| Rick's Perspective |
|---|
| Notes |
| This was recorded in Italy with a very strange line up of the English Rock Ensemble with no guitar player. The tour was a disaster and badly organised and I had the crew from hell out with me as well which just about took the biscuit!!! When I finally got to hear the tapes they were really not acceptable so I dragged some of the guys back in and we re-did quite a lot and added guitar as well, hence the title, "Almost Live in Europe". |
| Wakey's Verdict |
| Probably the weakest arrangements of the classic pieces that I ever put together for a tour but nevertheless an important part of ERE history. |
| Little Known Trivia |
| I'm still waiting to be paid for the last few dates of the tour!!! |
| Reviews |
|---|
Seamus Fitzmaurice on 31st October 2000 [Other reviews] Rick Wakeman's live playing on this CD is vivid and energetic, with some snappy drumming and fluid lead guitar as support. But, and its a big but, the songs are ruined by the singing. Ashley Holt is unimaginative and his voice is so raucous I begin to wonder if he was a heavy smoker. With a more reflective, sensitive singer this would have been a lovely momento of a live Rick Wakeman concert. Pity. |
Max Hult on 12th January 2000 [Other reviews] This album misses the big set of instruments that Rick used in earlier days, like Journey and Arthur. Ashley's voice is not as good as it use to be either. What's good about this album is "The Prisoner", where Rick shows his great ability of playing the keyboard in baroque-style, As voice fits nicely. The tracks on the Arthur and the Wives sections are put together in a different way, quite nice to hear as a change from the original albums. The best point of the album is "Jane Seymour" which is very different from the original, with great rock/heavy metal-guitar added. For more richful instrumentation, check out the "King Biscuit"-album. |
Time Lady Rabeca on 28th March 1997 [Other reviews] The vocalist on this CD was fairly unimpressive - he tended to take away from the experience of the music, though his voice fits in a bit better for the King Arthur tracks. However, Rick's playing for this album is amazing and more than makes up for the (IMHO) lousy vocalist. |