Pakistanis angry over detentions in Times Sq. case Monday, May 24, 2010
ISLAMABAD – Relatives of three men detained by Pakistan for alleged links to the suspect in the attempted Times Square bombing say the men are innocent.
They
AFP - Thursday, August 6TAIPEI (AFP) - - Taiwan's Beijing-friendly government on Wednesday denied boycotting an Australian film festival amid a row over the e
BERLIN (Reuters) - Chancellor Angela Merkel suffered a double blow on Thursday as a senior party ally in east German
Minister seeks closure of anti-Berlusconi websites Wednesday, December 16, 2009
ROME (AFP) - – The Italian government moved Tuesday to close down Internet sites encouraging further violence against Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, who
By ELAINE KURTENBACH,AP Business Writer AP - Wednesday, March 18SHANGHAI - Asia's stock market rally seemed to be running out of steam Wednesday, despite an
Edition:
U.S.
Arabic
Argentina
Brazil
Canada
China
France
Germany
India
Italy
Japan
Latin America
Mexico
Russia
Spain
United Kingdom
Home
Business
Business Home
Economy
Technology
Media
Small Business
Legal
Deals
Earnings
Social Pulse
Business Video
The Freeland File
Aerospace & Defense
Investing Simplified
Markets
Markets Home
U.S. Markets
European Markets
Asian Markets
Global Market Data
Indices
M&A
Stocks
Bonds
Currencies
Commodities
Futures
Funds
peHUB
Dividends
World
World Home
U.S.
Brazil
China
Euro Zone
Japan
Mexico
Russia
India Insight
World Video
Reuters Investigates
Decoder
Politics
Politics Home
Election 2012
Campaign Polling
Supreme Court
Politics Video
Tech
Technology Home
MediaFile
Science
Tech Video
Tech Tonic
Social Pulse
Opinion
Opinion Home
Chrystia Freeland
John Lloyd
Felix Salmon
Jack Shafer
David Rohde
Nader Mousavizadeh
Lucy P. Marcus
Nicholas Wapshott
Bethany McLean
Anatole Kaletsky
Edward Hadas
Hugo Dixon
Ian Bremmer
Lawrence Summers
Susan Glasser
The Great Debate
Steven Brill
Reihan Salam
Frederick Kempe
Christopher Papagianis
Mark Leonard
Breakingviews
Equities
Credit
Private Equity
M&A
Macro & Markets
Politics
Breakingviews Video
Money
Money Home
Tax Break
Lipper Awards 2012
Global Investing
MuniLand
Unstructured Finance
Linda Stern
Mark Miller
John Wasik
James Saft
Analyst Research
Alerts
Watchlist
Portfolio
Stock Screener
Fund Screener
Personal Finance Video
Money Clip
Investing 201
Life
Health
Sports
Arts
Faithworld
Business Traveler
Entertainment
Oddly Enough
Lifestyle Video
Pictures
Pictures Home
Reuters Photographers
Full Focus
Video
Reuters TV
Reuters News
Article
Comments (0)
Follow Reuters
Facebook
Twitter
RSS
YouTube
Read
Emails that touched off scandal described CIA director's movements
13 Nov 2012
Anti-austerity strikes sweep Europe
7:46am EST
Britain condemned for "mad house" care of schizophrenia patients
13 Nov 2012
Top Hamas commander killed in Israeli airstrike
10:55am EST
Civilian social ties make Tampa desirable posting for generals
1:01am EST
Discussed
168
Obama plans ”fiscal cliff” statement as showdown looms
114
Republicans say deal can be done on ”fiscal cliff”
89
Obama win shows demographic shifts working against Republicans
Sponsored Links
Wakeman reworks rock epic Journey to Centre of Earth
Tweet
Share this
Email
Print
Related News
Taylor Swift reigns over Billboard 200, Meek Mill debuts high
Wed, Nov 7 2012
Tori Amos puts new spin on old songs for "Gold Dust"
Thu, Oct 25 2012
Taylor Swift paints love "Red" in new album
Thu, Oct 18 2012
Deadmau5 brings mouse power to electronic dance music
Thu, Oct 18 2012
Analysis & Opinion
Healing Kashmir’s wounds
Slayer extends its ‘reign in blood’ to Bangalore
Related Topics
Entertainment »
Fashion »
Music »
Rick Wakeman, keyboarder of the British rock group Yes performs at the Montreux Jazz Festival July 14, 2003.
Credit: Reuters/ARC-Jean-Bernard Sieber
By Mike Collett-White
LONDON |
Wed Nov 14, 2012 8:58am EST
LONDON (Reuters) - The story behind the upcoming re-issue of Rick Wakeman's 1974 concept album "Journey to the Center of the Earth" sounds almost as unlikely as the Jules Verne tale that inspired it.
Progressive rock veteran Wakeman had presumed the original orchestration to his chart-topping disc was lost for good when his record company MAM, where the manuscripts had been stored in boxes, was brought to its knees in the early 1980s.
Although he could have re-orchestrated the work from the original album, recorded live at the Royal Festival Hall in London in 1974, Wakeman knew it would be far from perfect.
And the original score was 55 minutes long whereas the 1974 version had to be cut to closer to 40 due to the constraints of vinyl recordings at the time.
