Customer Reviews

3 Ages of Magick

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4 star:		(4)
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I must admit that I was drawn to this recording due to the presence of Steve Howe. Where Howe makes some wonderful contributions on a number of cuts this is clearly an Oliver Wakeman project. I am enormously impressed with this young Wakeman's talents. His sense of melody and composition are truly outstanding. Where he is clearly his father's son he has developed his own style and sound. This is a very romantic album that grows on you with each listen (to which I have had many). The music can best be described as being contemporary prog with the occassional subtle celtic influences, The backing musicians (Howe aside) may not be virtuosos but they back him ably. Violinist Jo Greenland is particurly appealing. I found myself wishing she had been given even more air-space as she compliments Wakeman's vision nicely. The rest of the band consists of drums and bass with a flautist who also plays Uillean Pipes. With the exception of the lone weak cut on the album (Through the Eyes of a Child) this is an instrumental album. The above mentioned cut, which is but two minutes long (the album is 59 minutes in length) contains the ramblings of a small child and comes across as a stark distraction from the overall mood and tone of the album.Still, this is an album of great promise and immediate result. I will anticipate future releases by this brilliant young keyboardist with much enthusiasm.... This recording is highly recommended...Simon

This is my first album by a junior member of the Wakeman family,and I'll confess that the prominent prescence of Steve Howe encouraged my purchase. But after hearing it, I kicked myself for not giving the mighty Rick Wakeman's sons a chance prior to this. Oliver Wakeman has all the talent and imagination of his father,and he seems to avoid the pitfalls that his father would sometimes step into. Oliver sticks to instrumental compositions which not only showcase him,but his talented special guest and his fellow musicians. This album sports several great tunes,that capture many moods--the pastoral 'Lucey and the Mermaid',the sweeping 'Ages of Magick',the bright 'The Storyteller',the melancholy 'The Forgotten King',and the rocking 'The Enchanter',which seems to combine the best elements of two of his father's tunes,'Jane Seymour'(6 Wives of King Henry VIII) and 'Merlin'(Myths and Legends of King Arthur). Oliver's talent is undisputed,and can don the rhinestone cape and carry the Wakeman magic well into the 21st Century;this is the kind of pyrotechnic,'too-many-notes' style of playing that I've missed hearing. Perhaps,if I hadn't been too busy lamenting my inability to find the Senior Wakeman albums 'Criminal Record' and 'Rhapsodies' on CD,I might have discovered Oliver sooner;as it is, I now have new Wakeman music to discover!
For those of you who loved the classic Wakeman albums of the '70s, Oliver's 'Magick' will meet,and perhaps surpass your expectations;get this one!

Oliver Wakeman proves himself to be a true composer / musician with the release of The 3 Ages of Magick. If Heaven's Isle and Jabberwocky aren't enough evidence, then this recent release certainly provides proof that Oliver is the "real deal".

The 13 tracks offer such a wide variety of styles; progressive, classical, new age, celtic, jazz, funk etc, etc... The keyboards are augmented by Steve Howe's wonderful guitar work; Jo Greenland's fantastic violin - which has a special chemistry with Oliver's keyboards; Tony Dixon on pipes, flutes and whistles, which are quite timely and efffective; Tim Buchanan on bass and Dave Wagstaffe on drums providing exactly what's needed.P>You will not be disappointed with this CD!

Well it's a modern prog work, not as complex as some early works by Yes, nevertheless this album - being animated by the same spirit - is worth checking out !! Here you find some celtic stuff and classic structures too, always enriched with a personal modern style of his own...Ya, Mr Oliver Wakeman begins to create a more personal and mature sound in his scores! Such style is sometimes splitted by his father's music trademark, even though you find some spare traces of the best romantic sound, inspired by "6 wives of Henry VIII", the most famous solo work by Rick ... well of course it's not the major part of the album, this one being characterized by a jazzy/funky style and some melodic pop/new age as well. The violin of Jo Greenland and also some Tony Dixon's pipes/flutes are the best complementary musical section, suitable for the airy Oliver's keyboards and piano. Talking about the support of Steve Howe on guitar, his music contribution is tasteful and important as usual, on a number of cuts, and I think of an artist who has never left the 70's music territory, by maintaining anyway the same taste (even though He has never been looking for new technology and modern music effects in the last years, as his style is too much connected to the old era, but nevermind!!)

The present album is recommended and naturally it's the most complete work among the last 3 albums by Oliver !!

I recommend this piece of music be listened to, at least the first time, in one sitting all the way through. The full range and dynamics of this recording will be fully realized this way. Which is important given the fact this release is as awesome, brillant, nuanced, and performed as any YES album. That explains why I refer to the "Three Ages of Magic" as the best album YES never made.

Oliver Wakeman the son of Rick Wakeman, has inherited his father's dexterous keyboard virtuosity. This instrumental CD is replete with sounds simulating orchestras and it invokes ancient England. Steve Howe's wonderful guitar sounds and input incredibly enhance the quality of this CD. If you like Rick Wakeman and Steve Howe's guitar work with Yes, you will certainly like this classic rock and mystical sounding CD.

I bought this cd because Steve Howe was on it and thought to myself "I can't believe I'm buying an Oliver Wakeman cd". Wow, this kid is nearly as good as his dad.

On hearing it twice, it really does have a nice ring. Steve's parts really make you listen and are generally restful. Wakeman is a good composer, and helps Steve shine better than on Howe's solo efforts (nothing really that great since The Steve Howe Album, 1979).