But first, some stuff left over from June:
Wakeman's Return Reviewed
From Daniel R. Smith [smithdar@flyernet.udayton.edu] - June 7
I have written a review of Rick Wakeman's Return to the Centre of the Earth. It is available online at http://www.dailyvault.com.
I would be interested to hear your comments on style and content.
Wakeman on charity disc?
From:[ dschippe@ford.com] David Schipper - July 1
I just got a notice from one of the other lists that I'm on about a new double cd released out of England. It's a charity release to raise money for the Down's Syndrome Association and a Down's Syndrome school in Derbyshire, England. The disc is called The Sky Goes All The Way Home. It has some unreleased tracks by Robert Fripp, John Wetton, Anthony Phillips, Gordon Giltrap, Roy Harper, Kevin Coyne and others. It also says it has prereleased tracks by Rick and Peter Hammill. Maybe it was pre-existing tracks. Anyway, the disc is available from Midas Music Limited, Dovedale House, Derby, DE1 1PL, UK. Tel: 0044 (0) 1332 349429. Fax: 0044 (0) 1332 342269. E-mail: mail@midas.u-net.com. Does anyone over on the England side know something about this? Is Rick's contribution worth having?
Rick's New Releases
From: Ray Riethmeier [Ray.Riethmeier@westgroup.com] - July 6
I tried to send this message on Friday, but it doesn't seem to have made it to the list... or else, I have been cut off and haven't received anything back. At any rate, here it is again:
A bunch of questions. I'd appreciate any insight my fellow fans can provide!
(1) I read that Verglas has re-released Oliver Wakeman's HEAVEN'S ISLE with extra tracks. Does anybody know more about that? How much was added? Are these added tracks included in any of the Verglas sampler CDs?
(2) I recently saw an auction on eBay for Rick's "Birdman of Alcatraz" single 45, which proclaimed this was the theme from some movie or show, the name of which now escapes me. Can anyone enlighten me on this bit of trivia?
(3) At Henry Pott's wonderful Yes FAQ, http://www.bondegezou.demon.co.uk/wnyesm.htm#wakeman, he makes reference to a new 2CD charity compilation, THE SKY GOES ALL THE WAY HOME, featuring a Rick Wakeman track. Does anyone have any information about that?
(4) The Yes FAQ also suggests that there may be an Italian single taken from the new Wakeman/Fasciano album. Anyone have news about that? Would any Italian readers pick up a copy for me? \=^)
(5) I saw at eBay a 1973 album called MORNING SKY, featuring Rick. Anyone have more information about it?
(6) Not a question, but something I'd bring to the group's attention: in the latest issue of Progression Magazine (#31), there is an ad on page 122 that includes this banner:
"FREE! FROM CD AUTHORITY, PORTLAND, MAINE: Receive a collector's double-vinyl copy of Rick Wakeman's Return To The Centre Of The Earth with purchase of the CD, while supplies last. To order, call (207) 799-9833."
I called them up today (Friday), and they were able to fill my order for the CD and vinyl, for $20 and change (including postage). I have never dealt with them before, so caveat emptor, but I thought I'd alert folks. I'll be keeping the vinyl for myself and giving the CD away to a friend (since I already have a copy). Everyone wins!
New Wakeman CD: "The Masters"
From Paul Collins [PAULCLLINS@aol.com] - July 10
I just noticed a new Wakeman release in the store yesterday -- "The Masters", put out by Purple Pyramid. Has anyone heard this yet? Is it new or repackaged material? Is it worth getting?
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From: Jeff Marx [karnevilj@home.com]
I picked this up the other day...it is a collection of previously released material. The remastering sounds very good on material from Light Up the Sky (Light Up the Sky, The Bear), Return of the Prophet Plus, Live at Hammersmith, Themes, Silent Nights, Tapestries, No Expense Spared, The Heritage Suite, Vignettes, Zodiac, and others from recent years. But if you've got all the albums, you can probably get away with leaving it in the bin.
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From: "J Jacintho Sanchez" [jacintho@netmogi.com.br]
Well, RWCC discography page present this one in full details at http://www.rwcc.com/rwcc/code/disc/themas.htm
"Return to the Centre of the Earth" Commercial
From: James Warren [jamesjwarren@yahoo.com] - July 9
I was watching the SCI-FI (sp?) television channel earlier this week, around noon. They were showing a Twilight Zone marathon. Anyway, one commercial was shown that was solely for Rick's RETURN album! :-) It was a pretty good commercial imho. It featured a picture of Rick in the underground caves where he did the press photos in London. It also had some of Patrick Stewart's narration playing in the background. It mentioned special guest stars as Bonnie Tyler, Ozzy Osbourne, Trevor Rabin, and others. At the last, it looked to be made into an add for TOWER records. The announcer said RETURN cd is on sale there for $12.99 (US dollars). That's about all I can remember. It was a fairly short commercial. I just figured people would want some details :-) I was excited to see it. I also just got through loaning the cd out to a friend of my wife. This friend is a big Patrick Stewart fan. She was also excited to hear about RETURN and borrow it. I wonder how the Sci-Fi, and Star Trek, communities are taking to RETURN?
Now, I just have to finish the great RETURN web site journey! I've come close, but even with my brand spanking new computer (PIII, 450mhz, 128 megs of RAM, 16meg video card?), I occasionally get errors (Netscape errors?) like "Out of memory, even after purging all purgable cast members."
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Rick Wakeman Information Service 13th July 1999 Vol 03 No 007
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Not a great deal to report from Wakeman land at the moment, but I thought I'd just drop you a quick line to remind you that there have been some new releases recently which are all in the discography and on the new releases page at:
http://www.rwcc.com/rwcc/code/new.htm
Also, I expect that most of you will by now have a copy of Return to the Centre of the Earth, and we at the RWCC sincerely hope you are enjoying it. If you'd like to take part in an online version of the album, you can do so at:
This new site, part of Intel(R)'s WebOutfitter(SM) site has been written for high specification PCs (Pentium III) and although you are all welcome to visit it, please bear this in mind while taking part. You will also require Macromedia's Shockwave 7 player and Apple's QuickTime. As you complete the journey, there's a competition to enter along the way, with some signed "Return" memorabilia as a prize!
Black Knights or Stella Bianca?
From: Vannuccio-MP Records [vzanel@tin.it - July 28
I'd like to join this mailing list because I had the chance to know Rick since he was a member of Strawbs and followed him through his fantastic career.
At last i had the great chance to produce an album: "Stella Bianca alla Corte di Re Ferdinando": that, obvously, made one of my dreams come true.
Actually I'm not here to advertise the record, but just to let everybody know what I think about it.
It was proprosed to me in a very strange way, I can say it was proposed "casually", but after I played the first notes of it I immediately thought that it was a great album!!!! I played "Black Knights" and found that "Stella Bianca" was completely different: "Black Knights" is quite a "new age" album, and even if both Rick & Mario Fasciano made a great work, I didn't like it very much.....my feeling of Rick on keyboards was (and is) quite different from that.
That's why I found "Stella Bianca" so great: Rick is playing as he did with "Strawbs" and as he did on his best solo album in the 70's.
I'd like to know what other Rick's fans may think about it!!!!
Thanks a lot.
Vannuccio Zanella
--- MP Records ---
Tombolo - PD (Italy)
On the possibility of Wakeman's return
From: Jeremy Pierce [jpierce2@twcny.rr.com] - July 28
Here's part of the interview where Rick talks about why he left Yes and any possibility of his ever returning:
http://www.smartlink.net/~yesman/WakeView1.html