Rick Wakeman Bowie's offer and played his final gig with Strawbs for a BBC recording for John Peel's radio show. Wakeman then reappeared on the front cover of "Melody Maker", his second in a year, regarding his move to Yes. His earnings increased from £18 to £50 per week. Towards the end of 1971, Wakeman signed a five album solo recording contract with A&M Records. Yes made "Fragile" in five weeks to help finance a new set of keyboards for Wakeman. Wakeman recorded "Cans and Brahms", an adaptation of the third movement of Symphony No. 4 in E minor by Johannes Brahms.
Journey to the Centre of the Earth (album) lasted 55 minutes but it was reduced to 40 so it could fit the time constraints of an LP. Malone called the project a challenge and "completely different" to what he had been involved with previously. A&M Records had wanted Wakeman to select a group of known musicians to play in his rock band, but he opposed to the idea as he intended for the public to like the album for its music rather than the performers. Wakeman chose a group that he used to play with at the Valiant Trooper, a pub in Holmer Green in Buckinghamshire. "I'd played