Rick Wakeman To Release New Concept Album “A Gallery Of The Imagination”

[gopr]

Keyboard Legend Rick Wakeman To Release New Concept Album “A Gallery Of The Imagination”

Released on 24th February 2023 on Madfish Music

Keyboard legend Rick Wakeman will be releasing his new concept album “A Gallery Of The Imagination” on February 24, 2023 on Madfish Music.

The initial idea for “A Gallery Of The Imagination” stems from Rick’s first piano teacher, Mrs Symes, with whom he studied from the age five until his time at the Royal College of Music. She taught him that music was like painting pictures: that when you play, you are painting pictures through music, an important lesson that Rick never forgot.

Having written a vast array of new music recently, all of different styles, Rick recalled the advice of his beloved teacher and decided to present the tracks for the new album as if they were pictures in a gallery. Just as there are many different styles in an art gallery, so there are many different musical styles on “A Gallery of the Imagination”. It contains many clear prog influences, especially in the Moog solos and there are also two solo piano numbers, which reflect Rick’s classical roots and show influences from the Romantic period. Equally important is the strong song and melodic influence on “A Gallery Of The Imagination” with eight unconventional vocal tracks, with Rick’s distinctive descriptive music carefully arranged around the lyrics.

Examples of the variety contained within the album are the fun yet wistful elements in “A Day Spent on the Pier”, a track describing time spent at the seaside, written in Southwold and evoked by Rick’s own memories of happy childhood days spent on the helter skelters in Brighton and Clacton and on the pier in Southsea. Rick wrote “The Eyes of a Child” with his thirteen grandchildren in mind, aware of the responsibility of trying to fix the world for following generations whereas “Cuban Carnival” celebrates the light-hearted fun times Rick spent in Cuba with his band, the English Rock Ensemble. As listeners take a musical walk-through Rick’s “Gallery”, they will find more than enough to fire the imagination and come up with their own mind paintings whilst listening to his new album. Fans can get a taste of what’s to come with the first single “The Dinner Party” available on streaming services https://RickWakemanMadfish.lnk.to/AGOTI

Says Rick, “One of my great loves is going to museums and art galleries and seeing all the different types of art, so I thought, why not a music gallery... the Gallery of the Imagination? People can paint their own mind pictures to the different types of music that are on the album. It is very diverse and for me it works very well because the concept holds it all together”.

One of the ideas Rick would like to pursue around album release is for listeners to draw or paint their own pictures or even create sculptures to the music which, in turn, could be displayed. “It is a very tactile album,” Rick explains. “I’d like to feel that people can actually touch the music.”

The line-up on “A Gallery Of The Imagination”, as with Rick’s previous album “The Red Planet”, features The English Rock Ensemble: bassist Lee Pomeroy, guitarist Dave Colquhoun, drummer Ash Soan and on vocals Hayley Sanderson, famous for her work as a vocalist on “Strictly Come Dancing”, with each artist recording their individual parts in their own studios. Join Rick for a stroll around “A Gallery Of The Imagination” – as he says: “A gallery that belongs to everyone”.

“A Gallery Of The Imagination” Trailer: https://youtu.be/Lvbm3cj0U1s

“A Gallery Of The Imagination” Track List
01 Hidden Depths
02 The Man In The Moon
03 A Mirage in the Clouds
04 The Creek
05 My Moonlight Dream
06 Only When I Cry
07 Cuban Carnival
08 Just A Memory
09 The Dinner Party
10 A Day Spent On The Pier
11 The Visitation
12 The Eyes of a Child

“A Gallery Of The Imagination” will be released on the following formats and is available to pre-order here: https://RickWakemanMadfish.lnk.to/AGOTI

• CD (jewel case)
• 2 disc set - CD+DVD inc. surround sound audio & hi-res stereo
• 2LP in gatefold sleeve
• 2LP on clear vinyl in a gatefold sleeve
• Super Deluxe Limited Edition multi format set featuring 2LP, CD & DVD inc. surround sound audio & hi-res stereo plus a 24 page perfect bound book presented in a lift off lid box
• Digital

Keyboard engineering: Erik Jordan
Mixing & editing: Erik Jordan at The Nursery
Additional mixing: Toby Wood
Mastering: Simon Heyworth at Super Audio Mastering
Producers: Rick Wakeman & Erik Jordan
Executive Producer: Rob Ayling

For more high res images please see: https://www.madfishmusic.com/media/rickwakeman/

For more information:
www.rickwakemansmusicemporium.com/
www.rwcc.com
www.instagram.com/rickwakemanmusic
https://www.facebook.com/RickWakemanMusic
https://twitter.com/GrumpyOldRick

Press inquiries: Glass Onyon PR, PH: 1-828-350-8158 (US), glassonyonpr@gmail.com

[Rarebird]

Could be interesting.

[Top Cat]

I love Rick, and took the dive on his last release about Mars, and it has it's great moments, but I don't find myself pulling out the cd very often.
I overpaid a lot on his site to support him, and well, I guess the autograph is worth something to someone somewhere.
I later saw it on Amazon about $20USD cheaper, and did a had on the forehead moment. lol

I just scrolled through the single the Dinner Party, and to me it's very ho hum, like he phoned that one in. Not much happening creatively, and I will say it...boring.
Hopefully the other songs, and the songs with vocals will help lift it up, but a big pass from me on this one.

[Mister Triscuits]

Rick Wakeman To Release New Concept Album

It must be Wednesday.

[bigbassdrum]

It must be Wednesday.

Hmm. He could actually call it that ... "It Must Be Wednesday"

[Progatron]

I just scrolled through the single the Dinner Party, and to me it's very ho hum, like he phoned that one in. Not much happening creatively, and I will say it...boring.

I actually quite like that one. It is fairly simple in arrangement, and certainly nothing 'new' from the Caped One, but it has a charm to it that works for me.

[Top Cat]

I actually quite like that one. It is fairly simple in arrangement, and certainly nothing 'new' from the Caped One, but it has a charm to it that works for me.

I can understand the "charm" thing, and glad you like it.
I'm sure there will be other songs that trigger my "oh, there's Rick", but The Red Planet is all I need at this point.
Limited budget these days of retirement, mean "choices" of what gets the nod. lol

[Splicer]

After one listen-through A Gallery of Imagination:

At best, it's background music while I'm doing other stuff online. I really hear no melodies that are memorable to me. At times bits of it could be soundtrack music for an indie film as someone is walking by the Thames thinking of something at night. Occasionally, it's just plain boring.