No Earthly Connection
| No Earthly Connection | ||||
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| Studio album by Rick Wakeman | ||||
| Released | April 1976 | |||
| Recorded | January–March 1976 | |||
| Studio |
Château d'Hérouville (Herouville, France) |
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| Genre | Progressive rock | |||
| Length | 42:13 | |||
| Label | A&M | |||
| Producer | Rick Wakeman | |||
| Rick Wakeman chronology | ||||
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| Professional ratings | |
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| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |
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No Earthly Connection is a studio album by English keyboardist Rick Wakeman, released in April 1976 on A&M Records. After touring worldwide in late 1975 in support of his previous studio album The Myths and Legends of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table (1975), Wakeman retreated to Herouville, France to record a new studio album with his rock band, the English Rock Ensemble. He based its material on a part fictional and non-fictional autobiographical account of music that incorporates historical, futuristic, and science-fiction themes.
No Earthly Connection peaked at number 9 on the UK Albums Chart and number 67 on the US Billboard 200. Its front cover features a distorted image of Wakeman that is corrected with a mirror sheet supplied with the album. Wakeman supported No Earthly Connection with a world tour that ended in August 1976, after which he disbanded his group for four years. In November 2016, the album was remastered and released on CD and vinyl with a live recording from the 1976 tour.
In December 1975, the 26-year-old Wakeman finished his three-month tour of North America and Brazil in following the release of his recent studio album The Myths and Legends of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table (1975) and the soundtrack album Lisztomania (1975). After a brief rest period, he relocated to Herouville, France in January 1976 to record a new studio album No Earthly Connection with his rock band, The English Rock Ensemble. His previous two albums, Journey to the Centre of the Earth (1974) and King Arthur, were concept albums that featured a symphony orchestra and choir that were costly to produce. When it came to recording No Earthly Connection, management at A&M Records insisted to Wakeman that an album with an orchestra and choir was no longer an option. For his 1975 tour, Wakeman had added two brass players to now six-piece band, Martyn Shields on trumpet and Reg Brooks on trombone. Guitarist Jeffrey Crampton was also replaced by John Dunsterville.
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