Personnel: Rick Wakeman (synthesizer); David Measham (conductor); Garry Pickford-Hopkins, Ashley Holt (vocals); David Hemmings (spoken vocals); Mike Egan (guitar); Roger Newell (bass); Barney James (drums); The London Symphony Orchestra, The English Chamber Choir.
Recorded at the Royal Festival Hall, London, England in 1974.
Personnel: Rick Wakeman (synthesizer); David Measham (conductor); Garry Pickford-Hopkins, Ashley Holt (vocals); David Hemmings (spoken vocals); Mike Egan (guitar); Roger Newell (bass); Barney James (drums); The London Symphony Orchestra, The English Chamber Choir.
Recorded at the Royal Festival Hall, London, England on January 18, 1974.
Personnel: Rick Wakeman (keyboards); David Hemmings, Gary Pickford Hopkins, Bill Oddie, English Chamber Choir, Ars Laeta Choir, Ashley Holt (vocals); Roger Newell, Mike Egan (guitar); Barney James (drums).
Recording information: Royal Festival Hall, London, England (01/18/1974).
Photographers: Nigel Messett; Paul Wakefield; Peter Waldman; Chris Foster.
Unknown Contributor Roles: Jon Cleary; London Symphony Orchestra.
Arranger: Wil Malone .
Journey to the Centre of the Earth is one of progressive rock's crowning achievements. With the help of the London Symphony Orchestra and the English Chamber Choir, Rick Wakeman turns this classic Jules Verne tale into an exciting and suspenseful instrumental narrative. The story is told by David Hemmings in between the use of Wakeman's keyboards, especially the powerful Hammond organ and the innovative Moog synthesizer, and when coupled with the prestigious sound of the orchestra, creates the album's fairy tale-like climate. Recorded at London's Royal Festival Hall, the tale of a group of explorers who wander into the fantastic living world that exists in the Earth's core is told musically through Wakeman's synthesized theatrics and enriched by the haunting vocals of a chamber choir. Broken into four parts, the album's most riveting segment, entitled "The Battle," involves Wakeman's most furious synthesized attack, churning and swirling the keyboards into a mass instrumental hysteria. With both "The Journey" and "The Forest," it's the effective use of the strings and percussion section of the London Symphony Orchestra that causes the elements of fantasy and myth to emerge from the album's depths. The gorgeous voice of Ashley Holt is effectively prominent, and some interesting guitar work via Mike Egan arises occasionally but meritoriously amidst the keyboard fervor. The whole of Journey to the Centre of the Earth still stands as one of the most interesting conglomerations of orchestral and synthesized music, and it is truly one of Wakeman's most flamboyant projects. ~ Mike DeGagne
