Check out this killer Rick Wakeman Solo

[NYKeys]

http://www.santoalt.com/videos/300_Rick_Wakeman_Keyboard_Solo.html

 

You might have to Save the video to see it clearly.

[ksoper]

"Too many notes!"

[Gulliver]

Cool. Was it an old video? It seemed like he used a simple (un-edited) preset from Roland-50 for one of his gymnastics... I think it sounded horrible despite the "too many notes" syndrome!

[Prague]

It humors me that many current keyboard users have to program/loop/arppegiate something at even 1/4 of the tempo.

 

Then, they tell me how much Wakeman sucks.

 

Notice that he also uses his feet. See the pedals, keyboard players? Take note.

[joegerardi]

That's his solo from the old ABWH days. Awesome stuff!

 

..Joe

[Gulliver]

Originally posted by Prague:

It humors me that many current keyboard users have to program/loop/arppegiate something at even 1/4 of the tempo.

 

Then, they tell me how much Wakeman sucks.

Did you aim this remark at me?

[guzman]

Originally posted by Prague:

It humors me that many current keyboard users have to program/loop/arppegiate something at even 1/4 of the tempo.

 

Then, they tell me how much Wakeman sucks.

 

Notice that he also uses his feet. See the pedals, keyboard players? Take note.

Yep. I like the solo. Are there a lot of notes? Of course. Lots of arpeggios and Jimmy Smith "machine gun" technique in the synth on top, but I like it. The best part was the honky tonk piano mid-way through.

 

Look, part of being a virtuoso like Wakeman is to play at the upper speed limit of your abilities when appropriate. Go to a top notch orchestral concert and you'll see the same thing with the soloists - same with a concert level pianist, jazz pianist - talk about a bunch of notes! I appreciate it for what it is. It is OK folks, to show your technique, as long as it's not at the expense of being non-musical and/or over done. Listen to the crowd get into it when he starts jammin it up. THAT's your customer. THAT's what they want. It's PROG people, and speed is part of its heritage.

 

Jeeez... you "too many notes" guys...

[Gulliver]

Originally posted by guzman:

Jeeez... you "too many notes" guys...

Lighten up, dude. You see that green smilie in my post above?

 

And the world "horrible" was addressed not to his playing but to the generic D-50 patch he used at one point.

[guzman]

Originally posted by Gulliver:

Originally posted by guzman:

Jeeez... you "too many notes" guys...

Lighten up, dude. You see that green smilie in my post above?

-ack. I missed the

 

(tail between legs) I guess I'm just sensitive whenever I hear someone say "too many notes". Whenever I hear live players - be it rock, jazz, fusion, classical, whatever - I enjoy it when they practically explode, as long as it's not overdone.

 

I just heard an extremely blistering Joey DeFrancesco solo on live365.com as I was reading the thread. DAMN!

[AnCap]

Originally posted by Gulliver:

Cool. Was it an old video? It seemed like he used a simple (un-edited) preset from Roland-50 for one of his gymnastics... I think it sounded horrible despite the "too many notes" syndrome!

I would gather it was old based simply on his haircut, no? Pretty cool though.

[NYKeys]

Sweet Mullet....LOL

 

HE had at least 10 boards up there in an octagone configuration. What was real impressive was he was able to fly even on Weighted keys.

 

That's got to burn.

[Prague]

Is the single-note ostinato played with his thumb and fore-finger? That's what it looks like.

 

Wakeman is a classic as far as being a great player using cheesy sounds (excluding prior to 1975). I saw him in mid-2004 and he got the sounds right, though.

 

My previous comments are only aimed at those who think the way I described, as in, "If the shoe fits, wear it". I've met plenty of players that are as I descibed.

[K K]

Originally posted by Prague:

Is the single-note ostinato played with his thumb and fore-finger? That's what it looks like.

You can play such repetitive notes with more than just two fingers for minimum fatigue. Depends what are your personal dexterity strenghts at high speed. There are different ways to achieve a similar result.

 

Actually, the King Arthur excerpt that comes after is more difficult to play.

[Sven Golly]

Originally posted by Prague:

Notice that he also uses his feet. See the pedals, keyboard players? Take note.

Not sure what your point is, Prague... could you clarify? (I'm serious for once ) The pedals he has are mostly continous controller pedals for volume, expression, and other ranged values on the various boards he's playing. When I read your comment, and prior to watching the clip, I assumed he had Taurus pedals or the equivalent... so I'm not sure what message you're trying to get across.

