Cost of Living (Rick Wakeman album)

Cost of Living
Studio album by Rick Wakeman
Released	1983
Recorded	1982-83
Genre	Hard rock, progressive rock
Length	36:09
Label	Charisma Records Voiceprint Records (reissue)
Producer	Rick Wakeman
Rick Wakeman chronology
Rock 'n' Roll Prophet (1982)Rock 'n' Roll Prophet1982 Cost of Living (1983) G'olé! (1983)G'olé!1983
Alternative cover
1991 reissue.

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[1]

Cost of Living is a progressive rock album released in 1983 by British keyboard player Rick Wakeman. Actor Robert Powell provided narration on the last track of the album.^[2]

The track on the album called "Gone But Not Forgotten" was played at a memorial service for Countdown host Richard Whiteley shortly after his death. The voice at the very start of "Bedtime Stories" is that of Rick Wakeman's son (Benjamin). He was just 3 years old at the time of the recording.^[3]

Track listing

1. "Twij" – 1:20
2. "Pandamonia" – 3:58
3. "Gone But Not Forgotten" – 3:43
4. "One For The Road" – 4:44
5. "Bedtime Stories" – 4:23
6. "Happening Man" – 3:35
7. "Shakespeare Run" – 3:27
8. "Monkey Nuts" – 3:26
9. "Elegy - Written in a Country Churchyard" — 8:24

Rick's Perspective Notes "Another nearly album. It has too much variation within the music for me to be really happy about it and again I ended up in a studio that I really didn't like that was picked by the record company at the time and so I couldn't change. There's a mixture of great playing and some very poor playing as well. Most disappointing is the piano sound as the piano in the studio was cheap and nasty. There are a couple of classic tracks on the album though such as Happening Man which I would love to re-record one day."

• rwcc.com

Personnel

• Rick Wakeman - Keyboards
• Hereward Kaye - Vocals
• Jackie McAuley - Guitar
• John Gustafson - Bass
• Robert Powell - Narration
• Tim Rice - Lyrics
• Tony Fernandez - Drums, percussion

References