of the story, from Arthur's early days to his death; the music being superb throughout. "Arthur" is majestic, befitting the discovery of the new king, as he succeeds where all others have failed in pulling the sword Excalibur from the stone.

"Sir Lancelot & the black knight" reflects the pace of the battle, complete with one of Wakeman's great synth solos, similar to the one near the end of "Revealing science of God" by Yes from "Topographic Oceans". The final tracks, "Sir Galahad" and "The last battle" combine to form a wonderful long piece telling the story of Arthur's final days and beyond, before finishing in a triumphant climax to a great album.

The original LP came in a lavish packaging with an ornate gatefold sleeve, and lyric booklet, rendering it well worth seeking out. Quite simply, a superb piece of work from start to finish.

Excellent stuff. In fact I would go out on a limb here and say this is as good if not better than Six Wives Of Henry The VIII.What he has achieved so eloquently on King Arthur is the ability to match the sound to the Medieval era he was portraying with accuracy. In the main the whole album is superb but highlights would have to be ' Guinevere' and ' Sir Galahad'. Terry Taplin's voice does this business when narration is needed and Wakeman's keyboard arrangements, some of his best ever.Underrated album without a doubt.

I picked this up at a vinyl store for 50p in mnt condition. A lovely gatefold with lush drawings of knights and a huge 12 page booklet. I really wasn't sure what to expect. Some of his solo album reviews got terrible feedback and i am a huge yes fan but this album is excellent. Rick does what he does best, with brilliant traditional piano piece (which reflects the concept of the album) as well as some synth and guitar work here as well. This was musically arranged very well with a huge orchestra featuring on the album.

This album definetly has some yes sound to it but it is a very delightful and refreshing change from Yes. One strong point here is the vocals. They are very different to jon anderson and the guitar arrangements are different too. The concept of this album is a bit over the top but it works brilliantly. The lyrics are accurate and do the job nicely. This sounds like a very proffesional arrangement of musicians which is something yes didn't have, though still managed to create with 5 musicians.

The standout tracks here are "Sir Lancelot and the Black Night", "Merlin the Magician" and "The Last Battle". I found these pieces incredible and very progressively captivating. I highly recommend this piece as it is brilliant and gentle progressive rock and definetly for fans of YES but people who dont like them can still find this piece very listenable. The only offputting thing is that the male choirs can become a little tedious as they are played on just about every song and it all sounds the same. Otherwise this is a brilliant piece.

It is obvious that Rick Wakeman is a very prolific musician. I only have listened to this album (which has a very long title!) and to "Journey to the Centre of the Earth" from his very long discography. I still prefer "Journey...", which is more accessible than this "King Arthur" album. The best songs in this album, in my opinion, are "Arthur" and "Merlin the Magician". "Arthur" has a very good melody which is maybe the main musical theme of this album, as it is repeated several times in the album. "Merlin" has some "humour"in the music. I think that Wakeman invested a lot of money and time in the production of this album as it has impressive arrangements, an orchestra, a choir, etc. But the best moments in this album, in my opinion, are the instrumental moments when Wakeman appears as the main musician, playing very good piano parts (which reflect very well his Classical music trainning), without the orchestra and the choir, or with the orchestra and the choir in the background. Of course, he also plays very good synth solos. As I wrote in my review for the "Journey..." album, I don`t like the lead vocals by Ashley Holt and Gary Pickford- Hopkins. But his backing band (drums/guitar/bass) does a better job in this album than in the "Journey..." album, particularly drummer Barney James. I consider this album as a very good example of some excesses done by some Progressive Rock musicians. Sometimes this album is very "pompous", with the choir and orchestral arrangements sounding as excessive as Richard Wagner`s operas (sorry, I don`t like Wagner`s operas, apart from some preludes, overtures, etc.). But I still respect Rick Wakeman (and Wagner too!) despite some of these excesses. I have read some interviews in which Wakeman really laughs about some of his excesses in the 70s (was "King Arthur on Ice"?) and the lot of money he spent in these excesses :"It was done in the mid 70s, you know!".

Some things unfortunately just do NOT age well, and Rick Wakeman's overblown take on King Arthur and The Knights Of The Round Table does so very painfully.

Flush from his success with the "Journey To The Center of The Earth" tour, Wakey decided to approach an equally grandiose subject. However, in his quest to do so, he got a little too full of himself, a few pints and no small amount of Broadway-style cheese-wiz that would probably embarass Andrew Lloyd-Webber (as if THAT were actually possible).

End result, some of the CORNIEST, STOOOOPIDEST lyrics you ever heard in your life (they make "Hello Dolly" sound like Shakespeare by comparison) that permeate nearly ALL the tracks, save for the largely instrumental "Merlin The Magician" though this has cheese- whiz issues of its own, trying to jump to every musical style it can in the space of 6 or 7 minutes). The proceedings are NOT helped in any fashion by Ashley Holt's abysmal vocalizing (heck, William Shatner could outsing him and at least be somewhat entertaining) and the rather pedestrian band (although the orchetra and choir do get to flex their muscles periodically) as Wakey lets forth Mini-Moog and piano assaults aplenty. There are odd musical moments though that actually threaten to get good and interesting but that is QUICKLY dealt a death blow when the Broadway/Stage impulses take over.

With the lone exception of "Six Wives of Henry The VIII", Wakey has NEVER been able to compose anything meaningfully deep or substantial, sounding more like Romantic/Post- Romantic period cliches strung together with other odd bits. He can play his keys like a fiend and contribute colorful passages in the confines of Yes, he can wear the coolest capes on the planet, but the boy CANNOT WRITE!

You want high-concept hijinks that are actually FUN? May I suggest William Shatner's "The Transformed Man" (at least it was FUNNY!). This thing however just takes itself WAAAAAAAAAAAYYY too seriously and tries to overcompensate with bombastic cheese whiz (I'm just glad he didn't attempt a collaboration with Elvis on a redux of "Hamlet").

Best used for extracting confessions from criminals or getting rid of unwanted party guests. Otherwise, steer clear.

This is another Rick Wakeman's album with some EXCELLENT orchestral arrangements: compared to the previous "Journey to the center of the Earth" album, the album here is more lively and dynamic: there are some choir parts with more predominant male singers, although there are still many ethereal female choirs. The foreground orchestra really participates to the rhythms and melodies involved: the textures are still very heroic, mythic and enchanted. Wakeman plays nervous & melodic moog solos, and he uses very much the piano. There are some delightful & magic small bells parts. Ashley Holt and Gary Pickford have EXCELLENT lead vocals, as usual. The very complex and elaborated last bit on "Merlin the magician", purely classical, is absolutely PERFECT! There are some variations on the same theme, but the variations are so well made that it is not annoying at all.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!

Rick Wakeman is one of my favorite all-time artists, as you can imagine my nickname is maybe childish but is like a tribute to him, i love his unique style he is a god of keyboards and he was one of the few artist i knew when i discovered this site, obviously knowing Yes first than his solo career.

Later a friend of mine lend me journey to the centre of the earth and i fell in love with it, so i was recommended to listen to this album which was described to me as one of his bests albums, and it is true, this is excellent it has magnific orchestral arrangements and a very classic style, i can imagine all the characters involved in this album, i refer to the song titles you know, Arthur, Lancelot, Guinevere etc, which are the reason of this album, the music is excellent obviously what caught my attention was Wakeman´s keyboard playing, but the guitar arrangements are also good and a powerful drums are present here, the vocals are probably not the best, but good anyway, there is alos narration during the songs.

Merlin the Magician is one of the best songs he has composed andprobably my favorite, it shows his superb keyboard playing making changes every minute, Guinever is another of my favorite songs here and the last battle is also great, you will love this album if you give it a chance, not a pasterpiece bot surely recommendable for everyone, 4 stars.

It's rare Hugues Chantraine and I agree on anything, but I echo everything he says on this. It was overblown, overambitious and its only redeeming feature is that it's marginally better than its predecessor. The vocals are painful and the lyrics banal, some of the backing band's playing is uninspired (the drummer honorably excepted) and the compositions are often crude. For example, Merlin is just beginning to develop into something interesting with some nice bass, mellotron and synth work when, smack in the middle, we get a section more appropriate for a Benny Hill chase scene, complete with banjos and God knows what. The only redeeming feature is the synth solo in the second part of the track which is a good test for the deep bass on my hi fi. And that's all I get this album out for. God only knows what the highly talented orchestra and choirs must have thought when they heard the finished product. Definitely one to miss unless you can't bear not to have everything by Wakeman.

