------------------------------------------------------- DECEMBER 17, 2003 ------------------------------------------------------- Source: Axiom of Choice http://www.cs.uu.nl/people/jur/reviews/christmasvariations.html Review: Rick Wakeman - Christmas Variations By Jurriaan Hage Rick Wakeman - Christmas Variations Artist: Rick Wakeman Title: Christmas Variations Label: Mascot Records M 7087 2 Year(s) of release: 2003 Month of review: [12/2003] Line up Rick Wakeman - all kinds of keyboards Tracks 1) Silent Night 4.35 2) Hark The Herald Angels Sing 6.19 MP3 3) Christians Awake, Salute The Happy Morn 7.02 4) Away In A Manger 5.28 5) While Shepherds Watch Their Flocks By Night 5.33 6) O Little Town Of Betlehem 6.06 7) It Came Upon A Midnight Clear 5.14 8) Once In Royal Davids City 4.58 9) O Come All Ye Faithful 5.16 MP3 10) Angels From The Realms Of Glory 4.27 Summary Rick Wakeman is known by all who visit this website, I will assume. I was quite enamoured by his Out There with ERE. Now something else again: an album with christmas songs. Of course, Rick has been working with church choirs and gospel music regularly so it should not be too surprising. That he also 'covers' music is also evident from his Tribute To The Beatles album (interesting to hear what you can do with a song like Help). No surprise then. Let us see if he can surpass what I still think is the most appealling Christmas album: Sounds Like Christmas by The December People. The music The best version of Silent Night I know is by Sinead O'Connor and Peter Gabriel and this version will not change that. A sugary and peaceful rendition with the variations Rick talks of in the booklet. No vocals on this one, as in fact on none of the tracks. There are quite large distinctions between Wakeman's version of Hark The Herald Angels Sing and the rather icky vocal version of this carol. The basic melody is in tact, of course, but Wakeman has applied some amerliorations, but also kept the song serene. Later the piano becomes more busy. I am not familiar myself wiwht Christians Awake, Salute The Happy Morn, but being the kind of song it is, it is not surprising to hear a romantic piano melody. In fact, the music comes quite close to the music of David Lanz. Away In A Manger is a title that is not familiar to me, but the melody does turn out to be so. Again, very melodic. I like it best in the parts where the wind like keys dominate. Here the music is fuller and noisier. While Shepherds Watch Their Flocks By Night is a more moody tune, while O Little Town Of Betlehem is again quite merry and friendly. It makes little sense to continue: the remaining songs all exude a quiet, serene mood, fitting for the holidays, but that interesting for a progressive rock site. Conclusion What can I say? This is a Christmas album, no doubt about it. The Christmas spirit is present, the variations of Wakeman are in fact quite nice to listen to, also because he will not fall into the trap of resorting to easy singalong arrangements and lots of vocals. A serene album dominated by piano, but also including plenty of keyboards for an occasional fuller sound. But it is still a Christmas album and only something as background music during a (christmas) dinner. When the family has left, though, I think I will put the December People on. Close Window YesInThePress.com For site comments, problems, corrections, or additions, contact yitp@yesservices.com