One Way Ticket to The Red Planet with Rick Wakeman

It seems strange and also entirely fitting that in 2020 we'd even be thinking about visiting a different planet. On one hand there is the mundane thought of the astronomical cost of the whole venture and the sheer determination and man-power it will take. But on the other hand there is the overwhelming excitement and wonder and incredulity of indescribable discovery of such a notion. I don't know about you, but I'm tired of The Blue Planet with all its politics and pandemics and stream-of-consciousness data-flow. So take my hand, if you will, and let's journey to a different planet together, where we can leave all this behind just for an hour, come with me to Rick Wakeman's 'The Red Planet'.

But wait! One does not simply board the shuttle to The Red Planet without first receiving even a small amount of training. Rick Wakeman has found success in many avenues. Perhaps the biggest of these being the time he spent with progressive rock band Yes in multiple stints between 1971–1974, 1976–1980, 1990–1992, 1995–1997 and 2002–2004. His time with the band especially in the 1970's yielded progressive classic albums 'Fragile', 'Close To The Edge' and 'Tales From Topographic Oceans'. Wakeman would also perform with Yes off-shoot band Anderson Bruford Wakeman Howe in the 1980's and more recently Yes featuring Anderson, Rabin and Wakeman. Yes, including Rick Wakeman, were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2017.

Wakeman's influence isn't simply limited to his progressive work with Yes. He has also played on sessions for many other artists, to list all of them would be somewhat of a mammoth task, but there are several you would've heard of. His most noticeable contributions include 'Space Oddity', 'Changes' and 'Life On Mars?' by David Bowie. Wakeman's piano playing can also be heard on the Cat Stevens track 'Morning Has Broken', T. Rex's 'Get It On', and 'Sabbra Cadabra' by Black Sabbath. Beyond this, Wakeman has played for and with many other artists including Jeff Wayne, Elton John, Brian May, Lou Reed and Al Stewart.

And as well as all of this, Rick Wakeman has also had a much-loved solo career. Releasing albums consistently since the early 1970's, the most successful of these have been 'The Six Wives Of Henry VIII' in 1973, 'Journey To The Centre Of The Earth' in 1974 and 'The Myths And Legends Of King Arthur And The Knights Of The Round Table' in 1975. More recently Wakeman has released a trilogy of piano orientated albums titled 'Piano Portraits' in 2017, 'Piano Odyssey' in 2018 and 'Christmas Portraits' in 2019.

In terms of my own Rick Wakeman journey, I first saw him perform with Yes featuring ARW at the Stone Free Festival in 2018, the last time the trio would play a show together in London. This version of Yes features original vocalist Jon Anderson and 1980's and 90's guitarist Trevor Rabin, whose most successful era would be the band's '90125' album featuring the hit single 'Owner Of A Lonely Heart'. Despite Wakeman not being a part of the band at that time, he and Rabin still wowed the audience by striding through the expansive o2 Arena stalls, playing extended solos of the piece.

In 2019, Wakeman would resurrect Journey To The Centre Of The Earth for two performances at London's Royal Festival Hall in celebration of his 70th birthday. I caught the first of these performances which would feature Guy Protheroe conducting The Orion Orchestra and The English Chamber Choir - Protheroe was Chorus-Master on the original 1974 performance. Alfie Boe was a special guest vocalist and actor Robert Powell would narrate the piece. I was floored by the ocean waves of sound from the aforementioned players as well as Wakeman's own band, The English Rock Ensemble who provided the more grounding rhythmic elements.

"Thanks, thanks very much. I'm gonna play a piece that I didn't write, I wish I had have done. It's- one of the things I like doing is taking the music from one composer and doing it in the style of another composer. And so what I've done, I've taken Lennon/McCartney's 'Eleanor Rigby' and I'm gonna do it for you tonight in the style of Sergey Prokofyev. Erm, that's riveted you I can see that. I can do Eleanor Rigby in the style of Sergey Prokofyev for two reasons of course, one of which is Prokofyev is dead, so there's not much he can do about it and the other main reason is of course that McCartney never ever comes to anything I play so I don't give a toss what I do to his music."

