Recollections- The Very Best of Rick Wakeman -1973-1979-

Journey to the Centre of the Earth	The Six Wives of Henry VIII What is the exact connection with Henry VIII and his wives? Hard to say. Why does the track dedicated to Anne of Cleves resemble the Hollies' "Bus Stop?" Who knows. It sounds to me like Italian horror film soundtrack music. Here is Wakeman's solo debut in 1972 in all its glory: s...	Myths & Legends Of King Arthur & The Knights Of The Round Table	Return to the Centre of the Earth To celebrate the 25th anniversary of his bestselling 1974 album Journey to the Centre of the Earth, keyboard maestro Rick Wakeman has created a conceptual opus that serves as both impressive sequel and ambitious revisitation to his original premise. Wakeman himself has continued ...	Criminal Record Limited Edition Japanese pressing of this album comes housed in a miniature LP sleeve. Universal. 2006.
Tubular Bells The opening bars of this classic album by Mike Oldfield were heard by audiences that packed theaters to witness one of the scariest films of all time--The Exorcist. And it wasn't long before this debut release, not only from Oldfield but also from Richard Branson's new record lab...	Rick Wakeman - The Legend (Live in Concert 2000) (DVD + CD) Although Rick Wakeman has recorded an enormous number of solo projects, this DVD-plus-CD set The Legend (Live in Concert 2000) must surely be the best in terms of sheer value, quite apart from the fact that the performance is very good. Even long after the glory days of Yes an...	Rick Wakeman - Journey to the Centre of the Earth (DVD + CD) They should have named this DVD Journey to the Centre of the '70s. Recorded before a huge Australian audience on February 4, 1975, this Rick Wakeman performance is precisely the kind of prog-rock pretentiousness that was so hilariously skewered in This Is Spinal Tap, and even Wak...	Days of Future Passed The Moody Blues' second album was also their first of what would be a succession of "concept" albums. Inspired by the Beatles' Sgt. Pepper and utilizing the London Festival Orchestra primarily for epic instrumental interludes between songs, Days of Future Passed moved the Birming...	Jeff Wayne's Musical Version Of The War Of The Worlds In hindsight, it seems almost incredible: 27 years ago, a young musician named Jeff Wayne (who at the time primarily wrote music for commercials) fell in love with H.G. Wells' much-loved book The War of the Worlds, and decided to make a musical version of it. Star Wars had just p...

The perfect RW sampler for fans and beginners
For the fans, included are these rare to CD RW recordings... Statue Of Justice, Crime Of Passion, Chamber of Horrors- side 1 of the out of print "criminal record" The Palais is from the great underrated Rhapsodies For the uninitiated- Included are the best works from his first 3 solo albums. Good compilation, does not dissapoint

Killer Keyboards
I have mixed emotions about a "Best of" Rick Wakeman. Having a "Best of" Rick Wakeman is like having a "Best of" Beethoven or Bach or Handel or any of numerous other classical artists. Rick Wakeman wrote albums, and selecting a part of any album takes away from the point behind the album, as each was a fully formed concept album. Sort of like the awful excerpts of "Thick as a Brick" by Jethro Tull. I'm sorry, but sometimes it's all or nothing.Yet, after all my complaints, these excerpts of Rick's albums retain a goodly character and flavor of Rick's skill and creativity. I was worried that the juxtaposition of selections would be uneven and lose something in the translation from the albums. I was WRONG (third time this year!). The selections actually fit pretty well together.I suppose I should stop complaining, after all, I did rate this CD five stars, but once you have this collection then you want the albums that they came from, and I don't think they are all in release. The albums are definitely better. I only have "Journey to the Center of the Earth" and a much newer work, "Return to the Center of the Earth", but I've borrowed his albums from friends, and the albums tell an entire story, if only musically.After the generally negative comments above, I'll finish with all the positives.The sound quality on this CD is dynamite. Period. Incredibly fantastic compared to the vinyl, and much better than many remastered tapes from the 70s. Whoever did this CD really knew what he or she was doing. The sound is full and clear, some of the best quality I've ever heard for progressive rock, which often has quiet places where hiss, wow or flutter (I know, that's vinyl-speak) would show up like doggy-doo on the living room carpet.Would I buy this CD again had I to do it over again? YES YES YES! I still want to buy all the albums, but this CD has to be a substitute until then. Rick Wakeman had strong classical leanings to his progressive rock, away from the pop overtones of The Moody Blues' progressive rock, and from King Crimson's metal, jazz, and whatever else they could throw in progressive rock, and even dissimilar to Yes' progressive rock, which, while heavily influenced by Rick, was also in its own class.It's nice to know that rock music can encompass just about everything you can throw at it and still be rock. Progressive rock is the melting pot of musical styles. If you like classical, rock, Yes, The Moody Blues, and Rick Wakeman, buy this one.

WARNING: HEAVY MELODIC CONTENT !
Back in the days of eight-tracks and mood-rings, a form of entertainment called Melodic Music ran through these lands. This thing called Melody was nursed and cared for by some people gifted with the ability to compose their own mater- ial. Furtherly, these people could play musical instruments and did not require assistance from the Creature That Sampled. This 'RECOLLECTION' is a testament to those people, and as many that waited patiently for the CD to emerge like the phoenix. Savor this 'Iscariot'-less feast.

Update
This is an update to my previous review. Well, stupid me. I didn't read all the reviews last time. I didn't realize ALL of you are requesting the release of the first four recordings! Good job.

A Long-Awaited Wakeman Sampler
Rick Wakeman's solo career has been the stuff of legend for me, ever since I listened (as a kid) to my brother's copy of "Journey to the Center of the Earth". His music has always been different from his work with Yes; a bit mysterious, less vocal-oriented and more opaque than the relatively "commercial" (to the extent that prog rock is ever "commercial") output of his counterparts. I think that his solo eforts, particularly the first three albums, are ampong the great underappreciated influences of the progressive rock movement.As a result, I was glad to see that this, the first "real" compilation of his career, was finally available. (I have looked in vain for something like it for many years). While it doesn't fully sample his prolific recording output, RECOLLECTIONS does provide a nice sampler of his 70's efforts.Every song on this collection is strong, and there are a few truly amazing tracks. I'd certainly recommend this to any fan of prog music, but I also think that anyone who appreciates well-crafted keyboard music (with occasional vocals) will be just as delighted. Give it a listen!