• First impressions - May 1, 1999
  Well, this is hard. Reading in Rick's Foreward about what it meant to him to return to this musical form and inspiration, and how much progress has been made in keyboards and technology in the last twenty-five years since he recorded Journey to the Centre of the Earth, made me think about when I first heard Journey, almost twenty-five years ago.

  At the time, I only liked Classical music. That, and the Beatles. Rock music was for my wilder siblings, from whom I always tried to distinguish myself. Then my brother Gene (who, I am sure, doesn't remember this) gave me a cassette tape of Journey to the Centre of the Earth by someone named Rick Wakeman. It was Winter, and he gave it to me while we were in the driveway of our house on Appleby Drive. I still remember taking it, looking at the cover, and putting it in the pocket of my heavy Winter coat as I thanked him. (Funny what you remember after twenty-five years.)

  When I listened to it, I really liked it. It was like the Classical music I had always liked, and those other parts were OK, too. He could really play piano! I wanted to hear more, and discovered my brother Dave's copy of YesSongs. I borrowed it frequently, listening only to the second side of the second record (you know, "Mood for a Day," "Excerpts from The Six Wives of Henry VIII," and "Roundabout"). After a while, I decided that that guitar stuff was OK. And so, by the time I was in college, I was blasting Led Zeppelin with the best of them.

  Rick's albums have greatly influenced my own keyboard playing (after fifty albums (his, not mine), this should not be a surprise), including my initial intent in playing at Saint Ignatius. I thought I would take a pretty good contemporary Catholic music group, and turn in into Yes with my keyboard playing. Well, we all know about mice and men....

  So, with so much of my own musical life for the past twenty-five years influenced by Journey to the Centre of the Earth and all the followed, a sequel, which means so much to Rick, also means a great deal to me, just by its very existence.

  Well, I like it.

  I have more to say, about the music and what it reminds me of, about the personnel (comments which will mention that great 80's group, "Moses and the Graven Image"), some comments on the story (I don't want to spoil it for anyone, so I will wait until you all go and buy it), some about the fact that, twenty-five years later, he still can't spell "center", and other stuff. But for now, as a first impression:

  I like it.

• Second impressions - May 4, 1999
  Well, any album with Trevor Rabin on it....

Album Painting & Lettering copyright (c) 1999 Roger Dean.
All other content copyright (c) 1999 Thomas A. Riso. All Rights Reserved.