The last live performance I saw prior to lockdown v.1.0 occurred in early March. As The Red Planet commenced recording from January, most of the work had been completed by this time. The event was entitled 'Music For The Marsden', a charity event at the o2 Arena in support of The Royal Marsden Cancer Charity. Performers included Sir Tom Jones, Eric Clapton, Van Morrison, Bonnie Tyler, Paul Carrack and Nick Mason. Rick Wakeman's modest appearance included this solo performance of Eleanor Rigby, of which his introduction is transcribed above. What followed as Wakeman stayed at the grand piano was a performance of Morning Has Broken with Yusuf Islam/Cat Stevens, where they believed it was the first time they'd performed it together since the 1970's.

And that about brings us up to date. So kick off your slippers, settle into an armchair of moderate comfort, put on a decent pair of headphones and let's get out of here.

Each album track on The Red Planet is named after a different volcano or region on Mars. The helpful liner notes include genuine photographs of these regions and a small amount of data about them. 'Ascraeus Mons' is a volcano, discovered by the Mariner 9 Orbiter in 1971. According to the liner notes, it was 'named after Ascra, the rustic birthplace of Hesiod, the Ancient Greek poet.' (The Red Planet, p. 16)

The opening of The Red Planet is special, with the striking sound of organ being the first thing the listener hears. Accompanying toms and bass drum come from drummer Ash Soan. The album is partly attributed to The English Rock Ensemble, where guitars by Dave Colquhoun were also a feature of the 2019 Journey To The Centre Of The Earth performances. Though the big difference between this record and that one is that here, the choir and brass sounds heard are sampled, keeping the piece a purely progressive rock album. Colquhoun's lead guitar work is excellent as he solos over the marching of the band, a fine opener for this work.

By contrast, 'Tharsis Tholus' is more mellow, but still with a beat. Also discovered by the Mariner 9 Orbiter, this time in 1972, 'Tholus is the Latin name for a small dome-shaped mountain, usually a volcano.' (The Red Planet, p. 16) Earlier on, Colquhoun's work is acoustic based. I love how the band slip into more progressive moments inside of this more easy listening work. Lee Pomeroy plays consistently on bass, bridging the gap between Colquhoun's acoustic and electric guitars. Pomeroy would play with ARW on their last U.S. tour in 2018. Wakeman sticks largely to organ sounds, one in particular dances around the stereo field like you're scattering a flock of seagulls on a beach by running at them. But it isn't long before more synthesized based parts are heard from Wakeman. Though the liner notes aren't specific on the keyboards he uses, it does allude to Korg, Roland, Hammond and Mini Moog brands, as well as a Mellotron.

'Arsia Mons' begins immediately upbeat with Ash Soan's tom fill bringing in the rest of The English Rock Ensemble. Discovered under the same conditions as the previous tracks, Arsia Mons is 'named after the legendary forest of Arsia Silva, which stood near Ancient Rome.' (The Red Planet, p. 17) The sound is unified, and at its heaviest yet. It's an onslaught, with Soan striking cymbals, Pomeroy and Colquhoun riffing together, and then a long scrape of the strings brings all of that to a stop in a delayed cascade, like a train passing by and disappearing down the track. Soan is active on the ride cymbal and hi-hats while Dave Colquhoun switches to acoustic guitar. Wakeman lays down a pad of keys and synths with a gentle buzz, zooming past like asteroids. In the third section, Rick Wakeman's electrified organ cuts through silence like a knife with some tambourine added by Soan. Another guitar scrape brings the piece down again, with Colquhoun bringing more of a Spanish flair to his acoustic playing.

With Ash Soan bringing in the rest of the band, Lee Pomeroy's playing is noticeable in particular on 'Olympus Mons'. A shield volcano, this name is simply a Latin translation for Mount Olympus. There's some brilliant hi-hat work from Soan early on and Wakeman's work is predominantly organ based. Dave Colquhoun doesn't make a real appearance on the track until Olympus Mons picks up pace and Rick switches to synth, some of his playing indistinguishable from his work with Yes in the 1970's. It's hard to believe in instances like this that the band recorded this album entirely apart. Ash Soan's drums were laid down at The Windmill Studio, Pomeroy's work was done at PML Studios, guitars were recorded at Shabbey Road Studios (no that isn't a typo), while Wakeman's keyboards were done at The Sunflower Studio.

