Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 8.5/10
The third act of anyone’s life is the one that perhaps encapsulates the feeling of the rage of the storm, it is a more powerful and distinctive anger than one comes with the recklessness of youth, the injustices of the anger are manifold, the burning of the soul runs deep, it is almost as if the war that is frenzied and attacking on all sides as people wish you would calm down, is relentless and all consuming. It is in this tempest, this frenzy of imagination and indignation, that the work and world of the third act is a powerful beast which is both stunningly beautiful and dramatically succinct in its delivery.
Chilly Gonzales’ Solo Piano III is a reminder of what the third act of any movement can be, it is the grand reveal, the argument settler and the belief that from that moment in the resolution of life is portrayed. In art it could be seen as just the beginning, but quite often, the nature of the piece is more attuned to the artist’s mindset, they have had chance to truly think beyond the two-act play and now with texture and unrepentant colour, they dig deep into their soul to find the rage that binds them to the universe.
Across the 15 sections that make up this third act of Chilly Gonzales’ piano solo experience, life is perhaps captured with intensity, it is one that brings the bounty of pleasure to the listener’s heart but also one that has trepidation strewn through it, a sense of occasion with fear and frenzy as its delicate consort. It is a hybrid of emotions that brings this particular album from out from the storm and into the shelter of the heart of audience’s appreciation.
In the movements of Pretenderness, Prelude In C Sharp Major, Be Natural, Present Tense, October 3rd and Whist, Chilly Gonzales announces himself once again to the discerning ear of the ones that listen for the clouds to spark anger and electricity.
This reflection of our own state of mind, our unease and search for tranquillity in the world, is nothing short of passionate and respectful, Solo Piano III is an unlocking of majesty by a master lock-picker, utterly beguiling!
Ian D. Hall