 

(For the record, I'm absolutely no Wakeman, but I have 3 continuous pedals with my 2-board 'rig' ).

 

Cheers,

SG

[Prague]

Yea, my "pedal" comment is based on most of the keyboardists I've attempted to work with. Very few know how to use a CC pedal.

 

They try and control volume with their hands and just about everything else (hey control anything at all). The better ones can at least control a pitch and Mod wheel. A "dampener" (sic) pedal is also a familiar word. But their hands are supposed to be playing.

 

Most just play full bore all the time. The playing just comes off very flat and lifeless with no dynamics.

[orangefunk]

I've seen Rick a few times over the years... he's okay but I think he sounds much much better on pipe organ than anything else... his synth stuff is kinda cheesy... his piano playing is always too showy for me.. never really sensitive on the level of a Hancock or Jarrett.

 

On the pipe organ he is supreme though...the 1977 period with him in Montreux showed some real insights... the Six wives LP was fun and kinda funky but after that it was all downhill for me..

 

That being said,hes a great showman live. Problem is that his comedy act takes over and people actually think he's a comedian who plays keyboards... rather than the other way around... I

[LithoJazzoSphere]

Look, part of being a virtuoso like Wakeman is to play at the upper speed limit of your abilities when appropriate. Go to a top notch orchestral concert and you'll see the same thing with the soloists - same with a concert level pianist, jazz pianist - talk about a bunch of notes! I appreciate it for what it is. It is OK folks, to show your technique, as long as it's not at the expense of being non-musical and/or over done. Listen to the crowd get into it when he starts jammin it up. THAT's your customer. THAT's what they want. It's PROG people, and speed is part of its heritage.

 

Jeeez... you "too many notes" guys...

Yeah, I've seen that attitude a lot. Not necessarily in this thread so much, but in others, and in general among musicians. It's ok to play at the speed of light if you play classical or old-school jazz, but not if you play synthesizers. It's ok to have lightning fast fingers for classical guitar, flamenco, and other styles, but not on an electric guitar with distortion. When B.B. King or Bill Evans or Kevin Moore play slowly, it's from the heart. When Yngwie Malmsteen or Jordan Rudess play slowly, it's unemotional and lame. Just had to get that off my chest.

[cnegrad]

I'm going to "pile on" in a different way:

 

For me, the *only* thing that's impressive about this clip is his technique. Make no bones about it; the man's got blistering chops.

 

But that said, the "compositions" suck. The majority of it is arpeggiated triads. It sounds more like an exercise than a piece of music. It sounds like the keyboard equivalent of your average rock guitarist playing triadic hammer-ons.

[Hollan Holmes]

Sweet merciful god of all thats holy! Thats some incredible technique. Only three or four missed notes in the several hundred he must have played in only a couple minutes. I knew Rick was good, but I can't recall ever seeing him play quite that fast. In fact I've not seen many people in this world at all who can play this fast. Quite impressive, whether the arrangement is compelling or not...which I thought it was. Just my 2c.

[Hollan Holmes]

Sweet merciful god of all thats holy! Thats some incredible technique. Only three or four missed notes in the several hundred he must have played in only a couple minutes. I knew Rick was good, but I can't recall ever seeing him play quite that fast. In fact I've not seen many people in this world at all who can play this fast. Quite impressive, whether the arrangement is compelling or not...which I thought it was. Just my 2c.

[Prague]

It's really too bad the rock genre hasn't sprouted any more players of his calibre. Certainly in last 30 years (or even the 15+ since this video) a player or two has arisen.

 

That kind of player can lead bands and fill seats. He certainly deserves every accolade he has received. We just need some more in the limelight.

 

Oh well.

[Hollan Holmes]

Sweet merciful god of all thats holy! Thats some incredible technique. Only three or four missed notes in the several hundred he must have played in only a couple minutes. I knew Rick was good, but I can't recall ever seeing him play quite that fast. In fact I've not seen many people in this world at all who can play this fast. Quite impressive, whether the arrangement is compelling or not...which I thought it was. Just my 2c.

[guzman]

Originally posted by LithoJazzoSphere:

Look, part of being a virtuoso like Wakeman is to play at the upper speed limit of your abilities when appropriate. Go to a top notch orchestral concert and you'll see the same thing with the soloists - same with a concert level pianist, jazz pianist - talk about a bunch of notes! I appreciate it for what it is. It is OK folks, to show your technique, as long as it's not at the expense of being non-musical and/or over done. Listen to the crowd get into it when he starts jammin it up. THAT's your customer. THAT's what they want. It's PROG people, and speed is part of its heritage.

