Rick Wakeman - Journey to the Centre of the Earth DVD

This was a bit of a surprise as I didn't know such a recording existed. It's one of those gems that are out there, never to be seen. Except this one has been released. And pretty good it is too. It is a film of Rick's concert at the Sydney Myer Music Bowl in Melbourne Australia, 4 February 1975. We are treated to the whole of "Journey" and various tracks from "Henry" and "Arthur", the latter having just been released at the time of the concert. Joining Rick on stage is the Melbourne Philharmonic and the Melbourne Chamber Choir. His band comprises of Jeffrey Crampton (Guitars), Roger Newell (Guitars), Barney James (Drums), Ashley Holt (Vocals), Gary Pickford Hopkins (Vocals) and John Hodgson (Percussion). The Narrator for the main event is Terry Taplin who hams it up nicely.

The film kicks off with "Catherine Parr". We get the classical interpretation, very much like the album version apart from some extended interludes while Rick resets the moogs! It is very well played although the sound is a bit dodgy (a bit compressed) but his cape is flowing nicely. The camera positions are in a bit of a poor position, you rarely get to see him play. This is perhaps the only negative aspect of the whole DVD. Considering its age, the picture quality is pretty good though.

After a slightly rascist story about his Japanese concerts, we are treated to "Guinevere". They seem to have got the sound balance a bit better now, and the track is a belter. We get the first look at Ashley Holt bursting out of his Ben Sherman (not a pretty sight but a sign of waistlines to come!). The singing is OK though. Rick gives us some fantastic mellotron sounds and his piano playing is top notch. Lots of playing at full stretch too in classic Wakeman style.

Then comes "Journey to the Centre of the Earth". The overture is a cracker with plenty of moog, just like the original. We also get our first look at the mindnumbing visual effects. Actually, they fit quite well. If you can remember the middle bit of Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody", then that is the effect we are talking about. Very 70's which it why it works! Anyway, the singing seems marginally better than on the original recording and the narration is more dramatic. The "Hansbach" section is fantastic, Rick showing us how to play two moogs at once. A pity the rest of the band aren't that good, they're all over the place! We also get the first bit of overdubbing/out-of-sync visuals, but to be honest is it nowhere near as bad as more recent videos (i.e. Keys to Ascension).

"The Recollection" sees Rick giving it some on the clavinet, excellent. But the rest of the band are really poor. The whole section loses some of the rocking dramatic affect of the original. However, once the orchestra joins in again things pick up. On the whole, part one of "Journey" is pretty good, let down by the band not been up to standard.

"The Battle" starts off in familiar vane, and a brilliant rendition it is too. We also see the inflatable bouncy dinosaurs that have become part of the Wakeman folklore (very Spinal Tap), and you can just see the choir thinking "What the hell am I doing here?" The "Storm" section is pretty good too, although I'm starting to think that Rick is making thinks up as he goes along. A bit too much improvisation slightly spoiling it for me, although its probably 'cos I'm expecting to here the familiar stuff from the album recording. The orchestra just about manages to keep it together anyway, the band actually does a better a job of fathoming out what bit comes next.

"The Forest" starts of well and all is going OK until the "Hall of the Mountain King" section. It's a complete shambles. The orchestra are nowhere, and there are more than a few untidy and very long embarassing pauses. Rick didn't look too impressed, but it has to be said things improve for the finale. On top of that there are places when the bass moog is so loud you can't here anything else, but such were the problems in the good ol' days!
All in all, it's an interesting "Journey". It's good to hear another full blown version, a pity that the end is such a cock up.

The next track we get to hear is "Catherine Howard". Again, this is quite close to the album version except here it has an extended acoustic guitar section. I have to say the guy is trying but he's no Steve Howe. A tad too long but it leads nicely into the second half of the track and it is excellent from then on. However, Rick plays the honky tonk bit on the organ which is strange, particularly as he has the  required piano right infront of him!

"Merlin" is next up. A good version it is too although a tad lightweight, flat and lacking in dynamics. Although the moog is immense as expected! Compared to the speed we are used to hearing Rick play "Merlin" these days this version seems a bit pedestrian, although it is a very close arrangement of the album version.

The next track is "Anne Boleyn" and as expected it is a close approximation of the album version, with sumptuous piano, mellotron and moog. You can't hear much in the way of guitar though, no bad thing you have to say! Great track.

The final piece is a reprise of "The Forest". Obviously Rick wasn't too happy with the ending of "Journey" so they played it again. This time it is much better. Not perfect but no messing about and the cues are better too. Everyone looks to be concentrating 100% and at the end they all look a bit happier!

On the whole I would say this is a great DVD for anyone who likes classic Rick Wakeman, all moogs, dry ice and capes!
I never thought I would get to see a concert of Rick from this period in his career and so I am glad this film was released. The sound quality (Dolby surround) is OK, better than "Yessongs" from a similar period and the visuals are better than I would have thought from 26 years ago. Don't expect "Independence Day" amorphic widescreen though! Infact, it isn't widescreen at all (4:3 ratio) and there are no extras on the DVD. You do get a CD of the sound track though, which is nice.

Perhaps the biggest disappointment (but not an unfamiliar one as it has afflicted alot of Rick's albums in my opinion) is the quality of his backing band. I'd love to have heard "Journey" with Tony Fernandez on drums, Chris Squire on Bass, Steve Howe on Guitar and Jon Anderson/Ashley Holt on vocals. But I suppose it wouldn't really have been a Rick Wakeman solo project then. I just wish he could have used some musicians with a bit of sparkle, instead of the "blokes from the pub" sound we get at various stages of his career. Anyway, they do a reasonable job I suppose, 5/10 for effort!

But in the end you buy this DVD to see a piece of history. "Journey to the Centre of the Earth" was a surprise best selling album in the '70s, and to be able to re-live it in 2001 is a treat no fan should miss out on. Buy it.

(Copyright David Hopton 7 May 2001)

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