The Lost Tracks By Richard Dillon

 

The Lost Tracks

By

Richard Dillon

Written by

Steve Sheppard

 

The finding of lost things can be an emotionally charged event, I have done it myself and the memories of their creation can literally take one back decades in mood and in emotion, here on this wonderful new album Richard Dillion has done just that, re-found compositions once thought lost and brought them into the light of a new day for us all to enjoy, and a passionate ride of great feeling from the artist is one we are about to embark upon right now.

Lost Tracks starts with a hymn like beginning on the piece Arlington ft Neil Patton, Neil has joined Richard as a pianist on many of the tracks to support the artist’s physical issues with playing the piano, and on this and many others he has done a remarkable job.

This 15 track album, that in some ways reminds me of Jeff Bjork’s Keepsakes in the Attic release, is a reflective and memorable collection of sublime compositions. Here however the artist has opened a box of musical treasures that were once thought of as lost, and one of my favourite creations would be this next one called Crystal Rain ft Neil Patton, its mournful refrain contains a sense of sadness and reflective genius.

There are a few singles that have broken the landscape this year and come from this very album, the bright and sparkling reverie of Butterfly Dreams being but one, and then the passionate refrains of Cloudburst ft Neil Patton manifest a pouring down of notes from a dark and cloudy sky for us, in a crisp rain soaked offering of great quality.

The beauty of this album is that it literally contains something for everyone within it, different moods and feelings can be found behind every closed door now opened, like the amazing Don’t Go, a plea of a heart felt statement, the pondering and passion filled notes here moved me greatly, while on offerings like Echoes of a Broken Heart ft Neil Patton, we have a more tentative piece, one that is played with such a pristine touch by Patton, but composer Dillon must have been delighted with the deeply touching presentation on this heart-warming opus.

The darkness of late evening falls upon us now, and through the track Twilight we have a steady onward movement into the darkness of the night, a superb progression can be heard here from the artist, then on the following narrative entitled Putting Pen to Paper we can revisit another of the singles released earlier this year on an soundtrack styled composition of grandeur and style.

We now arrive at another offering that touched my heart deeply, and this one is called Faded Memories ft Neil Patton, the minor nature of this track fills me with the energy of memories I too am seeing beginning to fade of my past, as I get ever older and fortunately wiser, with the lessons of life learned.

Goodbye is another one of the singles released in 2024 and is next on our journey, this almost classically style arrangement moves us gently into the arms of Lullaby ft Neil Patton, here is a simply delightful creation, played with such calm and tenderness by Patton, so much so that it’s light and soothing narrative is indeed quietly meditative.

Then the most proud of all moments now as we arrive at the door marked title track, and through Lost we have a sensitive and moving piece that creates a lump in the throat, a flutter in the heart, and a tear in the corner of the eye. I have been lost in my time, and thus this piece of music could have easily have been the soundtrack for that, or those events of sadness and aloneness.

We are truly in the weave of this musical box of many lost treasures now, and as we arrive at this juncture we find a composition called Passage of Time, this has to be the most ambient offering from the album and the artist’s delicate presentation gifts us a moment of measured brilliance, a performance in the forests of evermore, in the very mists of time itself.

The penultimate track once again contains the deft touches of pianist Neil Patton and is called New Earth. I adore this composition; it has something we all need built within its structure, hope. This last but one offering could well be used in a movie segment one day to illustrate new beginnings and lessons learned.

So we are here, knocking on the last door of the album and this concluding creation is called Smokey Mountain Sunset.  If ever there was a sublime piece with which to end an album with this would be it, its energies capture many images and vistas of nature and its overall narrative, a beautiful textured and layered parting gift to thoroughly enjoy.

The Lost Tracks by Richard Dillon is indeed a treasure trove of brilliant music well found, we can all agree that the world of music, and especially the genre of piano will be all the better for it, for me I found this voyage cathartic and at times incredibly moving, this release deserves to be a massive hit and to garner a whole heap of plaudits along the way, so do yourself a favour and grab a copy of The Lost Tracks by Richard Dillon as quick as you can, it’s the album that the piano genre has waited an eon to find.