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This week Mark and I consider the conflicting aspects of Rick Wakeman’s musical character. We have both chosen one piece of sublime and one piece of ridiculous Wakeman playing on a Yes record or on a live recording. What will we choose? Listen on to find out and then supply your own examples via the comments below.
- What were Rick Wakeman’s best contributions to Yes?
- What did he do that was more ‘questionable’?
- How should he be rated?
Let us know if you agree with us!
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Theme music
The music I use is the last movement of Stravinsky’s Firebird Suite. This has been used as introduction music at many Yes
6 replies on “Rick Wakeman – the sublime and the ridiculous – 653”
The biggest missed opportunity about the FRAGILE OUTTAKES release was not including Rick’s “Farandol” piece (which appeared on CLASSICAL CONNECTION 2) to take the place of “Cans and Brahms.” “Farandol” was recorded in 1971 with Steve, Bill, and Chris, and though it’s unclear that it was what Rick wanted to be his FRAGILE solo if A&M had allowed it, the timing is right.
(I like ROCK AND ROLL PROPHET, although the “PLUS” tracks — instrumentals that he recorded much later for the re-release — sound more like 2000 A.D. INTO THE FUTURE to me; but that’s one of my favorites from his enormous discography, so I don’t mind such a style mixed in with the original ROCK AND ROLL PROPHET tracks. They probably make the album better!)
I’m so straight I’m a weirdo could have been a Sparks song! I love it! Thanks for showing it to me. And the video isn’t that much weirder than a LOT of other videos at the time. Just check out “Nice video, shame about the song” by Not the Nine O’Clock News.
Thanks for addressing Rick’s use of presets from the digital synth area. A lot of people gripe about Bills drum sound on the ABWH tour, but personally I’ve always found Rick’s keyboard sounds from that era to be much more dated. His solo albums from that period are also chock full of them.
That’s why I found it so hilarious that he said in a Union interview in Keyboard Magazine that he felt young keyboardists should develop their own sounds. And I just went: “Err… say what?”
I may be in the minority here, but I love Cans & Brahms. It was my gateway into Brahms’ symphonies!
Mark and Kevin another great show. Thanks for putting it together!
I’m going to come clean and admit I love Rick Wakeman. I think it was his contributions that drew me to Yes from the outset.
Different band members injected parts of their personality and musical vision into what we appreciate as Yes Music. True, Rick Wakeman stacked his keyboards but I think maybe more importantly brought symphonic sensibility to the band. The Yes album in 1970 was groundbreaking and a superb psychaedelic rock recording, but it lacked the symphonic textures and stylings of Yes from Fragile onwards. Perhaps other bands like the Moody Blues did it earlier but I think Yes did it best. Remember, Rick retrospectively applied Mellotron strings and choirs to Yes Album standards like Perpetual Change and Starship Trooper to bring them a more symphonic sound in live performance.
Kevin and Mark, I totally agree that Rick has performed with a mixed track record. However, I love his Yessongs solo and actually thinks his comic interjections on the piano during ‘Six Wives’ works really well. His switches in tempo between pieces is incredible. I think his use of Mini Moog D and Mellotron choir on the Hullelujah chorus is astonishing, given the technology available in 1972. I consider it one of the best parts of the solo. Although I too fine the sirens at the end quite irritating. Boys with toys!
I also think Ricks humour was also a vital ingredient in the bands chemistry. Personality wise, Yes was always an odd mix of characters who shared degrees of musical virtuosity, but little else.
Mark is correct that Rick put out inconsistent material in the early 1980s while struggling with alcohol problems. Rock and Roll Prophet, to which I would add Silent Nights. Funnily enough, it seems to me that while the booze stifled his composition and creativity, Rick’s ambidextrous performance skills went undiminished. I remember meeting Rick in the later 1980s. Following an outstanding performance!!!
This is just a personal view, but I can’t imagine the evolution of Yes music or Symphonic progressive music as we know it without the extraordinary musicianship of Rick Wakeman. And stories of the band wouldn’t be half so entertaining.
Thanks again Kevin and Mark. Really enjoying the podcast
Alan
YES EPHEMERA RE-VISITED
Greetings Kevin & Mark –
I enjoyed this episode as always. Since the “rules” were bent a bit in the Wakeman topic, I would venture to bend them further and mention his ridiculous behavior at the Rock’n’Roll Hall of Fame event. (But I admit that going into behavior outside of the music would open up a formidable can of worms for the band!)
MEANTIME, I was finally able to find a floppy disk drive that allowed me to copy standard MIDI files (SMFs) onto 3 1/2″ Double Density disks and load them into my old Roland JV-1000 keyboard, to achieve faithful Sound Canvas playback again of these little gems. I offer one particularly good example here – an SMF version of Starship Trooper, recorded to mp3.
Though the Sound Canvas palette was very limited (especially by today’s standards), and the number of notes that could be played at one time (“polyphony”) was also very limited, nonetheless the Sound Canvas, along with the SMF format, was “the pdf of MIDI music files.” Every Mac could play SMFs instantly and faithfully, and I think this was true of Windows machines as well.
Once again, note the high level of devotion and respect for the original Yes music parts, especially the faithful representation of Bill’s drum licks. Many creative workarounds were required, both with the palette of sounds and with the tedious MIDI sequencing of those days.
Please enjoy.
All the best,
Greg
P.S. Mark, I’ve always regarded Cans and Brahms as fitting right in with the Fragile album. Yes’s interest in classical music was becoming part of the overall persona of the band in those days. My 2 pence. 🙂
Another great show/topic, guys. I totally agree about Awaken being a strong offering, and it’s kinda refreshing that it features piano and organ and not synth solos which would have wrecked the piece. I always thought Rick should have had a writing credit on that, though much of what he does is based around Howe’s main riff.
I disagree about his solo piece on Yessongs and still love listening to it. The keystone cops piano bit is just a nice comic counterpoint as others have mentioned. (He did same previously on the Strawbs ‘Antiques and Curios’ live album under the title ‘Temperament of Mind’. ). In the same way, I think the Hallaluhah chorus is another great counterpoint. I first heard Yessongs in the mid-seventies, and considering the keyboard tech available at the time, the choir aspect is outstanding. I could do without the sirens and bombs at the end.
On the downside, Tormato is a mostly a sloppy production all around (sorry Kevin) and the keys are no exception, BUT, Madrigal is a little gem and a high point on the album for me. Love the harpsichord and entire medieval feel of the piece.
Thanks!