Short Reviews [Oliver Wakeman - 2022 - "Collaborations"]

Back in 2001 drummer Dave Wagstaffe (Landmarq, Martin Turner’s Wishbone Ash) contacted me to see if I would be interested in hearing the new album by Oliver Wakeman and Steve Howe which he had played on. Of course I was, and was soon thoroughly enjoying ‘3 Ages of Magick’ but was incredibly disappointed to see it was not on a major label as it was a great album which surely would disappear without trace: it certainly never gained the acclaim it should have, even though it was reissued on Esoteric some years later. I have always had a soft spot for Oliver, as he has never really gained the recognition of his brother Adam, yet he is a great musician and ‘The Hound of the Baskervilles’ (recorded with Clive Nolan) could often be heard in my car when one of my daughters was there as it was her favourite album for years. So when I heard there was a reissue boxed set coming out with remasters of both this and the album he later recorded with Gordon Giltrap, ‘Ravens & Lullabies’, I knew I was in for a treat and that was indeed the case. I know both those albums well, and have reviewed them previously, and they are quite different in their approach. The first is a true instrumental album where Oliver shows just how close he is to his father in many ways, with Tony Dixon (Uilleann Pipes, whistles, flute) probably having a bigger impact on the overall sound than Steve Howe who rarely makes his presence felt at all. There is a deftness of touch from all involved, and a strong use of space and knowing when not to play as well as when to make an entrance, as both elements are incredibly important. There is a Western Isles feel to this, and there are times when I am reminded quite strongly of Iona, and it is great to hear it here in its cleaned up form, although given that Rob Aubrey and Karl Groom were involved in the original it is not like it needed much work at all. While Steve may have sat back a little on his collaboration, the same cannot be said of Gordon who opened the ‘Ravens’ albums by riffing his 12-string. This album has much more of a commercial feel than the former, with Paul Manzi (Arena) providing vocals, while Oliver also invited his ex-Yes bandmate Benoit David for one song. The drumming is also much more in your face with Johanne James (Threshold) joining in on the fun – the line-up being completed by Steve Amadeo on bass. The album features pieces which originally started with Gordon, others with Oliver, and yet others are full band pieces. Some would have not sounded out of place on Gordon’s classic ‘Elegy’ album, still one of my favourites some 40+ years after it was first released. The title of the album references the different styles included within, and the variety makes this an absolute delight. Wakeman father and sons have a wonderful relationship with their live sound engineers over the years, with Rick performing one of his most enjoyable concerts ever then coming off the stage and moaning to the engineer he so wished they had arranged to record it only to be told it had been (later released as ‘The Oscar Concert’ – superb). It was during lockdown that Oliver was approached by the sound engineer from one of the Giltrap/Wakeman concerts to say he had found a multitrack recording from a Christmas concert Oliver and Gordon had performed at with special guest Paul Manzi, where they played songs from these two albums (plus a few others) in a very different style, just the musicians bouncing off each other and Paul joining in for a few numbers. One of these is from the ‘Baskervilles’ album, originally sung by Bob Catley, here given a very different and delicate feel by the trio and is an absolute delight. The set ends with the one song everyone seems to know of Gordon’s, “Heartsong”, where he is joined by Oliver to create something quite special. It is this last album which I enjoyed most as here Oliver shows just how much like his father he really is, not only in his playing but also with his very dry sense of humour. Whenever anyone hears the name Wakeman one always thinks of Rick, who casts an enormous shadow over all keyboard players, let alone his sons, but both Adam and Oliver need recognising in their own right and this is the place to start for the older brother.