Journey to the Centre of the Earth is a live album and third overall by English keyboardist Rick Wakeman, released on 3 May 1974 by A&M Records. It was recorded in concert at the Royal Festival Hall in London, England on 18 January 1974, staged for the premiere of his symphonic rock adaptation of Jules Verne's 1864 science-fiction novel of the same name. It tells the story of Professor Lidinbrook, his nephew Axel, and their guide Hans, who follow a passage to the Earth's centre originally discovered by Arne Saknussemm, an Icelandic alchemist. He performs with the London Symphony Orchestra and English Chamber Choir conducted by David Measham, and a group of former pub bandmates and session musicians which became his own rock band, the English Rock Ensemble. Actor David Hemmings narrates the story. Wakeman had wanted to make the album as early as 1971, but shelved it until he had completed his first album, The Six Wives of Henry VIII (1973), and had written some music for it. He was inspired by Sergei Prokofiev's Peter and the Wolf, which featured a narrator and the music depicting the action, and felt Verne's novel was ideal for a musical adaptation. After Measham and show producer Lou Reizner agreed to take part Wakeman finalised the music, lyrics, and narration intermittently in 1973, and enlisted Wil Malone and Danny Beckerman to produce the orchestra and choir arrangements. The high costs for a studio recording led to the decision to record the work live, and Wakeman mortgaged his home and sold possessions to help finance the production. The finished album was poorly received by A&M management in England who refused to sell it, but American co-owner Jerry Moss heard the record and ordered its release. The album became a symbol of the excesses of progressive rock genre, but was praised for its strong melodies and orchestration. It was a commercial hit worldwide and established Wakeman as a prominent contemporary rock composer and virtuoso performer. It reached No. 1 on the UK Albums Chart, the first A&M album to do so, and No. 3 on the Billboard 200 in the US, and was certified Gold in both countries and Australia, Canada, and Brazil. It was nominated for an Ivor Novello Award and a Grammy Award for Best Pop Instrumental Performance. A world tour with an orchestra followed in 1974 and 1975, which proved costly and left Wakeman in considerable debt. In 1999, a sequel to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the original was released entitled Return to the Centre of the Earth. After the original and uncut orchestral score was rediscovered, Wakeman re-recorded the album in 2012 with the 18 minutes of music that was cut due to time constraints.
Background
Origins By January 1973, Wakeman had been the keyboardist in the progressive rock band Yes for almost one-and-a-half years, and released his first solo album, The Six Wives of Henry VIII, a concept album inspired by the six wives of King Henry VIII, for A&M Records, to which he was signed as a solo artist. The album was a commercial hit, reaching No. 7 in the UK and No. 30 in the US. Wakeman wanted his next album to tell a story, which he was inspired to do since his father took him to a concert performance of Peter and the Wolf by Sergei Prokofiev as a young boy, which features a narrator and an orchestra depicting the action. A fan of science-fiction, Wakeman had first read Jules Verne's 1864 novel Journey to the Centre of the Earth when he was twelve, and gained confidence by talking to people in pubs, where he found most had heard of Verne and the novel, but few knew the story. The book presented a wide range of possibilities for a musical adaptation which attracted Wakeman the most. He settled on the idea as early as November 1971, but shelved the project until he had finished recording The Six Wives of Henry VIII in October 1972, and had some music written and money to finance it. Development progressed in December 1972 when Wakeman took part as a guest musician in the orchestral concerts of The Who's Tommy, which featured the London Symphony Orchestra and English Chamber Choir conducted by David Measham, and music arranger Wil Malone. Wakeman told his idea for Journey to the show's producer, Lou Reizner, who put him in contact with Measham to discuss it further. By this time Wakeman had proceeded to read the book multiple times, and summarised the story in narration form. He wrote down sketches of the music at the piano "as fast as they appeared in my brain", which were used to produce a rough demo tape of the work using a Minimoog synthesiser, Mellotron, Rhodes piano, and clavinet. He played it for Measham who agreed to take part. Wakeman then announced the album to his manager Brian Lane (who also managed Yes), and expressed his wish to use the London Symphony Orchestra, English Chamber Choir, a rock band, and narrator. The cost to record it in a studio was too high, so A&M agreed to record a live performance in concert. Wakeman used all his earnings from The Six Wives of Henry VIII, mortgaged his home, and sold several of his cars to help cover the production costs, which Melody Maker reported to be £20,000 at the time although Wakeman later said it was in fact double. On the day of the concert, Wakeman received a writ from Express Dairies as he had not paid his milk bill for two months.
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