Prog legend Rick Wakeman has revealed plans to release a brand-new studio album, “Melancholia”, this October.
Set to arrive on October 17 via Madfish Records, “Melancholia” marks the third entry in Wakeman’s successful series of piano-driven albums, following “Piano Portraits” (2017) and ‘Piano Odyssey” (2018).
“The album began, as so much of Wakeman’s finest work has, with a quiet moment at the piano,” Wakeman’s new label relate. “One afternoon, his wife Rachel overheard him playing a contemplative piece that would later become the track Garo – and was struck by its quiet emotional power. As 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.”
While not a concept album in the strict sense, “Melancholia” unfolds as a deeply unified suite. Initially composed in an intuitive flow, the pieces were later refined in collaboration with long-time producer and engineer Erik Jordan at The Granary Studio in Norfolk, performed on a stunning Steinway Model D.
The album will be released in multiple formats: a deluxe 2-disc CD and DVD set featuring hi-res stereo and the Inside Melancholia short film, standard CD, digital edition, plus silver and black vinyl versions. Artwork and full tracklisting can be viewed below.
Rick Wakeman – “Melancholia” tracklisting
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
