RICK WAKEMAN Journey To The Centre Of The Earth MFSL 1-230 HALF SPEED MASTERED

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RICK WAKEMAN Journey To The Centre Of The Earth Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab MFSL 1-230 HALF-SPEED MASTERED by Stan Ricker Special Limited Edition Serial ? 0826

Tracklist

A1 The Journey A2 Recollection

B1 The Battle B2 The Forest

*(all photos are of the actual item)

• Recorded At – Royal Festival Hall
• Mixed At – Morgan Studios

• Arranged By [Orchestra And Choir] – Danny Beckerman, Wil Malone
• Bass – Roger Newell
• Choir – English Chamber Choir, The
• Conductor [Orchestra And Choir] – David Measham
• Drums – Barney James
• Guitar – Mike Egan
• Narrator – David Hemmings
• Orchestra – London Symphony Orchestra, The
• Recorded By, Engineer – Paul Tregurtha
• Vocals – Ashley Holt, Garry Pickford-Hopkins*

Notes

Recorded in concert at The Royal Festival Hall London on Friday January 18th 1974. 
Mixed at Morgan Studios, London on 21st-29th January 1974. 

Gatefold cover, includes a 4 page 12x12 color booklet with visuals and lyrics by Rick. 

Track times: 
A: 21:12 
B: 18:59
AllMusic Review by Mike DeGagne      Journey to the Centre of the Earth is one of progressive rock's crowning achievements. With the help of the London Symphony Orchestra and the English Chamber Choir, Rick Wakeman turns this classic Jules Verne tale into an exciting and suspenseful instrumental narrative. The story is told by David Hemmings in between the use of Wakeman's keyboards, especially the powerful Hammond organ and the innovative Moog synthesizer, and when coupled with the prestigious sound of the orchestra, creates the album's fairy tale-like climate. Recorded at London's Royal Festival Hall, the tale of a group of explorers who wander into the fantastic living world that exists in the Earth's core is told musically through Wakeman's synthesized theatrics and enriched by the haunting vocals of a chamber choir. Broken into four parts, the album's most riveting segment, entitled "The Battle," involves Wakeman's most furious synthesized attack, churning and swirling the keyboards into a mass instrumental hysteria. With both "The Journey" and "The Forest," it's the effective use of the strings and percussion section of the London Symphony Orchestra that causes the elements of fantasy and myth to emerge from the album's depths. The gorgeous voice of Ashley Holt is effectively prominent, and some interesting guitar work via Mike Egan arises occasionally but meritoriously amidst the keyboard fervor. The whole of Journey to the Centre of the Earth still stands as one of the most interesting conglomerations of orchestral and synthesized music, and it is truly one of Wakeman's most flamboyant projects.