Rick Wakeman | Melancholia | CD 819

THE STUNNING NEW PIANO OPUS FROM RICK WAKEMAN - 12-TRACKS OF INSTRUMENTAL PIANO MASTERY FROM THE LEGENDARY YES KEYSMAN, PRESENTED ON DIGIPACK CD/ SPECIAL EDITION 2-DISC CD+DVD INCLUDING HIGH RESOLUTION AUDIO & 'INSIDE MELANCHOLIA' SHORT FILM / LP / INDIE EXC SILVER VINYL LP.

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

Wakeman, of course, needs little introduction. A virtuoso keyboardist, composer & arranger, he rose to fame with Yes, helping to define the sound of progressive rock & earning his place in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. His solo output spans over a hundred albums, from grand concept works to soundtracks & acoustic meditations. In 2021, he was awarded a CBE for services to music & broadcasting. Rick continues to be prolific on the live scene with a UK tour scheduled in Autumn 2025.

This edition of 'Melancholia' is presented as a 4-panel digipack CD.