Wakeman, Rick - Retro 2

Year of Release: 2007
Label: President Records
Catalog Number: RWCD 39
Format: CD
Total Time: 63:36:00

I'll be honest with you. In fact, I'll be very honest with you: Retro 2 is not as good as Retro. Having been an avid Wakeman fan since day one, I still regard Six Wives, White Rock and Criminal Record amongst the best the man has ever done. So, together with lots of fans, I was very enthusiastic when Retro put Rick back on the rails he used at the very start of his solo career. The vintage sounds as well as the compositions were ace and we all were counting the days when a sequel to this album would be released, as for sure good old Rick Wakeman was back to his old tricks again. Sadly I'm afraid to say Retro 2 is more Rhapsodies than it is Six Wives.

Starting out with "Chasing The Devil," Tony Fernandez' drum sounds are so predictable that they take away the attention from Rick's playing. The funky "Expect The Unexpected" contains the harsh voice of Elliot Tuffin with backing vocals courtesy of Jemma Wakeman. There's even some tasty slide guitar, but it doesn't really grab me. "Beyond The Void" fares much better, as it's less predictable with nice layers of keyboards depicting various atmospheres, a great guitar solo by Dave Colquhoun, and a rousing end with ace synth solos and superb bass playing from buddy Lee Pomeroy. This is the kind of stuff we should have heard from the very first second!

In the fragile "An Angel Spoke To Me" all attention goes towards Jemma Wakeman who sees her clear voice accompanied by some majestic mellotron as well as Korg EPS-1. Again the drums are what annoys me during "The Soundtrack," as all the other ingredients work just fine. Maybe I have been waiting for Bill Bruford for much too long now? Remember "Merlin The Magician"? Well you'll be interested to know that "The Fairground Shuffle" tries to evoke a similar feel. Fantastic Hammond playing here! Believe it or not but "Robert The Robot" (another Robert Moog tribute?) even sports a disco rhythm, which once again has me thinking of the Rhapsodies era. For my ears, the fury in "Standing Room Only" is the best on the album, as it not only shows the individual skills but also the quality of composing.

Executed on a Yamaha baby grand, "Tigger The Bounce" is the odd one out here as only Wakey gets to perform on this one. It perfectly illustrates the concert pianist his parents loved him to become. The final and longest track "The Temple Of Life" begins in a repetitive way, paving the way for Jemma's singing. In a way, the change between the speedy part and the more intimate section reminds me of the approach in "King Arthur." I'm convinced certain tracks will grow on me as time passes, but when I take this release as a whole, then for me the first Retro album sounds better as a complete album than this one does. Maybe I was hoping for too much of a retro, which might well be on the cards for Retro 3, you never know!

Compared with Retro, the exact same keyboards have been used on Retro 2 with exactly the same line-up, except for singer Ashley Holt who has been replaced by Elliot Tuffin here.

Tracklisting:
Chasing The Devil (6:09) / Expect The Unexpected (4:38) / Beyond The Void (9:04) / An Angel Spoke To Me (5:33) / The Soundtrack (7:29) / The Fairground Shuffle (4:34) / Robert The Robot (3:44) / Standing Room Only (6:20) / Tigger The Bounce (4:42) / The Temple Of Life (11:02)

Musicians:
Rick Wakeman - authentic vintage keyboards
Tony Fernandez - drums, percussion
Dave Colquhoun - acoustic and electric guitars
Lee Pomeroy - bass, bass pedals
Elliot Tuffin - vocals
Jemma Wakeman - vocals

