Search - Rick Wakeman :: Rock N Roll Prophet

Powerful-- and Quirky

Henry R. Kujawa | "The Forbidden Zone" (Camden, NJ) | 06/01/2000

(4 out of 5 stars)

"After an amazing run of albums on A&M Records, this was the first of Wakeman's efforts to come out on a smaller label. Recorded in 1979 (but released 3 years later!) ROCK N' ROLL PROPHET features some of the earliest use of "chip" technology and some of the only singing Rick did himself. A mix of instrumentals and vocal tracks, some hold up well after all this time while others leave you wondering. Of note: "I'm So Straight I'm A Weirdo", originally a single; "The Dragon", an eerie march; "Maybe '80", a humorous look at the then-near-future, my favorite of the original tracks; "Early Warning", a bright, bouncy instro; "Do You Believe In Fairies?", perhaps THE silliest thing Wakeman ever recorded (is that The Chipmunks I hear?); and the title track, a moody, complex piece with Middle-Eastern overtones. Not his best, but far from his worst effort. The 1993 CD reissue contains 4 brand-new instro tracks which sound like they'd have fit well on 2,000 A.D. INTO THE FUTURE or WAKEMAN WITH WAKEMAN; "March Of the Child Soldiers" is very similar in tempo to "Robot Dance", while the high-speed powerhouse "Return Of The Prophet" that now opens the disc is sure to blow the mind of any listener (how DOES he PLAY that fast? ). Thanks to CD Players, this disc can be played as is, or programmed to play just the original LP-- or even just the 4 new tracks, like an "EP"!"

One-of-a-kind solo album

John Sposato | Syracuse, NY, USA | 12/30/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Of the dozens of solo releases Rick Wakeman has released in the past three decades, this one stands out for the main reason that he does his own vocals (he doesn't even do backing vocals in Yes or solo otherwise), which aren't half-bad, since the sole three tracks with such just wouldn't work with Ashley Solt or even Jon Anderson. One criterion Wakeman had with this was to copy The Buggles, who were the hot new act at the time of recording (before christening MTV's maiden voyage), only to have them replace him and Anderson in Yes for a while. Originally released in 1982 in the UK on Moon Records LUNA LP 1. Released in the U.S. in 1994 by Griffin Music. I had the original LP at first, but the bonus tracks are instrumentals recorded in the early '90s."