Rick Wakeman discography [1973-2020]

 

Richard Christopher Wakeman (born 18 May 1949) is an English keyboard player, composer and songwriter best known for being the former keyboardist in the progressive rock band Yes. He is also known for his solo albums, contributing to the BBC comedy series Grumpy Old Men and for Rick's Place, his former radio show on Planet Rock that aired until December 2010.

Wakeman was born in West London. He purchased his first electronic keyboard at 12 years of age. In 1968, he studied the piano, clarinet, orchestration and modern music at the Royal College of Music before leaving after a year in favour of session music work. He went on to feature on songs by artists including Ozzy Osbourne, David Bowie, T. Rex, Elton John and Cat Stevens. Wakeman joined the folk group Strawbs in 1969 and played on three of their albums. He first joined Yes in 1971 to replace Tony Kaye, and left the group in 1974 to work on his solo career. He returned in 1976 before leaving with lead vocalist Jon Anderson in 1980. Wakeman was part of the side project Anderson Bruford Wakeman Howe, a group of ex-Yes members formed in 1989, and the eight-member Yes line-up that followed until his third departure in 1992. He returned for two years in 1995 and once more in 2002, where he was part of the band's 35th anniversary tour until its end in 2004.

Wakeman began his solo career during his first run with Yes. His perhaps most known records being his first three, The Six Wives of Henry VIII (1973), Journey to the Centre of the Earth (1974) and The Myths and Legends of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table (1975). He has produced over 100 solo albums that have sold more than 50 million copies. In November 2010, Wakeman was awarded the Spirit of Prog award at the annual Marshall Classic Rock Roll of Honour Awards.

Jesus Christ Superstar (1970)- 50th Anniversary Deluxe Edition (3 CD,2021/FLAC)

 Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber‘s 1970 concept album Jesus Christ Superstar is being reissued for its 50th anniversary.

The record was a effectively a stepping stone to the full musical theatre production since Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber (unknowns at the time), were initially unable to find a producer to back their idea. MCA Records were willing to put out the album which used a full orchestra and included the talents of Deep Purple’s Ian Gillan, Murray Head, and Yvonne Elliman. 

Lloyd Webber remembers the challenges well: “A musical about Jesus Christ! Back in 1969 the mere thought had theatre producers falling about with laughter. But somehow Tim Rice and I persuaded MCA to record a single. It came at a time when fusion was all the rage. The Rolling Stones had recorded with the London Bach Choir. Deep Purple’s Jon Lord composed a symphony for rock band and orchestra. So I was like a kid in a sweet shop when I was able to combine a rock band, a symphony orchestra and a gospel choir in what was the first track to be recorded, simply titled ‘Superstar’.“

The enormous success of the album at the time (it topped the American charts) led to Broadway and West End stage productions in 1971 and 1972 respectively.

The album is being reissued as a 3CD deluxe package in a 10-inch box. This offers the original album remastered (by Miles Showell and Nick Davis at Abbey Road) and a bonus CD of previously unreleased guide vocals and demos from the project, plus B-sides and rarities.

 

 

Pink Floyd - La Carrera Panamericana (DVD 5 + OST/FLAC)

 La Carrera Panamericana is a 1992 video of the Carrera Panamericana automobile race in Mexico. The film was directed by Ian McArthur, and included a soundtrack entirely of music by the band Pink Floyd, as the band's guitarist David Gilmour, drummer Nick Mason and manager Steve O'Rourke competed in the race in 1991. The film had been broadcast on BBC2 on 24 December 1991.

During the course of the race, Gilmour crashed, and while he was unharmed, Steve O'Rourke (his map-reader and Pink Floyd's manager) suffered a broken leg. Mason finished eighth overall with his co-driver, English auto racer Valentine Lindsay. 

The music is a combination of previously released Pink Floyd material (re-edited into a soundtrack) and material composed for the video. The tracks composed for the video are the first studio recordings made after Richard Wright re-joined the band in 1990. The new studio recordings were produced by Gilmour and engineered by Andy Jackson. The songs "Pan Am Shuffle" and "Carrera Slow Blues" are notable as the first tracks co-written by Wright since 1975's Wish You Were Here, as well as the first co-written by Mason since 1973's The Dark Side of the Moon.

A soundtrack album was not released, but the tracks are available on the A Tree Full of Secrets bootleg recording.

All tracks written by David Gilmour, except where noted.

Previously recorded

•     "Signs of Life" (Gilmour/Ezrin) – 4:24
•     "Yet Another Movie" (Gilmour/Leonard) – 6:13
•     "Sorrow" – 8:46
•     "One Slip" (Gilmour/Manzanera) – 5:08
•     "Run Like Hell (live)" (Gilmour/Waters) – 0:49

Original material

New material was recorded at Olympic Studios in November 1991.

•     "Country Theme" – 2:01
•     "Small Theme" – 7:23
•     "Big Theme" – 4:10
•     "Carrera Slow Blues" (Gilmour/Wright/Mason) – 2:20
•     "Mexico '78" – 4:05
•     "Pan Am Shuffle" (Gilmour/Wright/Mason) – 8:09

Rory Gallagher - Kickback City [3 CD, 2013/FLAC]

 

Kickback City is a compilation of crime noir inspired music from Rory Gallagher that is a perfect marriage of content and presentation.

Three CDs come packaged in a glossy bookset, featuring The Lie Factory, an exclusive new ‘novella’ by Ian Rankin. The story comes stunningly illustrated in full graphic novel style by Timothy Truman. The first disc here features a selection of 14 studio recordings from the late rock-blues guitarist (see track listing below), with a second CD offering a selection of live performances. The third disc has actor Aidan Quinn narrating Ian Rankin’s story. The set also includes four glossy Lie Factory postcards.

The presentation is truly fantastic, and the whole crime novel concept works beautifully. In an age of cost-cutting and budget reissues, you have to admire conviction with which this set has been produced. It’s sure to attract a new audience to the talents of the Irish musician, and we it is a commercial success, in the hope that it encourages record labels to match these high standards with their reissues.

 

John Zorn - Filmwork series 1 - 25 [1992-2013]

 

John Zorn has written music for documentaries, underground films, television advertisements and cartoons which are released in his Filmworks series on the Tzadik label. Some of these film scores are jazz-influenced, others classical, and most feature ensembles consisting of rotating combinations of downtown musicians. Zorn has often used his cinematic and television commissions to experiment with line-ups and forms that would become more established parts of his musical canon. Zorn only agrees to composing for film on the condition he retains all rights to any music produced and ensures that all musicians participating in his soundtrack work are appropriately remunerated.

    Filmworks 1986–1990 (1991)

    Filmworks II: Music for an Untitled Film by Walter Hill (1995)

    Filmworks III: 1990–1995 (1995)

    Filmworks IV: S/M + More (1996)

    Filmworks V: Tears of Ecstasy (1996)

    Filmworks VI: 1996 (1997)

    Filmworks VII: Cynical Hysterie Hour (1997, originally in 1989 as "Cynical Hysterie Tour)

    Filmworks VIII: 1997 (1998)

    Filmworks IX: Trembling Before G-d (2000)

    Filmworks X: In the Mirror of Maya Deren (2001)

    Filmworks XI: Secret Lives (2002)

    Filmworks XII: Three Documentaries (2002)

    Filmworks XIII: Invitation to a Suicide (2002)

    Filmworks XIV: Hiding and Seeking (2003)

    Filmworks XV: Protocols of Zion (2005)

    Filmworks XVI: Workingman's Death (2005)

    Filmworks Anthology (2005) - compilation of tracks from first 15 Filmworks albums 

    Filmworks XVII: Notes on Marie Menken/Ray Bandar: A Life with Skulls (2006)

    Filmworks XVIII: The Treatment (2006)

    Filmworks XIX: The Rain Horse (2008)

    Filmworks XX: Sholem Aleichem (2008)

