Rick Wakeman – Melancholia – CD

Digipak

“THE STUNNING NEW PIANO OPUS FROM RICK WAKEMAN. 12-TRACKS OF INSTRUMENTAL PIANO MASTERY FROM THE LEGENDARY YES KEYSMAN, PRESENTED ON DIGIPACK CD

“one of the most meaningful suites of piano music I have ever done” – Rick Wakeman

“”Long live the King of the Keyboards”” – Sunday Express

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.

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. ”

1. Sitting At the Window
2. Reflection
3. Pathos
4. Dance of the Ghosts
5. Alone
6. The Morning Light
7. Garo
8. All In the Mind
9. Sea of Tranquility
10. Missing
11. Watching Life
12. Melancholia