By
Jon Richards
Written by
Steve Sheppard
Instrumentalist, composer and all round sublime musician Jon Richards is back, and with that
return to the scene, is the release of a vast body of work the artists refers
to as Dreamworlds: A Retrospective, it is this mammoth volume of
musical brilliance from throughout his years, that we will voyage with today.
There are a multitude of influences within this album, and
from many genres too, the opening piece is a fine example of that delicate but
forward thinking style of music in Gates
of the Sun, a soft pastiche of rhythm hits the listeners ears, and
instantly they can be transported to a land and a time of the Inca’s, a fluent
and pertinent acoustic Latin guitar, joins in an effervescent combo of
keyboards and percussion to bring us our most delightful starting point.
This voyage of plenty allows us to drift in the time waves of
one of my personal favourites from the album entitled The Triple Goddess, again Richards’s style and compositional
structures take us back through the ages into a time when seasons were
explained spiritually, as here in the Hellenistic area of the globe we can
acknowledge Robert Graves, whom once
stated that Hecate was the
"original" and most predominant ancient triple moon goddess. Jon’s
delightful and chilled tones gift us on this track a reflective Celtic feel to
a sublime composition.
A total shift now occurs through the medium of the next piece
entitled Tibetan Spirit, the
harmonic and mysterious vibrations here mix a far eastern vibration as we glide
on the thermals of the Himalayan Mountains, the flute and percussion add
to a gentle vocalisation, to allow us to thoroughly enjoy a beautiful
meditative offering.
There can be no doubt that Jon Richards is a talented artist, only he paints with music
instead of brushes, and his canvas is the willing and open minds and ears of
his listeners, tracks like Asphodel
Meadows. In a book I am currently reading, the Odyssey, Homer refers to
this land as a place where the majority of mortal souls go to after death; this
has such a pertinent beat redolent of the area, and a drifting like narrative
that weaves within spiritual dimensions and settles for mid world.
Song of the Seasons is a graceful and high spirited next
offering for us to enjoy, the uplifting energy within this fine piece is
accepted thoroughly and enjoyed completely, the multi-instrumental flavour of
this gave me pause for thought, and its underpinned Celtic narrative and
superior quick to reach melody, made me think that this very track could well
be a fine single release for the artists if he were to do so.
This has been such an enjoyable ride so far and thank fully
we still have many paths through this musical woodland of dreams to travel,
such as these next two arrangements entitled, Kunlun - Part 1 and
Part 2. This
geographical region gives us one of the longest mountain chains on the planet
and forms the northern edge of the Tibetan
Plateau. Richards manifests perfection here on one of the most ambient
creations from the album, and one piece that smoothly transfers its energies
into the following with such grace and tranquillity, one must also add that
they are so very redolent of the subject matter, with the latter containing a
slight prog element in its early inception too.
The Sacred Tree was always one of my favourite Jon Richards tracks; listening to this
immediately transports me back to the Middle Ages, the drum, the rhythm and the
Celtic mood is with us once again, in a similar way that Medwyn Goodall did back in ‘98 with his Clan: A Celtic Journey album. Richards has once again captured the
moment magically, and his skill set of drawing the perfect musical narrative is
well made.
The seasons change, we are currently heading towards Midwinter
ourselves, and as such this track at the midway stage of the album fits today
perfectly for me, it is called Winterlight.
The slow pace of this track is a perfect depiction of this time of year, and
Richards’s keyboard pulls a mournful and brooding energy from its tone and
timbre, this ambient musical moment of magic is the perfect respite of
introspection at this current point of the album.
We can now take one tentative step into the latter half of
the release, and as we do so we come across a glistening new age styled
arrangement entitled Nature Spirits,
it is so good to hear something so calming and yet uplifting from this genre,
the percussive elements mixed with flute and keyboards made this a real new age
treat to enjoy.
Each piece on this amazing album is rich with colour and filled
with a flavour of a musical tapestry you could only dream of, Crossing The River may well be one of
those tracks that fulfils your dreams. A slow rhythmic passage could well be
the boatman’s oars leading you onward and across the River Styx, regardless, this is another masterfully artistic
composition from the musician, one that leads us perfectly into the arms of the
following moment of musical genius.
That very song is something we seem to be in need of each
year here in Cyprus, and called Waiting
for Rain. A soothing narrative accompanies a huge thunderclap; we’re very
much on for one of those in the next few hours we hope, here Richards raises
the rhythms and manifests a wonderfully fluent and flowing arrangement through
the medium of his keyboards, with some careful yet inspiring minor moments of
sublime magic as well.
Sunrise over Ganden is our next offering and another
favourite of mine, the eastern influence here is superb, again I must reiterate
the artist’s brilliance at drawing such compelling musical narratives. The
flute and the whole vibration of this specific piece reminded me in part of Terry Oldfield’s Zen: The Search for Enlightenment album from ‘91,
but warmer. However when we reach a piece called Evening Prayer we come across a composition that takes us back to a
more spiritual time, and perhaps even around a camp fire with elders. The slow
and careful keyboards almost create a respectful dance with the percussion and
flute sounds that reverberate within this most stunning offering.
We can find other also deeply spiritual tracks such as the
Tibetan Wheel of Becoming or the
almost hypnotic Spirt Walk, both
pieces transport ones senses to the otherworld, to another realm of
tranquillity and calm, the softness of Richard’s musical palate is a wonderful
thing to behold here, we can close our eyes, and with ease float into a state
of meditative bliss with utter comfort.
Jon’s massive body of work certainly does mark his return to
the genre of new age and instrumental music, and tracks like the penultimate
offering entitled Roof of the World
illustrates his intent perfectly, a vast offering with the sounds of the wind
drifting around the mountain ranges gift us a pictorial and idyllic image
within our minds eyes, this is Richards at his best and most artistic.
I find it hard to tear myself away from this album, but I now
have no choice as our voyage ends with this last gift from the artist entitled White Willow, we can leave this
experience with a graceful last offering, but full in the knowledge that one of
the finest musicians within the aforementioned genre is back, and this
incredible body of work represents all that the musician has given us so far,
is but an announcement of a future intent of glorious things to come indeed.
Dreamworlds: A
Retrospective by Jon Richards isn’t just a good album;
it’s a superb collection of carefully crafted instrumental music that should be
fit for purpose for any serious music aficionado’s library or streaming
playlist, you cannot fault this oceanic sized compilation of master works by Jon Richards, there literally is
something for everyone on this most creative of releases.
