The music of Rick Wakeman and YES

Actually the prog band YES made it up, 1973 Album "Tales of the topographic ocean."

Rick Wakeman thought it was a step too far and left the band.

 

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Good album, though. Wakeman felt there was too much padding, musically speaking, although maybe he felt there were just not enough notes for him to play!

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The title "the revealing science of god" popped into my head when I was replying so I googled it
They actually wrote the outline whilst touring "Close to the edge."
It was a Jon Anderson/Steve Howe project so Wakeman was not that involved.
I would have to listen again with fresh ears.
When I first heard it I thought it was a bit much. The Yes Album, Fragile and Close to the Edge were so amazing, tales was out of reach.

 

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Recently read an interview with Rick Wakeman. He said that you have to understand music to play it, and he didn't understand Tales of Topographic oceans. So he didn't play... He also had the band pay him in beer for that one.

I didn't understand it either. Sold my copy to the Half Price Book store.

 

I dont think I have it.
Not looked at my vinyl for years.

 

I followed Wakeman. Had most of his earlier stuff: 6WoHVIII, JttCotE, MaLoKAatKotRT, No Earthly Vonnection, even 1984 and Criminal Record ... right up to White Rock. After that he slipped into an "Elevator Music" phase from which he has yet to emerge.

 

Six wives, Journey...what is the next?

 

Myths and Legends of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table.

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Edit 1: I've got a few of his early stuff, and some Yes. I'm never worried about if a song/album makes sense lyrically as I rarely listen to the lyrics. To me the vocals are just another instrument. They could be singing the telephone directory if it was a good singer and had the right rhythm/rhyme.
But I guess a musicians needs to know what it's about to be able to portray the emotion etc.

Edit 2: Got to love a thread that is ostensibly about god, and ends up about Wakeman! Some might say inevitable!

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Damn it I have that somewhere too!
I was a bugger for buying albums because I liked one album.
So, I loved "Can't buy I thrill" Steely Dan so every Steely Dan I came across I got it.
Then I tried to fit listening to all of them with studying.
Some albums ended up on my shelf.
"I'll get round to it." That was one of them.

 

Totally agree but the music lost me too. My friend was a great musician and played me selected tracks and I thought.....ok....but...

Close to the Edge was absolutely bat shit crazy but beautiful and direct. To me at least.

Going for the one still my favourite I think. It changes.
Perhaps it's another thread.
TBH the OP is nebulous and not responded to any questions, so I don't feel too guilty about the tangent.

 

The Myths and Legends of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table.

 

This is quite funny, I am determined to post a lot of stuff on current science but I always fall down a music hole at some point.

Thats fine.

Yes ...I love Yes.

So, since this is my tangent I can start with my intro to this amazing band? Let's do it.

"Wondrous stories" would be it but gosh, how much great music before that?

That was my intro, 1977 via the radio and also to Rick Wakeman as he played on that.

However, RW was a session guy for a lot of other artists ,"Life on Mars" being one of them, he was so good allegedly they called him one take Rick.
"Morning has broken" is another. Lovely piano part that has RW written all over it.

 

I can fall down a music hole every now and then too.

The live album Yessongs was my introduction to the band. Somewhere around 1973 I found it cheap and I liked the cover... so I bought it. Best $1.99 I ever spent.

I just recently realized that Rick Wakeman was also a studio musician on Madman Across the Water.

 

Huh. I remember the "breakup" of that band that resulted in Anderson, Bruford, Wakeman and Howe doing their own thing (apparently Anderson left Yes and took the other three with him) and also the "reunion" that let them do 90125. Hard to keep track of who was with them and what bands they morphed into.

 

When Wakeman left YES, apparently they considered Vangelis as a replacement. Not sure how many conversations they may have had about that, but Anderson went on to collaborate with him on a few albums (under "Jon & Vangelis"). "Friends of Mister Cairo" remains, for some reason, one of my favourite albums. I'm a fan of Vangelis' solo work, and Anderson's vocals are utterly distinct, one of the big draws of YES, imo. So maybe without Wakeman leaving YES that album might never have come about.
My path to YES actually began with Vangelis, specifically his soundtracks to "Blade Runner" and "Chariots of Fire". From there to Vangelis' solo work, from there to Jon & Vangelis, and then finally to YES. I only picked up Wakeman's earlier stuff much later on.

 

On'y concert I saw of theirs was Anderson Bruford, Wakeman and Howe, here in T'ranna.

 

Okay - just relistened to TFTO, and it is very good. Touch overlong in some places, but otherwise excellent stuff. Again, I'm not one for lyrics, so no idea what it's about, but on the music front it's great stuff. Next on my list is Keys to Ascension, which I think was the first of theirs I bought. No idea why.

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I recently listened to Drama for the first time. Wakeman and Anderson had both left the band and were replaced by Trevor Horn and Geoffrey Downes from the Buggles. At the time (40+ years ago) I couldn't imagine that working... and money was kind of tight, so I gave it a miss.

It's a very good album.

 

It gets a bad rap because fans wanted Jon Anderson back at the time.
Buggles found it a struggle IIRC as fans were shouting for Anderson at gigs.
I saw the band with Chris Squire and Anderson a few times, really glad I did.

1989 without Squire, the sir name tour.

 

For those in the UK, I see that Rick Wakeman is doing a handful of shows next month. The setlist includes Journey To The Centre Of The Earth.

https://www.rwcc.com/live.php