Lovers of progressive rock inside Collingswood, NJ’s historic Scottish Rite auditorium this Friday, October 11, 2019 patiently await the start of tonight’s “Grumpy Old Rock Star Tour” show starring English keyboardist and composer Rick Wakeman.
Wakeman, 70, was born and raised in West London. He intended to be a concert pianist, but left England’s Royal College of Music in 1969 to become a full-time session musician. Wakeman’s early work included playing on recordings by Cat Stevens and David Bowie. In 1970, he became a member of Strawbs, but joined Yes a year later, playing on some of the group’s most celebrated LPs including Fragile, Close to the Edge, and Yessongs.
Wakeman began a solo career in 1973 — his most successful albums being his concept recordings The Six Wives of Henry VIII, Journey to the Centre of the Earth, and The Myths and Legends of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table.
In addition to scoring the film, Lisztomania, Wakeman toured with Yes; with the band Anderson, Wakeman, Bruford, Howe; and as a solo artist. His discography includes over 90 solo albums, including his latest effort, Piano Odyssey.
In 2017, Wakeman was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
Inside the Scottish Rite auditorium, we chat with David from Kensington, PA who says, “The last time I saw Rick Wakeman was when he was with Yes in the 1980s. He’s the top — one of my heroes! He can play rock, classical, New Age, church music — anything.”
Continuing, “He’s also extremely entertaining, thanks to his rich sense of humor,” David explains, “I watched him when Yes was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and his speech was incredible” before adding, “As an advanced amateur musician myself, I can tell you this — there are people out there who inspire other people, and Rick Wakeman is definitely one of them.”
We also chat with a pair of Yes fans — Jeannie and Larry from Wenonah.
Recalls Jeannie, “We’re long time Rick Wakeman fans. We first saw Yes back in 1976 at their historic JFK Stadium concert in Philly, but we also saw them many times thereafter. Since we can’t see the classic line-up of the band together anymore, we go to see their solo concerts.”
Adds Larry, “We saw Yes’ original lead singer, Jon Anderson, in Ocean City, NJ this summer, but we’ve never seen Rick Wakeman solo. That’s why we decided to come tonight, and we’re really looking forward to this performance.”
The lights dim and Rick Wakeman takes the stage as the strains of Pachelbel’s Canon and Gigue in D play over the loudspeakers. Wakeman acknowledges the audience, takes a seat at the grand piano, and immediately begins to float his fingers over the keys as he plays the Steinway grand along with the musical recording. Lilting fast runs and trills build in intensity and emotion as the sound emanates throughout the auditorium on this well-known classical piece.
The crowd cheers and Wakeman takes the mic to address the packed house saying, “Tonight is all about music and stories. Every story has got a percentage of truth to it,” before joking, “but it’s up to you to determine the percentage.”
After retelling a humorous anecdote which took place while he was touring with Jon Anderson and guitarist Trevor Rabin of Yes which necessitated some emergency dental work for him, Wakeman talks about his latest recording, Piano Odyssey, saying, “On it, I picked out some great melodies and played around with them on the piano.”
Launching into a medley of two Beatles’ songs, “Strawberry Fields” and “While My Guitar Gently Weeps,” Wakeman takes the classic melodies from these compositions and creates a piano symphony out of them. Dazzling the crowd with flurries of notes which move ever forward, Wakeman showcases these classic Lennon/McCartney and George Harrison melodies in a new light, bringing a new dimension to the original arrangements.
The crowd cheers and Wakeman tells the audience about a time when, back in the 1970s, Cat Stevens called and asked him to play the piano on his recording of the hymn, “Morning Has Broken.”
After describing his contributions to the single — which rocketed to #1 on the charts — Wakeman plays a beautiful piano arrangement of the piece.
Performing with power and grace, Wakeman recreates the melody in both the mid-range and high-range of the instrument, at times employing death-defying arpeggios which elicit hoots and hollers from the astonished crowd.
Recalling that his first solo album was The Six Wives of Henry VIII, Wakeman dedicates his next musical medley to his grandfather revealing, “He was in his 90s and he hated pop, rock, and progressive rock — but he liked that album.”
Here, Wakeman performs a medley of two songs from Six Wives, “Catherine Howard”and “Catherine Aragon.”
Performing in a classical style, Wakeman segues into a moderate waltz tempo as he quickens the pace. His hands play up and down the keyboard — at times dancing, then rolling back down to the original waltz tempo before prancing back to a quick speed.
The audience listens with rapt attention to this unique presentation as Wakeman becomes one with his instrument. The music flows from his hands as the tune takes on a country jig feel and several audience members start to shout out while others begin to clap along.
Wakeman’s fingers skip along on the hoedown section as the melody turns, jumps, and twists around itself while playing chords with his left hand, all the while paying particular attention to coaxing ever-shifting colors from his instrument which range from muted to bright.
The crowd hoots and hollers and Wakeman responds by taking a moment to talk about his great friend, David Bowie.
Revealing that Bowie composed many of his songs on “a battered 12-string guitar,” Wakeman recalls how Bowie trusted him to take his song, “Life on Mars,” and “think of it as a piano piece” to create his piano part for the recording.
Wakeman contends he learned an important lesson from Bowie based on this experience which involves choosing musicians for musical projects — “Pick musicians who understand you, because you can’t explain all aspects of music to them” — before acknowledging, “Even though he’s gone, David Bowie is still an influence on me.”
Audience members applaud when Wakeman launches into a medley of two Bowie compositions — “Space Oddity” and “Life on Mars.”
Following a sparkly introduction, audience members can easily imagine the voice of David Bowie singing the “Ground Control to Major Tom” lyric in rhythm with the magical strains of “Space Oddity.” Building in power and volume, fans applaud as Wakeman sequels into “Life on Mars,” his musicianship and interpretation putting the crowd in a trance where some audience members can even be observed with their eyes closed playing “air piano” as Wakeman performs.
The audience cheers and Wakeman reveals, “My father spent half of his money on piano lessons for me. I was born in 1949, and in the 1950s, there were 78 rpm records. My dad would play me his New Orleans Dixieland Jazz ’78s, and I would play piano duets with my dad on songs like ‘Sweet Georgia Brown.’”
As a tribute to his father, Wakeman plays both his and his dad’s piano part on “Sweet Georgia Brown.” Opening with a quick tempo, Wakeman’s fingerings sound like a fast-picking guitar, his right hand rolling up and down the keyboard on this barrelhouse Dixieland piano arrangement while his left hand rollicks and rolls while pounding out a stride piano part.
After announcing, “I can’t do a show without some Yes stuff,” Wakeman plays a medley of three songs he made famous with Yes — “The Meeting,” “And You and I,” and “Wonderous Stories.”
Creating a symphony of sound through the beautiful YES melodies, Wakeman plays with skill and grace.
Some audience members can be seen physically conducting Wakeman’s performance before the crowd responds with cheers and shouts for his sensitive and artistic interpretation.
Following huge applause, Wakeman talks about John Lennon’s composition, “Help.” Revealing, “John wrote it as a ballad,” Wakeman says, “I’m going to perform it in the style of Saint-Saëns.” Adding, “And I’m going to perform ‘Eleanor Rigby’ in the style of Prokofiev,” Wakeman concludes by stating, “Thank you so much for coming tonight.”
Arpeggios abound on Wakeman’s interpretation of “Help.” The piano tinkling softly and sweetly, Wakeman’s right and left hands interweave, the two parts intermingling and complimenting one another to give a new feeling to this ubiquitous Beatles’ song.
On “Eleanor Rigby,” Wakeman’s musical treatment makes the piece sound reminiscent of a Russian dance that lilts, but then marches on with precision and power. Sometimes dissonant, Wakeman’s novel arrangement is always moving and filled with syncopation.
Audience members nod their heads in agreement to the sounds coming from the stage. His right hand bouncing heartily — occasionally echoing the music of swing — Wakeman’s piano sounds like a dancing runaway train. Ending with power and fitness, the cheering crowd rises to its feet for Wakeman who takes a bow before leaving the stage.
