“I’m still wondering, though, if I am more of a myth than a legend,” Rick Wakeman quips over the title of the four-disc live collection, The Myths And Legends Of Rick Wakeman. The set features concert sets from four different shows from the mid 70s.
This is classic Rick Wakeman with music from The Myths And Legends Of King Arthur And The Knights Of The Round Table, The Six Wives Of Henry VIII, Journey To The Centre Of The Earth, and No Earthly Connection, arguably Wakeman’s gold-standard quartet of releases. The first disc contains a spot-on spectacular recreation of Journey, complete with full orchestra and narrator, in two parts. “Anne Boleyn” from The Six Wives Of Henry VIII and a sprawling jaunty classical piece called “Concerto for American Commercial TV,” are included. Even taking into account the age of these recordings, the sound quality of this first disc is particularly remarkable.
The second disc from the Winterland Ballroom a year later features a slice of Journey To The Centre Of The Earth, again with choir and orchestra, sans narrator this time, but with some great jamming between horns, keyboards, bass, and drums. There are a few from The Six Wives Of Henry VIII here too (with a truly spirited bass jam in “Anne Boleyn”), and a smattering of tunes, including “Arthur & Guinevere,” “Merlin the Magician,” and “Sir Lancelot & the Black Knight,” from The Myths And Legends Of King Arthur And The Knights Of The Round Table.
The third disc, recorded in 1976 at London’s Hammersmith Odeon, comprises a chunk from the space-to Earth-journey, No Earthly Connection. There isn’t a choir or orchestra with the exception of a couple of horns, so this is indeed a more stripped-down band. The sound isn’t as sharp as the others, but it rocks.
The fourth and final disc, recorded at The Maltings in 1976, has more tracks from No Earthly Connection, plus “Catherine Parr” from The Myths And Legends Of King Arthur And The Knights Of The Round Table and “Recollection” from Journey To The Centre Of The Earth. The horns bleat a little loud in the mix, but the band grooves here even better than on the thirds disc.
Even the most casual Rick Wakeman and Yes fan has heard this material before, but to have all it collected together to experience Wakeman and the amazing players he always surrounded himself with (vocalist Ashley Holt and monster bassist Roger Newell stand out) in one set is remarkable. The Myths And Legends Of Rick Wakeman also includes a16-page booklet brimming with liner notes and vintage photos. There is no myth here, but this set is indeed legendary.
~ Ralph Greco, Jr.
