Review: Rick Wakeman – Melancholia
Rick Wakeman – Melancholia
Format: CD – Vinyl LP – Digital / Label: Madfish Music
Release: 2025
Text: Martien Koolen
My huge record collection – sorry if I sound like bragging – contains a lot albums of the virtuoso keyboardist, composer and arranger Rick Wakeman, and especially his solo albums like ‘The Six Wives Of Henry V111’ (1973), ‘Journey To The Centre Of The Earth’ (1974) and ‘The Red Planet’ (2020) belong to my all-time favourites and are still found regularly on my record player.
Rick Wakeman, who rose to fame with one of my favourite bands ever, being Yes of course, now completes his wonderful trilogy of solo piano works that began with ‘Piano Portraits’ (2017), continued with ‘Piano Odyssey’ (2018) with ‘Melancholia.’
Wakeman’s new album invites the listener into his most introspective and most profound music of his extensive career. Melancholia offers twelve piano songs and right from the start you hear that easily identifiable, recognisable Wakeman sound, which is rich, resonant, and stripped bare in the most delicate way.
Beautiful songs like Dance Of The Ghosts or The Morning Light make this new Wakeman album possibly the most intimate and personal album of his entire career. Wakeman lets his Steinway piano “do the talking” and this makes ‘Melancholia’ a unique album and also one of his most quietly important albums.
Songs like Sitting At The Window, Alone and Missing, mark moments of reflection and these beautiful songs are also very personal, forming a connection between Wakeman and the listeners.
‘Melancholia’ is a unique album, a must have album for Wakeman fans and lovers of intricate, moving, emotional piano music, a crowning musical jewel in Rick Wakeman’s extensive career and a wonderful addition to his great and versatile discography.
Tracks:
01. Sitting At The Window
02. Reflection
03. Pathos
04. Dance Of The Ghosts
05. Alone
06. The Morning Light
07. Garo
08. 409
09. Hidden Tranquility
10. Missing
11. Watching Life
12. Melancholia