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"One of the most meaningful suites of piano music I have ever done" - Rick Wakeman
With 'Melancholia', Rick Wakeman completes a remarkable trilogy of solo piano works that began with 'Piano Portraits' (2017) & continued with 'Piano Odyssey' (2018) - both landmark albums that found him reaching new heights of popularity & critical esteem as a solo artist. But while those records looked outward, reinterpreting beloved melodies & exploring sweeping themes, 'Melancholia' turns inward, inviting us into the most personal, introspective & perhaps profound music of Wakeman's storied career.
The album began, as so much of Wakeman's finest work has, with a quiet moment at the piano. One afternoon, his wife Rachel overheard him playing a contemplative piece - what would later become "Garo" - & was struck by its quiet emotional power. And because she knew well that he often turned to the piano in times of sadness or inner turbulence, using music as a kind of emotional compass, she encouraged him to share it.
What followed was not a conceptual record in the traditional sense, but a deeply cohesive suite, written intuitively at first & later shaped in collaboration with long-time producer & engineer Erik Jordan at The Granary Studio in Norfolk. Recorded on a beautiful Steinway Model D, the sound of 'Melancholia' is rich, resonant & stripped bare in the most delicate way.
"Long live the King of the Keyboards" - Sunday Express
Tracklist
LP/CD
Sitting At The Window ( 03:24 )
Reflection ( 03:41 )
Pathos ( 04:13 )
Dance Of The Ghosts ( 03:57 )
Alone ( 04:46 )
The Morning Light ( 03:28 )
Garo ( 03:50 )
All In The Mind ( 05:01 )
Sea Of Tranquility ( 02:59 )
Missing ( 03:39 )
Watching Life ( 03:50 )
Melancholia ( 03:39 )
CD+DVD
Sitting At The Window ( 03:24 )
Reflection ( 03:41 )
Pathos ( 04:13 )
Dance Of The Ghosts ( 03:57 )
Alone ( 04:46 )
The Morning Light ( 03:28 )
Garo ( 03:50 )
All In The Mind ( 05:01 )
Sea Of Tranquility ( 02:59 )
Missing ( 03:39 )
Watching Life ( 03:50 )
Melancholia ( 03:39 )
Sitting At The Window ( Hi-Res Stereo ) ( 03:24 )
Reflection ( Hi-Res Stereo ) ( 03:41 )
Pathos ( Hi-Res Stereo ) ( 04:13 )
Dance Of The Ghosts ( Hi-Res Stereo ) ( 03:57 )
Alone ( Hi-Res Stereo ) ( 04:46 )
The Morning Light ( Hi-Res Stereo ) ( 03:28 )
Garo ( Hi-Res Stereo ) ( 03:50 )
All In The Mind ( Hi-Res Stereo ) ( 05:01 )
Sea Of Tranquility ( Hi-Res Stereo ) ( 02:59 )
Missing ( Hi-Res Stereo ) ( 03:39 )
Watching Life ( Hi-Res Stereo ) ( 03:50 )
Melancholia ( Hi-Res Stereo ) ( 03:39 )
Inside Melancholia' ( Short Film ) ( 21:42 )
Melancholia ( Music Video )
Interview ( Video )