LIVE AT THE LONDON PALLADIUM 2023

For once, all that praise seems justified: this is one hell of a live album! Hate Rick Wakeman? Then don't bother. Like his best albums? Then by all means give this a spin, since Rick really takes his old tunes to a higher level. Admittedly, his new approach does not ALWAYS work. In THE SIX WIVES, there's the odd passage where the original studio recording sounded subtle and moving while the new one merely sounds brash. Nevertheless, most of the new interpretations happily carried me along. On the CLASSIC YES disc, 'Starship Trooper' is drawn out too long - but don't let that deter you: 'And You and I' gets played so beautifully it brought tears to my eyes. To a large extent, the success of that Yes disc (and of this 4-CD set as a whole) is due to the vocal talents of Hayley Sanderson, a very soulful singer whose voice reminded me a little of Tina Turner's. Take JOURNEY TO THE CENTRE OF THE EARTH, for example. In its original 1970s incarnation the album always sounded amateurish to me, partly because the two male vocalists were so melodramatic. Hayley Sanderson, on the other hand, sounds wonderfully earthy, and it's bizarre-but-highly-exciting to hear her against the background of the (sometimes eerie, sometimes rather churchy) English Chamber Choir. (Together with that same choir, she also gives a wonderfully rousing performance of 'Lancelot and the Black Knight'.) Another thing that makes the new JOURNEY TO THE CENTRE OF THE EARTH so special is the fact that Mr Wakeman's 'English Rock Ensemble' rocks harder than ever! Lee Pomeroy is probably the most gifted bassist Rick ever used, Dave Colquhoun delivers the most amazing power chords throughout (he also gets a chance to deliver some blistering solos) and because there are TWO virtuoso keyboard players in the band, there's no need for the strings or brass of an old-fashioned symphony orchestra. You might even say this new JOURNEY sounds proggier than ever, since an entire orchestra is expertly 'realised' by a five man rock band.