Wakeman, Rick - Cirque Surreal CD (Mega Blowout Sale)
SKU
23-EDSS 1045
“Taking some time off from Yes, Wakeman recorded this album for Cirque Surreal, a travelling circus show that played in cities around the UK that year. Featuring his touring band, it is a mixture of instrumentals and songs featuring the vocals of Chrissie Hammond.”
“When "Return to the Center of the Earth" first came out, it put Rick back in my mind and I wanted to catch up on some of his music. At that time, I saw on AllMusic that Rick had released hundreds of albums, but from what I could tell, lots of those albums were more like new age or muzak-y albums. Well, I wanted to find the rock stuff. Hey, I grew up in the '70s with Wakey. His music rocked out then and that's the way I still wanted it. I already have Enya albums. So after belaborously reading endless summaries at AllMusic, I finally selected this obscure album and purchased it, as it seemed to hold the most prog-rock potential.
And I'm glad I did! This is a delightful listen. Wakeman puts his synthesizer to good use. It is evident he was in a happy state of mind when he recorded this album as the melodies are playful, fun and upbeat. And he does quite a bit of soloing, with a full band accompanying. I felt like his playing was not featured enough on "Return to the Center of the Earth." I mean, that album had well written songs and all, but it didn't have driving synth solos. Well, this "Cirque" album delivers the Wakeman goods a la his great '70s albums.
So in summary: Wakeman has done it with this album. A solid rock album featuring his multitude of keyboards, especially highlighting his classic Moog-sounding leads. I felt it was well worth the money and am glad I got it.”-Peter Anderson
- LabelEdsel
- UPC740155104535