Discography:
Piano Vibrations (1971)
The Six Wives Of Henry VIII (1973)
Journey To The Centre Of The Earth (1974)
Lisztomania (1975)
The Myths & Legends Of King Arthur & The Knights Of The Round Table (1975)
No Earthly Connection (1976)
Rick Wakeman's Criminal Record (1977)
White Rock (1977)
Animal Showdown (1979)
Rhapsodies (1979)
I'm So Straight I'm A Weirdo (1980)
1984 (1981)
The Burning (OST) (1981)
Rock N Roll Prophet (1982)
Cost Of Living (1983)
G'ole! (1983)
Crimes Of Passion (OST) (1984)
Live At Hammersmith (1985)
Lytton's Diary (1985)
Silent Nights (1985)
Country Airs (1986)
The Family Album (1987)
The Gospels (1987)
20th Anniversary Limited Edition (1988)
A Suite Of Gods (1988)
Custer's Last Stand/Ocean City (1988)
Time Machine (1988)
Zodiaque (1988)
Black Knights At The Court Of Ferdinand IV (1989)
Sea Airs (1989)
Phantom Power (1990)
In The Beginning (1990)
Night Airs (1990)
Phantom Power (1990)
2000AD Into The Future (1991)
African Bach (1991)
Aspirant Sunrise (1991)
Aspirant Sunset (1991)
Aspirant Sunshadows (1991)
Rock N Roll Prophet Plus (1991)
Softsword (1991)
The Classical Connection (1991)
Best Works Collection (1992)
Country Airs (1992)
Classic Tracks (1993)
No Expense Spared (1993)
Prayers (1993)
The Classical Connection 2 (1993)
The Heritage Suite (1993)
Unleashing The Tethered One - The 1974 North American Tour (1993)
Wakeman With Wakeman (1993)
Light Up The Sky (1994)
Live On The Test (1994)
Lure Of The Wild (1994)
Rick Wakeman's Greatest Hits (1994)
The Stage Collection (1994)
Wakeman With Wakeman - The Official Bootleg (1994)
Wakeman With Wakeman Live (1994)
Almost Live In Europe (1995)
Cirque Surreal (1995)
Rick Wakeman In Concert (1995)
Rock & Pop Legends (1995)
Romance Of The Victorian Age (1995)
The Piano Album (1995)
The Private Collection (1995)
The Seven Wonders Of The World (1995)
Visions (1995)
Can You Hear Me? (1996)
Fields Of Green (1996)
Orisons (1996)
Tapestries (1996)
The New Gospels (1996)
The Word And Music (1996)
Vignettes (1996)
Voyage (1996)
Welcome A Star (1996)
Fields Of Green '97 (1997)
Simply Acoustic - The Music (1997)
Tribute (1997)
Master Series (1998)
Themes (1998)
Official Live Bootleg (1999)
Return To The Centre Of The Earth (1999)
Stella Bianca Alla Corte De Re Ferdinando (1999)
The Masters (1999)
The Natural World Trilogy (1999)
White Rock II (1999)
Christmas Variations (2000)
Chronicles Of Man (2000)
Morning Has Broken (2000)
Preludes To A Century (2000)
Recollections - The Very Best Of Rick Wakeman (2000)
Rick Wakeman The Legend Live In Concert 2000 (2000)
The Caped Collection (2000)
Classical Variations (2001/2002)
Simply Acoustic (2001)
Out Of The Blue (2001)
Two Sides Of Yes (2001/2002)
Treasure Chest Volume 1 - The Real Lizstomania (2002)
Treasure Chest Volume 2 - The Oscar Concert (2002)
Treasure Chest Volume 3 - The Missing Half (2002)
Treasure Chest Volume 4 - Almost Classical (2002)
Treasure Chest Volume 5 - The Mixture (2002)
Treasure Chest Volume 6 - Medium Rare (2002)
Treasure Chest Volume 7 - Journey To The Centre Of The Earth (2002)
Treasure Chest Volume 8 - Stories (2002)
Two Sides Of Yes - Volume II (2002)
Wakeman & Cousins -Hummingbird (2002)
Out There (2003)
Retro (2006)
Retro 2 (2007)
The Six Wives Of Henry VIII Live At Hampton Court Palace (2009)
Always With You (2010)
Past, Present, and Future (2010)
Anderson/Wakeman - The Living Tree (2010)
In The Nick Of Time-Live In 2003 (2012)
Journey To The Centre Of The Earth 2012 (2012)
The Myths & Legends Of King Arthur & The Knigts Of The Round Table 2016 (2016)
Piano Portraits (2017)
The Phantom Of The Opera (2017)

Piano Odyssey (2018)
Christmas Portraits (2019)
Official Bootleg Series - Boston USA 1974 (2019) Official Bootleg Series - Osaka Japan 1975 (2019) Official Bootleg Series - Sheffield UK 1981 (2019) Official Bootleg Series - Vienna Austria 1976 (2019) Official Bootleg Series - Preston UK 1981 (2019) Official Bootleg Series - Tokyo Japan 2008 (2019) Official Bootleg Series - Cropredy UK 2010 (2019) Official Bootleg Series - Osaka Japan 2014 (2019) Official Bootleg Series - Tokyo Japan 2014 (2019) Official Bootleg Series - Daphne Du Maurier Festival UK 2001 (2019)

The Classical Connection (VHS) (1991)
The Very Best Of The Rick Wakeman Chronicles (VHS) (1994)
Simply Acoustic (VHS) (1996)
The New Gospels (VHS) (1996)
The Piano Tour Live (VHS) (1997)
Rick Wakeman Live (VHS) (1998)
An Evening WIth Rick Wakeman (VHS) (2000)
Rick Wakeman Live In Concert 2000 (DVD) (2000/2002)
Journey To The Center Of The Earth Live In 1975 (DVD) (2001/2002)
Rick Wakeman & The English Rock Ensemble - Live In Buenos Aires (DVD) (2001/2002)
Rick Wakeman & The English Rock Ensemble - Out There (DVD) (2004)
Journey To The Centre Of The Earth Live In 1975 - 30th Anniversary Edition (DVD) (2005)
Made In Cuba (DVD) (2005)
Amazing Grace (DVD) (2007)
The Other Side Of Rick Wakeman (DVD) (2007)
Video Vault Volume 1 - 1975 Live At Empire Pool, King Arthur On Ice (DVD) (2007)
Video Vault Volume 2 - Live At The Maltings 1976 (DVD) (2007)
Video Vault Volume 3 - Live 1980 Swedish Television Special (DVD) (2007)
Video Vault Volume 4 - 1984 Live At The Hammersmith Odeon 1981 (DVD) (2007)
Video Vault Volume 5 - Night Music (DVD) (2007)
Video Vault Volume 6 - Rarities Plus Interview (DVD) (2007)
The Six Wives Of Henry VIII Live At Hampton Court Palace (DVD/BR) (2009)
Classical Wakeman Volume 1 - Live In Lugano (DVD) (2010)
Starmus (DVD) (2017)
Live Portriats At Lincoln Cathedral (DVD) (2018)

Genre: Progressive Rock

Origin UK

Added: August 3rd 2007
Reviewer: John "Bobo" Bollenberg

Artist website: www.rwcc.com
Hits: 4570
Language: english