No Earthly Connection [Import]

Rick Wakeman | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (August 12, 2003)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Import
• Label: Universal
• ASIN: B0000AFOHG
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Vinyl
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #242,832 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Music Reincarnate

2. Pt 1 The Warning

3. Pt 2 The Maker

4. Pt 3 The Spaceman

5. Pt 4 The Realisation

6. Pt 5 The Reaper

7. The Prisoner

8. The Lost Cycle

Editorial Reviews

Japanese remastered limited edition reissue of 1976 album featuring Rick Wakeman (as producer) & the stripped-down seven-piece band The English Rock Ensemble performing eight tracks, that's unavailable domestically, packaged in a miniature LP sleeve. A&M.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Imagery dodgy but the sound's just fine, October 3, 2003

By 

Amanda Bartels (Eltham, Victoria Australia) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: No Earthly Connection (Audio CD)

When this album came out in 1976 I was visiting UK and I bought 4 records almost straight off the plane - this one, 10cc's How Dare You, Queen's A Night at the Opera, and Patrick Moraz's I. Of the four, No Earthly Connection brings back the most poignant memories of England for me, and it seems to have the most English sound and feel to it. I fell in love with it instantly, and time doesn't seem to have wearied it either, on hearing it almost 30 years later.

I'm not sure the space imagery in the lyrics works for me - but the sound is just fine. The musicians and singers blend together well and nobody seems to get in the way of anybody else either in vocals or instrumentals. The theme is well developed and carried through the album, the horns are fresh, the keyboards are melodic and Rick shows he can write and arrange a song with sensitivity and class. There are also some poignant moments of tenderness you don't expect after listening to some of Wakeman's other works from the same era.

I like this album as much as Journey to the Centre of the Earth - and although I love Wakeman as a virtuoso soloist, I think he works his best music with an ensemble or a band as in Yes. Like Al Pacino, less is more, somehow.

The mix is crisp and well balanced as well, no worries there. My favourite tracks are Part 1, the Warning and Part 3, the Spaceman.

Overall, No Earthly Connection is a stylish collection of prog rock pieces - neither as showy as Journey, nor as dazzling as some of Wakeman's other works, but more satisfying musically and a real delight to listen to again after so long.

Trivia moment: listen to the sound of water at the end of Part 2: The Maker. A lovely, falling waterfall in a forest, right? Sadly, no - the source of the sound effect is that most basic of human functions, though not emanating from the maestro himself, thankfully.

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Real Masterpiece, September 17, 2003

By 

Helmut Huber (Graz Austria) - See all my reviews

This review is from: No Earthly Connection (Audio CD)

I waited over 20 years for this record to be released on CD. And it was worth waiting for it.(My old record was not anymore in a good condition, after having played it over thousand times.) This early work presents fine music with wonderful inventiv melodies. It is more diversified and intellegent than many of the other CDs of Rick. There is gregorian like choral, mixed up with sweet Piano melodies and superb progressiv rockmusic of the seventies. For me it's a must for everyone, who loves intelligent music. Just relax and enjoy it !!! Helmut

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Not as bad as some might make it to be, July 16, 2004

By 

BENJAMIN MILER (Veneta, Oregon) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: No Earthly Connection (Audio CD)

If you were ever wondering how Journey to the Centre of the Earth and The Myths and Legends of King Arthur might sound like if those albums featured no orchestra, no choirs, and no narrator, then look to No Earthly Connection. It's no real secret that those two projects nearly bankrupted Wakeman, so it's little wonder why No Earthly Connection lacked the orchestra and choir. Still the band is the same as before, although by now calling themselves The English Rock Ensemble, with Ashley Holt handling the vocals, Roger Newell on bass, John Dunterville on guitar, Tony Fernandez on drums, and now a couple wind instrument players, Martyn Shields and Reg Brooks. The other vocalist Garry Pickford-Hopkins was now out of the picture. The old LP featured a silver plastic sheeting you were supposed to roll in to a tube and place in the center of the cover. You see, the cover features a warped face of Wakeman and a keyboard, and placing this silver plastic tube in the center allowed you to view Wakeman the way it was supposed to be, that is his face looking normal and keyboard straight. The album was yet another one of those concepts, this time something about music being the maker of the universe, or something to that effect. Without the orchestra, it's nice to see him once again bringing his Mellotron back to use, plenty of nice use of tron flute, as well as his usual Hammond organ and Moog synthesizer. I absolutely love how the album opened up with him doing multiple overdubs on his Moog synthesizer. The album starts off with a five piece suite, "Music Reincarnate". In reality they really sound like five different songs, like "The Warning", "The Maker", "The Reaper", etc. "The Maker" tends to be more of a ballad while "The Spaceman" tends to be on the funky side, complete with clavinet. "The Reaper" features some really trippy use of Mellotron while in the background you hear recurring themes from "Music Reincarnate". The last two cuts, "The Prisoner" and "The Lost Cycle" are to me give or take, not bad, but not really remarkable. Since No Earthly Connection didn't do as well as his previous albums, it didn't help him recover his debt from his costly projects from Journey and Myths & Legends, it basically forced him to rejoin Yes. Regardless, this album is still recommended if you like Wakeman's solo albums. Of course, newcomers should try The Six Wives of Henry VIII first.