RICK WAKEMAN
MELANCHOLIA (LP)

“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 LP edition of Melancholia is pressed on black vinyl.