01	Twij						01:20
	02	Pandamonia						03:58
	03	Gone But Not Forgotten						03:43
	04	One For The Road						04:44
	05	Bedtime Stories						04:23
	06	Happening Man						03:35
	07	Shakespeare Run						03:27
	08	Monkey Nuts						03:26
	09	Elegy - Written In A Country Churchyard						08:24

Cost of Living ( 1983)


Catalogue
Type Cat No. Label Country
CD GCDWR-159-2 Griffin UK
Cassette CHCMC 63 Charisma UK
CD VJCP-2552 Charisma Japan
Vinyl LP 205731-320 Charisma Germany

Track List
Title Length
1 Twij 1' 20"
2 Pandamonia 3' 58"
3 Gone But Not Forgotten 3' 43"
4 One For The Road 4' 44"
5 Bedtime Stories 4' 23"
6 Happening Man 3' 35"
7 Shakespeare Run 3' 27"
8 Monkey Nuts 3' 26"
9 Elegy (Grays) 8' 24"

Artist List
Name Instrument
Rick Wakeman Keyboards
Hereward Kaye Vocals
Jackie McAuley Guitar
John Gustafson Bass
Robert Powell Narration
Tim Rice Lyrics
Tony Fernandez Drums/Percussion


Additional Information
Studios:

Engineering:
Ken Thomas
Mark Stent (Asst)

Equipment:
Artwork:

Notes


Reviews
Solomon Eagle on 08/01/2003 [Other reviews by Solomon Eagle ]

Something of a curio, this. Parts of it are excellent - 'Elegy' (a true 'must-have' for any RW fan), 'Gone But Not Forgotten' and even 'Twij'. The rest is really disposable - Rick in his 'rockin' mode which, to be honest, sounds rather flabby and tired. Certainly, during the 1980s, Rick went through a bit of a tired-old-rocker phase, which alienated a lot of fans; what they liked about his work was his amazing keyboard work and his willingness to produce albums which, although not fashionable, were nevertheless interesting and distinctive. 'Elegy', 'Gone But Not Forgotten' and 'Twij' fall into this category; the rest is rather disposable. For me, this album represents my 'buying a RW LP just for the odd good track' phase; I was willing to do it, but thank God for CDs which mean you can skip the bad stuff (a footnote: we played 'Elegy' at my Father's funeral: I can't think of a more appropriate track for that occasion, nor a better reason to recommend this LP despite its faults).

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Bjorn Olaf Syvertsen on 14/10/1999 [Other reviews by Bjorn Olaf Syvertsen ]

This album could have been "1984 II". Tim Rice has written the lyrics, and the two albums are very similar. If you like one of them, you'll probably also like the other. "Cost of living" also reminds me of "Silent nights". The album is quite good (not quite so good as "1984" but better than "Silent nights") and contains one of Rick's all time classics: "Gone but not forgotten".

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Julian Simpson on 23/07/1999 [Other reviews by Julian Simpson ]

Cost Of Living was the last vinyl album of Rick's that I bought (except for buying Arthur and Voyage on CD) until "Return" was released earlier this year. My dislike for this album was a significant factor in not buying another. However I recently found a copy of CoL on CD and decided to purchase it - surprising due to what I said at the start of this review! My only good memory of Cost Of Living was Elegy (a beautiful musical setting to Thomas Gray's poem of that name) - I don't even remember liking "Gone But Not Forgotten" at that time! I was very pleasantly surprised when I played this album again - first time since buying it all those years ago! Sure there are some weaker tracks - but I really like the majority. It will certainly get played more than once every 16 years in future!

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Jon Hinchliffe on 15/09/1997 [Other reviews by Jon Hinchliffe ]

I own nearly all of Rick albums on CD and this is the only one I find tortuous to listen to (well maybe Rhapsodies as well). Rick completely missed my wave length on this. Every other track is an awful vocal one. The gentler tracks are more listenable but what was he doing on Bedtime Stories?. The one redeeming feature of the album is Gone But not Forgotten. Fortunately I prefer the recorded version on Greatest Hits. I suspect a lot of people will like Elegy though.

c Rick Wakeman/RWCC/Wayne Smith 1995-2003








Rick Wakeman, keyboards;
Hereford Kaye, vocal;
John Gustafason, bass;
Jackie McAuley, guitar;
Tony Fernandez, drums, percussion;
with Robert Powell, voice

Joe McGlinchey:
Wakeman kicked off the 1980s with this one, a 90-95% lame concept recording about the corporate lifestyle, that mixes rock songs and instrumentals. The vocal tunes are fronted by Hereford Kaye, with an unbearably nasal, thickly accented delivery that easily places him in the upper pantheon of most annoying vocalists Wakeman has ever hired. And I tell ya, that's no mean feat. Still, it wouldn't matter if Kaye were the Great Caruso here, because the fact remains that all the songs with lyrics on this effort are beyond redemption. "Monkey Nuts" and "Pandamonia" are dire, dire, dire. I often wonder what Rick and lyricist Tim Rice were thinking, but then common sense slaps me in the face and I remember not to go there. The instrumentals fare better, but not by much. "Gone but Not Forgotten," which shows up here for the first time, is one of Rick's more successful compositions, and the sole unblemished track on here. However, a better version of it can be found on The Classical Connection. "Bedtime Stories" is ruined by a--sigh--children's chorus (channeling Jon Anderson?), and "Shakespeare Run" prominently features the ragtime schtick that is old hat to anyone familiar with Wakeman's repertoire. The album closes with "Elegy," an instrumental set to a Thomas Gray poem, whose inclusion is all sound and fury signifying nothin'. This comes complete with a lofty and Shakespearrrrrrean narration provided by actor Robert Powell that also happens to be completely out-of-sync with the music. So, let's leave it at an understatement and say you probably don't need this recording.