Customer Reviews: Read 4 more reviews...
 Wakeman's finest November 12, 2008
Robert Neal (London, UK)
Rick Wakeman was the first person to really get me into synthesisers. Mainly that fat Mini-Moog sound, but also his writing style and lightning keyboard chops also attracted me. I blame him for me becoming a keyboard technician for over 20 years...
Rick's work has often been labelled pretentious, particularly the concept album which I think is rather unfair, and I see no reason to give an album an all-over theme rather than a disconnected bunch of tracks. His first two albums were competent, but a little youthful, but with 'Arthur', he came into his own. The combination of rock band, awesome keyboards and a full orchestra and choir are something most modern artists would shy away from for the technical complexity, let alone the sheer expense. I guess it's not easy to take a whole British legend such as this and wrap it up neatly in 45mins, but Rick has a damn good try.
I am writing this as someone that hadn't heard this in nigh on 20 years, and after playing it tonight, I was truly blown away by the quality and skill of the writing, performance and production of this album, and felt I should pass this on to other, less enlightened folk :)
I just wish people would put away their preconceived ideas and listen to the work the way it was intended. Yes, it can be a bit obvious at times, yes the sounds can be a bit iffy, and yes, on occasions it rambles; but this was the whole point about progressive rock: It progresses. It's aim is to reach higher, better and stronger. Don't knock the guy for trying.
Someone on here championed punk and the Pistols for the demise of this style of pomp-rock. In some ways it was a catharsis, but what did it replace it with? 30 years on, I can still say I like this stuff, and would still buy it, which is more than can be said for most of the punk era.
Wakemans best April 29, 2007
S J Buck (Kent, UK)
6 out of 7 found this review helpful
If you only buy one Rick Wakeman album this is the one to get. OK it sounds dated now, and some of the synthesizer sounds are frankly horrible, but in many ways its a classic album.
The melodies are its strongest point. There really are some lovely tunes on this album, and they given extra emphasis by some great orchestral arrangements such as on the opening track "Arthur". There is also superb choral backing by the English Chamber Choir, perhaps most notebly used on the short track 2 "Lady of the Lake". I had Journey to the Centre of the Earth on vinyl decades ago and there is no comparison. Arthur is superior in every way.
The weakest part of the album for me are tracks 6 "Sir Galahad" and 7 "The Last Battle". I was never keen on them when I used to listen to the album years ago and to me it sounds as though Rick ran out of ideas towards the end.
The fact that punk came along and killed this sort of thing off as part of popular culture doesn't matter, it lives on in the recordings and who knows the next big thing might be the return of Progressive Rock! The great thing that punk did for us was give us the chance to find out that not only is Rick Wakeman a gifted keyboard player but he's also very funny. Go to his concerts and there's a struggling stand-up comedian trying to out.
Open your your ears and forget musical prejudices, about Punk and Progessive Rock, just enjoy the music.
 As enjoyable as Pink Floyd April 4, 2007
Mr. Graham J. Ribchester (Manchester, England.)
1 out of 4 found this review helpful
I play poker for a living, and this is the kind of music I love to listen to while playing. It's relaxing yet vibrant. Perfect for long monotonous tasks.
People often said you needed drugs to enjoy Wakeman, but this just isn't true. In a musical world now where the stars are just pretty faces Wakeman reminds us all of a time where lyrics, storytelling, and talent were important.
 An *expletive* load of *another two expletives.* September 7, 2006
Penguin Egg (London, England)
3 out of 48 found this review helpful
You have to hear it to believe it. The word pretentious doesn't even come close. This is awful, just awful. Punk would rescue us from all this. Thank God for the Sex Pistols.
Must-have August 19, 2005
Jonathan D Cadby
9 out of 10 found this review helpful
On "Six Wives" (1973), Wakeman experimented with his plethora of keyboards, playing around with different sounds and textures, and creating fabulous compositions using those sounds and textures. On "Journey to the Centre of the Earth" (1974), he made his first attempt to meld rock, orchestra and chorus in a storytelling genre, and was generally successful, though the effort was ultimately "immature." With "Myths and Legends," Wakeman hits the perfect blending of rock, orchestra and chorus, creating an amazing album that will send chills up your spine. The album opens with a deep voice speaking the famous inscription on the stone that held the legendary sword, Excalibur: "Whosoever pulleth this sword from this stone and anvil is the trueborn king of all Britain." It then launches into the main theme - a majestic and perfect medieval motif - which segues directly into the first song, "Arthur," which tells of the quest to find a new king. Following this is "Lady of the Lake," the first of three short acappella vocal vingnettes, full of beautiful medieval harmonies. This brings us to "Guinevere," which tells of Arthur's wife's precarious situation - being loved by, and in love with, both Arthur and Lancelot. It also contains the first of many excellent Wakeman solos, during a beautiful, mellow jam. We then come to the centerpiece of the album, "Sir Lancelot and the Black Knight," which may not only be the most perfect single blending of rock, orchestra and chorus ever written, but among the best, most exciting prog-rock compositions ever written. Opening with a "restatement" of the main theme, it launches quickly into successive single measures of 7/8, 8/8, 9/8 and 10/8, settling into 7/8. After a couple of verses, it moves into an extended jam which contains some of Wakeman's most spine-tingling solos. I could listen to this single piece over and over and never tire of it. We then have the second of the brief acappella vocal vignettes, introducing us to the next composition, "Merlin the Magician," a multi-section instrumental. The second section, a 5/4 jam, contains more of Wakeman's most compelling solo work. The third section is repeated twice, the first time using multi-layered keyboards (including one that sounds like a banjo!), the second time arranged for orchestra. We then have the third and final acappella vignette, introducing us to our next character, "Sir Galahad," which segues into the final composition, "The Last Battle." Opening with a great double entendre - "Gone are the days of the knights" - it tells of the end of the Round Table, and Arthur's death, and features another mellow jam containing yet more marvelous Wakeman solo work, and ends with a masterfully orchestrated final statement of the main theme. If a masterpiece is a work which is compositionally, musically, vocally and lyrically perfect, in which not a single note is out of place or misused, and which features exceptional production qualities, then "Myths and Legends" is an unequivocal masterpiece. So much so, in my opinion, that I have included it in my "desert island discs (DIDs)"; i.e., one of the ten albums I would choose to take to a desert island if I was confined to only ten albums. In any event, "Myths and Legends" is a must-have for any serious prog collection.
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