Rick Wakeman with Ozzy Osbourne - Return to the Centre of the Earth [DigiPak CD]

Format: CD
Catalogue No.: MFWN2CD
Barcode: 825646287987
Release Date: Jul 2025
Genre: Rock

Number of units: 250    

Other guests include
Patrick Stewart, Bonnie Tyler, Justin Heyward, Trevor Rabin and Kartina Leskanich

Return to the Centre of the Earth is a studio album by English keyboardist Rick Wakeman. It was released on 15 March 1999 on EMI Classics and is the sequel to his 1974 concept album Journey to the Centre of the Earth, itself based on the same-titled science fiction novel by Jules Verne. It tells a new story of three unnamed travelers who attempt to follow the original journey 200 years later, but from a different entrance. It is narrated by actor Patrick Stewart. Ideas for a sequel developed in 1991 with initial plans for a 1994 release, the twentieth anniversary of the original. After Wakeman produced a demo tape of songs, he caught the interest of EMI Classics who signed him to a recording deal and supplied an advance to record it. The album features the London Symphony Orchestra, the English Chamber Choir, and guest performances by Ozzy Osbourne, Bonnie Tyler, Tony Mitchell, Trevor Rabin, Justin Hayward, and Katrina Leskanich. In 1998, production halted after Wakeman was hospitalised with a life-threatening case of pneumonia and pleurisy. The album was Wakeman's most significant album of the decade and peaked at No. 34 on the UK Albums Chart, his first UK Top 40 hit in 18 years, but failed to make a commercial impact in the US. Wakeman performed the album in its entirety with his rock band, orchestra, and choir, in 2001 and 2006, both times in Canada. 

A Vision
The Return Overture
Mother Earth: the Shadow of June
The Gallery
The Avenue of Prismed Light
The Earthquake
Buried Alive (Vocals Ozzy Osbourne)
The Enigma
Is Anybody There? (Vocals Bonnie Tyler)
The Ravine
The Dance of a Thousand Lights
The Shepherd
Mr Slow
Bridge of Time
Never is a Long, Long Time (Vocals Trevor Rabin)
Tales from the Lidenbrook Sea: River of Hope
Hunter and Hunter
Fight for Life
The Kill
Timeless History
Still Waters Run Deep
Time Within Time: the Ebbing Tide
The Electric Storm
Ride of Your Life (Vocals Katrina Leskanich)
Floating: Globes of Fire
Cascades of Fear
Floodflames
The Volcano: Tongues of Fire
The Blue Mountains
The End of the Return