A TRUE MASTERPIECE CLASSIC PROG ALBUM

Who so pulled out this sword from this stone and anvil, is the true-born King of all Britain .. JRENG!

Oh man . I know that some of you may disagree with me but I really apologize that I have to stand still with my conviction that this album was (and is still until today) a masterpiece. One thing for sure, I cannot lie to myself that this album has a very special place for me as it did show me how great music has great impact to me because in a way this album has helped energize my days in my life. Am not trying to be melancholic but I'm expressing my true-being as a victim (thankfully) of great (prog) music! If you ask me what is lacking on this album I'm not in a position to answer as every single thing here is marvelous and I'm not exaggerating. I'm sure that this opinion differs significantly with you and we may be in the different poles. If that is the case, please ignore this review. As for my case, it's a joy reviewing this album and I don't know where I can't stop it because I'm now also playing the CD (signed personally by Rick Wakeman and Tony Fernandez when they did a concert in Jakarta, February 2002) while punching my fingers on my laptop. This is the beauty of reviewing the album that I really love ..

This album was my third experience with Rick's album having listened to "The Six Wives" and "Journey" and the opening track King Arthur really blew me away at first listen. I had no difficulty at all digesting this album as I had been familiar with Rick's previous work. I did even cover King Arthur in our school band's performance where I looked after guitar and lead vocal (what a shame thing, I was trying to emulate Ashley Holt! Who cares? No one knew what Rick's music was except a small number of my rock- mates). So, how can I easily forget this album? Of course I will never do that. Especially if I read the story behind the making of this album as explained in Rick's perspective.

Rick's Perspective: "This is in many ways a musical autobiography. Much was written in my head whilst lying in Wexham Park Hospital after my first minor heart attack. The Last Battle I wrote after being advised by the specialist, in front of my management, that he recommended I stopped playing and retired in order to give myself a chance of a reasonable recovery. I was 25. Thankfully I ignored the advice, wrote The Last Battle that night, and carried on. Heart surgery has come a long way since the mid seventies as well thankfully!" (source: www.rwcc.com)

And this is my personal view about this album:

Arthur (7' 26" ) opens the album with excellent and memorable narration by Terry Taplin: "Who so pulled out this sword from this stone and anvil, is the true-born King of all Britain .." Followed with timpani sounds and the blast of orchestration in an uplifting mood. It's a great opening and it's like watching a colossal movie with dts technology. The music then flows with a combination of keyboard and orchestra at the back, augmented with guitar work. The music slows down to welcome the vocal line and the keyboard turns into a clavinet sounds. As the song builds up with lyrical passages, the keyboard effects and orchestration enrich the song textures. It's a beautiful melody track with excellent combination of keyboard solo, orchestration and choral section. "Arthur is the king of all this land ."

The next track Lady of the Lake (0' 45") is a choirs section that serves as a break to the piano / keyboard intro of the next melodic track Guinevere (6' 45"). For me, this track is like an emotional break having listened to grandiose orchestral work of Arthur. Structure-wise, this track is simple and even straight forward. The key attraction points of this track is its strong melody, good acoustic guitar rhythm, excellent keyboard solo (in the middle of the track) and great chorus by Ashley Holt and Gary Pickford Hopkins. The guitar solo is also stunning and has become a great part of the overall song.

Sir Lancelot and the Black Knight (5' 20") starts off with a great string arrangements, timpani and brass section followed with energetic choirs and Roger Newell solid bass lines and high register notes voice line. The music has variation of high and low points augmented with choirs section. Rick's synthesizer works overlay the orchestration which starts simple and turns into a complex s one when Rick performs his keyboard improvisations. As the track has many tempo changes, the transition into quieter passages are filled with a combination of piano, guitar and string section. I especially like when the vocal performs the high point segments and the orchestra dynamically follows the melody. It's a masterpiece!

Merlin The Magician (8' 51") is an excellent instrumental track that has been Rick's favorite in live performance because most of the crowd like it very much, I think. It opens with a repetition of "Lady of The Lake" and continues with a floating keyboard and solid bass lines as song opener. As the music builds up into crescendo, string orchestra enters the music and brings the music steadily to first part of piano solo with soft rhythm section. The music moves up firmly with dazzling synthesizer solo that characterizes this song. Despite wonderful keyboard improvisations, what I also love about this track is the rhythm section with simple bass lines. This track is probably the most diverse one as compared others in the album as it blends perfectly various music styles: classical, rock, country (?) - yes, on some transition pieces. As a result, it creates highest emotional impact to the listener - at least for me.