 

Jeeez... you "too many notes" guys...

Yeah, I've seen that attitude a lot. Not necessarily in this thread so much, but in others, and in general among musicians. It's ok to play at the speed of light if you play classical or old-school jazz, but not if you play synthesizers. It's ok to have lightning fast fingers for classical guitar, flamenco, and other styles, but not on an electric guitar with distortion. When B.B. King or Bill Evans or Kevin Moore play slowly, it's from the heart. When Yngwie Malmsteen or Jordan Rudess play slowly, it's unemotional and lame. Just had to get that off my chest.

Whoa! Not OK to play at the speed of light if you play synthesizers?

 

LMAO!! I guess I'll just throw away my old Chick Corea and Jan Hammer recordings....

 

Don't get me wrong, I'm ALL for musicians playing slowly and tastefully from the heart. I'm also ALL for them kicking it up and showing me what they've got. It's about variety AND versatility. Now you could make the argument that Wakeman's solo is all flash - but that's one of the features of what that particular genre is about. It's what the customer base is paying to hear (listen to the cheering in the background). Play to the audience/customer.

 

Personally, I'd give my left nut to be able to play like Jordan Rudess - fast or slow. And I disagree - I think he can be very tasteful at slower speeds. Certainly not 'unemotional' and certainly not 'lame'.

 

[cnegrad]

Now you could make the argument that Wakeman's solo is all flash - but that's one of the features of what that particular genre is about. It's what the customer base is paying to hear (listen to the cheering in the background). Play to the audience/customer.

That's fine, as long we agree on what we're talking about. It's all flash and no substance to steal money from the ignorant masses. If that's the goal, then Wakeman is doing a great job. No argument.

[Ben One]

I was at an ABWH show back in 1989 when I first heard that exact same solo. One thing to keep in mind is that the Wakeman solo was designed for a live show. Having never seen him live before, I couldn't believe how fast he played. His solo surprised and energized me and lots of other people in the crowd when we first heard it.

 

What is the famous quote about musical virtuosity? That it's like watching someone on a trapeze and wondering if they're going to fall? I guess that is part of the excitement. But as prog keyboard solos go, I think his is decent musically.

 

There are quite a few prog keyboard solos that sound like mindless Hanon exercises. But there are good ones out there; another one that comes to mind is Eddie Jobson's short intro in UK's "Night After Night" on the live album of the same name. In that piece, the arpeggios are doing something musically interesting. (You can hear it if you go to his music company site www.globemusic.com and select Music Clips; I wish I could provide a direct link but his site is 100% Flash!)

 

Ben

[stoo schultz]

Well after that performance, is he now going to attract maybe half as much babes as the guitarist in the band?

 

 

I like how he shakes out his hand before he launches into the machine gunning.

[rockfan]

I would like to see him play "The Rach 3." Remember the movie "Shine." Similar playing style.

[Calumet]

I have always liked Rick Wakeman, but he is no Emerson. Keith's compositions and playing are always more harmonically interesting and sonically adventurous than anything Rick does.

 

Being a jazz guy, I am probably biased towards Emerson because he has some definite jazz influence in his playing, whereas it sounds like Wakeman doesn't have an ounce of jazz in his stuff.

 

Just a matter of opinion, of course.

[MidLifeCrisis]

We need more Rick Wakemans. He and Emerson are the only two rockers who have ever been considered Lead Keyboardists. If there were more players like them we would be held in the same esteem (to the general public) as guitarists. In most bands today the keyboard player is virtually unknown hidden somewhere in the back behind the drummer.

[K K]

Wakeman is considered a lead keyboardist by the public and medias because of his extroverted style. Of course, Emerson is a much more complete keyboardist because he doesn't only rely on virtuosity (note that this term isn't limited to speed, but also to expressivity, independance of both hands, endurance, creativity, etc.), but also on extraordinary talents for composition, adaptation, etc.

 

Also, don't forget "progressive" guys like Moraz, Minnear, Banks and Jobson, who chose to keep a somewhat "lower" profile, but in my opinion proved they were more creative and complete musicians than Wakeman.

 

But at least, here, Wakeman is playing in his own circus, in the sense that he's not destroying anybody else's masterpiece, something that unfortunately happens too often nowadays.

 

Beethoven and others would certainly beat certain pianists to death if they were here and see what they do with their compositions.