Piano Odyssey Rick Wakeman

• George Harrison:
• 1While My Guitar Gently Weeps (Arranged for Piano, Strings & Chorus by Rick Wakeman)04:02
• Franz Liszt:
• 2Liebesträume / After The Ball (Arranged for Piano, Strings & Chorus by Rick Wakeman)05:36
• Steve James Howe, Chris Squire, Jon Anderson:
• 3And You & I (Arranged for Piano, Strings & Chorus by Rick Wakeman)04:29
• Rick Wakeman:
• 4Rocky (The Legacy)06:22
• Paul Simon:
• 5The Boxer (Arranged for Piano, Strings & Chorus by Rick Wakeman)05:11
• David Bowie:
• 6The Wild Eyed Boy From Freecloud (Arranged for Piano, Strings & Chorus by Rick Wakeman)04:52
• John Lennon, Paul McCartney:
• 7Strawberry Fields Forever (Arranged for Piano, Strings & Chorus by Rick Wakeman)02:49
• Steve James Howe, Jon Anderson:
• 8Roundabout (Arranged for Piano, Strings & Chorus by Rick Wakeman)03:14
• Rick Wakeman:
• 9Cyril Wolverine05:15
• Rick Wakeman:
• 10Jane Seymour03:38
• Antonín Dvorák, Georg Friedrich Händel:
• 11Largos (Arranged for Piano, Strings & Chorus by Rick Wakeman)03:13
• Frederick Mercury:
• 12Bohemian Rhapsody (Arranged for Piano, Strings & Chorus by Rick Wakeman)05:35
• Total Runtime54:16

Info for Piano Odyssey

Für sein Sony Classical-Debüt-Album "Piano Odyssey" hat Rock-Legende und Yes-Keyboarder Rick Wakeman Superhits des Classic-Rock wie "Bohemian Rhapsody" (Queen), "Strawberry Fields Forever" (The Beatles), "The Wild Eyed Boy From Freecloud" (David Bowie) für Piano, Streicher und Chor arrangiert.

Rick Wakeman, der 2017 zusammen mit Yes in die Rock and Roll Hall of Fame aufgenommen wurde, hat im Laufe seiner Karriere mit vielen Superstars des Rock gearbeitet, darunter David Bowie, Lou Reed, Cat Stevens, Black Sabbath, Elton John und Brian May von Queen. May ist als Gastmusiker in dem Queen-Klassiker "Bohemian Rhapsody" zu hören. Das Album ist für Rick Wakeman eine Reise zu seinen musikalischen Wurzeln und Einflüssen und beleuchtet für seine künstlerische Entwicklung wichtige Meilensteine, darunter auch zwei klassische Werke, nämlich "Liebestraum" von Franz Liszt und die Largos von Georg Friedrich Händel und Antonin Dvorak. Alle Songs wurden auf dem legendären Granary Steinway D-Flügel eingespielt.

Zu seinem Album sagt Rick Wakeman: "Alle ausgewählten Werke bestechen durch ihre wundervollen Melodien, ein entscheidender Impuls für die frischen Arrangements, die die Schönheit der Originalstücke unterstreichen. Jeder Track hat eine Bedeutung und ist exakt auf das Klavier abgestimmt. Es war eine wahre Freude, dieses Album zusammenzustellen und ich danke allen, die mit ihrem Enthusiasmus dazu beigetragen haben, dass diese »Piano Odyssey« wahr werden konnte."

"... klingt ... wunderbar sphärisch und großräumig opulent." (stereoplay)

Rick Wakeman, Steinway Model D grand piano, Dirigent
Orion Strings Orchestra
English Chamber Choir
Guy Protheroe, Dirigent
Brian May, Gitarre (Track 12)

Rick Wakeman
Born in Perivale, Middlesex, England, Rick Wakeman's interest in music manifested itself very early, and from the age of seven on he studied classical piano. At the age of 14, he joined a local band, Atlantic Blues, the same year he left school to enroll in the Royal College of Music. He had his eye on a career as a concert pianist, but Wakeman was dismissed from the college after it became clear that he preferred playing in clubs to studying technique.

By his late teens, he was an established session man, playing on records by such diverse acts as Black Sabbath, Brotherhood of Man, and Edison Lighthouse. At the end of the '60s, his name also began appearing on the credits of albums by such artists as Al Stewart and David Bowie, and one set of sessions with a folk-rock band called the Strawbs led to his joining the group in 1970. After two albums with the Strawbs, Wakeman joined Yes, a post-psychedelic hard rock band that had attracted considerable attention with their first three albums. Wakeman played a key role in the final shape of the group's fourth record, Fragile, creating a fierce, swirling sound on an array of electric and acoustic pianos, synthesizers, and Mellotrons. Fragile was a hit, driven by the chart success of the single "Roundabout," and Wakeman was suddenly elevated to star status.

Booklet for Piano Odyssey