rick wakeman is out there, man.

RICK WAKEMAN

CELEBRATES NASA’S RETURN

TO SPACE WITH SECOND RELEASE

FOR AAO/REALITY

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Eagerly Anticipated Solo Disc Out There,
Due October 25, Pays Homage To Crew
Of Space Shuttle Columbia, With Tracks
Dedicated To The Fallen Astronauts

* * *

Famed Rock Keyboardist Was Influenced

By NASA Alternate Payload Specialist and

Engineer Scott Vangen

* * *

Out There Follows on Heels of Major Sales Chart Success

Of Any Day Now, Debut AAO/Reality Release By

Fellow Classic British Rockers The Jones Gang

Throughout his illustrious career as songwriter and keyboardist for the legendary progressive rock band Yes, Rick Wakeman frequently cited space exploration as one of his chief influences as a composer. Excited about NASA’s recent return to space, the famed British musician celebrates the successful mission of the Space Shuttle Discovery this past summer--and pays tribute to the fallen crew of Columbia, which fell to earth in 2003—on his eagerly anticipated solo recording Out There, which marks his second release for AAO Music’s Reality label, following up Rick Wakeman Revisited. Out There will be released October 25.

Wakeman cites his good friend Scott Vangen, NASA Alternate Payload Specialist, as helping him solidify the vision behind the songs on Out There. Vangen’s vast knowledge and experience helped the keyboardist expand his understanding of the universe and the role of space exploration.

Says Wakeman, “The tragedy of the Space Shuttle Columbia was truly devastating to me and I wrote to Scott to ask if it would be appropriate to dedicate this album to the crew, as I truly believe that the loss of these seven very special people will prove not to have been in vain. It is all too easy to forget that these dedicated people believed and worked for the good of mankind and for its future preservation.”

For the upcoming album, Wakeman has dedicated a song to each of the fallen astronauts.

Vangen says, “To include a dedication in the memory of each crew member is very touching, and will be warmly felt by many who like me, believe that our same drive will always live on, and will give us even more reason to celebrate our common human desire to explore and press the boundaries of our knowledge, our home planet, our universe and our spirits. Music, in its own way, can be a testimony to the human spirit that also moves us forward and outward.”

“Out There,” comes together through an English rock ensemble headed by Wakeman on keyboard, Ant Glynee on guitar, Lee Pomeroy on bass, Tony Fernandez on drums, and vocals by Damian Wilson. Fraser Thorneycroft-Smith is also featured on the tracks “Out There,” and “The Mission.”

Wakemen’s precision in ensuring that the sound on the album would be at its full potential is evident in the final product, which took almost seven years to complete. Lyrically, Wakemen recalls envisioning each piece of music as a painting with corresponding words reflecting all that he imagined and felt while composing each “painting.”

Trained on classical piano, Wakeman was an established session keyboardist by his late teens. After playing on records by Black Sabbath, Al Stewart and David Bowie, he did two albums with the folk-rock band The Strawbs before joining Yes in 1970. He achieved iconic status after playing a key role in the final shape of the band’s fourth album, Fragile; his fierce, swirling sound on an array of electric and acoustic pianos, synthesizers and Mellotron helped define Yes’ sound for years to come. While recording and touring on and off with Yes throughout the 80s, 90s and the current decade, he has also done numerous solo albums and scored many British films.

The release of Out There is sure to continue AAO/Reality’s success with legendary British rockers. The label’s first release, Any Day Now by The Jones Gang (Kenney Jones, Rick Wills, Robert Hart, featuring special appearances by Ron Wood on guitar), spawned the monster hit single, “Angel,” which recently hit #4 on the Billboard Singles Sales Chart and just hit #1 on FMQB’s AC chart. The song also recently broke the Top 40 on Radio & Record’s AC Airplay Chart.