    Filmworks XXI: Belle de Nature/The New Rijksmuseum (2008)

    Filmworks XXII: The Last Supper (2008)

    Filmworks XXIII: El General (2009)

    Filmworks XXIV: The Nobel Prizewinner (2010)

    Filmworks XXV: City of Slaughter/Schmatta/Beyond the Infinite (2013)

Popol Vuh - The Werner Herzog Soundtracks [5 CD, 2011/FLAC]

  

2011 five CD collection from the German Krautrock band containing their soundtracks to five Werner Herzog films (Aguirre, Heart of Glass, Nosferatu, Fitzcarraldo and Cobra Verde) housed in a high-end limited edition box. In addition, this exclusive box set contains a 96 page-strong booklet designed by International DoubleStandards Berlin including unseen footage and images, conflating the world of both Popol Vuh and Werner Herzog through the soundtracks to some of Herzog's most acclaimed early feature films.

VA - American Roots Music [4 CD, 2001]

 

The successes of the breakthrough soundtrack from the film O Brother Where Art Thou? and the in-depth PBS television series Ken Burns' Jazz seem to have combined in the 2001 production of Palm Pictures' four-part TV series American Roots Music. The series touches on the development of the distinctly American styles of traditional folk, country, blues, gospel, Western swing, bluegrass, cajun, zydeco, Tejano, and Native American music. Corresponding with the television event, Palm has released a four-CD box set soundtrack with a 48-page booklet covering the styles covered during the show. Much like a broadened version of the amazing Washington Square Memoirs: The Great Urban Folk Boom, 1950-1970 CD set, American Roots Music has pulled together an impressive list of performers, including the Carter Family, Jimmie Rodgers, Bill Monroe, B.B. King, Hank Williams, Robert Johnson, Son House, Woody Guthrie, Leadbelly, the Staple Singers, Clifton Chenier, Flaco Jimenez, and Bob Dylan. The depth of the track selection is impressive, as is the breadth of the performers chosen. The producers have chosen to include some studio recordings, and some audio tracks taken from the film archives, making for a somewhat uneven sound quality. While the previously unreleased nature of these select tracks will appeal to collectors and die-hard fans, those just exploring these styles might be turned off by the rough quality of these performances. The discs span more than eight decades of music, acting as a good overview of these genres for new listeners, while Americana enthusiasts will view it as another great collection of the most influential American roots artists in music history.

Ry Cooder- Soundtracks [7 CD, 2014]

Seven-CD Ry Cooder box set , focusing on the guitarist’s soundtrack work from 1980s and early ’90s.

• The Long Riders, 
• Alamo Bay, 
• Paris, Texas, 
• Blue City, 
• Crossroads, 
• Johnny Handsome
• Trespass.

The set contains a number of soundtracks for director Walter Hill (1980′s The Long Riders being one) and a handful produced in a productive two year period with Alamo Bay, Blue City, Crossroads and Paris, Texas all issued in 1985-6.

When Harry Dean Stanton wanders across the bleached southwestern wasteland in the opening to Wim Winders' masterful film Paris, Texas, this laconic and haunting scene is set to the perfect music: Ry Cooder's bottleneck guitar adaptation of a Blind Willie Johnson blues song.

Wenders later said that he had the feeling the film was shot with a camera and a guitar, and that Cooder had created "sacred music".

The Paris, Texas album from 1985 is one of the finest film soundtracks, and is one of seven scores included in a new box set collection Ry Cooder: Soundtracks that also includes The Long Riders’ (1980), Music From Alamo Bay (1985), Blue City (1986), Crossroads (1986), Johnny Handsome (1989) and Trespass (1993).

The pairing with Wenders worked so well. There is a terrific version of Johnson's Dark Was The Night (Cold Was The Ground), and a memorable six-minute instrumental called She's Leaving the Bank, co-written by Cooder with Jim Dickinson. Cooder's incredibly atmospheric music helps make the film special but is also a treat to listen to just as an album of music.