Atmospheric sounds bring in 'The North Plain'. It reminds me of the introduction to 'The Red Weed' from 'Jeff Wayne's Musical Version Of The War Of The Worlds', which of course also centres around Mars. As well as these atmospheric textures, there is also some piano. Prior to the full band coming in, Soan sounds a gong. Then we are in the land of prog once more. Pomeroy's bassline is a head-bobber, with Dave Colquhoun doubling up. There's some cowbell from Ash Soan as Wakeman bends the notes on his keyboard of choice, sounding almost like the strings of a guitar in places. Even through all of this, Wakeman manages to bring a touch of soul to the proceedings in these notes, filling the composition with real emotion. Colquhoun's guitar solo towards the end of the piece is excellent as Wakeman ascends up the keyboard manual. The liner notes place the origin of the name as "AKA 'Vastitas Borealis', Latin for 'Northern Waste'". (The Red Planet, p. 16)

Next our journey takes us to 'Pavonis Mons', "Latin for 'Peacock Mountain'" (The Red Planet, p. 17). This piece is less rock, though is still heavy in a way. I can already feel the soft thud of an entire auditorium tapping their feet in time to this one, following the pattern from start to finish. Colquhoun's guitar reminds me of Andy Summer's work in The Police's 'Roxanne'. There is some welcome piano from Wakeman, sounding all the more real outside of the realm of synths and organs. To be able to switch between the two in a live environment would take more than just one keyboardist. The slowing down at the end of Pavonis Mons as the band bring it to a close is a refreshing end here.

Venturing into cooler climates, 'South Pole' begins with a roll on the snare from Soan, with icy textures from Wakeman and both electric and acoustic guitars from Colquhoun. This piece could translate well to a bigger production with soft chorals and some flute too. The way the keyboards pass over the listener like shooting stars is excellent work from mixing engineers Erik Jordan and Toby Wood. The piece is brought down to something softer with Rick Wakeman back on piano and cymbal swells from Ash Soan. He also plays percussion, sounding as if someone is crunching through the snow. Dave Colquhoun's gentle acoustic picking rounds off the scene nicely. This section is one of the most beautiful moments on The Red Planet, and once the drums come back fuller, Colquhoun switches to slide guitar. For the more technically minded among us, the liner notes list The English Rock Ensemble's gear in a detailed way, from guitars used to amps, microphones, drum sticks and pedals.

Our final destination on The Red Planet is neither a volcano nor a region, but rather a system of canyons in the form of 'Valles Marineris', "Latin for 'Mariner Valleys', named after the Mariner 9 Mars Orbiter." (The Red Planet, p. 17) It seems fitting to have a location named after the Mariner 9, as most of the locations discussed here were discovered by it in the early 1970's.

Valles Marineris fades in with a march from Soan supported by a thick bassline from Pomeroy which takes to exploring around the music. Rick Wakeman's keyboard textures are unnerving and Colquhoun's guitar part simulates the sound of a string section in suspense before he himself does some exploring. There are multiple guitar sounds here in harmony, sliding up the fretboard as Soan extends his hand at a drum fill across the toms. Wakeman pulls out all the stops in this album finale, with many different sounds in more orchestral tones, lead synthesizer, piano and organs. Valles Marineris best captures the fitting artwork by Martin Robert Cook - a spaceman holding a Moog keyboard in tones of red and orange. I much appreciate the H.G. Wells reference here too. Merchandise includes a sew-on badge with The English Rock Ensemble's names, ready to attach to the spacesuit of any would-be traveller. As the album draws to a close, Dave Colquhoun's guitar tone gets crunchier and heavier, Ash Soan strikes the skins harder and the band play the march that brought Valles Marineris in with Rick Wakeman hitting one final chord, and then - it's over.

With such a long and exciting career, it's simply incredible that Rick Wakeman continues to give his fans recorded music of such a high calibre. Despite his current tour being postponed, Rick and his team have been filming a series of 'Rick's Plaice' for broadcast online, with archive clips, answers to fan questions and much more. I am thankful Rick took the time to answer my questions about The Red Planet below, with a special thank you to Karen for all her assistance.

