testing gonzo: LINK: Rick Wakeman's 'No Earthly Connection' revisited

Thursday, 7 February 2013

LINK: Rick Wakeman's 'No Earthly Connection' revisited

I had my initial doubts about this one, and with good reason. Among music fans,Rick Wakeman is a polarizing figure. One either loves his work or despises it. For those in the former camp, his keyboard playing, composing and arranging show a deft, assured and endlessly creative master. Both as a highly in-demand sessioner (that ‘s him on David Bowie‘s “Changes,” Cat Stevens‘ “Morning Has Broken” and Black Sabbath‘s “Sabbra Cadabra,” to name but three of countless contributions he’s made) and as an on-again-off-again member of Yes (five times so far), his work is often exciting. But to his detractors, he’s the visible symbol of everything that was wrong and excessive with rock in the 1970s.

His breakout solo album, 1973′s The Six Wives of King Henry VIIIestablished him as a potent force, and his followup albums were also quite good, though they didn’t quite scale the heights of The Six Wives. By 1976, Wakeman had settled into recording with a steady band he called the English Rock Ensemble.

Still interested in conceptual/thematic works, No Earthly Connection concerns itself with big ideas. The music remains keyboard-heavy – what else would you expect? – but the Ensemble is prominently featured as well. Despite his high-falutin’ musical goals, Wakeman has always been a somewhat grounded Everyman type: remember that he stood out like a sore thumb among Yes’ ascetic vegetarian types; it’s easy to picture him with a pint of lager and a turkey leg (these day’s he’s a calmed-down teetotaler). Oh, and a billowing cape. Always a cape.

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