Much of Cooder's best film score work has been done with director Walter Hill, especially on Hill’s re-invention of the Jesse James legend. Cooder said musician and director simply "understood one another", and it shows in the way Cooder provided a historically authentic score – using polkas, square dances, waltzes and other traditional tunes played by a small band that includes the peerless David Lindley on guitars and violin – to move away from the bombastic style that sometimes accompanies westerns. The soundtrack to The Long Riders is brief (36 minutes) but contains one of the most joyful tunes in Cooder's vast and distinguished repertoire: Seneca Square Dance.

Cooder's career has been incredibly varied and has included playing with rock bands such as The Rolling Stones as well as revitalising Thirties folk, adapting Tex Mex and celebrating Cuban music. One of his finest blues albums came when he worked again with Hill on Crossroads, which is a musical tribute to Robert Johnson, and includes a contribution from the great Sonny Terry. There are fine guests, too, on Alamo Bay, including John Hiatt, David Hidalgo and Cesar Rosas.

Of course, some of the individual tracks on the various albums seem incongruous separated from the original film but there is plenty to enjoy on all seven records, whether with gentle instrumental tracks such as Billie and Annie from Blue City, or in the offbeat music of tracks such as Goose and Lucky from Trespass. It is a shame that Southern Comfort and The Border are not included in the choice of album.

Cooder has done 18 soundtracks in all but the 67-year-old said recently that he won't be doing any more film work. "Films make me sick now and if something makes me sick I back off," he said.

This set is a fine reminder of his magnificent legacy of film work.


CD1 The Long Riders:

01 - The Long Riders
02 - I'm a Good Old Rebel
03 - Seneca Square Dance
04 - Archie's Funeral (Hold to God's Unchanging Hand)
05 - I Always Knew That You Were the One
06 - Rally 'Round The Flag
07 - Wildwood Boys
08 - Better Things to Think About
09 - Jesse James
10 - Cole Younger Polka
11 - Escape From Northfield
12 - Leaving Missouri
13 - Jesse James

CD2 Paris, Texas:

01 - Paris, Texas
02 - Brothers
03 - Nothing Out There
04 - Canci¢n Mixteca
05 - No Safety Zone
06 - Houston in Two Seconds
07 - She's Leaving the Bank
08 - On the Couch
09 - I Knew These People
10 - Dark Was the Night

CD3 Alamo Bay:

01 - Theme From Alamo Bay
02 - Gooks On Main Street
03 - Too Close
04 - Klan Meeting
05 - Sailfish Evening
06 - The Last Stand
07 - Quatro vicios
08 - Search & Destroy
09 - Glory

CD4 Crossroads:

01 - Crossroads
02 - Down In Mississippi
03 - Cotton Needs Pickin'
04 - Viola Lee Blues
05 - See You In Hell, Blind Boy
06 - Nitty Gritty Mississippi
07 - He Made A Woman Out Of Me
08 - Feelin' Bad Blues
09 - Somebody's Callin' My Name
10 - Willie Brown Blues
11 - Walkin' Away Blues

CD5 Blue City:

01 - Blue City Down
02 - Elevation 13 ft.
03 - True Believers (Marianne)
04 - Nice Bike
05 - Greenhouse
06 - Billy and Annie
07 - Pops and Timer (Tell Me Something Slick)
08 - Blue City
09 - Dont Take Your Guns to Town
10 - A Leader of Men
11 - Not Even Key West

CD6 Johnny Handsome:

01 - Main Theme
02 - I Can't Walk This Time
03 - Angola
04 - Clip Joint Rhumba
05 - Sad Story
06 - Fountain Walk
07 - Cajun Metal
08 - First Week At Work
09 - Greasy Oysters
10 - Smells Like Money
11 - Sunny's Tune
12 - I Like Your Eyes
13 - Adios Donna
14 - Cruising With Rafe
15 - How's My Face
16 - End Theme

CD7 Trespass:

01 - Video Drive-By
02 - Trespass (Main Title)
03 - East St. Louis
04 - Orgill Bros.
05 - Goose And Lucky
06 - You Think It's On Now
07 - Solid Gold
08 - Heroin
09 - Totally Boxed In
10 - Give 'Em Cops
11 - Lucy In The Trunk
12 - We're Rich
13 - King Of The Street
14 - Party Lights

Randy Newman - Guilty : 30 Years of Randy Newman [4 CD, 1998] [FLAC]

 

Guilty: 30 Years of Randy Newman is a box set released in November 1998 that chronicles the first three decades of singer songwriter Randy Newman's musical career.

