Rick Wakeman - Journey to the Centre of the Earth (DVD + CD)
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DVD Cover Information
Actor: Rick WakemanDVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Original Language)
Format: Color, DVD-Video, NTSC
Picture Format: 1.33:1
Running Time: 95 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2002-07-30
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Studio: Classic Pictures
Movie Reviews of Rick Wakeman - Journey to the Centre of the Earth (DVD + CD)
Movie Review: View it as a piece of history
Summary: 3 Stars
As a few other reviewers have stated, you have to evaluate the DVD from two different perspectives: historical and qualitative.
From a historical perspective, it's quite engaging and downright amazing. At times in the background, you can see two-man crews lugging the massive cameras 'round behind of the musicians. No handheld camera technology on this baby! Read the review titled, " I was at that concert and lusted for a video copy for 26yrs" for some really interesting background about the equipment used, along with insights into Melbourne video capabilities of the era. It's like watching the Beatles perform on The Ed Sullivan Show...you can put up with the corn pone because you're watching history in the making. It's just a pity none of the camera angles could get a shot of Wakeman's piano hand.
From a qualitative perspective, the sound is nowhere as good as the vinyl edition featuring the London Philharmonic. The orchestra sounds unrehearsed and the chorus sounds at times like they're not sure what key they should be chanting in. Where David Hemmings' narration on the vinyl is dramatic without going over the top, on the DVD the narrator is way over the top and much too dominant. There are also equipment problems -- at least one of Wakeman's minimoogs goes waaay out of tune towards the end of the concert. I used to own an Arp 2600 with oscillators that could drift off a full semi-tone in only a few minutes, so I can only imagine the challenges faced with attempting to keep an entire bank of them in tune. So once again, I think this is an example of something you need to chalk up to the technology of the era and view within its historical context. If you're able to do that, you'll enjoy this piece of history. If you can't get past the 70s technology issues, questionable sound quality and orchestral miscues, this video is not for you.
Summary of Rick Wakeman - Journey to the Centre of the Earth (DVD + CD)
This spectacular 94-minute concert was recorded live with the Melbourne Philharmonic Orchestra in 1975, at the Sydney Myer Concert Bowl in Melbourne Australia to a 30,000 audience. This mammoth sell-out concert to tens of thousands was at the end of the 'Journey Tour' to promote the album Journey to the Centre of the Earth, which sold over 12,000,000 copies worldwide. The concert opens with the greatest hits from Rick's biggest selling album The Six Wives of Henry VIII, followed by the complete 'Journey' and also includes hits from his then-new album King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table. This is classic Rick Wakeman, one of the world's finest keyboard players, at the very pinnacle of his legendary progressive rock career.They should have named this DVD Journey to the Centre of the '70s. Recorded before a huge Australian audience on February 4, 1975, this Rick Wakeman performance is precisely the kind of prog-rock pretentiousness that was so hilariously skewered in This Is Spinal Tap, and even Wakeman would have to agree it's pretty cheesy in retrospect. As a time capsule, however, this is must-see TV for Wakeman completists, albeit diminished by technical shortcomings of mid-'70s video. Remastering for 5.1-channel Dolby can't vastly improve the average recording--the Melbourne Philharmonic and Chamber Choir sound particularly muddy in this mix--so Wakeman fans will prefer the original Journey release to what is, essentially, an authorized video bootleg. Still, this is the only way to see the white-robed Wakeman in his solo prime, and offerings from his then-new King Arthur album (especially the fan-favorite "Merlin") are impressive highlights. Keyboard wizardry doesn't get any better, even when it's haphazardly preserved from an age best forgotten. --Jeff Shannon
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