New Age Instrumental Review: Rick Sparks-Speak Peace

Release Date: June 4, 2022

Label:  Independent

Website

Rick Sparks just released Speak Peace, an album for our times. We need artists like him in a world of unrest, war, ecological disasters, and many other things that cause discomfort and stress.

As his warm pictorial of the sun rising on a large field of poppies on the album cover indicates, you will find immediate serenity from the image and hopefully the same with the music. As the world turns and our lives are forever changing, the one constant we can depend on is music.

Music that soothes the soul is something everyone needs; whether you realize it or not, it is for the taking. As Rick's keyboard journeys in the eleven tracks on this album will attest, this is just what the doctor ordered. Stress will melt away, and the world's worries and the day will fade to the background. The time taken to listen to this music can make a difference in your life; that is why you listen.

The title track sets up the rest of the recording by introducing a gentle invitation to join in and hear the voices of angels accompanying Rick on the keys. This combination is an effective method to find a meditative state that you may seek; otherwise, if you are looking for a relief valve to relax, there is also a path to that found in this music.

The beauty of "Little Princess" may remind you of the innocence of a child or bring fond memories back from long ago. If you have a daughter, you may be able to relate to that; I certainly do and find myself looking back and wondering how our daughter is now a grown woman thousands of miles away. I have tears running down my cheeks right now thinking of it. It seems like another lifetime ago, come and gone in a blink. Such is the power and magnificence of music and the emotions it can stir inside you. It makes me wonder how something you are hearing is beautiful yet sad.

"Prayer For Ukraine" is an ode to that war-ravaged country being destroyed a bit at a time while taking lives and changing the world of millions. We all feel it in more ways than one. Rick's piano solo is healing personified, and the positive message of prayers will go out tenfold with each listen. The track was released as a single with all the funds sent to the relief fund for the country. 

Music makes a statement, and you will hear it in every corner of the earth. Its reach and magnitude have no limits. Listening to Speak Peace will open the door to your soul.

Keith “MuzikMan” Hannaleck-New Age Music Reviews Founder

June 7, 2022

Tracks:

01. Speak Peace

02. Harvest Moon

03. Little Princess

04. Dragonfly Dance

05. Lass of Inverness

06. 1912 Waltz

07. A Love That Lasts

08. Prayer for Ukraine

09. End of Day

10. We Wait Upon the King

11. Auld Lang Syne