Returning for an encore, Wakeman explains, “99% of what I write, I write on the piano. The exception is King Arthur. In 1975, I was in the hospital for nine weeks, so I had to write that one on paper before ever hearing it.”
Weaving his magic at the keyboard, Wakeman performs “Merlin” from The Myths and Legends of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table.
Fast fingerings and percussive rhythms characterize the arrangement. Weaving a story through the interplay of his two hands, at times, these independent units sing in unison, whereas at others, they fire rapidly in opposite directions. Echoing the sound of ragtime, Wakeman creates an energetic and percussive amalgamation which concludes with an audience-pleasing boogie woogie coda.
The crowd rises and Wakeman replies, “Thank you, you’re very kind! This one is from Return to the Center of the Earth,” before stating, “I will perform this as a ‘piano karaoke’ with pre-recorded tracks featuring an orchestra and chorus.”
Here, Wakeman launches into “Dance of a Thousand Lights.” Hands cross over one another as the melody meanders and soars above the accompanying orchestral parts. Quickening to double time, Wakeman creates a whirl of sound as his fingers fly over the keyboard with ease creating a glorious instrumental piano experience for all to enjoy.
The crowd again rises to applaud as Wakeman waves goodnight to the cheering crowd before exiting the stage
As audience members make their way out of the auditorium, we chat with several in attendance tonight who share their thoughts with us about Rick Wakeman’s performance.
Comments Vince from Washington Twp., “Rick Wakeman has to be the greatest keyboardist on the face of the earth. I’ve never heard anybody better.” Recalling “I saw my first Yes concert in 1975, so I’ve been been a fan for 44 years,” Vince remarks, “This show was awesome — incredible. Rick Wakeman can really play!”
Mike from Grunmeade calls Wakeman’s performance tonight, “Amazing — outstanding!” Adding, “It was nice to hear the stories — he is so down-to-earth, and then he goes into his out-of-this-world playing,” Mike exclaims, “I’m so glad I came!”
Bobby O. from Belmar agrees adding, “I thoroughly enjoyed his show” noting, “my favorite part was his Yes medley.”
Megan from Haddon Twp. reveals, “I’ve been following Yes since 1978. I’ve seen them in all different configurations — about 30 times, altogether — and to get to see Rick Wakeman in such a small venue was absolutely brilliant!” Adding, “I was in the front row, and I cried when he played ‘Life On Mars,’ Megan confesses, “I lost my sh*t a little bit — it brought back such powerful memories.”
Laura from Long Beach Island concurs adding, “We saw the tour that Jon Anderson, Rick Wakeman, and Trevor Rabin did. To be able to watch Rick Wakeman this closely tonight was amazing. He sits down at the piano and — BANG! — he’s right into the song; his fingers are right there and ready. It was amazing — so worth coming to see.”
Roy from Philadelphia asserts, “Rick Wakeman was fantastic tonight! I’ve seen him many times, and his piano/storytelling concerts are a different experience from his other shows,” before noting, “I especially enjoyed his rendition of The Six Wives of Henry VIII this evening.”
Lastly, we chat with Art from Philadelphia who calls tonight’s performance “Spectacular!” Explaining, “Rick Wakeman’s musicianship never disappoints — from 1974 to today, he’s so agile on the keyboard — it’s fantastic; incredible,” Art acknowledges, “I’ve seen him a million times and he never misses a note,” before concluding, “If he was doing another concert again in five minutes, I’d go see him again!”
To learn more about Rick Wakeman, please go to rwcc.com. For information about upcoming concerts at Collingswood, NJ’s Scottish Rite Auditorium — including the Roy Orbison and Buddy Holly: Rock and Roll Dreams Come True holographic concert experience on November 10, Keb Mo’s Jingle Bell Jamboree with guest Alicia Michilli on December 14, and singer/songwriter Richard Thompson on January 26, 2020 — please click on scottishriteauditorium.com.
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