1. 'The Red Planet' is your new album, why specifically did you choose to record this work around Mars instead of another planet in the solar system?

2021 is the year when at least three new missions will arrive at Mars and when we will find out even more about the planet. The last 50 years have taught us a lot including that of water being present.

I’m involved with a biannual event called Starmus and it’s through one of the founders, Garik Israelian, that I learned so much about the planet. Next year will see the festival take place in Armenia and will highlight Mars.

I researched loads about the planet and it just kept giving me musical ideas and so I spent 3 solid months just looking at photos and reading about various areas on the planet and when musical ideas came along, wrote them down and built up a catalogue of music.

2. With so many regions of Mars to choose from, how did you come to name these tracks after their certain volcanoes and regions?

The regions chose themselves really. I had numerous photos scattered all over the piano and the regions chosen were the ones that inspired me at any one particular time.

3. With Dave Colquhoun, Lee Pomerory and Ash Soan each recording their parts in separate studios, were you able to visit any of them during their sessions?

No, although Dave and Lee did meet up. It was not a problem as I know the guys so well and how they play and similarly they know my music incredibly well and how I write. We are also good enough friends that they can say what they think and make suggestions as to perhaps how I might do things as well……and they did!

4. If this year had gone differently, would you have elected to record a real church organ instead of the sampled ones that appear on this album?

I may well have done a mixture, but I’m extremely happy with the church organs we sampled and put together…..it did give us a lot of control.

5. Do you feel sampling has reached its peak for keyboard instruments, or does it still have a way to go?

I really can’t answer that …..technology has raced ahead in recent years ……the secret is to use the technology where it works for you and not let the technology rule the music you make.

6. With your revisitation of 'Journey To The Centre Of The Earth' in concert in 2019, was there any pressure to make 'The Red Planet' a more grand work with an orchestra and choir?

No…it was always intended to be a keyboard based prog record in the same way that The Six Wives of Henry VIII was. Perhaps in years to come someone might turn it into a total orchestral piece….it would work ……but the original will always be this version.

7. The Martin Robert Cook artwork for 'The Red Planet' fits the music perfectly, did you give much direction to him about what you wanted in the design?

We know each other well, so there were a few team discussions and a few changes along the way, but you are right, he captured the album perfectly.

8. With some of your previous works having made it into space via NASA missions, is there a piece of music (whether yours or otherwise) that you absolutely think should be launched into space?

Yes…..The Red Planet !!!! It’s a shame it didn’t make one of the three missions on their way now !!!...Perhaps in the future …who knows?

9. Space exploration has certainly come a long way from the first Mariner 4 photographs of Mars to the rover shots we see today, do you have a favourite photograph of the red planet?

They are all fantastic to be honest, but Valles Marineris and Ascreus Mons are particularly important to me as these are the two tracks that took the longest to create.

10. I saw you play with ARW at the o2 Arena in 2018, was the album you were working on together ever completed? Could there be a future with ARW?

Sadly the album never got off the ground...we all live so far apart and would need to be in the same studio writing together for a couple of months before recording and no record company wants to finance albums like they used to and as we live so far apart from each other, the whole project faded away ……very sad.

11. The last concert I saw prior to lockdown was Music For The Marsden earlier this year. How did it feel playing with Yusuf Islam again? What was the backstage area like with so much talent?

I was so proud to be a part of that concert and seeing and playing with Yusuf again was a real thrill. Backstage was pretty manic but the organisation and production management was brilliant, so no problems.

12. With concert touring on pause for the foreseeable future, can fans expect some live performances of 'The Red Planet' at some point?

Hopefully next year and also at Starmus in Armenia. It will take an eight or nine piece band to perform it and I have the musicians all lined up that I would like.

--------

References:

--------

Purchase Rick Wakeman's 'The Red Planet' in various configurations and other merchandise from here.

To view episodes of Rick's new programme 'Rick's Plaice', follow this link for purchasing guidelines.

Follow Rick Wakeman on instagram and facebook @rickwakemanmusic, and twitter @grumpyoldrick.

One Way Ticket to The Red Planet with Rick Wakeman

Sara Niemietz comes full circle with ‘twentytwenty’

Reflections In The Mirror with Giselle Medd