Rick Wakeman, the legendary former Yes keyboardist, has announced a new solo album titled Melancholia, out October 17th.
The 12-track release completes a trilogy of piano suites by Wakeman that began with 2017’s Piano Portraits and continued with 2018’s Piano Odyssey. This latest work was recorded on a Steinway Model D, and it marks Wakeman’s first studio album since he announced his impending retirement from touring last year.
According to a press announcement, Melancholia began with a “quiet moment at the piano” one afternoon when Wakeman’s wife overheard him playing the “contemplative piece” that would later become the track “Garo.”
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The press release continues: “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 and later shaped in collaboration with long-time producer and engineer Erik Jordan at The Granary Studio in Norfolk.”
Melancholia will be available as a 2-CD/DVD set (featuring hi-res stereo audio and short documentary about the making of the album); on both silver and black vinyl; as a standalone CD; and digitally. Pre-orders can be found via Wakeman’s webstore.
Wakeman was forced to postpone a summer US tour as he underwent surgery to correct an unspecified “ongoing health issue.” However, he’ll be back on the road for a UK tour in October. Pick up tickets here.
Check out the artwork and tracklist for Melancholia below.
Melancholia Artwork:
Melancholia Tracklist:
01. Sitting at the Window
02. Reflection
03. Pathos
04. Dance of the Ghosts
05. Alone
06. The Morning Light
07. Garo
08. All in the Mind
09. Sea of Tranquility
10. Missing
11. Watching Life
12. Melancholia