Return to the Centre of the Earth Leskanich. The story is narrated by Patrick Stewart. Recording was delayed after Wakeman was hospitalised with a life threatening case of double pneumonia and pleurisy, and needed time to recover. Upon release, the album reached number 34 on the UK Albums Chart. In 1974, Wakeman released his second solo album "Journey to the Centre of the Earth", a concept album based on the same-titled science fiction novel by Jules Verne. It tells the story of Professor Lidenbrook, his nephew Axel, and their guide Hans who follow a passage to the Earth's centre originally discovered by Arne Saknussemm, an Icelandic alchemist.
The Fabulous World of Jules Verne in possession of powerful technologies, and other ideas—Zeman also opted to include themes and elements of other Verne novels. For example, the undersea sequences include references to "Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea", and the aircraft "Albatross" from "Robur the Conqueror" also makes an appearance. Another Verne novel, "The Mysterious Island", may also have supplied some details. The film also pays tribute to the style of the pioneering early filmmaker Georges Méliès. Zeman likely saw Méliès's work at the Czech National Film Archive in Prague, where hand-colored prints were available of "The Impossible Voyage" (1904), "The Witch" (1906), and "The