A
few years ago, I had the chance to review a series of DVDs featuring then-former
Yes keyboard artiste Rick Wakeman. One thing I learned from those discs is that
Wakeman’s music is as much visual as it is audio-oriented. That doesn’t mean that
Wakeman or his band use gimmicks to get people’s attention on stage; rather, the
simple action of his playing the keyboards and interaction with bandmates is as
integral to the music as the songs themselves.
So listening
to Out Of The Blue, a disc recorded live in Buenos Aires in 2001, I couldn’t
help but think that something was missing in these otherwise exceptional performances.
That something is the ability to see Wakeman and the English Rock Ensemble actually
perform this music. (There is a DVD of a different show, Live In Buenos Aires,
from this same tour.)
What is interesting about this collection of
songs is how Wakeman is able to make subtle changes to arrangements and make some
songs as much as 30 years old sound fresh. Take the medley from “Journey
To The Centre Of The Earth,” and listen closely to how different the opening
arrangement sounds, but how it doesn’t seem incorrect in regards to the piece’s
history. Likewise, both “Jane Seymour” and “Catherine Parr”
(from Wakeman’s first solo disc The Six Wives Of Henry VIII) don’t seem
like they’ve aged a bit, and are just as enjoyable today. This is skill in both
songwriting and execution, two areas Wakeman definitely had nailed down.
Even
sub-par source material like “No Earthly Connection / The Prisoner,”
a medley from the disappointing No Earthly Connection, is reworked to almost
challenge the listener to give these tunes another shot. This gamble does work.
While
American fans of Wakeman’s might not be as familiar with selections such as “Buried
Alive” or “The Visit / Return Of The Phantom,” that doesn’t work
against these tracks, giving the listener even more of a reason to start digging
for other releases in Wakeman’s vast discography. Even the dip into Yes territory
is done with reverence — if you weren’t paying attention, you wouldn’t necessarily
know that Steve Howe wasn’t playing guitar on “Wurm.”
The
challenge that Wakeman faces in terms of his solo career is getting attention
from the industry in an age where true music is shoved aside for pre-packaged
pabulum that even a wristwatch could crank out. Out Of The Blue is a reminder
that there are indeed still artists out there performing real music, modern tastes
be damned. In fact, if people who listen to pop music gave this disc a fair shake,
chances are Wakeman (as well as countless other artists) would be back in the
mainstream in a heartbeat.
