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

Keyboard wizard Rick Wakeman, famous for his hugely successful rock career across the years, most notably with leading bands Yes and The Strawbs and for his sought-after collaborations with top artists of the day such as David Bowie, Yusuf Islam (formerly known as Cat Stevens) and Black Sabbath, is proud to present here his debut album for Sony Classical: 'Piano Odyssey'. With all tracks personally chosen, crafted, orchestrated and arranged by Wakeman himself, this eagerly-anticipated album follows him on a very special journey across the whole span of his glittering career and celebrates key moments along the way. Fans will join Wakeman on this deeply personal voyage, encountering arrangements of familiar and favourite works by such diversity as Queen, Yes, Liszt, Handel and David Bowie as well as repertoire from The Six Wives of Henry VIII' and new solo compositions, all performed on the legendary Granary Steinway Model D grand piano. This former student and Fellow of the Royal College of Music has covered a lot of musical ground during his colourful and wide-ranging career and 'Piano Odyssey' offers the perfect opportunity to share this with Rick Wakeman as true to form - he presents familiar rock classics and classical themes in fresh, new and intriguing ways with some welcome help from a superstar friend on one iconic track in particular.

Rick Wakeman, Steinway Model D grand piano, conductor
Orion Strings Orchestra
English Chamber Choir
Guy Protheroe, conductor, arrangement
Brian May, guitar (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