The Myths and Legends of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table
| The Myths and Legends of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 27 March 1975 | |||
| Recorded | 16 October 1974 – 10 January 1975 | |||
| Studio | Morgan, London | |||
| Genre | Progressive rock | |||
| Length | 44:57 | |||
| Label | A&M | |||
| Producer | Rick Wakeman | |||
| Rick Wakeman chronology | ||||
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| 2016 re-recording | ||||
Roger Dean artwork | ||||
The Myths and Legends of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table is the third studio album and fourth overall by English keyboardist Rick Wakeman. Released on 27 March 1975 by A&M Records, it is a progressive rock concept album based on the stories and people of the King Arthur legend. It developed in the summer of 1974 while Wakeman was in hospital recovering from a heart attack, and started to write music for it on paper and a cassette recorder. Recording took place during his debut world tour promoting Journey to the Centre of the Earth (1974), and performed some of the album live in Japan, Australia, and New Zealand in early 1975 prior to its release. Wakeman performs with his five-piece band named the English Rock Ensemble, the New World Orchestra, and the English Chamber Choir conducted by David Measham.
King Arthur received positive reviews, though some labelled it a symbol of progressive rock excess. It reached No. 2 on the UK Albums Chart and No. 21 on the US Billboard 200. It was certified gold in the US, Brazil, Japan, and Australia. The album was promoted with a world tour in 1975 that included three shows at Wembley Arena performed as an ice show, the last time it was performed in its entirety until 2016. The album was reissued in 2015 with a Quadrophonic mix, and re-recorded in 2016 with additional parts previously removed from the original score due to time constraints.