This four-disc set fulfills two functions: on its first two discs, it provides the perfect guide for those uninitiated to Newman's world. The third disc of previously unreleased tracks and the fourth, containing selections from Newman's film scores, are aimed at the Newman completist. In both cases it works well. The songs on the first two discs are well chosen, perfectly illuminating the irony-drenched, cynical, but often humorous (however darkly) approach Newman always took to songwriting. On "Political Science" he mocks diplomatic relations, and on the beautiful, downcast "I Think It's Going to Rain Today" he quietly bemoans the state of humanity over a breathtaking melody.

Listeners will be reminded that Newman shone as a melodist, belonging in the first rank of American composers alongside Gershwin and Stephen Foster. The rarities disc (which features both demo versions of familiar songs and tunes never heard on a Newman album in any form) will be the real draw for those who know and love Newman, and will further illuminate his legacy for those coming to this unparalleled artist's work for the first time.

VA- Country Music: A Film By Ken Burns (The Soundtrack) [5 CD, 2019,FLAC]

 

COUNTRY MUSIC, the eight-part, 16-hour film by Ken Burns, chronicles the creation of a truly American genre of music through the songs and stories of its greatest trailblazers. Country Music A Film By Ken Burns (The Soundtrack) includes more than 100 timeless classics as heard in the film, including songs by The Carter Family, Jimmie Rodgers, Bill Monroe, Bob Wills, Hank Williams, Johnny Cash, Loretta Lynn, Charley Pride, Willie Nelson, Dolly Parton and many more.

Andrew Lloyd Webber/Tim Rice - Jesus Christ Superstar [original cast, 1970/2012]

 

Jesus Christ Superstar started life as a most improbable concept album from an equally unlikely label, Decca Records, which had not, until then, been widely known for groundbreaking musical efforts. It was all devised by then 21-year-old composer Andrew Lloyd Webber and 25-year-old lyricist Tim Rice.

Jesus Christ Superstar had been conceived as a stage work, but lacking the funds to get it produced, the two collaborators instead decided to use an album as the vehicle for introducing the piece, a fairly radical rock/theater hybrid about the final days in the life of Jesus as seen from the point of view of Judas.

Serving as their own producers, the two creators got together more than 60 top-flight singers and musicians (including Chris Spedding, John Gustafson, Mike Vickers, P.P. Arnold, and members of Joe Cocker's Grease Band, not to mention Murray Head, Ian Gillan, and Yvonne Elliman in key singing roles), and managed to pull the whole production together into a more than coherent whole that contained a pair of hit singles (the title track and "I Don't Know How to Love Him") to help drive AM radio exposure. What's more, the whole album sounded like the real article as far as its rock music credibility was concerned.

VA - Let Freedom Sing! - Music of the Civil Rights Movement (OST, 3 CD, 2009)

 Let Freedom Sing tells the story of the civil rights movement as never before! It sweeps us to the heart of the movement in the 1960s and explores its continuing impact on music, politics and culture in the decades that followed.

The film chronicles a musical and cultural past of those who cried out in song against inequality, poverty, war, and in support of workers, civil and human rights. From the beginnings of the Civil Rights Era to Watergate — creative pioneers in gospel, blues, R&B and pop brought music, medium and message together as never before, composing a soundtrack perfectly tuned to the tempo and pulse of its time. The film includes narrative of voices ranging from those of former Mississippi Freedom Riders who sang every day as they risked life and limb, to Grammy-winning artists and musicians who continue to pen inspired lyrics and songs capable of moving a nation, if not the world.