Search - Rick Wakeman :: Live at Hammersmith

Excellent

Henry R. Kujawa | 05/13/1999

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Have you ever come across a CD by one of your favorite performers that you didn't even know existed while you were browsing in a store? That's how I found "Live at Hammersmith". I love Rick Wakeman and finding something like this is, to me, like hitting the lottery. I'm always amazed at his playing and the nice thing about Wakeman is that you can have 10 different live versions of a song by him and each one will be unique. It seems he never plays his music the same way twice. Each live album is special. This album features great versions of Rick Wakeman favorites."

Wakeman Live in '85!

Henry R. Kujawa | "The Forbidden Zone" (Camden, NJ) | 05/01/2001

(4 out of 5 stars)

"There's a whole bunch of live Rick Wakeman albums to be found these days (some the same albums under different names-- buyer beware!). But this was actually the FIRST I ever ran across. And is some ways, this has remained one of my favorites. It's short (59:37), to the point (only his biggest and most-known works) and manages to be powerful and stirring without overdoing it. Sound quality is about mid-range, and vocals this time out are provided by Gordon Neville (who, I believe, also did the honors on SILENT NIGHTS, recorded around this time). Maybe because I hadn't heard more than a half-dozen versions of some of these songs by here, I found myself liking to play this one over and over, while several other live sets I can only take in small doses."