RICK WAKEMAN
The Arena at
Cardiff, Wales
4th May 2014

Lineage:
Church Audio CA14 Cardioids > Church Audio CA9200 > Edirol R-09HR (@24/96) >
CoolEdit Pro 2 (edits & resample) > CDWave > TLH
Recorded Row V, directly in line with House Right (suspended) PA, mics on collar

Recording and artwork by boombox
Artwork from photos found on the web


Disc 1:
JOURNEY TO THE CENTRE OF THE EARTH
01. The Preface
02. The Journey Overture
03. The Journey's Dawn
04. Crystals

05. The Gothic Cathedral

06. The Quest For Water

07. The Hansbach
08. Fervent Prayer
09. The Recollection
10. Lost And Found

11. Echoes

12. 4 Miles
13. The Reunion

14. A New Vista

15. A World Within A World
16. The Raft

17. The Battle

18. Cumulus Clouds

19. The Storm

20. The Cemetery

21. Quaternary Man

22. The Ravine

23. The Dance Of A Thousand Lights

24. Mastodons
25. The Forest
26. Ages Of Man

27. The Tunnel
28. Hall Of The Mountain King

29. Mount Etna

Disc 2:
THE ENCORE
01. Band Intros
02. The Electric Storm

03. Ride Of Your Life
04. Ages Of Man Jam

05. Hall Of The Mountain King
06. Mount Etna

THE FIRST HALF
07. Welcome / Intro to 'Morning Has Broken'
08. Morning Has Broken
09. Intro to 'Life On Mars'

10. Life On Mars (with Hayley Sanderson)

11. Intro to 'Summertime'

12. Summertime (with Ashley Holt)

13. Intro to 'Eleanor Rigby'
14. Eleanor Rigby

Total recording length: 2:01:51

The Musicians:
Rick Wakeman - Keyboards
The English Rock Ensemble:
Ashley Holt - Vocals, Percussion
Tony Fernandez - Drums

Dave Colquhoun - Guitars

Matt Pegg - Bass (Replacing Lee Pomeroy)

with:
Hayley 'Strictly' Sanderson - Vocals
Philip Franks - Narrator
Guy Protheroe - Conductor

The Orion Symphony Orchestra
The English Chamber Choir

boombox's notes may 2014:

'Journey' has been my favourite album of all time for over 30 years, so it's safe to say
I was very much looking forward to this, especially after the dry run at Cheltenham last
year. It was a little disappointing we didn't get the promised Roger Dean graphics - perhaps
it wasn't possible at the venue and I regret hugely not taking my camera along, as there
was still a very good light show. (Security at the venue is normally uber-tight so I didn't
risk anything which might compromise my recording.) As for the show, I thought it sounded
sounded pretty tight and didn't notice any gremlins and it was definitely worth the wait:
despite being the longest version of 'Journey' I've ever heard, it seemed the shortest as
the time went by all too quickly.

I think the show came out pretty well - especially for one recorded in an aircraft hangar:
no talkers nearby, except occasionally during applause, and you get the odd cough and bump,
but nothing major. I did some work on the nearby loud clappers so I could boost the levels a
bit; also, after MHB, I had to quickly boost the recording levels on the fly by 10db on the
preamp. To improve things, I then deleted less than half a second of applause to remove the
artifact from when I hit the knob. Second set I went with higher levels, so all was OK.

As for the track split on this show, burn it how you like. The artwork, such as it is, puts
'Journey' first, with the encore and first set on the other disc.

As always, my 24bit master files are available for any matrix or remaster projects.

Finally, please support the artist - who knows when he will tour next ('Arthur' anyone??),
but Rick has a great new online store up at http://www.rickwakemanemporium.com


Images for all shows as well as full size images for this show.

Images for this show: