Reviewed by: Davide Guidone, June 2003
I've always thought of Rick Wakeman as the greatest keyboard player in prog history. And the most prolific one as well, that’s for sure. [I'll say, just look at his "solo" discog -ed]. The only thing is that he can't consistently release good records each time.
However, in this case, we can listen to one of his best discs ever; in my opinion. Only Six Wives And King Arthur do I rate higher. Fortunately, this time we can say that the latest Wakeman release isn’t a solo record, but a team work. Even if the tracks are written by Wakeman himself, every member of NERE has his space to show his own qualities. Moreover it’s necessary to add that every player in the band is a great player. It was an enormous surprise to discover the huge abilities by Art Glynne on the guitar, who performs as many electric solos as Rick does.
This release is a perfect progressive rock work, with long songs, plus the thirteen minute suite "Out There," which demonstrates how Rick can still write complicated, and at the same time wonderful, prog music without playing that New Age that I don’t like. I have to admit that the pieces aren’t immediately catchy, but afterwards they involve you a lot.
One of the highlights of the disc is the powerful, as always, voice of Damian Wilson, who is, according to me, the best singer in the progressive world at this moment. It is shown by the third song "To Be With You." On it Damian gives an example of his versatility.
Out There speaks about the human will to explore unknown worlds, always finding out something new in the space. This disc in fact is dedicated to the people who died on Columbia’s last mission, STS - 107. You can see every consideration about this fact in the CD booklet.
[See also Bobo's and Marcel's review -ed.]
More about Out There:
Track Listing: Out There (13:09) / The Mission (6:22) / To Be With You (6:22) / Universe Of Sound (7:45) / Music Of Love (6:44) / Cathedral Of The Sky (10:20)
Musicians:
Rick Wakeman - keyboards
Tony Fernandez - electronic and acoustic drums and percussion
Ant Glynne - electric guitars
Damian Wilson - vocals
Lee Pomeroy - bass
Fraser Thorneycroft-Smith - add'l guitar solo (2) and acoustic guitar (1)
The English Chamber Choir
Contact:
Website: www.rwcc.com
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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)
- Journey To The Center Of The Earth Live In 1975 (2001/2002) (DVD)
- Rick Wakeman The Legend Live In Concert 2000 (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) (2004)
- Made In Cuba (DVD) (2005)
