Keyboard Legend RICK WAKEMAN Releases Three DVDs On Classic Pictures: 'JOURNEY TO THE CENTRE OF THE EARTH,' 'RICK WAKEMAN AND THE ENGLISH ROCK ENSEMBLE: LIVE FROM BUENOS AIRES' and 'THE LEGEND: LIVE IN CONCERT 2000'

9-Sep-02

Free Bonus CD Included With Each TitleRick Wakeman is arguably the finest keyboardist in the history of rock music. The classically trained musician is known primarily as a member of the passionately revered progressive rock band Yes and an extremely prolific solo artist. All phases of his extraordinary career are covered in three DVDs newly released in North America by Classic Pictures. They have been mastered for optimum sound and video quality, and each has a fully animated menu enabling specific track selections.The three titles are 'Journey to the Centre of the Earth,' 'Rick Wakeman and the English Rock Ensemble: Live From Buenos Aires' and 'The Legend: Live in Concert 2000.' As an added treat for fans, each one contains a free bonus CD.'JOURNEY TO THE CENTRE OF THE EARTH'Wakeman had a huge worldwide hit solo album in 1974 with 'Journey to the Centre of the Earth,' based on the Jules Verne novel. He embarked on an ambitious tour to promote it. The 95-minute 'Journey to the Centre of the Earth' DVD was filmed on February 4, 1975, at the Sydney Myer Music Bowl in Melbourne, Australia, in front of 30,000 people. It is mastered in Dolby Digital 5.1 sound.The concert features the Melbourne Philharmonic Orchestra (conducted by Verdon Williams) and the Melbourne Chamber Choir. Joining Wakeman, the orchestra and the choir are guitarist Jeffrey Crampton, guitarist Roger Newell, drummer Barney James, vocalist Ashley Holt, vocalist Gary Pickford, percussionist John Hodgson and narrator Terry Taplin.The show begins with popular songs from his previous album 'The Six Wives of Henry VIII' and continues with the complete 'Journey to the Centre of the Earth' album and concludes with selections from his new album 'The Myths and Legends of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table.'The track listing is as follows: ""Catherine Parr,"" ""Guinevere,"" ""Journey to the Centre of the Earth: I) The Journey II) The Recollection III) The Battle IV) The Forest,"" ""Catherine Howard: I) Merlin,"" ""Anne Boleyn"" and ""Reprise From 'The Forest.' "" The bonus CD includes most of these songs.'RICK WAKEMAN AND THE ENGLISH ROCK ENSEMBLE:LIVE FROM BUENOS AIRES'Wakeman has always been a superstar in South America, and accompanied by his band the English Rock Ensemble, he performed an electrifying concert at the Gran Rex Theatre in Buenos Aires, Argentina, in 2001.The Buenos Aires lineup included keyboardist/backing vocalist Adam Wakeman (Rick's son), guitarist/backing vocalist Ant Glynne, drummer/percussionist Tony Fernandez, bass guitarist Lee Pomeroy and vocalist Damian Wilson. As a dazzling laser show flickers over their heads, Wakeman and the English Rock Ensemble perform a variety of Wakeman classics and a cover of Yes' ""Starship Trooper."" Highlights include a father-and-son keyboard duel between the Wakemans and consistently edgy guitar work from Glynne.The songs on the 110-minute DVD, which is mastered in Dolby Digital Surround Sound, include: ""Lancelot and the Black Knight,"" ""Catherine Howard/Catherine of Aragon,"" ""The Visit,"" excerpts from ""Journey to the Centre of the Earth,"" ""Catherine Parr,"" ""Merlin the Magician,"" ""Buried Alive,"" ""1984"" and ""Starship Trooper."" An exclusive interview with Wakeman is a DVD bonus.'The Official Bootleg' bonus CD features a different performance with a different English Rock Ensemble lineup. 'The Official Bootleg' was recorded live at Ronnie Scotts in Birmingham, England, in July 1997. The musicians include keyboardist/backing vocalist Adam Wakeman, bass guitarist/backing vocalist Alan Thomson, vocalist Chrissie Hammond, drummer/percussionist Tony Fernandez and guitarist Stuart Sawney. 'The Official Bootleg' is the only known live recording of this particular version of the English Rock Ensemble. It includes Wakeman classics and covers of Rolling Stones, Beatles and Yes songs.'The Official Bootleg' track listing includes: ""Lure of the Wild,"" ""Robot Man/Paint it Black,"" excerpts from 'The Myths and Legends of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table,' ""After Prayers,"" ""Eleanor Rigby,"" ""Starship Trooper"" and ""Wurm.""'THE LEGEND: LIVE IN CONCERT 2000'Wakeman thrives within a group setting, but his genius shines even more brightly in a solo setting. 'The Legend: Live in Concert 2000' was filmed at an intimate show at Marlborough College in Marlborogh, England, and Wakeman dazzles the audience with solo favorites, Yes and Beatles covers, classical music pieces and covers reinterpreted in the style of classical music masters.He also regales the crowd with stories about the music both humorous (how the 15-year-teetotaler went onstage drunk only one time, in 1976, and caused a chain reaction of Spinal Tap-worthy events that somehow led to an unexpected positive review) and touching (how he was asked to write the theme for the film 'Children of Chernobyl,' a documentary about the leukemia epidemic decimating children in the region of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant accident in the former Soviet Union). Wakeman is as gifted a storyteller as he is a musician, and this performance vividly demonstrates why he is such a popular guest on U.K. ""chat shows."" The 120-minute DVD, which is mastered in Dolby Digital 5.1 sound, includes: ""Pacobel ... Canon in D,"" ""Birdman of Alcatraz,"" ""Catherine Howard/Catherine of Aragon,"" ""Seasons of Change,"" ""Jane Seymour,"" ""The Nursery Rhyme Concerto,"" ""Children of Chernobyl,"" ""The Recollection/Dance of a Thousand Lights,"" ""And You And I/Wonderous Stories,"" ""Guinevere/Lancelot and the Black Knight,"" ""Help/Eleanor Rigby"" and ""Clair De Lune.""Six audio-only studio tracks totaling nearly 30 minutes are featured as DVD extras: ""Morning Has Broken"" (among Wakeman's many studio sessions over the years with the likes of David Bowie and Black Sabbath was a performance on Cat Stevens' hit version of this song), ""Sea Horses,"" ""Gone But Not Forgotten,"" ""Elgin Mansions,"" ""The Day They Gave"" and ""Merlin the Magician.""Other DVD bonuses are a photo gallery and a year-by-year biography.The bonus CD includes the 12 selections from the concert as well as the studio track ""Merlin the Magician.""For more information about Wakeman, visit the official Rick Wakeman Communication Centre web site at www.rwcc.com.www.classicpictures.co.ukwww.rwcc.com

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