Wakeman, Rick - Made In Cuba

Year of Release: 2005
Label: Classic Pictures
Catalog Number: DVD8056X
Format: DVD
Total Time: 135:00:00

Prior to looking at the actual concert I would advise you to watch the special feature "The Road To Cuba" first. This feature contains a lot of explanation as to why Rick Wakeman went to perform in Cuba in the first place. With a Cuban flag in the back, Rick tells us about the hospital for children with cancer. It's mainly for them that he has done the concerts in Cuba as he wants to give them a little sparkle in their way too short lives. Rick is interested in Cuban music and its institutions. At one point Rick even meets Fidel Castro (no footage of his encounter on this DVD though) who is to give a speech the next day at the Karl Marx Theatre in Havana. As Rick is in the same venue with his band, he thinks that Wakeman and the ERE will probably have to move to another venue. Then Fidel hears about Rick already taking up the venue and orders his people to search for another venue regarding his speech! Furthermore in this extra feature Rick tells us about his current line-up. All in all an interesting half hour!

But then the concert. With most of the material pulled from his first three albums, the band works ever so well together. There's so much energy and power on stage. Ashley Holt, however, looks like the odd one out as he reminds me of a tourist coming home from his holidays in Hawai'i (just look at that shirt!). The band's version of "Journey To The Centre Of The Earth" is shorter, more to the point, including superb bass- and guitar solos towards the end. Rick performs totally on his own a great version of "Jane Seymour," which goes down a storm and is a big favourite if you're into church organs. The young drummer who was added to this line-up, when right at the very start of the tour Tony Fernandez told Rick he couldn't make it, gets a fab solo spot here. Ashley Soan's drum solo even has a title, that being "Shed Building." During "Merlin The Magician" Rick straps on his keytar and takes a walk amongst the public. He finally grabs a girl by the arm and places her in front of the stage her arms stretched before her. Rick places his keytar on the girl's arms as if she's an alternative keyboard stand whilst playing his superfast moves. The picture is complete when Ashley puts a magician's hat on Rick's head. "Merlin The Magician" indeed! For the band's well deserved encore they delve into Yes' impressive catalogue and perform a rousing version of "Starship Trooper/Wurm." The most difficult part here is to accept Ashley's low and rough vocals as opposed to the high polished vocals from Jon Anderson. Once again Lee Pomeroy and Dave Colquhoun get their moment of glory playing their respective instruments to the limit.

This DVD surely is one of the best I've seen of a Rick Wakeman concert. The footage is filmed in a very professional way whilst the band really shows they are having fun all the time. It's exactly that feeling which translates itself onto your screen at home as if you were in Cuba yourself. I remember having seen a DVD by Manic Street Preachers when they also performed in Cuba. As an extra, the DVD contained a long documentary on Cuba. To be honest the half hour feature with Rick could well have been longer for me as there was surely plenty to talk about and also to see whilst in Cuba. It is however wonderful promotion both for Rick and his stunning young English Rock Ensemble and for Cuba and its people.

Tracklisting:
Journey To The Centre Of The Earth / The Recollection - The Spaceman / Catherine Parr / The Visit - The Return Of The Phantom / Jane Seymour / Shed Building / King Arthur / Cathedral Of The Sky / Merlin The Magician / Starship Trooper - Wurm

Special features: "The Road To Cuba": a documentary capturing the behind the scenes action on Rick's visit to Cuba / Photo gallery (around 180 different pics!)

Musicians:
Rick Wakeman - keyboards
Ashley Holt - vocals
Lee Pomeroy - bass
Dave Colquhoun - guitar
Ashley Soan - drums
Erik Jordan - additional keyboards

