Once upon a time – or, to be precise, almost a decade ago – Rick Wakeman suggested this scribe should go and see a doctor about having more than a hundred of his records. Only the ivories wizard doesn’t make it easier for his longtime followers when unique concert performances get documented and released as alluring packages such as one which will be issued on February 16th as a souvenir of the shows veteran staged a year earlier.
“Live At The London Palladium 2023” is a four-CD box set reflecting Wakeman’s outing with THE ENGLISH ROCK ENSEMBLE – whose ranks included his old sidekick Lee Pomeroy on bass and his son Adam on keyboards and guitars – and the English Chamber Choir, conducted by Guy Protheroe, when, over two evenings, Rick reproduced, if that’s the right word, his best-known platters and then some. The first night saw him play, in their entirety, 1973’s “The Six Wives Of Henry VIII” and “The Myths And Legends Of King Arthur And The Knights Of The Round Table” from 1975, and the second was dedicated to a set of YES classics, partly stitched into a fresh suite, and the expanded reading of “Journey To The Centre Of The Earth” from 1974. Stunning as usual, and wonderful, if familiar.
Live At The London Palladium 2023
CD 1 – The Six Wives Of Henry VIII:
1. Catherine Of Aragon
2. Anne Boleyn
3. Jane Seymour
4. Anne Of Cleves
5. Catherine Howard
6. Catherine Parr
CD 2 – The Myths And Legends Of King Arthur
1. King Arthur
2. Lady Of The Lake
3. Guinevere
4. Lancelot And The Black Knight
5. The Best Knight
6. Sir Galahad
7. Excalibur
8. The Last Battle
Encores:
9. The King Of Merlins
10. Merlin The Magician
CD 3 – Classic Yes:
1. Roundabout
2. The Yes Suite (Part A – The Meeting)
3. The Yes Suite (Part B – Wonderous Stories)
4. The Yes Suite (Part C – South Side Of The Sky)
5. And You And I
6. Starship Trooper / Würm
CD 4 – Journey To The Centre Of The Earth:
1. The Preface
2. The Journey Overture
3. Journeys Dawn
4. Crystals / The Gothic Cathedral / A Quest For Water
5. The Hansbach / Fervent Prayer
6. The Recollection / Lost And Found
7. Echoes / 4 Miles
8. The Reunion
9. A New Vista
10. A World Within A World
11. The Raft
12. The Battle
13. Cumulous Clouds
14. The Storm
15. The Cemetery
16. Quaternary Man
17. Mastodons
18. The Forest
19. Ages Of Man
20. The Tunnel
21. Hall Of The Mountain King / Mount Etna
