Recollections: The Very Best of Rick Wakeman (1973-1979)

Recollections: The Very Best of Rick Wakeman (1973-1979) Artist: Rick Wakeman
Label: Fontana a&M
Category: Music


Average customer rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
Format: Original recording remastered
Media: Audio CD
Number Of Discs: 1


UPC: 606949077426
EAN: 0606949077426
ASIN: B00004ZDVM


Release Date: 2000-10-17

Recollections: The Very Best of Rick Wakeman (1973-1979)


Related Categories:

General General
Categories | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music
General General
Categories | New Age | Styles | Music
General General
Categories | Rock | Styles | Music
Progressive Rock Progressive Rock
Categories | Progressive | Rock | Styles | Music
Pop Rock Pop Rock
Categories | Pop | Styles | Music

Tracks:

  1. Catherine Of Aragon
  2. Anne Boleyon/'The Day Thou Gavest Lord Hath Ended'
  3. Catherine Howard
  4. The Journey/Recollection (Excerpt)
  5. The Battle (Excerpt)
  6. Arthur
  7. Merlin The Magician
  8. The Prisoner
  9. White Rock
  10. After The Ball
  11. Statue Of Justice
  12. Crime Of Passion
  13. Chamber Of Horrors
  14. The Palais

Similar Items:

  1. The Six Wives of Henry VIII
  2. Journey to the Centre of the Earth
  3. Return To The Centre Of The Earth
  4. Heritage Suite
  5. Rick Wakeman - The Legend (Live in Concert 2000) (DVD + CD)

Customer Reviews:

5 out of 5 stars The perfect RW sampler for fans and beginners.......2007-02-18

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

5 out of 5 stars Killer Keyboards.......2002-11-19

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.

4 out of 5 stars WARNING: HEAVY MELODIC CONTENT !.......2002-01-12

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.

4 out of 5 stars Update.......2001-06-22

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.

5 out of 5 stars A Long-Awaited Wakeman Sampler.......2001-04-19

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.

Music Album:

  1. Reflector ~ Killing Heidi
  2. Hands of Time ~ The Master's Apprentices
  3. Door Harp ~ Michael Houser
  4. Mighty Rime
  5. Welcome to the Wild Country ~ Francis Dunnery
  6. The Lost You ~ Hood
  7. Another Wound ~ The Ponys
  8. Freak City Soundtrack ~ Material Issue
  9. Ace ~ Bob Weir
  10. Debutante ~ Nash Kato

Music Album

Music Album

Music CD

The Nearness of You ~ Red Garland

Double Play ~ Marc Copland & Vic Juris

Kyoto ~ Art Blakey & The Jazz Messengers

Swinging the Blues ~ Various Artists

Mingus Fingers ~ Charles Mingus

Jazzmen Detroit ~ Kenny Burrell

Tango Argentino ~ Buenos Aires Tango Trio

Tinkling Bernice

Des Mots Qui Vonts Tres Bien Ensemble ~ Catherine Lambert, Normand Vanasse

Irish Country ~ Various Artists