Return of the Caped Avenger. Rick Wakeman fans, rejoice! The keyboard guru of progressive rock has unleashed a collection of new recordings, modestly titled The Ultimate Rick Wakeman Experience. It's a 3-CD set including new renditions of classic tracks from Journey to the Centre of the Earth, The Six Wives ..., and King Arthur, as well as Yes tracks like "Starship Trooper". There's also a set of lovely Italian songs with Mario Fasciano. So get to your record store by horse, by rail, by land, or by sea, and check it out.
Another innovative keyboardist, Alice Coltrane, released her first new album in a quarter-century last year; it's called Translinear Light and it shows she's in top form. The widow of the famous saxophonist released several albums in the 1970s before leaving the music world to devote herself full-time to spiritual pursuits a the Vedantic Center ashram, which she founded in 1975. This release features new versions of her classic "Blue Nile" and the traditional "This Train", and lots of strong new music. Her son Ravi Coltrane produced the recording and appears on several of the tracks.