Sir Galahad (5' 51") is another wonderful track that combines nice melody, choirs, vocal, excellent orchestra and keyboard / piano solo. It's composed combining a high energy section with choirs section and slower tempo parts. The keyboard fills at the back during the main vocal and choirs section work together. The transition piece is melodic combining duo vocals followed with high energy orchestra. I also like when the choirs take main role as melody combined with synthesizer fills. The ending point of this track creates good musical peak. This track should be enjoyed with the next and last track The Last Battle (9' 41"). As you may have read at above that this track was written when Rick was hospitalized and being told that he should stop composing. This track summarizes the whole album by (at the end of the track) incorporating excerpts of previous tracks. It's a great track.

Summary

What is the best way to suggest you if the above represents my personal views? Tough. Let me put it this way: if you do enjoy a combination of orchestra and electronic equipment with rock elements, this album would probably fit you. If you like Yes, I don't think it guarantees that you would automatically like this one as well because it's different. I would say that those who like orchestra music would accept this album. For me, it's a masterpiece. Keep on proggin' ..!

Progressively yours,

GW

This album has some flaws, and is not as satisfying as the others in the 70s. This is a concept album, and as the title implies, you will realize that it will sound medievalish , and very classical. It is, and Wakeman has succeeded in creating that atmosphere needed to 'feel' Arthur. A weakness has to be the vocalist, it could have been 4 stars with a better vocalist, since the compositions are very strong.

1. Arthur 7.5/10 : A very solid, bombastic and a bit pretentious opener of the album. After narration, The intro riff begins and is very memorable, and you would want to play it on your keyboard after hearing it. After the intro, the song is a very accessible keyboard driven song.

2. Lady of the Lake : Very pretty choral piece, with a pretty piano melody following.

3. Guinevere 7/10 : A Very decent and again, accessible song with pretty melodies, and good keyboard sounds.

4. Sir Lancelot and the Black Knight 7.5/10 : Pretentious? maybe, but You can't help but like this song. It creates imagery with its main string riff theme, and it contains one of the best synth solos Wakeman has ever written.

5. Merlin the Magician 9.5 /10 : Very challenging and insane piece. From the Lady of the Lake reprise, to the pretty piano melodies, to the simple yet effective bass line, to the brilliant moog synth soloing, to the ultra fast fun jam ... this song has it all, and it may be Wakeman's best composition along with Judas. It was rated #1 in Wakeman's site.

6. Sir Galahad 5/10 : the lady of the lake again!? This song is not as strong as the others, it seems less serious and more fun. The highlight of this is easily the echoey haunting chord progression.

7. The Last Battle 6.5/10 : You can hear themes from the other songs in this one, and it is an epic. There are some good parts scattered around. It doesn't keep my interest for its 10 minutes tho.

This album while its ending may be a little weak, is a very solid album, and can you imagine that Wakeman wrote most of this music while he was in a hospital because of a heart attack?