"In about 1983 or 1984 I had an enquiry to do Journey again in America," Wakeman recalled in a telephone interview.
"I thought 'great'. But MAM had gone, and nobody there had any idea what had happened to all the stuff of mine," the former Yes keyboardist told Reuters.
"Up until recently I would get phone calls to do it and I said 'no, I can't', there is no music any more. You just resign yourself to disappointment."
Everything changed about four years ago when a box of papers arrived at his doorstep - a fairly regular occurrence, he explained, for a man who had been married several times and had "stuff in storage all over the place".
Sifting through the contents, Wakeman found a pile of music that was not his own, but "something told me to empty the entire box." At the very bottom was the long-lost conductor's score of Journey, albeit so damp the pages were stuck together.
To this day Wakeman does not know where the box came from, and is amazed it reappeared nearly 30 years after going missing.
ORIGINAL SONGS
Once the music had been downloaded on to a computer, Wakeman set about reintroducing the songs and other sections he removed for the 1974 recording with the help of notes he had kept.
He decided to make a studio recording of the rock opera, and sought to replicate the sound of the original instruments.
For the narrator's voice, he could not go back to David Hemmings, who died in 2003, and so invited actor Peter Egan.
The result is a re-mastered version of Journey, complete with 20 minutes of unheard music, which hits shelves on November 20. It comes in the form of a "fanback" comprising the music, a 132-page magazine and a replica of the program to the 1974 show.
For Wakeman it was a labor of love, but one he hopes will prove profitable.
"We did have record companies come forward," the 63-year-old said. "But I don't want an A&R (artists and repertoire) man coming in and saying it could do with this and that.
"The only way I can get this done as I believe it should be is to finance it and do it myself which we did. It broke the bank, there's no doubt about it."
While the concept of a rock opera based on French author Verne's 1864 sci-fi classic may not instantly appeal to young listeners today, Wakeman believes there is a market for his latest release.
"Music audiences today don't put a date on anything, they either like it or they don't," he said, adding that the "prog-rock" genre for which he is best known has made something of a comeback in recent years.
PROKOFIEV FAN
The prolific musician who has made around 100 albums and sold millions of records started piano lessons when he was seven, and at about that time the seeds of his career were sown.
"Story telling to music is something I have loved since my father took me to see 'Peter and the Wolf' aged eight, and (Sergei) Prokofiev became my hero," he recalled.
By his late teens he was an established session musician and joined the band Yes in 1971 with whom he recorded the hit album "Fragile" and, the following year, "Close to the Edge".
In 1973 he released "The Six Wives of Henry VIII" a solo concept album, and in 1974, which his official online biography calls "probably the most significant year in Rick's career", he made Journey and toured the world with it.
Another concept album, "The Myths and Legends of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table" followed in 1975, and Wakeman returned to Yes for spells throughout the 1990s.
Next week he plays six dates in South America, including the first concert performance of the new, full Journey and a rendition of The Six Wives.
The new "holy grail" following the rediscovery of Journey is to track down the original music to King Arthur, which was also lost. Wakeman is orchestrating the existing recording for a show next June, but would love to find the full score.
"All of us involved hope very much that it (Journey) makes its money back, because it would then allow me to look for the King Arthur music. We are doing a version next June and it would be lovely to say we've done it from the original music."
(Reporting by Mike Collett-White, editing by Paul Casciato)
Entertainment
Fashion
Music
Tweet this
Link this
Share this
Digg this
Email
Reprints
We welcome comments that advance the story through relevant opinion, anecdotes, links and data. If you see a comment that you believe is irrelevant or inappropriate, you can flag it to our editors by using the report abuse links. Views expressed in the comments do not represent those of Reuters. For more information on our comment policy, see http://blogs.reuters.com/fulldisclosure/2010/09/27/toward-a-more-thoughtful-conversation-on-stories/
Comments (0)
Be the first to comment on reuters.com.
Add yours using the box above.
Edition:
U.S.
Arabic
Argentina
Brazil
Canada
China
France
Germany
India
Italy
Japan
Latin America
Mexico
Russia
Spain
United Kingdom
Back to top
Reuters.com
Business
Markets
World
Politics
Technology
Opinion
Money
Pictures
Videos
Site Index
Legal
Bankruptcy Law
California Legal
New York Legal
Securities Law
Support & Contact
Support
Corrections
Connect with Reuters
Twitter
Facebook
LinkedIn
RSS
Podcast
Newsletters
Mobile
About
Privacy Policy
Terms of Use
AdChoices
Copyright
Our Flagship financial information platform incorporating Reuters Insider
An ultra-low latency infrastructure for electronic trading and data distribution
A connected approach to governance, risk and compliance
Our next generation legal research platform
Our global tax workstation
Thomsonreuters.com
About Thomson Reuters
Investor Relations
Careers
Contact Us
Thomson Reuters is the world's largest international multimedia news agency, providing investing news, world news, business news, technology news, headline news, small business news, news alerts, personal finance, stock market, and mutual funds information available on Reuters.com, video, mobile, and interactive television platforms. Thomson Reuters journalists are subject to an Editorial Handbook which requires fair presentation and disclosure of relevant interests.
NYSE and AMEX quotes delayed by at least 20 minutes. Nasdaq delayed by at least 15 minutes. For a complete list of exchanges and delays, please click here.