Rick Wakeman - White Rock [1999 Limited Edition] (1976)

Review by Bob McBeath:

"White rock" is an early collection written for a documentary film on winter sports. The tracks stand up well in their own right, with Wakeman in good form both composition wise, and in terms of performance.

The album is almost entirely just Rick performing on keyboards, with basic rhythm section support There’s no orchestration, and very little vocals, certainly no songs as such. Synthesiser takes central stage throughout, the scene being set by the break-net speed of the opening title track. This is similar to Wakeman’s solo on “The revealing science of God” (Yes), the synthesiser appearing to be pushed to it limits to reflect the speed and excitement of a downhill run.

There are softer, more fragile pieces such as “Searching for Gold” and other moments of up tempo excitement as in “Lax'x”.

Wakeman succeeds here in transcending the gap between a soundtrack album, and a bona fide album release which stands in its own right. It’s not by any means his most accomplished album, but it is still highly enjoyable.



Tracklisting:
1. White Rock (3:15)
2. Searching For Gold (4:18)
3. The Loser (5:32)
4. The Shoot (4:03)
5. Lax'x (4:56)
6. After the Ball (3:02)
7. Montezuma's Revenge (3:58)
8. Ice Run (6:05)

Total Time: 35:09

Line-Up:
- Rick Wakeman / keyboards, Mellotron, marimbas, synthesizers, clavinet
- Tony Fernandez / drums & percussion
- St. Paul's Cathedral Choir (2-3)