Avid Rick Wakeman and Yes fans and true collectors of everything "Ricky" have had a severe problem over the years. Trying to get hold of our "caped crusader"'s entire catalogue on glorious CD is an impossible thing due to contractual problems. No Earthly Connection, Golé, 1984, and White Rock are some of the titles that so far have never been issued on CD legally. Rhapsodies, Criminal Record and Lisztomania were released for a very short time in Japan, yet it has been for years that Rick has been trying to get hold of his very own catalogue, in vain. Says Rick: "Universal doesn't even answer my phone calls nor do they reply to my letters or faxes. To be honest, I no longer care, as I wouldn't earn a penny anyway!"

Recently, some smart asses in Russia have released a fair number of Wakeman counterfeits, all including "two albums on one CD." Regularly these titles pop up on eBay, but they can't be "state of the art remasters," as all of the music is probably taken from vinyl albums. On the disc itself they have printed the logo of the record company, yet in most cases these discs combine albums that were initially released by two different labels. Take the combination of Six Wives Of Henry VIII and Silent Nights, an A&M release and a President release. Another release combined No Earthly Connection and Cost Of Living, an A&M release and Charisma release. That very same label combination is apparent with Lisztomania and 1984. Rick has seen some of these titles though. "I have seen some of them and they don't look that bad. Of course, I haven't heard all of them, so I wouldn't know whether they are indeed taken from a vinyl album or another source, but I did hear No Earthly Connection and [I] have to say it sounds very good. They must have spent some money on that title in order to get it that good! For the fans maybe these illegal releases are a solution, as it doesn't look like those titles will ever be released in a legitimate form anyway."

When asked what he thought of the new Yes album Magnification, Rick said: "to be frank with you, I no longer care. I'll probably hear the odd track on the radio when I happen to listen to that station at that particular time, but seriously I'm not that bothered anymore."

[2015 - not to negate Bobo's article, but just a note that, at least in the US, Real Gone Records has recently reissued Rhapsodies. My assumption, as I've not seen anything to the contrary, this is a legitimate reissue - ed.]

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Published on: 2001-09-24 (2484 reads)