My Grade : C+

"The Myths and Legends of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table" is one of the definitive epitomes of Rick Wakeman's prog approach at its best. Wakeman musically approaches the legend of King Arthur, a mythical pioneer of the British nation, as a work of dramatic grandiosity and cinematographic pomposity, something like an original soundtrack for a movie in his head. Wakeman's intention wasn't for sure to recapture the spirit of those old times' folk: what does that Cajun upright piano on 'Merlin the Magician' have to do with the music that Arthur and his brave knights used to sing and dance to when the partied? And what about that Latin-jazz inspired rhythm section for the Moog solo in ' Sir Lancelot and the Black Knight'?. But I won't bash this album because of these foreign elements. On the contrary, they serve as indicators of the general colorfulness that constitutes the album's musical ideology as a whole. Anyway, the touch of the Middle Ages can be clearly grasped in the choral arrangements that at times appear either between songs or introducing them. Generally speaking, both the main melodies and the interaction group-orchestra-choir are tighter than on his previous "Journey" album. The monster opener 'Arthur' displays a superb majesty like only Wakeman can create with his delicate arpeggios on piano and harpsichord, mellotron orchestrations and captivating Moog leads. The choir and orchestra enhance that cinematographic aura that will constantly shape the music contained in this album. The solemnity of 'Arthur' is soon reprised in 'Guinevere', only with an added romantic vibe; the featured presence of female voices in the chorale properly create a solid companionship for the instrumentation and the lead vocalists. The first real explosion gets going with 'Sir Lancelot': the Moog solo in the middle section is one of the best articulate leads ever delivered by this keyboardist magician. Wakeman, being as skilful as he is, can also be a gigantic performer of impromptu solos, and in this album we also have a great showcase for that: I'm, of course, referring to 'Merlin the Magician'. This is a real classic, in which Wakeman displays a large amount of effort in order to keep things constrained and ethereal in the calmer sections and then go nuts during the stronger ones (it is said that he was actually inspired by the 'muse of alcohol' in his performance of the second Moog solo - true or false, the final result feels very good to me). The effort is successfully translated into a manifestation of musical genius. The upright piano interventions serve to provide a touch of frivolous playfulness, something I've always interpreted as a reference to the funny side of magic. 'Sir Galahad' returns to the intensity of war and struggle that we already knew in 'Sir Lancelot', only with a bit lesser degree of intensity and a bit major dose of sophistication. This track is segued into the other monster track, which is also the closure. Although its title makes a direct allusion to a fighting situation, 'The Last Battle' is not stormy at all, actually. It is focused on the mourning for the loss of the king's dream, the dream for a united nation; therefore, it is centered on feelings of sadness and disillusion. The 'Arthur' and 'Lancelot' quotations that surface near the end give this album a full circle ending: this resource of consistence is a very clever way to fulfill the album's general idea in full splendour. "The Myths and Legends of King Arthur" is a definitive cornerstone of symphonic prog rock at its prime, and also, a Wakeman masterpiece.

[I dedicate this review to my grandfather Celestino Flavio, recently departed]

Rick Wakeman - The Legend of King Arthur

Opens with male voice choir. The arrangement sounds like some 6th form composition, with mostly static harmonic columns moving step by step to the next one through safe harmonic progressions, and a few prescription "joining notes" in a vain attempt to give a sense of movement.

This short introduction ends with a reasonable suspension and predictable perfect cadence - I would really have liked some open fifths to give a suggestion of Mediaeval music, and some working on the harmony parts such that each became closer to a melody than an enforced part of the vertical structure of each chord.

The overall effect is muddy, where I'm sure the intention is to be grand, and this is largely due to a baritone part with too low a register, and too little attention paid to the upper registers. That said, some of the harmony is more reminiscent of Barbershop quartets than straightforward Oxford Harmony Book 1.

It's the close attention to detail that would have lifted this from the compromised dirge that I find it to be, and it's by examining in detail the treatment given to the material here that the expectations are set for the remainder of the work - and really, one would hope to be proved wrong, and that the composer is not, in fact, running before the walking thing has been mastered. The evidence, under analysis, would suggest that this is sadly true;

Next we have a piano section which tells me my memory for tunes needs some refreshment - where does that snippet of melody come from? Answers on an email to. This is mysteriously overlaid with harpsichord - presumably an attempt to lend an olde worlde feel to it. I doubt that anyone in King Arthur's time had ever seen a harpsichord, however. This ends with a distinctly 18th Century style flourish such as might end a short cadenza, or have been lifted from a Beethoven Sonata - perhaps the Pathetique. But it's well executed, so we can forgive the Wakemeister that.

After this, a slightly darker keyboard section, with multi keyboard layers and pseudo- brass and a nice, rich bass line provides some nice, gentle, moody prog rock with soft sixths and OH! Those Mellotrons! The bass rolls along very nicely, with the piano melody getting a reprise before tumbling headlong into a heavier section, a kind of freaky Led Zep Riff, over which Rick unleashes some fireworks panning madly across the stereo, underlaid with some Beethoven-inspired piano.

This opens into a gentle reprise of the main theme with Mellotron choir, and then the most horrible fairground type racket replete with detuned Cockney, knees-up Mother Brody type piano. Very fast and intricate, but UGH!

This tangentially drops back into the soft sixths, and onward back to the main theme. I really would have liked actual thematic rather than simple textural development here, but it's rather predictable, and the bassist particularly seems to have issues maintaining concentration, as Rick unleashes the mad panning stereo solo and the Beethoven piano runs once more, adding string layers, then sending the synth down low - then ARGH! That horrible fairground section is back but with added cheesey bits. Fortunately it all ends there.. For now.

