2000 A.D. Into the Future＜Purple Vinyl＞

Like his album entitled 1984, 2000 A.D. Into the Future is an instrumental prognostication of the world through the energized style of Wakeman's keyboard playing, putting to use both the analogue and digital types of synthesizer. Produced by Wakeman himself and recorded at his favored Bajonor Studios in the Isle of Man, this collection of nine solely instrumental tracks wonderfully play out their intended motifs with sparkling precision. Originally created for a number of science fiction films, each of them contain Wakeman's familiar synthesized sketching, playing out his perpetration of a mechanized future. "Toward Peace" is a friendlier keyboard jaunt, staying away from the weightier sound of his instruments to keep with the songs' hint of promise. His spacious blend of crunched notes and long washes of Mellotron solidify tracks like "The Time Tunnel" and "The Seventh Dimension," sculpting a portrait of tomorrow through the aberrant behavior of multiple synthesizers. A mixture of rock rhythms and keyboard virtuosity converge on "A.D. Rock," culminating in one of the busiest tracks on the album. Even "Robot Dance" evokes Wakeman's gifted talent of conjuring up visual tapestries through his use of tempo and melody. True to his abstract use of the synthesizer, 2000 A.D. Into the Future is yet another successful conceptual piece from Mr. Wakeman. ~ Mike DeGagne