Voiceprint Music - Release

Release

£10.99

In stock

Catalogue number

MFVP123CD

Release date

02/10/2006

Format

Label

Music Fusion

Rick Wakeman

Gole

Disc 1

1. International Flag 2. The Dove (Opening Ceremony) 3. Wayward Spirit 4. Latin Reel (Theme From Gole) 5. Red Island 6. Spanish Holiday 7. No Possible 8. Shadows 9. Black Pearls 10. Frustration 11. Spainish Montage 12. Gole

Rick Wakeman's interest in music began at an early age and it was originally thought that a career as a classical pianist lay in store for Rick and a spell at the Royal College Of Music would seem to support this theory. Unfortunately Rick preferred playing in bands and appearing on the lucrative session circuit than studying as a classical pianist and decided to leave the Royal College of Music or was perhaps gently pushed in that direction depending on whose story you believe.

Whatever the facts one thing is certain Rick Wakeman was in heavy demand playing sessions for some of the biggest names in pop music at this time (Late sixties/early seventies) and as such played on many hit singles including records by Brotherhood Of Man, Cat Stevens, T.Rex and also played on the David Bowie single Space Oddity.

Around this time Rick also decided to join the British folk rock band the Strawbs and it was with this band that Rick first caught the attention of the band with whom he is most closely associated...Yes

Rick left the Strawbs following a well received live album (Just A Collection Of Antiques and Curios) and a studio album (From The Witchwood) and joined Yes in time to record the bands fourth album Fragile and the single from that album (Roundabout) went on to achieve great success in America.

Rick would achieve great success with Yes recording a number of highly successful albums with the band including Close To The Edge, Tales From Topographic Oceans and the live Yessongs.

It was also around this time that Rick released his own debut solo album The Six Wives Of Henry The Eighth. Rick decided to leave Yes following disagreements over the bands album Tales From Topographic Oceans and went solo full time recording his second album a musical interpretation of Jules Verne's Journey To The Centre Of The Earth.

With this album Rick became a bona fide superstar and recorded more themed albums including The Myths and Legends of King Arthur and The Knights Of The Round Table. He also recorded two well-received film soundtracks for the films White Rock and Ken Russell's Lisztomania in which he also had a small role.

Returning to Yes in 1977 Rick managed to juggle both the responsibilities of a solo career and also his obligations to Yes although once again in 1979 Rick departed Yes for a solo career. Rick would return to Yes again on a number of occasions and at the time of writing is still a member of the premier British progressive rock band.

Gole’ is another of Rick’s soundtrack albums taken from the film of the same name which was a sporting feature on the 1982 World Cup. The album features Rick alongside long time percussionist Tony Fernandez and Jackie McAuley former guitarist of the legendary Irish rock band Them. The album has been unavailable for some time and this recording will be the first time it has seen a release on CD and has been re mastered for release which will prove popular with the large Rick Wakeman fan base.

Reviews

A soccer match has a total time of 90 minutes. It is devided into two parts of 45 minutes long. This means that you can play the official soundtrack recorded for the 1982 World Cup twice. Rick Wakeman was asked by producer Mike Samuelson and director Tony Maylem to write the score for the movie which contained all the highlights of the World Cup soccer held in Spain. I never saw the movie but this year I finally did hear the 37 minutes of music which made it on the album “Golé”. I am not sure if the birth of Rick’s daughter Jemma or the trick’s of all the soccer players inspired him to write this wonderful soundtrack. After the world cup final in Madrid where Italy thumped West Germany 3-1, his wife at the time complained of severe stomache pain. A visit at the doctor made clear that his daughter was just a few weeks old in the womb. Nevertheless the 12 pieces of music really reflects what happened during this tournement even without seeing all the images of soccer players running over the green fields. Sometimes we hear music with a lot of drama and passion played on the grand piano. But happy tunes, showing the victory, performed on the synthesizers are also included on “Golé”. The use of acoustic guitars on several tracks gives the album a certain Spanish flavour and suits the music perfectly. Rick himself called it an album for collector’s only. That’s something which I can not agree with him. The album is worth listening for not only Rick Wakeman addicts. Paolo Rossi, Zico and Karl Heinz Rummeinigge were the soccer heroes in Spain. But I think that their goals are even more beautiful when they are accompanied by the fantastic music composed by Rick Wakeman. *** (Henri Strik)