Next we get more of the male voice choir. The lyrics are dodgy to say the least, and you can practically hear the conductor (Rick?) waving his arms about to encourage some dynamics - as if to hide the decidedly average content.

There now follows another, somewhat unnecessary reprise of the piano theme - well executed with turn decorations. but then a kind of variation on the fairground theme follows, with a kind of Carribean flavour, mysteriously. A vocal section follows, and all is rather chaotic with no real flow; loads of sounds are piled in, seemingly for their own sake as if the complexity of sound layers is attempting to make up for the famine of musical ideas here.

A little piano interlude made up of an ostinato figure takes us to the next part of the vocals, which has a nice dark change - and here is where it gets a bit better. A pseudo reggae-flavoured passage cavorts into a full choir section, and a solo vocal section which pulls out even more stops than were pulled out earlier - more is more seems to be the motto here. Some new musical themes are introduced, leitmotif-like, although these are all rather short and do not develop.

This drops away to a rather nice section featuring tubular bells and electronic seagulls, to a wistful vocal section. yes, those lyrics are still Wensleydale to the core. The layers are interesting, and the bass and drums meander very nicely, Prog Rock style, with hints of Yes, but it's all idea on top of idea then repeat idea rather than idea grows into idea then develops. What's wrong with that approach? Well, you know how a pop song is constructed - verse, chorus, verse, chorus and so on - well that's exactly it. Without development, this might as well be a little series of pop tunes all tacked together with sticky tape.

There are some good ideas here, but mainly the sort of stuff that an obsessive ideas and quick-fix merchant would appreciate or dream up. I'm sure Rick has done some top-grade work, it just feels like this was something exuberant that was dashed off in a day or two - there are few signs of careful workmanship or a desire to create something new, more a kind contractual obligation of a lazy display of keyboard abilities that are certainly higher than average, and compositional abilities that would prompt the report card "Must Try Harder" - low Grade 5 tops.

If ever there was an award for number of layers - or good choice of keyboard sounds, then this would surely appear high on the nominations list.

At the end of the day, this is some of the most pretentious and bombastic Prog Rock ever - and rightly so. Prog Rock should be pretentious, and bombastic is good. The virtuosic keyboards are designed to dazzle - and if you don't play yourself, then chances are they might - so there's no need to be put off by an academic lambasting.

My biggest complaint really is the complete failure to conjure up images of an Arthurian world populated by the Knights of the Round Table, Lady of the Lake, Excalibur and so on - only a few nods and winks to appropriate musical styles exist, the lyrical style makes an effort - but makes you wish it hadn't, and the atmospherics are almost entirely of a Prog Rock extravagana rather than of a bygone era of heroic deeds and derinng-do. I'm tempted to say it's more like derring-don't.

It is not a bad Prog album, however, and a worthy consideration if you're not one of those awful artsy types who takes it all seriously or a die-hard Romantic with expectations and ideals to match - in fact, if you're not analytical by nature, you might enjoy this very much for itself.

However, if you do fall into the former categories, there's a lot of pain and too little pleasure to get much enjoyment out of this particular opus - so I suggest you try elsewhere for your introduction to the genius of Rick Wakeman, 'coz it ain't here.

*No I'm not going to review side 2- this is long enough - the booklet has some nice pictures on it ;0)

Retaining the services of vocalists Garry Pickford-Hopkins and (former Warhorse singer) Ashley Holt as well as the rhythm section of Roger Newell and Barney James from the Journey To The Centre Of The Earth project, Wakeman set about tackling yet another ambitious subject. I think he got a decent mix of the overly ornate orchestral style of Journey To The Centre Of The Earth, and the pure keyboard wizardry of The Six Wives Of Henry VIII, although some really weak vocal spots do drag this album down a little.

I think the opener Arthur is an epic song, with loads of swirling synths and rousing choral vocal sections. But while the melancholic Chopin-esque piano that kicks off Guinevere and the dreamy synth runs that follow are great, the flat lead vocals and the crooner melody are from it ... thankfully it also contains one of Rick's best ever solos.

