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┌────────┐
────┤ Info ├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
└────────┘
Artist | Rick Wakeman
Title | The Myths And Legends...
Genre | Progressive Rock Format | Album
Source | CDDA (Remastered) Time | 44:56
Label | A&M Records Store | 2015
Catalog | 5356268 Rip | 2015
Bitrate | 252 kbps Size | 86.66 MB
Freq | 44.1 kHz Encoder | Lame 3.98.4
┌────────┐
────┤ Tracks ├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
└────────┘
01. Arthur 7:31
02. Lady Of The Lake 0:45
03. Guinevere 6:49
04. Sir Lancelot And The Black Knight 5:25
05. Merlin The Magician 8:50
06. Sir Galahad 5:52
07. The Last Battle 9:44
┌────────┐
────┤ Notes ├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
└────────┘
Born in Perivale, Middlesex, England, Rick Wakeman's interest in music
manifested itself very early, and from the age of seven on he studied
classical piano. At the age of 14, he joined a local band, Atlantic Blues,
the same year he left school to enroll in the Royal College of Music. He
had his eye on a career as a concert pianist, but Wakeman was dismissed
from the college after it became clear that he preferred playing in clubs
to studying technique.
By his late teens, he was an established session man, playing on records by
such diverse acts as Black Sabbath, Brotherhood of Man, and Edison
Lighthouse. At the end of the '60s, his name also began appearing on the
credits of albums by such artists as Al Stewart and David Bowie, and one
set of sessions with a folk-rock band called the Strawbs led to his joining
the group in 1970. After two albums with the Strawbs, Wakeman joined Yes, a
post-psychedelic hard rock band that had attracted considerable attention
with their first three albums. Wakeman played a key role in the final shape
of the group's fourth record, Fragile, creating a fierce, swirling sound on
an array of electric and acoustic pianos, synthesizers, and Mellotrons.
Fragile was a hit, driven by the chart success of the single "Roundabout,"
and Wakeman was suddenly elevated to star status.
Rick Wakeman's third solo album is among his best, as he employs his vast
array of keyboards to their full extent, musically describing the
characters pertaining to the days of King Arthur's reign. With orchestra
and choir included, although a little less prevalent than on "Journey", he
musically addresses the importance and distinguishing characteristics of
each figure through the use of multiple synthesizers and accompanying
instruments. "Lady Of The Lake" is given a mystical, enchanted feel,
perpetrated by a more subtle use of piano and synthesizer, while the battle
of "Sir Lancelot and the Black Knight" is made up of a barrage of feuding
keyboard runs and staccato riffs, musically recounting the intensity of the
duel. But it's on "Merlin the Magician" where Wakeman truly shines, as the
whimsy and peculiarity of this fabled figure is wonderfully conjured up
through the frenzy of the synthesizer. As one of Wakeman's most famous
pieces, it is here that his astounding musicianship is laid out for all to
hear, a marvelous bisque of keyboard artistry. The album's entirety is a
sensational execution of Wakeman's adroitness, and with vocals from Ashley
Holt and Gary Pickford Hopkins, it still stands along with "Journey To The
Center Of The Earth" and The Six Wives Of Henry VIII" as one of his most
astute pieces.
Remastered in 2015 at Abbey Road Studios.
┌────────┐
────┤ Group ├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
└────────┘