ASPIRANT SUNSET

Ten years have passed since I wrote the review of Aspirant Sunrise, which is the first of a trilogy of "Aspirant" albums keyboard wizard Rick Wakeman created in a prolific 1991 year. And now I am writing this review because I am having once again a journey through some of his forgotten albums (at least to me) I own and don't really use to play regularly. As you can imagine,, judging by my nickname, I am a huge fan of Rick Wakeman, I love his solo masterpieces, his work with Yes, his customs, his sense of humor and lots of things, however, it is undeniable he has released several regular albums that are far from being memorable, and I don't mean to be harsh, because I do enjoy this trilogy, but I believe his new age explorations are closer to oblivion than to excitement.

Aspirant Sunset is actually a nice new age album, but we all knew him due to his progressive rock works, so it is normal to find these unexpected releases as boring, different, unattractive. In this album he offers almost an hour of solo music (there are no lyrics, no other musicians, just himself and his keyboards) divided on 10 tracks purely fulfilled by new age sounds and atmospheres. All with a soft sound, peaceful and relaxing, so if you are in need of a moment of introspection and peace, you may play this album, sit comfortable, close your eyes and have a deep breath. It will help.

Besides this "therapeutic" use, I find the album difficult to enjoy on a regular basis, it is like one long song divided in 10 chapters, but the sound is practically the same in each track. If you like new age or need a dose of tranquility, I would recommend this to you, otherwise, don't even try to get it because you might be disappointed.

Anyway? enjoy it!