I’ve seen Rick Wakeman a few times over the years; once before with the English Rock Ensemble and once during his solo Christmas Piano recital. He really is one of the greats. Tonight’s show in Manchester was going to be special. The full Journey to the Centre of the Earth and some Yes highlights too. The show kicked off promptly at 7:30; the band followed by Rick, the Caped Crusader entered the stage.
I must mention the other musicians on stage. The English rock ensemble really reflects the creme de la creme of the UK music scene. Rick’s son, Adam, sharing keyboard duties, Mollie Marriott on vocals, a choral trio comprised of Izzy Chase, Tess Burstone and Nick Shirm plus long standing ERE members Dave Colquhoun on guitars, Adam Falkner on drums and the one and only Lee Pomeroy on bass (the greatest Bass player since Chris Squire according to Rick)
Roundabout kicked the show off which was an instant crowd pleaser, it took a little bit of time to get the levels just right but by the time the song ended, it was perfect and we had stunning sound for the deft of the night.
On both occasions that I have seen the English Rock Ensemble, Rick has had a woman fronting the band and vocally I really like it. It’s of course, completely different to the original material, but with this material it’s a really nice contrast to the original singers Jon Anderson (Yes) and Ashley Holt (Journey). Molly’s voice is superb and she really combines a rocky grit with soulful tone to put her own individual stamp on the songs.
Rick introduces the next musical offering as the ‘Yes Suite’ – three songs, kicking off with ‘The Meeting’ which take us on a musical journey. The Meeting begins with a very classical inspired a Capella choral section which echoes around the Bridgewater Hall and it sounds glorious.
The first half draws to a close with ‘And You and I’ taken from the Close to the Edge album. Lee’s bass work is incredible and it is very clear why Rock rates him so highly.
The second half had me so excited. Journey to the Centre of the Earth, in full as it was meant to be. Rick introduces it, saying that way back in the 70s, they couldn’t record everything, because it wouldn’t fit on the vinyl. He has since re recorded the full version, and this is what we are hearing tonight in Manchester.
I have long been a fan of the original album, but I’ve never seen it live. More like a full on theatre show, narration was used to ‘fill in the gaps’ of the story. Seeing this live for the first time, in full, was spectacular.
The band were so tight which gave Rick a chance to further enhance the pieces for a live setting. Just stunning.
I got quite emotional during the journey, it was truly majestic and as Grieg’s In The Hall Of The Mountain King begins, you imagine the vessel crashing back up to ground level. Rick joked, the journey was complete, they went and came back again and there was nothing left to say! He did subtly remind us that he’d written a follow up, but we weren’t going to hear that tonight!
Instead Dave Colquhoun picks the acoustic guitar up and plays the familiar introduction to Yes’ Starship Trooper. Nearly twenty minutes of brilliance that included rip roaring bass and guitar solo’s and a fantastic keyboard duel between Rick and his son Adam.
I was absolutely spellbound. The whole band were incredible and Rick was on fire as always. It’s always such a treat to see Rick in action, there’s already talk about his Christmas tour this year and I’m in! I’ll see you there!