In fact great synth solos adorn both Sir Lancelot And The Black Knight and Merlin The Magician as well, even though each has it flaws. Sir Lancelot And The Black Knight is the most consistent piece, with brilliant runs, fantastic brass and even a decent vocal melody, although the choral contributions sound twee. Merlin The Magician, on the other hand, was on course to be a knock-out epic, when an awful rag-time section interfered. Sir Galahad is another curiousity ... I'd swear I heard some medieval reggae at one point! And The Last Battle is simply too meandering and uneventful a piece for a work of this scope.

Overall, I'd have to say that the Arthurian atmosphere is only conjured up sporadically, and there are times when this album is downright ridiculous. But despite the draggy passages, the sheer volume of essential Wakeman moments make this one of the most pleasing albums in his catalogue. Second only to The Six Wives Of Henry VIII, I'd say. ... 62% on the MPV scale

"The Myths and Legends of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table", the album which you either like it or hate it, me? I'm neutral, there are things I like about it and there are things I dislike. Don't get me wrong, this as prog as an album can get, song length, instrumentation, a concept. There are a few cheesy bits in the vocals which drag the album down. The highlights for me are "Arthur" and "Merlin the Magician" both of which are very proggyand have nice melodies and themes. Rick Wakeman played an excellent live version "Merlin the Magician" during his farewell tour to Australia. of The album has a lot of synth like all wakeman and it is a tad overindulgent at times. It is a good album, entertaining and it has a classic Wakeman sound. Not bad, but there is better wakeman stuff out there. Good, but non-essential

3 stars. Good but not essential pretty much sums up this album, as much as I'd like to give it four stars instead.

The Arthurian theme makes a great concept and Rick stays faithful to it. The songs are generally more accessible tto the average listener than anything else Rick did in the first phase of his solo career, so this makes a good album to introduce someone to Rick's particular brand of epic prog. Most of the album is strong but not brilliant. The exceptions are Sir Galahad, which is weak, and Merlin the Magician, which is a sparkling track that condenses everything that made "The Six Wives of Henry the VIII" so wonderful into a nine minute keyboard extravaganza. Still, it's the story that the album tells that make most of it's parts add up to a interesting and listenable whole. This is a great place to start exploring Rick's music, but you'll find other albums more rewarding.

The Myths and Legends of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table (does this get the award for longest progressive album title or what?) was one of the first progressive albums in my collection. It was part of a record club order that included Wakeman's Journey to the Center of the Earth. Like Journey, King Arthur had a great set of artwork including a full (LP) size lyric booklet. It was not only one of my first additions to my LP collection but the CD also became one of first additions to my CD collection.

I was originally drawn to this album more for its concept than it's progness (proggieness?). Truth be told, it has more of a commercial edge than what Yes was doing at the time, but it's still a shining example of symphonic prog at it's best. I don't give it a spin as much as I used to, but I find it holds up well after all these years.

As a concept album, ARTHUR is irredeemably flawed. The original A-side consists of just three-songs-and-a-bit. The first and longest song is devoted to the story of Arthur pulling the sword "from the stone and anvil", the second proper song is a love song to Queen Guinevere (with an wonderfully cheesy minimoog solo), and the third is the evocation of a battle. After that, most of the B-side is devoted to King Arthur's downfall. In contrast to JOURNEY TO THE CENTRE OF THE EARTH, it just doesn't make for a proper story. All you get is bits and snippets from an unwritten epic. "Like Richard Wagner performed on ice" was how the critics described it, when Rick had his show actually performed on ice. And that's how it feels.

The music, too, will probably sound horrible to you... "Incredibly bombastic. Everything people hate about prog" etc. I wish I could write a proper dismissal in objective and coolly musicological terms, but my problem is I simply ADORED this album when I first heard it in 1975 and I find it impossible to betray my younger self. Every time I play this album I secretly enjoy it. But why did it so carry me away when I discovered it? Well, I guess I was looking for the perfect marriage between classical music and rock, and I must have been so wet behind the ears, in ARTHUR I thought I had actually discovered, erm, the Holy Grail!

