White Rock - RICK WAKEMAN***

White Rock/Searching For Gold/The Loser/The Shoot/Laxx/After The Ball/Montezuma's Revenge/Ice Run

White Rock was a soundtrack album from keyboards maestro Rick Wakeman to celebrate the winter Olympics. It demonstrates his versatility on a variety of instruments and musical styles. (US:126 UK:14)

“One of the albums I've enjoyed since I became familiar with his solo career is White Rock. An instrumental album made especially for the winter games from Innsbruck. The arrangements here are well balanced, well performed; some parts are slower some with more vim, but in the end an enjoyable record.”

“Rick is very talented and managed to come up with some good arrangements, not spectacular but pleasant most of the time. He was a very versatile musician; he can go from more upbeat tempos to slower moments, from almost disco beats to jazzy elements in only few seconds, a very strong and talented keyboard player.”

“Great mini-moog jamming on the title track: this is a lost Wakeman classic, and his best soundtrack. It does indeed sound cold, like a winter-themed album should.”

“This album is OK, but nothing really stands out. You get the usual flurry of keyboards from Wakeman, but the imagination is missing. The music seems to be all pizzazz, and little substance. I also can't stand boy choirs on rock albums, and here you get two doses.”

“This record has many excellent piano and floating mellotron parts. Organ, clavinet and mini moog are also in the mix. The record is rather melodic, but it is also dynamic, nervous, even borderline strident, and contains some good choir arrangements. The compositions are less progressive than usual and simpler.”

“All in all, a delightful mix of instruments from classical to choral to synthesizer, with that glorious Moog cutting through everything else, just to remind you who is playing it. However I think I love Rick's piano on this album even more. All the instruments complement each other so well. Even though Rick seems to be using a hundred different sounds, they never get in each other's way and it all ties together superbly. A very satisfying experience technically and emotionally.”

“White Rock is much more than just a soundtrack album. It is an emotional trip through feelings of triumph and defeat.”