Rhapsodies (album)

Last updated

Rhapsodies
Rhapsodies Rick Wakeman.jpg
Studio album by
ReleasedMay 1979
Recorded1978–1979
StudioLa Grange using the A&M Mobile and Mountain, Montreux, Switzerland
Genre Progressive rock
Length70:17
Label A&M
(SP-6501)
Producer Tony Visconti
Rick Wakeman chronology
Rick Wakeman's Criminal Record
(1977)
Rhapsodies
(1979)
The Burning
(1981)
Singles from Rhapsodies
  1. "Animal Showdown"
    Released: June 1979 [1]
  2. "Swan Lager"
    Released: November 1979

Rhapsodies is a studio double album by English keyboardist Rick Wakeman, released in May 1979 on A&M Records. It was his last studio release on A&M and reached no. 25 in the UK. Described by Wakeman as "probably the most confusing I have ever made" due to the range of styles, it contains generally shorter tracks than his previous work to date, the longest being 5:32. All of his previous non-soundtrack albums had contained at least two tracks over seven minutes long.

Contents

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svg [2]
Record Mirror Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [3]
Smash Hits 4/10 [4]

The Globe and Mail wrote that Wakeman's "major problem is his insistence on inundating the marketplace with far more instrumentally adept but generally unexciting mishmash than it can possibly absorb." [5]

Track listing

All tracks by Rick Wakeman, except where noted.

Side one
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Pedra da Gavea" 4:11
2."Front Line" 3:42
3."Bombay Duck" 3:14
4."Animal Showdown (Yes We Have No Bananas)"Wakeman, Frank Silver, Irving Cohn 2:40
5."Big Ben" 3:48
Side two
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
6."Rhapsody in Blue" George Gershwin; arranged by Tony Visconti5:26
7."Wooly Willy Tango" 3:24
8."The Pulse" 5:21
9."Swan Lager"music taken from Tchaikovsky's "Swan Lake" and Edvard Grieg's Piano Concerto in A minor; arranged and adapted by Rick Wakeman2:50
Side three
No.TitleLength
10."March of the Gladiators"4:53
11."Flacons de Neige"5:01
12."The Flasher"5:32
13."The Palais"2:23
Side four
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
14."Stand-By" 3:30
15."Sea Horses" 3:52
16."Half Holiday" 3:00
17."Summertime"George Gershwin, DuBose Heyward; arranged by Rick Wakeman4:27
18."Credits" 2:39

Personnel

Music

Technical

Charts

Chart (1979)Peak
position
Norwegian Albums (VG-lista) [6] 15
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan) [7] 43
UK Albums (OCC) [8] 25
US Billboard 200 [9] 170

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References

  1. "The Great Rock Discography". p. 878.
  2. Raiteri, Stephen. "Rhapsodies - Rick Wakeman". AllMusic. Retrieved 14 April 2020.
  3. Paul, Sexton (9 June 1979). Rick Wakeman: 'Rhapsodies'. Record Mirror. p. 18.
  4. Starr, Red. "Albums". Smash Hits . No. June 14–27, 1979. p. 25.
  5. Niester, Alan (14 July 1979). "Rhapsodies Rick Wakeman". The Globe and Mail. p. F4.
  6. "Norwegiancharts.com – Rick Wakeman – Rhapsodies". Hung Medien. Retrieved October 5, 2023.
  7. "Swedishcharts.com – Rick Wakeman – Rhapsodies". Hung Medien. Retrieved October 5, 2023.
  8. "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved October 5, 2023.
  9. "Rick Wakeman Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved October 5, 2023.