Discography:
Piano Vibrations (1971)
The Six Wives Of Henry VIII (1973)
Journey To The Centre Of The Earth (1974)
Lisztomania (1975)
The Myths & Legends Of King Arthur & The Knights Of The Round Table (1975)
No Earthly Connection (1976)
Rick Wakeman's Criminal Record (1977)
White Rock (1977)
Animal Showdown (1979)
Rhapsodies (1979)
I'm So Straight I'm A Weirdo (1980)
1984 (1981)
The Burning (OST) (1981)
Rock N Roll Prophet (1982)
Cost Of Living (1983)
G'ole! (1983)
Crimes Of Passion (OST) (1984)
Live At Hammersmith (1985)
Lytton's Diary (1985)
Silent Nights (1985)
Country Airs (1986)
The Family Album (1987)
The Gospels (1987)
20th Anniversary Limited Edition (1988)
A Suite Of Gods (1988)
Custer's Last Stand/Ocean City (1988)
Time Machine (1988)
Zodiaque (1988)
Black Knights At The Court Of Ferdinand IV (1989)
Sea Airs (1989)
Phantom Power (1990)
In The Beginning (1990)
Night Airs (1990)
Phantom Power (1990)
2000AD Into The Future (1991)
African Bach (1991)
Aspirant Sunrise (1991)
Aspirant Sunset (1991)
Aspirant Sunshadows (1991)
Rock N Roll Prophet Plus (1991)
Softsword (1991)
The Classical Connection (1991)
Best Works Collection (1992)
Country Airs (1992)
Classic Tracks (1993)
No Expense Spared (1993)
Prayers (1993)
The Classical Connection 2 (1993)
The Heritage Suite (1993)
Unleashing The Tethered One - The 1974 North American Tour (1993)
Wakeman With Wakeman (1993)
Light Up The Sky (1994)
Live On The Test (1994)
Lure Of The Wild (1994)
Rick Wakeman's Greatest Hits (1994)
The Stage Collection (1994)
Wakeman With Wakeman - The Official Bootleg (1994)
Wakeman With Wakeman Live (1994)
Almost Live In Europe (1995)
Cirque Surreal (1995)
Rick Wakeman In Concert (1995)
Rock & Pop Legends (1995)
Romance Of The Victorian Age (1995)
The Piano Album (1995)
The Private Collection (1995)
The Seven Wonders Of The World (1995)
Visions (1995)
Can You Hear Me? (1996)
Fields Of Green (1996)
Orisons (1996)
Tapestries (1996)
The New Gospels (1996)
The Word And Music (1996)
Vignettes (1996)
Voyage (1996)
Welcome A Star (1996)
Fields Of Green '97 (1997)
Simply Acoustic - The Music (1997)
Tribute (1997)
Master Series (1998)
Themes (1998)
Official Live Bootleg (1999)
Return To The Centre Of The Earth (1999)
Stella Bianca Alla Corte De Re Ferdinando (1999)
The Masters (1999)
The Natural World Trilogy (1999)
White Rock II (1999)
Christmas Variations (2000)
Chronicles Of Man (2000)
Morning Has Broken (2000)
Preludes To A Century (2000)
Recollections - The Very Best Of Rick Wakeman (2000)
Rick Wakeman The Legend Live In Concert 2000 (2000)
The Caped Collection (2000)
Classical Variations (2001/2002)
Simply Acoustic (2001)
Out Of The Blue (2001)
Two Sides Of Yes (2001/2002)
Treasure Chest Volume 1 - The Real Lizstomania (2002)
Treasure Chest Volume 2 - The Oscar Concert (2002)
Treasure Chest Volume 3 - The Missing Half (2002)
Treasure Chest Volume 4 - Almost Classical (2002)
Treasure Chest Volume 5 - The Mixture (2002)
Treasure Chest Volume 6 - Medium Rare (2002)
Treasure Chest Volume 7 - Journey To The Centre Of The Earth (2002)
Treasure Chest Volume 8 - Stories (2002)
Two Sides Of Yes - Volume II (2002)
Wakeman & Cousins -Hummingbird (2002)
Out There (2003)
Retro (2006)
Retro 2 (2007)
The Six Wives Of Henry VIII Live At Hampton Court Palace (2009)
Always With You (2010)
Past, Present, and Future (2010)
Anderson/Wakeman - The Living Tree (2010)
In The Nick Of Time-Live In 2003 (2012)
Journey To The Centre Of The Earth 2012 (2012)
The Myths & Legends Of King Arthur & The Knigts Of The Round Table 2016 (2016)
Piano Portraits (2017)
The Phantom Of The Opera (2017)

Piano Odyssey (2018)
Christmas Portraits (2019)
Official Bootleg Series - Boston USA 1974 (2019) Official Bootleg Series - Osaka Japan 1975 (2019) Official Bootleg Series - Sheffield UK 1981 (2019) Official Bootleg Series - Vienna Austria 1976 (2019) Official Bootleg Series - Preston UK 1981 (2019) Official Bootleg Series - Tokyo Japan 2008 (2019) Official Bootleg Series - Cropredy UK 2010 (2019) Official Bootleg Series - Osaka Japan 2014 (2019) Official Bootleg Series - Tokyo Japan 2014 (2019) Official Bootleg Series - Daphne Du Maurier Festival UK 2001 (2019)

The Classical Connection (VHS) (1991)
The Very Best Of The Rick Wakeman Chronicles (VHS) (1994)
Simply Acoustic (VHS) (1996)
The New Gospels (VHS) (1996)
The Piano Tour Live (VHS) (1997)
Rick Wakeman Live (VHS) (1998)
An Evening WIth Rick Wakeman (VHS) (2000)
Rick Wakeman Live In Concert 2000 (DVD) (2000/2002)
Journey To The Center Of The Earth Live In 1975 (DVD) (2001/2002)
Rick Wakeman & The English Rock Ensemble - Live In Buenos Aires (DVD) (2001/2002)
Rick Wakeman & The English Rock Ensemble - Out There (DVD) (2004)
Journey To The Centre Of The Earth Live In 1975 - 30th Anniversary Edition (DVD) (2005)
Made In Cuba (DVD) (2005)
Amazing Grace (DVD) (2007)
The Other Side Of Rick Wakeman (DVD) (2007)
Video Vault Volume 1 - 1975 Live At Empire Pool, King Arthur On Ice (DVD) (2007)
Video Vault Volume 2 - Live At The Maltings 1976 (DVD) (2007)
Video Vault Volume 3 - Live 1980 Swedish Television Special (DVD) (2007)
Video Vault Volume 4 - 1984 Live At The Hammersmith Odeon 1981 (DVD) (2007)
Video Vault Volume 5 - Night Music (DVD) (2007)
Video Vault Volume 6 - Rarities Plus Interview (DVD) (2007)
The Six Wives Of Henry VIII Live At Hampton Court Palace (DVD/BR) (2009)
Classical Wakeman Volume 1 - Live In Lugano (DVD) (2010)
Starmus (DVD) (2017)
Live Portriats At Lincoln Cathedral (DVD) (2018)

Genre: Symphonic Prog

Origin UK

Added: November 13th 2005
Reviewer: John "Bobo" Bollenberg

Artist website: www.rwcc.com
Hits: 2294
Language: english