50 Portraits

Keyboard legend, Rick Wakeman, famous the world over for his hugely successful and high-profile rock career - most notably with leading bands Yes and The Strawbs and for his sought-after collaborations with top artists of the day such as David Bowie and Black Sabbath - is pleased to celebrate the festive season with a brand new album, 'Christmas Portraits'. With all tracks personally chosen and arranged by Wakeman himself, this special holiday album celebrates Wakeman's favourite time of the year as he performs familiar and favourite festive music, arranged for solo piano, all performed on his beloved Granary Steinway Model D grand piano. A former student and Fellow of the Royal College of Music, Wakeman has covered much musical ground during his wide-ranging career and here with 'Christmas Portraits', he brings his classic Wakeman twist to traditional Christmas classics, arranging some evergreens into fresh new medleys. Of this brand-new album, Rick Wakeman commented: ''Christmas is my absolute favourite time of the year. I love every aspect of it, especially traditional Christmas music and songs which have wonderful simplistic melodies that are perfect for adaptation to produce variations on the piano. That is something I love to do and that is exactly what this album is''.

This is the musical equivalent of a box of assorted high-end chocolates: loads of treats in bite-size pieces, with something for everybody. Barber’s Adagio, heard here in its original string-quartet version, is the one everyone will be reaching for and the Modigliani don’t disappoint, giving us playing of poise and rapt intensity. Miniatures by composers from Mozart to Leroy Anderson—whose “Plink, Plank, Plunk!” is suitably madcap—via Mendelssohn, Korngold, and many others show off playing of charm, humor, and great panache.

Time & Changes/Portraits combines the Buckinghams' second and third albums onto a single-disc CD reissue. Producer James Guercio took on such a major role in their second album that he amounted to a more influential force, perhaps, than anyone in the band…