Rick Waleman - Art in Music Trilogy

Rick Wakeman – Art In Music Trilogy

This is a 2017 Esoteric remastered reissue of three albums that made up the ‘Art in Music Trilogy’ from 1999, these were The Sculptor, The Artist and Sketches, and although each stands alone they are thematically linked in that each is roughly an hour long, fully instrumental, peaceful and relaxing, so don’t expect Rick’s usual keyboard pyrotechnics as they aren’t on offer here at all.

The music is probably best described as modern classical really, and to be brutally honest can be a tad dull at times, even in the hands of a maestro like Rick Wakeman. This set fails to captivate or even to catch the interest in any significant way. It’s all very pleasant but one dimensional and I never thought I would ever say that of Mr Wakeman’s work. OK, he has recorded a lot of albums over the years and some of those are questionable, but sadly this trilogy, whilst well produced and professionally recorded, somehow falls short of its mark.

I like Rick Wakeman and have done for many years so it truly pains me to dismiss this trilogy like this, but it’s really not very good or even memorable. I listened to all of disc one in the car earlier today and can’t remember a note of it whatsoever, tragic and maybe it would have been better left in the vaults or to memory as this isn’t very helpful to his legacy. I’m sorry but I’m not overly impressed – save your cash for something better than this.

Now maybe if they’d remastered and reissued his Rhapsodies album from the A&M era we’d have something to wax lyrical about but this – no thanks I’ll pass on that, thank you.

TRACK LISTING
Disc One: The Sculptor

01. White Castles (8:21)
02. Glacier Valleys (11:53)
03. The Porcelain Doll (5:24)
04. The Snowcat (4:07)
05. Pillars Of Hope (6:20)
06. A Fountin Of Tears (5:41)
07. The Figurine (6:34)
08. The Dancing Pierrot (7:03)
09. A Castle Of Dreams (6:45)

Time – 62:08

Disc Two: The Writer
01. Seeds Of Thought (6:32)
02. Preface To A Dream (5:45)
03. The Mottled Blackbird (6:10)
04. The Quill (4:58)
05. Lucky Curve (10:35)
06. The Evening Fable (5:16)
07. Shelly Beach (6:44)
08. Birth Of Nature (5:08)
09. A Tale Of Spring (6:05)
10. Stories Of Bygone Days (6:12)

Time – 63:26

Disc Three: Sketches
01. The Dancing Hedgerow (3:02)
02. The Clock Tower (3:04)
03. Sumbeams (2:56)
04. The Village Green (6:01)
05. Portrait Of A Dream (3:24)
06. Mountain Mist (3:41)
07. Waterlilies (6:15)
08. Tommy Big Eyes (2:34)
09. The Lone Fisherman (3:27)
10. Little Lady (4:38)
11. View From A Hill (2:35)
12. A Hint Of Autumn (8:25)
13. Boulters Lock (2:43)
14. Orcombe Point (3:28)
15. The Brooklet (3:01)
16. The Fireside (2:30)

Time – 61:44

Total Time – 187:18

MUSICIANS
Rick Wakeman – Keyboards

ADDITIONAL INFO
Record Label: Esoteric Recordings
Catalogue#: ECLEC32597
Year of Release: 2017

LINKS
Rick Wakeman – Website | Facebook | Twitter
Art In Music Trilogy – Cherry Red Product Page