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Journey to the Centre of the Earth is a live album and third overall by English keyboardist Rick Wakeman, released on 3 May 1974 by A&M Records. It was recorded in concert at the Royal Festival Hall in London, England on 18 January 1974, staged for the premiere of his symphonic rock adaptation of Jules Verne's 1864 science-fiction novel of the same name. It tells the story of Professor Lidinbrook, his nephew Axel, and their guide Hans, who follow a passage to the Earth's centre originally discovered by Arne Saknussemm, an Icelandic alchemist. He performs with the London Symphony Orchestra and English Chamber Choir conducted by David Measham, and a group of former pub bandmates and session musicians which became his own rock band, the English Rock Ensemble. Actor David Hemmings narrates the story. Wakeman had wanted to make the album as early as 1971, but shelved it until he had completed his first album, The Six Wives of Henry VIII, and had written some music for it. He was inspired by Sergei Prokofiev's Peter and the Wolf, which featured a narrator and the music depicting the action, and felt Verne's novel was ideal for a musical adaptation. From Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Journey...) under Creative Commons Attribution CC-BY-SA 3.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/...)
