Rhapsodies
Studio album by
Rick Wakeman
ReleasedMay 1979
Recorded1978–1979
StudioLa Grange using the A&M Mobile and Mountain, Montreux, Switzerland
GenreProgressive rock
Length70:17
LabelA&M
(SP-6501)
ProducerTony Visconti
Rick Wakeman chronology
Rick Wakeman's Criminal Record
(1977) 		Rhapsodies
(1979) 		The Burning
(1981)
Singles from Rhapsodies
  1. "Animal Showdown"
    Released: June 1979[1]
  2. "Swan Lager"
    Released: November 1979

Rhapsodies is a studio double album by English keyboardist Rick Wakeman, released in May 1979 on A&M Records. It was his last studio release on A&M and reached no. 25 in the UK. Described by Wakeman as "probably the most confusing I have ever made" due to the range of styles, it contains generally shorter tracks than his previous work to date, the longest being 5:32. All of his previous non-soundtrack albums had contained at least two tracks over seven minutes long.

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[2]
Record Mirror[4]
Smash Hits4/10[3]

The Globe and Mail wrote that Wakeman's "major problem is his insistence on inundating the marketplace with far more instrumentally adept but generally unexciting mishmash than it can possibly absorb."[5]

Track listing

All tracks by Rick Wakeman, except where noted.

Side one
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Pedra da Gavea" 4:11
2."Front Line" 3:42
3."Bombay Duck" 3:14
4."Animal Showdown (Yes We Have No Bananas)"Wakeman, Frank Silver, Irving Cohn2:40
5."Big Ben" 3:48
Side two
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
6."Rhapsody in Blue"George Gershwin; arranged by Tony Visconti5:26
7."Wooly Willy Tango" 3:24
8."The Pulse" 5:21
9."Swan Lager"music taken from Tchaikovsky's "Swan Lake" and Edvard Grieg's Piano Concerto in A minor; arranged and adapted by Rick Wakeman2:50
Side three
No.TitleLength
10."March of the Gladiators"4:53
11."Flacons de Neige"5:01
12."The Flasher"5:32
13."The Palais"2:23
Side four
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
14."Stand-By" 3:30
15."Sea Horses" 3:52
16."Half Holiday" 3:00
17."Summertime"George Gershwin, DuBose Heyward; arranged by Rick Wakeman4:27
18."Credits" 2:39

Personnel

Music

Technical

Charts

Chart (1979) Peak
position
Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)[6] 15
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[7] 43
UK Albums (OCC)[8] 25
US Billboard 200[9] 170

References

  1. ^ "The Great Rock Discography". p. 878.
  2. ^ Raiteri, Stephen. "Rhapsodies - Rick Wakeman". AllMusic. Retrieved 14 April 2020.
  3. ^ Starr, Red. "Albums". Smash Hits. No. June 14–27, 1979. p. 25.
  4. ^ Paul, Sexton (9 June 1979). Rick Wakeman: 'Rhapsodies'. Record Mirror. p. 18.
  5. ^ Niester, Alan (14 July 1979). "Rhapsodies Rick Wakeman". The Globe and Mail. p. F4.
  6. ^ "Norwegiancharts.com – Rick Wakeman – Rhapsodies". Hung Medien. Retrieved October 5, 2023.
  7. ^ "Swedishcharts.com – Rick Wakeman – Rhapsodies". Hung Medien. Retrieved October 5, 2023.
  8. ^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved October 5, 2023.
  9. ^ "Rick Wakeman Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved October 5, 2023.


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