The Myths And Legends Of King Arthur And The Knights Of The Round Table (Remastered) Rick Wakeman

• 1 Arthur 07:26
• 2 Lady Of The Lake 00:44
• 3 Guinevere 06:45
• 4 Sir Lancelot And The Black Knight 05:18
• 5 Merlin The Magician 08:51
• 6 Sir Galahad 05:51
• 7 The Last Battle 09:41
• Total Runtime 44:36

Info for The Myths And Legends Of King Arthur And The Knights Of The Round Table (Remastered)

The Myths and Legends of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table is the fourth studio album by English keyboardist Rick Wakeman, released on 27 March 1975 by A&M Records. It is a concept album based on the stories and people of the King Arthur legend. Wakeman started to write the music in 1974 while recovering from a heart attack and recorded it with his five-piece band the English Rock Ensemble, the New World Orchestra, and the English Chamber Choir.

King Arthur received positive reviews, though some labelled it a symbol of progressive rock excess. It reached No. 2 on the UK Albums Chart and No. 21 on the US Billboard 200. It was certified gold in the US, Brazil, Japan, and Australia. The album was promoted with a world tour in 1975 that included three shows at Wembley Arena performed as an ice show, the last time it was performed in its entirety until 2016. The album was reissued in 2015 with a Quadrophonic mix, and re-recorded in 2016 with additional parts previously removed from the original score due to time constraints.

Rick Wakeman, keyboards, synths, grand piano, producer
Ashley Holt, vocals
Gary Pickford Hopkins, vocals
Jeffrey Crampton, lead & acoustic guitars
Roger Newell, bass
Barney James, drums
John Hodgson, percussion
New World Orchestra
Nottingham Festival Vocal Group
English Chamber Choir
Guy Protheroe, choirmaster
David Measham, choir & orchestra conductor
Terry Taplin, narrator voice

Digitally remastered

Rick Wakeman
Born in Perivale, Middlesex, England, Rick Wakeman's interest in music manifested itself very early, and from the age of seven on he studied classical piano. At the age of 14, he joined a local band, Atlantic Blues, the same year he left school to enroll in the Royal College of Music. He had his eye on a career as a concert pianist, but Wakeman was dismissed from the college after it became clear that he preferred playing in clubs to studying technique.

By his late teens, he was an established session man, playing on records by such diverse acts as Black Sabbath, Brotherhood of Man, and Edison Lighthouse. At the end of the '60s, his name also began appearing on the credits of albums by such artists as Al Stewart and David Bowie, and one set of sessions with a folk-rock band called the Strawbs led to his joining the group in 1970. After two albums with the Strawbs, Wakeman joined Yes, a post-psychedelic hard rock band that had attracted considerable attention with their first three albums. Wakeman played a key role in the final shape of the group's fourth record, Fragile, creating a fierce, swirling sound on an array of electric and acoustic pianos, synthesizers, and Mellotrons. Fragile was a hit, driven by the chart success of the single "Roundabout," and Wakeman was suddenly elevated to star status.

This album contains no booklet.