Journey to the Centre of the Earth (album)
| Journey to the Centre of the Earth | ||||
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| Live album by Rick Wakeman | ||||
| Released | 9 May 1974 (UK) | |||
| Recorded | 18 January 1974 at the Royal Festival Hall in London | |||
| Genre | Progressive rock | |||
| Length | 40:07 | |||
| Label | A&M (US) | |||
| Producer | Rick Wakeman | |||
| Rick Wakeman chronology | ||||
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Journey to the Centre of the Earth is the second album (and first live album) from the English keyboardist and composer Rick Wakeman, released through A&M Records in May 1974. The album is a live recording from his second of two sold-out concerts on 18 January 1974 at the Royal Festival Hall in London. Its concept is based on Jules Verne's eponymous science fiction novel, which tells the story of Professor Lidenbrok, his nephew Axel, and their guide Hans, who follow a passage to the Earth's centre originally discovered by Arne Saknussemm, an Icelandic alchemist. Wakeman performs with the London Symphony Orchestra, the English Chamber Choir, and a group of hand-picked musicians for his rhythm section. Actor David Hemmings provides the narration to the story.
As the cost of recording the album in a studio was too high, the 40-minute piece was instead recorded live. After a number of problems were resolved during the mixing of the album, Journey to the Centre of the Earth was overall well-received by music critics. The record topped the UK Albums Chart, the first album from A&M Records to do so, and peaked at number 3 on the US Billboard 200. It was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America in October 1974, and earned Wakeman an Ivor Novello Award and a nomination for a Grammy. A total of 14 million copies of the album have been sold worldwide. In 1999, Wakeman released a sequel titled Return to the Centre of the Earth.
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[edit] Development
Wakeman had started work on Journey to the Centre of the Earth in November 1971, but put the project on hold until the completion of his first album, The Six Wives of Henry VIII, in October 1972.[1] He performed at the rock opera concerts of The Who's Tommy in December 1972 that featured the London Symphony Orchestra, the English Chamber Choir, conductor David Measham and arranger Will Malone. The producer of the shows, Lou Reizner, learned of Wakeman's ideas for Journey that night and put him in contact with Measham, and the two subsequently met.[2][3] Wakeman formed a rough demo tape of notes that he played on Minimoog synthesiser, Mellotron, Rhodes piano and Clavinet, and played it to Measham, indicating where the orchestral parts would come in.[3] Measham agreed to take part in the project, and Wakeman met with his manager Brian Lane to discuss a follow up to Six Wives, where he pitched the idea of performing Journey with an orchestra, choir, and a rock band.[3] As the cost of producing the album in a studio was too high, A&M Records agreed to record the album live. To help finance the project, Wakeman had to sell a few of his cars and "mortgage [himself] up to the hilt to help finance the whole thing", which had cost around £40,000.[4]
Wakeman received help with the orchestral score from Malone and arranger Danny Beckerman.[5] In selecting the musicians for his band, Wakeman chose people he used to play with at a country pub in Buckinghamshire called the Valiant Trooper.[5] "I'd played with them for fun quite a bit on Sunday evenings...I was playing keyboards with the lads when I thought, they could play Journey for me. I'm sure they could do the concert and do it well", said Wakeman.[5] He picked vocalists Ashley Holt and Gary Pickford-Hopkins, drummer Barney James, and bassist Roger Newell. Guitarist Mike Egan, who previously played with Wakeman on Six Wives, rounded out the band.[5][6] A&M Records had wanted Wakeman to pick more well-known musicians, but Wakeman intended for the album to be known for its music than those who performed.[7] Richard Harris was the first choice to narrate on the album, but he was unavailable. Actor David Hemmings was then chosen, who agreed to take part.[6]
[edit] Production
[edit] Recording
Two concerts were held at 6 and 8 pm on 18 January 1974 to sold-out crowds of 3,000.[8][9] Ronnie Lane's Mobile Studio was used to record the music.[10] Wakeman had hoped to have both performances recorded, with the better of the two being used for the album release. However, as the London Symphony Orchestra requested double pay if both shows were to be recorded, Wakeman took "the frightening decision of only recording the second performance and hoping there weren't too many mistakes".[11] The show opened with "Catherine Parr", "Catherine Howard" and "Anne Boleyn" from The Six Wives of Henry VIII, followed by a comical version of "Twelfth Street Rag".[12] Journey was performed in the second half.[1][8] Screens were installed to display excerpts from the 1959 adventure film of the same name to accompany some of the music.[9] Permission was granted from 20th Century Fox to use footage of mountains and underground caves from the movie.[13]
[edit] Mixing
The concert recordings were taken to Morgan Studios in London, where they were mixed by Wakeman and engineer Paul Tregurtha between 21–29 January.[14] The two encountered a number of problems. "Someone in the street had accidentally kicked out the vocal mike cable just before we started recording. So we boosted up the vocals that were picked up on the other mikes", Wakeman explained. A snare drum and its microphone also broke during the performance, and Hemmings recorded more narration in the studio since a tape change occurred in the middle of one of his passages.[10]
[edit] Release and reception
Upon its arrival at A&M Records, the finished album was poorly-received among management, and refused to sell it.[15] As Wakeman was under contract with A&M in America, a cassette was sent to co-founder Jerry Moss in California, who agreed to release the record.[16] Journey to the Centre of the Earth entered the UK Albums Charts at number 14, before topping the chart on 25 May for one week, becoming the first album from A&M to do so. It peaked at number 3 on the United States Billboard 200 chart for two weeks in July during a stay of 27 weeks.[17] The album became a multi-million dollar seller in six weeks.[18] Wakeman received an Ivor Novello Award for the album,[19] and earned a Grammy Award nomination.[17] The record was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America in September 1974,[20] and in Brazil a year later for sales over 200,000. In total, the album went on to sell 14 million copies.[21] In late 1974, the album was released in the four-channel Quadradisc CD-4 format.
The album received some negative reaction upon its release, with music critics having described the record as a "classical pastiche...genuinely appaling" and "brutal synthesiser overkill".[22] Journey however, was well-received by others. Mike DeGange of Allmusic called the album "one of progressive rock's crowning achievements" and noted "interesting conglomerations of orchestral and synthesized music".[23]
[edit] Track listing
All tracks were written by Wakeman. "The Forest" ("The Return" on the LP's North American promotional version) includes an excerpt of In the Hall of the Mountain King by Edvard Grieg, who is credited in the album's liner notes but not on the LP's labels.
[edit] Generally Released Version
The generally released LP version of Journey to the Centre of the Earth did not quote timings for the album's selections; the timings listed below were provided on cassette versions, and are consistent with those of later CD pressings of the album.
- Side one
- "The Journey"/"Recollection" – 21:20
- Side two
- "The Battle"/"The Forest" – 18:57
[edit] North American Promotional Version
In North America, A&M Records distributed specially "banded for radio airplay" promotional LP copies of Journey upon the album's release. This version divided the album's content into shorter cuts, and provided timings for the selections.
- Side one
- "Introduction" – 2:43
- "The Journey" – 3:25
- "Isles of Gothic Cathedral" – 1:53
- "The Hans Bach" – 3:53
- "The Recollection" – 6:24
- "The Lidenbrook Sea" – 2:51
- Side two
- "The Battle" – 5:13
- "The Storm" – 2:13
- "The Forest" – 3:45
- "The Return" – 7:34
[edit] Chart performance
[edit] Charts
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[edit] Certifications
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[edit] Personnel
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[edit] References
- ^ a b Concert programme for Rick Wakeman: Journey to the Centre of the Earth. 18 January 1974.
- ^ Wooding, p. 11
- ^ a b c Wooding, p. 12
- ^ Wooding, p. 15
- ^ a b c d Wooding, p. 13
- ^ a b Wooding, p. 14
- ^ Wakeman 1995, p. 120.
- ^ a b c Wooding, p. 17.
- ^ a b Wooding, p. 18.
- ^ a b Welch, Chris (13 April 1974). "Wakeman: British gropus have gone over the top". Melody Maker: p. 34.
- ^ Wooding, pp. 16-17.
- ^ Track listing from Treasure Chest Volume 3 - The Missing Half, released by Voiceprint in 2002. Catalogue number VPTCCD3.
- ^ Welch, Chris (19 January 1974). "Sentimental Journey". Melody Maker: pp. 9–10.
- ^ Journey to the Centre of the Earth album sleeve. A&M Records. 1974. Catalogue number AMLH 63621.
- ^ Wakeman 1995, p. 123.
- ^ Wakeman 1995, p. 124.
- ^ a b Snider, p. 172.
- ^ "Music: Rock Goes to College". Time Magazine. 23 September 1974. http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,908764,00.html. Retrieved 21 June 2010.
- ^ Wooding, p. 22
- ^ a b "RIAA - Gold and Platinum Search". RIAA. http://www.riaa.com/goldandplatinumdata.php?resultpage=1&table=SEARCH_RESULTS&action=&title=&artist=rick%20wakeman&format=&debutLP=&category=&sex=&releaseDate=&requestNo=&type=&level=&label=&company=&certificationDate=&awardDescription=&catalogNo=&aSex=&rec_id=&charField=&gold=&platinum=&multiPlat=&level2=&certDate=&album=&id=&after=&before=&startMonth=1&endMonth=1&startYear=1958&endYear=2010&sort=Artist&perPage=25. Retrieved 10 April 2011.
- ^ "Rick Wakeman, six wives and one hell of a party". The Times. 1 May 2009. http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/music/article6200354.ece. Retrieved 28 October 2010.
- ^ Shuker, p. 210.
- ^ DeGange, Mike. "Journey to the Centre of the Earth". Allmusic. http://www.allmusic.com/album/r65308. Retrieved 10 April 2011.
- ^ "Number 1 Albums – 1970s". The Official Charts Company. Archived from the original on 9 February 2008. http://web.archive.org/web/20080209095720/http://www.theofficialcharts.com/all_the_no1_albums.php?show=3. Retrieved 16 June 2011.
- ^ Wooding, picture inserts.
[edit] Sources
- Wakeman, Rick (1995). Say Yes! An Autobiography. Hodder & Stoughton. ISBN 978-0340621516.
- Wooding, Dan (1978). Rick Wakeman: The Caped Crusader. Granada Publishing Limited. ISBN 0 586 04853 7.
- Shuker, Roy (2005). Popular Music The Key Concepts (2nd ed.). Routledge. ISBN 0415347696.
- Snider, Charles (2008). The Strawberry Bricks Guide to Progressive Rock (1st ed.). Lulu.com. ISBN 078-0-6151-7566-9. http://books.google.com/books?id=9nkarh6kA8oC&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_ge_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q&f=false.
| Preceded by The Singles: 1969-1973 by The Carpenters |
UK number-one album 25 May 1974 |
Succeeded by The Singles: 1969-1973 by The Carpenters |
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