“Simply Acoustic” was a benefit concert for Assist Ministries, recorded at the Calvary Chapel of Costa Mesa, California during Rick’s “Simply Acoustic” tour. The Calvary Chapel is a huge modern church which seats 3,500 people. The first major problem of the evening arose when 8,000 people arrived, which must be some sort of record for a concert where there were no stage sets, no flashing lights and no massive P.A. system, just simply Rick and a grand piano, hence the title “Simply Acoustic”. The huge attendance led to the whole concert being filmed as they realized that the only way the performance could go ahead was to relay what was happening on stage to an adjoining gymnasium and a large hall in order to accommodate the overflow.
This is the only known recording of Rick performing a complete concert on grand piano. The CD contains stories which Rick tells between pieces that are nothing short of hilarious and often astonishing. The pieces he plays may well come as a surprise as they include the wonderful “Morning Has Broken”, which he originally recorded with Cat Stevens and also “Space Oddity” and “Life On Mars”, on which he played the keyboard for David Bowie. Add to this some truly virtuoso playing on some classical compositions taken from his highly acclaimed “Heritage Suite” and you have quite a sensational, unique audio collection of not-to-be missed Wakeman at his best.