Short Reviews [Richard Wileman - 2020 - "Arcana"]

There is no doubt in my mind that Richard Wileman has been an incredibly important part of the Progressive scene over the last 30 years, but for some reason he has never really gained the recognition he deserves. Part of that is because he inhabits a rather strange area of prog which often feels more like modern classical music, combined with film soundtracks and themes: his music is always incredibly visual. On top of that he is a multi-instrumentalist so rarely performs live, although he can be rarely found venturing out in his native Swindon for those fortunate enough to see him. On top of all that, he uses a great variety of instruments which makes it hard to fully replicate in a live environment yet makes his albums a delight. He initially came onto my radar with the wonderful Lives & Times, and when that finished, he came up with Karda Estra which in many ways was a logical progression. For the last few years, he has changed tack again in some ways, while also incorporating themes and styles which would be familiar to anyone who knows his previous bands. These days he provides guitars, vocals, bass, keyboards, percussion, bouzouki, Appalachian dulcimer, wine glasses and is joined by Amy Fry, who not only has a wonderful voice but also plays clarinet, alto & baritone saxophones. This album is exactly what I have come to expect Richard in his solo works, in that while we get some songs that are somewhat singer songwriter in outlook, which always have additional elements which move them far more into the progressive area, we will also get music which sounds as if has been scored for a modern orchestra, while Amy also has the opportunity to sing lead at times as well. His albums under his own name have been more diverse than the ones he released as band entities, so from one song to the next one is never sure what is going to occur, so we may have pop, or jazz fusion, or classical, or something which could have come from a film, or often all these elements mixed together. There is a sense of space and time within his music, it never feels rushed, and while there are multiple layers it always feels as if they are always just right and never too much. Richard still refuses to sound like anyone else in the scene, and after all these years of plying his craft that is quite some statement. This just keeps getting better each time I play it.