Rick Wakeman piano "Morning has broken"

[obxa]

Never knew he was the one who played piano on Cat Stevens/Yusuf's  great track.  Always assumed it was Stevens who played it . Fun to see it dissected and further testament to what an innovative player RW is.  Pulling out my vinyl, I've also rediscovered his great stuff with the Strawbs.

 

 

[stoken6]

That's known to me (also "Life on Mars" for any Rick-as-sideman collectors out there). Iirc Rick tells the story of how he feels he was insufficiently rewarded for his performance. However what he played was not notated/written down, so when it came to touring Rick was the only name in town, and he could name his price. 

 

Cheers, Mike.

[wineandkeyz]

From Wikipedia:

 

"Prior to the actual recording Stevens heard Wakeman play a rough sketch of what would later become 'Catherine Howard' from his album The Six Wives of Henry VIII (1973). Stevens told Wakeman that he liked it and wanted something similar as the opening section, the closing section and, if possible, a middle section as well. Wakeman told Stevens he could not as it was his piece destined for a solo album, but Stevens persuaded him to adapt his composition."

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morning_Has_Broken

[Dave Bryce]

Don’t forget his sideman work on Elton’s Madman Across The Water album.

 

dB

[mcgoo]

19 minutes ago, Dave Bryce said:

Don’t forget his sideman work on Elton’s Madman Across The Water album.

 

dB

 

And some well placed piano glissandos and Mellotron pads on T Rex's "Bang A Gong". 

[Old No7]

Rick's brilliance as a composer and arranger is as amazing as his talent on the keys!

 

Amazing to hear what little he got for that studio session though...

 

Old No7

[BluMunk]

Before I knew who Rick Wakeman was (heck, before I knew that 'prog rock' was a thing), I admired this piano part. I think we sang Morning Has Broken in middle school chorus and I took home the sheet music from that arrangement and learned to play the intro and transitional bits outlined in that video. I never did learn those beautiful descending arpeggios that happen during the verses.