Keyboard Legend Rick Wakeman Releases Three DVDs On Classic Pictures: ìJourney To The Centre Of The Earth,î ìRick Wakeman And The English Rock Ensemble: Live From Buenos Airesî and ìThe Legend: Live In Concert 2000î

Rick 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 ìYesî 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 ìJourney To The Centre Of The Earth,î ìRick Wakeman And The English Rock Ensemble: Live From Buenos Airesî and ìThe Legend: Live In Concert 2000.î As an added treat for fans, each one contains a free bonus CD.ìJourney To The Centre Of The Earthî Wakeman had a huge worldwide hit solo album in 1974 with ìJourney To The Centre Of The Earth,î based on the Jules Verne novel. He embarked on an ambitious tour to promote it. The 95-minute ìJourney To The Centre Of The Earthî 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, ìThe Six Wives of Henry VIIIî and continues with the complete ìJourney To The Centre Of The Earthî album and concludes with selections from his new album ìThe Myths and Legends of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table.îThe track listing is as follows: ìCatherine Parr,î ìGuinevere,î ìJourney To The Centre Of The Earth: I. The Journey, II. The Recollection, III. The Battle, IV. The Forest,î ìCatherine Howard: I. Merlin,î ìAnne Boleynî and ìReprise From The Forest.î The bonus CD includes most of these songs.ìRick Wakeman And The English Rock Ensemble: Live From Buenos AiresîWakeman 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 (Rickís 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 variety of Wakeman classics and a cover of Yesí ìStarship Trooper.î 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: ìLancelot and the Black Knight,î ìCatherine Howard/Catherine of Aragon,î ìThe Visit,î excerpts from ìJourney to the Centre of the Earth,î ìCatherine Parr,î ìMerlin the Magician,î ìBuried Alive,î ì1984î and ìStarship Trooper.î An exclusive interview with Wakeman is a DVD bonus.ìThe Official Bootlegî bonus CD features a different performance with a different English Rock Ensemble lineup. ìThe Official Bootlegî 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.ìThe Official Bootlegî track listing includes: ìLure of the Wild,î ìRobot Man/Paint it Black,î excerpts from ìThe Myths and Legends of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table,î ìAfter Prayers,î ìEleanor Rigby,î ìStarship Trooperî and ìWurm.îìThe Legend: Live In Concert 2000îWakeman thrives within a group setting, but his genius shines even more brightly in a solo setting. ìThe Legend: Live In Concert 2000î was filmed at an intimate show at Marlborough College in Marlborough, 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 shomehow 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. ìchat shows.îThe 120-minute DVD, which is mastered in Dolby Digital 5.1 sound, includes ìPachelbelÖCanon in D,î ìBirdman of Alcatraz,î ìCatherine Howard/Catherine of Aragon,î ìSeasons of Change,î ìJane Seymour,î ìThe Nursery Rhyme Concerto,î ìChildren of Chernobyl,î ìThe Recollection/Dance of a Thousand Lights,î ìAnd You And I/Wonderous Stories,î ìGuinevere/Lancelot and the Black Knight,î ìHelp/Eleanor Rigbyî and ìClair De Lune.îSix audio-only studio tracks totaling nearly 30 minutes are featured as DVD extras: ìMorning Has Brokenî (among Wakemanís many studio sessions over the years with the likes of David Bowie and Black Sabbath was a performance on Cat Stevensí hit version of this song), ìSea Horses,î ìGone But Not Forgotten,î ìElgin mansions,î ìThe Day They Gaveî and ìMerlin the Magician.îOther 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 ìMerlin the Magician.îFor more information about Wakeman, visit the official Rick Wakeman Communication Centre web site at www.rwcc.com.