Return to the Centre of the Earth

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Abstract is: 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. 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. Wakeman wrote a new story that details three unnamed travellers who attempt to follow the original journey 200 years later, and is narrated by actor Patrick Stewart. The album features 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 went to No. 34 on the UK Albums Chart and promoted with a launch party and select material performed live on Wakeman's solo tours. The album did not chart in the US, and it failed to make a commercial impact there. Wakeman performed the album in its entirety with his rock band, orchestra, and choir, in June 2001 and July 2006, both times in Canada. A deluxe box set with live and previously unreleased audio and video material was released in 2021.

Return to the Centre of the Earth is …