maart 14, 2022

Rick Wakeman - The Myths And Legends Of King Arthur And The Knights Of The Round Table (LP) (1975) - €7,99

The Myths and Legends of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table is the second studio album by English keyboardist Rick Wakeman, released on 27 March 1975 by A&M Records
It is a concept album based on the stories and people of the King Arthur legend. 
Wakeman started to write the music in 1974 while recovering from a heart attack and recorded it with his five-piece band the English Rock Ensemble, the New World Orchestra, and the English Chamber Choir

Rick Wakeman's third solo album is among his best, as he employs his vast array of keyboards to their full extent, musically describing the characters pertaining to the days of King Arthur's reign. 
With orchestra and choir included, although a little less prevalent than on Journey, he musically addresses the importance and distinguishing characteristics of each figure through the use of multiple synthesizers and accompanying instruments. "Lady of the Lake" is given a mystical, enchanted feel, perpetrated by a more subtle use of piano and synthesizer, while the battle of "Sir Lancelot and the Black Knight" is made up of a barrage of feuding keyboard runs and staccato riffs, musically recounting the intensity of the duel. 
But it's on "Merlin the Magician" where Wakeman truly shines, as the whimsy and peculiarity of this fabled figure is wonderfully conjured up through the frenzy of the synthesizer. As one of Wakeman's most famous pieces, it is here that his astounding musicianship is laid out for all to hear, a marvelous bisque of keyboard artistry. 
The album's entirety is a sensational execution of Wakeman's adroitness, and with vocals from Ashley Holt and Gary Pickford Hopkins, it still stands along with Journey to the Center of the Earth and The Six Wives of Henry VIII as one of his most astute pieces. 

Upon his return to England from his North American tour, Wakeman and his band retreated to Morgan Studios in Willesden, London to record King Arthur from 16 October 1974 to 10 January 1975. The line-up of Wakeman's band had changed by the time of recording, with Gary Pickford-Hopkins and Ashley Holt on lead vocals, Jeffrey Crampton on acoustic and electric guitars, Roger Newell on bass, Barney James on drums, and John Hodgson on percussion. They were joined by the New World Orchestra, an ensemble formed by musicians picked by David Katz that included members of the London Symphony Orchestra, conductor David Measham, the English Chamber Choir with choirmaster Guy Protheroe, and the Nottingham Festival Vocal Group. Before recording could begin, the band had to wait for their equipment to be transported from the US and repaired, after the roadies had damaged the flight cases carrying their instruments. Rehearsals then took place for around two and a half weeks. An early idea for the album had engineer Paul Tregurtha inform Wakeman that what he wanted was "technically impossible", partly due to the lack of available tracks on the recording machine to produce his desired final mix.

Wakeman encountered some difficulty with the songwriting as many of the stories described in the books gave different accounts. After reading eight books himself, he picked the details he found the most "colourful" which included taking a passage from a children's book on the subject. He settled on four widely known stories and two lesser known, and proceeded to adapt them to music and lyrics. Much of the album was based around the three swords based around the legend: the sword Arthur pulled out from the stone and anvil, the Excalibur which some believe was instead handed to Arthur by the Lady of the Lake, and the one associated to Galahad. Wakeman incorporated ideas from his personal life into the music, he said: "It's as much about me as Arthur."

"Guinevere" was a song that Wakeman had arranged six years prior to recording the album. Wakeman wrote violin arrangements for "Sir Lancelot and the Black Knight" that were so fast for the players, biographer Dan Wooding wrote they "collapsed with laughter" upon viewing the score. After some false starts, they played the music correctly after Wakeman instructed them they play twice as fast as he originally wanted. "I thought I'd teach the ones who were cocky a lesson". "Merlin the Magician" is in three parts; Wakeman had read several descriptions of the character and conjured the image of "a little old man preparing his potions", so he therefore introduces the song with a quiet theme. One book depicted Merlin working in the basement of a castle, "surrounded by bottles and liquids like a mad professor", which inspired the heavier second theme. The piano and banjo section arose from a story that involved Merlin falling in love and chasing after a young girl, who eventually shuts him in a cave where he dies.



Side A
A1.  Arthur - 7:24
A2.  Lady Of The Lake - 0:44
A3.  Guinevere - 6:30
A4.  Sir Lancelot And The Black Knight - 5:18

Side B
B1.  Merlin The Magician - 7:49
B2.  Sir Galahad - 6:54
B3.  The Last Battle - 8:19


Musicians

Production
  • Rick Wakeman – production
  • Terry Taplin – narrator
  • Guy Protheroe – choirmaster
  • Paul Tregurtha – engineer
  • Jeremy Stenham – assistant engineer
  • David Katz – orchestral co-ordination
  • Wil Malone – orchestral arrangements
  • David Measham – orchestra and choir conductor
  • Fabio Nicoli – art direction
  • Paul May – art direction, design
  • Bob Elsdale – photography
  • Bob Fowke – illustrations
  • Dave Bowyer – illustrations
  • Mansell Collection – engravings

Notes
Release:  1975
Format:  LP (Gatefold)
Genre:  Progressive Rock
Label:  A&M Records
Catalog#  AMLH 64515

Vinyl:  Goed
Hoes:  Lichte Gebruikerssporen (Gatefold)

Prijs: €7,99

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