Rhapsodies (album) - Misplaced Pages

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
Source	Rating
AllMusic
Record Mirror
Smash Hits	4/10

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."

Track listing

All tracks by Rick Wakeman, except where noted.

Side one
No.	Title	Writer(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 Cohn	2:40
5.	"Big Ben"		3:48

Side two
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
6.	"Rhapsody in Blue"	George Gershwin; arranged by Tony Visconti	5:26
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 Wakeman	2:50

Side three
No.	Title	Length
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.	Title	Writer(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 Wakeman	4:27
18.	"Credits"		2:39

Personnel

Music

Rick Wakeman – keyboards, arrangements, vocals and vocoder on "Pedra da Gavea"
Nico Ramsden – electric guitar
Tony Visconti – acoustic guitar, engineer
Bruce Lynch – bass guitars
Frank Gibson Jr. – drums, percussion

Technical

James Lougheed – engineer, Mobile One tape operator
David K. Richards – assistant engineer
Michael Ross – album design, art direction
Paul Wakefield – photography

Charts

Chart (1979)	Peak position
Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)	15
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)	43
UK Albums (OCC)	25
US Billboard 200	170

References

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

v t e Rick Wakeman
Studio albums	Piano Vibrations The Six Wives of Henry VIII The Myths and Legends of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table No Earthly Connection Rick Wakeman's Criminal Record Rhapsodies 1984 Rock 'n' Roll Prophet Cost of Living Silent Nights Country Airs The Family Album Time Machine Sea Airs Night Airs Classic Tracks Rick Wakeman's Greatest Hits Light Up The Sky The Seven Wonders of the World Return to the Centre of the Earth Christmas Variations Out There Piano Portraits Piano Odyssey Christmas Portraits The Red Planet
Soundtracks	Lisztomania White Rock Phantom Power
Live	Journey to the Centre of the Earth Live at Hammersmith The Six Wives of Henry VIII: Live at Hampton Court Palace
Related articles	Discography Yes Anderson Bruford Wakeman Howe Strawbs Yes Featuring Jon Anderson, Trevor Rabin, Rick Wakeman

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