REVIEW: Journey to the Center of the Earth

Rick Wakeman
Journey to the Center of the Earth
© 1974 A&M

If you like Progressive Rock, don’t waste time; click on the Amazon widget below and get yourself a copy of Rick Wakeman’s Journey to the Center of the Earth. While by no means the greatest Prog album ever made, nor, possibly, even Wakeman’s best, it nonetheless is the perfect showpiece for the audacity, scale, pretension, and sense of adventure that characterized the movement’s heyday.


Journey to the Center of the Earth is, as the title suggests, based on the eponymous Jules Verne novel. The story is told with narration, song, rock instrumentation, The English Chamber Choir, The London Symphony Orchestra, and, of course, Wakeman’s signature synthesizer style. Because of the size and expense of the operation, the whole thing was recorded live and only slightly edited afterwards (Wakeman could not afford to re-record certain orchestral portions). The result is a diverse, sprawling arrangement that shifts freely between every possible configuration of its parts in the telling of its story. And, for the most part, it thrives.

As is usually the case with genre-blending experiments like this, success and failure depend entirely on how effectively the different aspects are mixed. When the parts are working in concert, as in scenes like the sea-monster battle in “The Battle,” the album successfully evokes its grand story. When they fail, however, the result is dull and awkward, such as the encounter with a giant, primordial man in “The Forest.” It is a testament to Wakeman’s vision that, in the face of all the obstacles he had to overcome—a restricted budget and reluctant labels in addition to technical challenges—that there are more moments of success than failure.

No clip of this mountain of music can do the whole work justice, but here are two all the same. The quality is, unfortunately, not the best. Be assured that the sound on the album itself is (taking into account that this is a live performance) clearer.

Near the beginning:


The climactic, Grieg-esque finale:


Any long-term influence of this album is dubious as, by the end of 1974, Progressive Rock as a movement was on a sharp decline; some of the biggest groups had disbanded and Punk Rock was on the way to becoming the next big thing. Because of this, Journey to the Center of the Earth has become something of an artifact, a symbol recalling the energy, virtuosity, and overreaching pomp of a musical era come and gone.

MUST HAVE IF… you are a fan of 70s Progressive Rock or if you consider yourself something of a rock historian.
RECCOMENDED IF… you enjoy symphonic rock past or present or if you like concept albums which tell a story.

CD: