Although legendary Yes keyboardist Rick Wakeman had pulled double duty of sorts, dabbling in a solo career while still a member of the band, he didn't really venture into the world of scoring music for films until after leaving the group in 1973. A handful of his film soundtrack work has recently been re-released including this disc, in which Wakeman provided the music for the 1982 documentary film on the World Cup. It's also the first time it has been issued on CD.
Wakeman himself has called this an album for collectors only and I'd be hard pressed to disagree with him as quite a bit of the music presented here is considerably lightweight and fairly mediocre at best of times. That being said, it's certainly not as bad as it might seem primarily due to Rick's brilliant flourishes on the grand piano, something he does quite a bit of on this disc. Where this really works is on tracks "Wayward Spirit" "No Possible" and the beautifully symphonic sounding melodies of "Black Pearls". The fact that the 1982 World Cup was held in Spain accounts for the noticeably Latin influence on numbers "Latin Reel (Theme from G'olé)" and the tasty flamenco flavored guitar work of guest players Jackie McAuley and Mitch Dalton on "Spanish Message".
In closing Golé doesn't rank as Wakeman's best soundtrack work and is really only going to appeal to those listeners that are looking to complete their collections.
Track Listing
1) International Flag
2) The Dove (Opening Ceremony)
3) Wayward Spirit
4) Latin Reel (Theme from G'olé)
5) Red Island
6) Spanish Holiday
7) No Possible
8) Shadows
9) Black Pearls
10) Frustration
11) Spanish Montage
12) G'olé
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