For who could have resisted these rousing tunes, played by the glorious combination of symphony orchestra and rock band with Rick's own grand piano, tinkling harpsichords and screaming synths? The opening piece is incredibly majestic - no wonder the BBC used it as the theme tune during one of the British elections a few years ago. "Sir Lancelot and the Black Knight" has one of the most exciting moog solos Rick ever did, played on the same screaming (double-tracked) siren-like instrument that he used towards the end of the first side of TOPOGRAPHIC OCEANS. "Merlin the Magician" is pure (instrumental) fun on moogs, honky-tonks and much more - one of Rick's all time classics, invariably included in compilations of his work. And finally, I don't usually enjoy the way Rick uses choirs, but in "The Last Battle" their ah-ah-ah-ing sounds truly tragic, while brass and string sections sweep across the film screen and the narrator tells us in a mournful voice what Sir Hector, Sir Bors and Sir Bleoboris were up to in the dark times after Arthur's death. It invariably brings tears to my eyes.

I can't predict if you will love or hate this album. It's a curiosity; but admirers of symphonic prog really shouldn't miss it.

Probably Rick Wakeman´s best all around album. I picked up this record recently and I was stunned how good it was. Much better than I ever thought, even at the time of its release (when Wakeman was hot news in Brazil. He was one of the first ever prog acts to play here, in 1975). I remeber how beautiful was the LP artwork, with insert lyrics and drawings of the story. It almost distract you from the music itself, which I stil find very captivating and inspiring. The orchestra and choir parts are more concise and better used than the massive Journey to The Centrer Of The Earth. The lyrics basicly tells through music the most popular version of the legendary King Arthur saga, and they are quite well done. Arthur and Guinevere are among the best Wakeman´s moments in his entire career.

Simply putting it, I think it is the only Rick Wakeman album that I remember going over and over again, even though I appreciate Six Wives... and Journey... so much. Those two first ones are much more acclaimed by progheads in general. And I must agree they are both excellent. Still This album is the one I hear the most and the one that pleases the most. A very well balanced album that did not receive the credit it deserves. And a must have for any prog fan.

It somehow has flawed sound, but I don't care. Anyway, I'm not looking for classical symphony, am I ? This can't stop me from appreciate this. So, we have a tale about British most famous myth, King Arthur. Are we happy ? We indeed could be. After hearing these mighty words which brings us to this tale, keyboard (synth?) starts to play even mightier melody. For about two minutes, then there is voice singing (voices) lyrics. Medieval-like, again. this whole album sounds like being from ancient times. And I suppose that's good. Everything is like it should be, The Myths are perfect and still easy-listening album

Right, Wakeman goes musical. As I have an avid revulsion of the hollow theatricality of musicals (please feel free to convince me there is at least one worth hearing), I can't find anything enjoyable about this release. The songs are badly written, the singing is horrible and, as usual with rock music embracing an orchestra, the instrumentation is even worse. Complete kitsch and cheap sentimentalism.

By the way, isn't that Richard Kleiderman on the piano in Merlin the Magician? (which is one of the few songs that has a few interesting bars by the way). And oh dear! What are those annoying mosquito sounds? "That would be a moog mr. Bonnek, the sacred synth of holy prog! Shame on you!" No thanks, if I want moog I'll put on a Klaus Schulze platter. Now you come to mention it, I'll put on "Dark Side of the Moog VII" right away. I need something to shake off this frightening experience.

This is a pretty decent album for Rick Wakeman and that says a lot considering the quality of some of Wakeman's later albums!

The Myths And Legends Of King Arthur And The Knights Of The Round Table marks a definite improvement compared to Journey To The Centre Of The Earth in the vocals performance. The performances here fit nicely in regard to the instrumental passages and, surprisingly enough, even the the narration actually manages to adds nice mythical atmosphere to the overall feel of this album.

So why would I still be giving it the good, but non-essential rating? Well, to tell you the truth there aren't any real stand-out tracks for me here, that is with the slight exception of The Last Battle that builds up a great finale towards the end. Merlin The Magician is one track that I actually think slightly ruins the overall mood because it's here that Wakeman really lets his ego out by playing some of the most over-the-top instrumental sections that sound very much out of place compared to the rest of the material. I also dislike the panning effect that dominates the ending section of that particular composition. Sir Galahad also starts off with an out of place instrumental intro but the second part of the track really makes up for that minor flaw.

The end of The Last Battle makes this performance seem better that what it actually is, but this feeling starts to fade away with every repeated listen and what I'm left with is just another good, but non-essential release.

**** star songs: Arthur (7:26) Lady Of The Lake (0:45) Guinevere (6:45) Sir Lancelot And The Black Knight (5:21) Sir Galahad (5:51) The Last Battle (9:41)

*** star songs: Merlin The Magician (8:51)