Customer Reviews

Rock'n Roll Prophet Plus

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This album contains some of the best synth oriented instrumental tracks of Rick's career, some cuts of mixed quality, and the only 3 tracks Rick has ever sung lead on in his career. When Rick released this effort it was met with a steady stream of criticism along the lines of "he's finally lost it". Not that his vocals are bad, not at all. But the lyrics and themes of the songs stretched his happy-go-lucky playful side to the limits of most listeners. Even in the original liner notes Rick noted something to the extent that it sometimes takes an album like this to know who your friends really are.

That said, this album is still definately worth owning! As noted, it contains some of the strongest cuts Rick has ever done, and while not mainstream songs, fans of Rick will find the songs grow on them. What keeps the album afloat above that is that his professionalism plays through each and every cut. Rick added a few new instrumental cuts for the re-relase that add strength to the CD.

After an amazing run of albums on A&M Records, this was the first of Wakeman's efforts to come out on a smaller label. Recorded in 1979 (but released 3 years later!) ROCK N' ROLL PROPHET features some of the earliest use of "chip" technology and some of the only singing Rick did himself. A mix of instrumentals and vocal tracks, some hold up well after all this time while others leave you wondering. Of note: "I'm So Straight I'm A Weirdo", originally a single; "The Dragon", an eerie march; "Maybe '80", a humorous look at the then-near-future, my favorite of the original tracks; "Early Warning", a bright, bouncy instro; "Do You Believe In Fairies?", perhaps THE silliest thing Wakeman ever recorded (is that The Chipmunks I hear?); and the title track, a moody, complex piece with Middle-Eastern overtones. Not his best, but far from his worst effort. The 1993 CD reissue contains 4 brand-new instro tracks which sound like they'd have fit well on 2,000 A.D. INTO THE FUTURE or WAKEMAN WITH WAKEMAN; "March Of the Child Soldiers" is very similar in tempo to "Robot Dance", while the high-speed powerhouse "Return Of The Prophet" that now opens the disc is sure to blow the mind of any listener (how DOES he PLAY that fast? ). Thanks to CD Players, this disc can be played as is, or programmed to play just the original LP-- or even just the 4 new tracks, like an "EP"!

Of the dozens of solo releases Rick Wakeman has released in the past three decades, this one stands out for the main reason that he does his own vocals (he doesn't even do backing vocals in Yes or solo otherwise), which aren't half-bad, since the sole three tracks with such just wouldn't work with Ashley Solt or even Jon Anderson. One criterion Wakeman had with this was to copy The Buggles, who were the hot new act at the time of recording (before christening MTV's maiden voyage), only to have them replace him and Anderson in Yes for a while. Originally released in 1982 in the UK on Moon Records LUNA LP 1. Released in the U.S. in 1994 by Griffin Music. I had the original LP at first, but the bonus tracks are instrumentals recorded in the early '90s.