by Nick | Nov 16, 2016 | New Releases, Tour
Multi-million-selling keyboard icon returns with ‘Piano Portraits’ in 2017
Revered keyboardist, songwriter and broadcaster Rick Wakeman will release his new solo album Piano Portraits on January 13th 2017. Prompted by the unprecedented reaction to his performance of David Bowie’s ‘Life on Mars’ on BBC Radio 2 earlier on this year, Wakeman has recorded a full solo piano album featuring a varied selection of music including classic songs that he originally performed on.
Bucking the trend of orchestral projects, Piano Portraits captures both the technical virtuosity and lightness of touch that have become trademarks of Wakeman’s playing since he first made a name for himself in the 1970s. Recorded at The Old Granary in South Norfolk, the 15-track collection ranges from landmark David Bowie hits ‘Life on Mars’, which Wakeman recorded the original piano parts for, and ‘Space Oddity’ to which he contributed mellotron; through The Beatles, Yes and Led Zeppelin; to classical pieces composed by Debussy and Tchaikovsky.
“I’ve been wanting to do a piano album for years and I spent quite a bit of time looking at everything from straight classical pieces to stuff that I’d played on in the past like ‘Morning Has Broken’ and ‘Life On Mars’,” Wakeman explains. “Plus pieces of music that I thought would work really well like Stairway to Heaven and classics like ‘Clair de Lune’. Nearly all of the tracks have a memory for me somewhere down the line and it just seemed to work.”
Rick Wakeman has carved out a fascinating, idiosyncratic career that has comfortably traversed multiple musical worlds. A classically trained pianist, he studied at the Royal College Of Music before going on to become a much in-demand session musician playing on a string of hit songs by the likes of Black Sabbath, Elton John, Cat Stevens and David Bowie.
Also well known as a member of progressive rock band Yes and as a hugely successful solo artist, Wakeman is without doubt one of the most original, entertaining and groundbreaking performers of his generation.
Order the Piano Portraits album from the official UDiscover store to include a limited edition signed canvas print. https://RickWakeman.lnk.to/PianoPortraits
Digital pre-orders will receive an instant download of Rick’s interpretation of ‘Help’ by The Beatles.
https://RickWakeman.lnk.to/PianoPortraitsDigital
Tracklisting
01 Help
02 Stairway to Heaven
03 Life on Mars
04 I’m Not In Love
05 Wonderous Stories
06 Berceuse
07 Amazing Grace
08 Swan Lake
09 Morning Has Broken
10 Summertime
11 Space Oddity
12 Dance of the Damselflies
13 Clair de Lune
14 Vow To Thee My Country
15 Eleanor Rigby
by Robert 'Unlce Prog' Brady | Sep 24, 2016 | Reviews
David Bowie | Blackstar | The Swansong 2016
In Memory Of David Robert Jones / David Bowie { January. 8th, 1947 – January, 10th, 2016}
Label: Sony/RCA
Release Date: 2016
Country: United Kingdom
Genre: Classic Rock, Glam Rock, Pop Rock, Jazz
Contact Links
David Bowie Official Website
David Bowie Official Facebook Page
David Bowie Official Twitter
David Bowie Official YouTube Channel
I come to you with the heaviest of hearts. At the time I was in process of reviewing this album, I never realised it would be part album review , part eulogy. Unlike people such as Lemmy Kilmister of Motorhead or a Warren Zevon where they made their illness and potential passing public, David Bowie decided to make it a more covert private affair. It was due to the desire for privacy that would make his final album Blackstar so potent in both its melodic and lyrical foundations.
Blackstar is considered by many as a ‘Parting Gift’ to the fans. That can be justified easily. One can question whether or not Blackstar was a self fulfilling prophetic and creative statement. If it was and I stress ‘IF’ it was , David Bowie made one of the most profound of last statements on a musical and creative level I ever heard in my life. One can only imagine how his health effected his songwriting during the creation of Blackstar as well.
Throughout the span of a 51 year career David Bowie was one of those artists who never ever did the same thing over and over again yet was still able to not only make something relevant but to create something genre bending at the same time. Musical genres included in the 51 year career run the spectrum from Art Rock, Progressive Rock, Glam Rock, Jazz, Blues, Pop Rock, etc .. David.Bowie always managed to change his sound totally with every new release without abandoning his fan base. Blackstar is the complete package of all those genres mentioned above with serious introspection and self reflection.
In this 51 year career David Bowie had a uncanny ability reading the tea leaves and sensing the sea changes of the music industry. I believe this contributed to his uncanny ability to make a different style and genre of record he had released to the global fan base. I also see this ability as reason why his fan base never dwindled and progressively grew from generation to generation. Whether you are a Baby Boomer, Generation X or even a Millennial, David Bowie managed to make a quality and unique project that spoke to any generation. While some of his peers and contemporaries in the music industry experienced lulls or even periods of inactivity, David Bowie seemed to roll with the changes and adapt to the culture at any time. I will not do a typical breakdown of each track of the album like I normally would. With that said here is a summary of Blackstar as I observe it.
Blackstar has many dark ambient elements. There is some great jazz undertones that run side by side with the rhythm section with lush vocal atmospheres. Blackstar also presents elements of eclectic progressive rock in a minimalist setting. There are some blues portions as well. Blackstar was written as if David Bowie was reflecting of his 69 years here on Earth. I also see David Bowie going out on his own terms musically the way he always operated when he was with us in the flesh.
He wrote, recorded, performed, toured all on his own terms. It is perfectly fitting that the ‘Parting Gift’ of Blackstar was his own Eulogy. Many will write commentary on this Genius’ life however the best commentary is from himself on Blackstar. Although David Bowie did not go out on his own terms he certainly left us one last recording on his own terms. With the passing of David Bowie, I believe we are now truly in a time where An Era Is Ending. Ziggy I will look for your star shining down upon us from the heavens tonight. Thank you for the music and film you left for us and for many generations to come.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kszLwBaC4Sw]
Video Courtesy of (David Bowie Official YouTube Channel)
