Rick Wakeman appreciation thread

Slartibartfast wrote: I still haven't made a connection with that album.  Hey why do I get the feeling my identity has been stolen?

I still haven't made a connection with that album.  Hey why do I get the feeling my identity has been stolen? 

Slartibartfast wrote: I can't give the King total credit for getting me into prog, but it was, uh, instrumental. The vocals didn't put me off at all.  Anyone else find the Return Journey as disappointing as I did?

Edited by dennismoore - March 19 2012 at 11:24

richardh wrote: Played King Arthur yesterday. Great synth solos and lots of goosebump moments.Not sure about some of the drumming though. Journey is one that never could warm to for some reason but I havn't heard it for a long time.

Played King Arthur yesterday. Great synth solos and lots of goosebump moments.Not sure about some of the drumming though.

Dellinger wrote: My very favourite albums from him are 6 Wives and Arthur, and for me they are some of the very best prog albums. Arthur may just as well be the album guilty of getting me into prog. I first heard it because a friend from High School.

Unbelievable, my friend.     The same exact thing happened to me, but some years back.

King Arthur got me into Prog.  I had a music appreciation class in High School, 1st year.  The teacher played
a bunch of rock from that period and most of Wakeman's King Arthur.  I was fascinated from that moment on,
and the rest was history.

I do think that Arthur & Journey are masterpieces and will be exciting people young & old for as long as we have a civilized society.

I am looking forward to being 80 years old and inviting neighborhood kids over and blasting King Arthur
on my stereo for them!

richardh wrote:   Overall I feel that Rick could have achieved a lot more than he has. Too many medicore releases would be a kind way of putting it. Those few gems make it for it though.

I agree.
My favorite Rick Wakeman albums are: Journey To The Centre Of The Earth and Criminal Record.

Dayvenkirq wrote: richardh wrote: A little unfair as I was only lamenting that he hadn't done more with his wonderful God given talent. I think he has been derailed with ex wife issues and booze. I also gave positive reviews of both Retro albums so I think I have have given the man more of a break than many What I do respect about Rick and also Steve Hackett a few others is that he didn't just rely on Yes(or Genesis in Steve's case) as some sort of pension plan and struck out on his own and was succesfull at it. Just that hundred odd albums later only a small handfull are actually that good of the ones I've heard and judging by the comments so far on this thread once you get past Six Wives, Journey, White Rock, Criminal Record and Arthur there isn't a lot else to get excited about. No offense, but if I were you, I would try not to use words like 'fair' and 'unfair' because, after all, Rick is a human being who is in charge of his own life and music and does not have to feel indebted to his fanbase.

If you are a musician making a living off of music then you do have a certain obligation to your fanbase to make good music.  But musicians have their hits and misses.  Nothing ventured, nothing gained.  No guts, no glory.  Rick is one of those prolific guys who is all over the place.

Dayvenkirq wrote: richardh wrote: I think I appreciate him more as a personality than a musician. He went through a distinctly weird phase around about 1980 when his personal problems (booze) seemed to overtake him. I remember him saying he was bankrupt but couldn't understand why ( I guess the 7 Rollers he purchased might have had something to do with it). What I really like about Rick is that he's a proper bloke. Enjoys his currys and the ermm aforementioned booze. Likes to moan about the government and stuff. He is also a commited Christian which even makes him a bit enigmatic.   Over the years I've collected various CD's and DVD's (you virtually can't avoid bumping into them there are so many) and seen him live (solo, with Yes and also the stand up routine). Great fun really.   The albums I like the most are 6 Wives , Criminal Record and King Arthur. All of those rank alongside the best keyboard based prog albums ever made. I have also given positive reviews to the Retro albums whihc have been unfairly overlooked/dismissed by many fans. OK they have Mr Holt 'singing' on them but there is much to enjoy depsite that. I also love the recent Six Wives DVD.   Overall I feel that Rick could have achieved a lot more than he has. Too many medicore releases would be a kind way of putting it. Those few gems make it for it though. I don't know. I think Rick achieved enough as a keyboardist in his lifetime. He has his own classic solos. How far can he really get? Give the man a break  (my actual smile is more genuine than that one) .

A little unfair as I was only lamenting that he hadn't done more with his wonderful God given talent. I think he has been derailed with ex wife issues and booze. I also gave positive reviews of both Retro albums so I think I have have given the man more of a break than many What I do respect about Rick and also Steve Hackett a few others is that he didn't just rely on Yes(or Genesis in Steve's case) as some sort of pension plan and struck out on his own and was succesfull at it. Just that hundred odd albums later only a small handfull are actually that good of the ones I've heard and judging by the comments so far on this thread once you get past Six Wives, Journey, White Rock, Criminal Record and Arthur there isn't a lot else to get excited about.

dennismoore wrote: lazland wrote: And to think, we gave the world a language to be forgotten and abused   I prefer to think that we Yanks have "fine-tuned" the King's English a bit. And no, nothing we American's have done has come close to the complete trashing of English that your own "Cockney" subculture has done!   At least we Americans got rid of all those "Ye and Thou" silly words.   Oh, about Rick:   I don't think 1984 is that bad. If you drop the songs with vocals, and you splice together all the instrumentals from 1984, you have around 18 minutes of pure Wakeman classical & Orchestral magic!

I didn't think 1984 was so bad an album either. Even some of the vocal songs are pretty decent... but still his 70's touch was gone (for the moment).