Trinity

Album: Trinity
Artist: Rodney Matthews and Jeff Scheetz with Oliver Wakeman
2019 Rodney Matthews Studios
CD: RMS003CD

Jeff Scheetz: guitar (all), bass (4)
Oliver Wakeman: keys (1-6, 8-10)
John Payne: bass (1, 3, 9), vocals (2)
Rodney Matthews: drums (all)
Sarah Prothero: vocals (2)
Pete Coleman: bagpipes (2), descant & alto recorders (2, 7-9), keys (7), orchestral arrangement (7), extra programming (4)
Tony Clarkin: bass (2, 7, 10), hand-clapping (10)
Charles McNeal: alto sax (3)
Steve Amadeo: bass (5, 6, 8)
Mark A Williams: narration (9)
Rick Wakeman: harpischord & church organ (10) (through a Dexibell H7 keyboard)
Bob Catley: hand-clapping (10)

Produced by R Matthews/Scheetz/O Wakeman
Executive produced by R & Sarah Matthews
Mixed by Scheetz/R Matthews/Sheena Sear at M2 Studios, UK
Mastered by Sear at M2 Studios, UK
Recorded at at M2 Studios, UK; Gray Wolf Studios, US; Opus Suite, UK; ADA Recordings Studios, US; HisNeonCamel Studios, UK; Bailey Grove Studios, UK; Rock Solid Studios, UK
Photography: Lee Wilkinson, Dave Price, Alexandre Coesmon
Artwork by R Matthews
Layout: S Matthews
Project coordinated by R & S Matthews
Agented/managed by S Matthews

Tracks:
LP1, side A:
1. "The Heavy Metal Hero" [Scheetz/Matthews] (5:00)
2. "Mirador" [Scheetz/Matthews; lyr: Matthews] (8:47)
3. "The Granite Curtain" [Scheetz/Matthews] (5:56)
4. "Night on the Bare Mountain" [Mussorgsky, arr. by O Wakeman/Scheetz/Matthews] (5:55)

LP1, side B:
5. "November Wedding" [O Wakeman] (3:46)
6. "Stop the Slaughter" [O Wakeman/Scheetz] (5:31)
7. "The Leavetaking" [Coleman/Scheetz] (4:02)

LP2, side A:
8. "The Hop" [Scheetz] (4:26)
9. "Rivendell" [Scheetz/Matthews; words: Matthews] (5:47)
10. "Trinity" [Scheetz/R Wakeman] (7:39)

Concept by Matthews/Scheetz
Music composed & arranged by Scheetz/Matthews/O Wakeman/Coleman
Lyrics & narration by Matthews

Notes: The album was released 13 Dec 2019 on CD, 2LP and a limited edition box set (100 copies) with artwork. The 2LP version has a fourth side of bonus tracks: "I Saw Three Ships" (a prior Xmas single by Matthews, Scheetz and Friends, including O Wakeman), "November Wedding (Piano Duet)" (performed by O Wakeman), "Trinity (Vocals)". The album is part prog, part classic rock, with some exuberant playing by Oliver.

Matthews started playing the drums in 1961, practising on his father's kit. He soon assembled a band, Originn. In 1971, he and Steve Webb from Originn formed Squidd. At some point, he was in a band, Barnaby Goode, when they opened for Yes at a show in south-west England. However, he never secured a record deal. Instead, it was Matthews' art career that took off. As an artist, Matthews has worked with Oliver and Rick Wakeman, Asia, Thin Lizzy, Magnum, Michael Moorcock and others. In 1993, however, he met Scheetz and they agreed to make an album inspired by Matthews' art. (Scheetz' first encounter with Matthews' work was seeing, as a kid, a poster of his piece "Miriador".) Matthews and Scheetz wrote some ideas, but there were long delays. In 2012, Scheetz sent Matthews some guitar tracks and Payne (ex-Asia) and Coleman were also now associated with the project. O Wakeman then became involved, but Rodney says the project really took off after his marriage to Sarah with her "encouragement, coordination and graphic skills". Other guests include Tony Clarkin and Bob Catley from Magnum, and Steve Amadeo, who has previously worked with Oliver Wakeman.

Most tracks on the album are based on a piece of art. The CD booklet has paintings for each track. (1) was a 1985 poster originally, and also used as the cover for Diamond Head's Am I Evil? and the video game Transarctica. Gerry Anderson, who was friends with Matthews, wanted to make it the centrepiece of an animated TV series, although this never came about. It has the first drum track Matthews recorded for the album. (2) was drawn in 1981 and later used for a compilation album by Magnum. Scheetz came up with the melody and riff originally, conceiving of the piece as an instrumental, but Matthews later wrote lyrics, inspired in part by his falling in love with Sarah. (3) was inspired by a lyric Matthews had written in the late '60s. The art was marketed as a posted from the late '80s and used as the cover for Uriah Heep's DVD "Live in America". Matthews and Scheetz originally intended a "jazzy big city sound" for the music. It was Payne who discovered McNeal, the saxophonist, in Las Vegas. Matthews had written a song called "Auntie Social" for Originn in the late '60s that was based on the Mussorgsky piece.

Oliver wrote (5) as a wedding gift to Rodney and Sarah. He played it as a surprise at the marriage and reception on 12 Nov 2016. Matthews immediately wanted to include it on the album. Oliver had initially recorded a version just for Rodney & Sarah. This was expanded to a band version for the album. Rodney then asked for something for the LP bonus side: Oliver didn't want to use the original he had given them, and so recorded a version where he duets with himself. Oliver reportedly has recorded another version of this piece for a solo project of his.

Scheetz wrote the main riff for (6) for the album in the '90s. It was much later that Oliver developed it. It is based on a 1981 artwork opposing the hunting of whales. The art for (7) was painted in 1987 for an unpublished novel by Nigel Suckling. The music was mainly by Coleman. The art for (8) has been used as the cover of of the DVD "Guitar Heroes" and other projects. The art for (9) was done for a 1988 calendar and is based on Tolkien. The art for (10) is based on three swan-like animals. They had constituted part of a proposed design for Asia's Aqua, which was rejected in favour of another of Matthews' pieces. Rick's playing at the end is based on the hymn "Holy, Holy, Holy!".

Oliver tweeted on 5 Aug 2014, saying, "Had a great day in the studio working with Rodney Matthews on songs for a new CD based on his artwork." On 3 Mar 2016, he tweeted, "More work this pm on the epic track for Rodney Matthews new cd. Put a moog solo in but had to extend the track." He was back working on the album through at least Mar-Oct 2016. Dad Rick Wakeman tweeted on 30 Dec 2016 about visiting Oliver and how he "did some recording for [...] Rodney Matthews". On 9 Sep 2017, Oliver tweeted, "In the studio working on final piece for @RodneyMStudios. Tricky piano reworking of a classical piece." Presumably this was (4). A May 2018 tweet of Oliver's implied the album was in the final stages of mixing, and Oliver described it as mixed in late Jun 2018. In his Oct 2018 Newslist, he said, "There is still a final bit of work to be done on the album. Mastering and organising the layout for the sleeve." In his Sep 2019 newsletter, he described the album as "now finished", with the artwork "being finalised". The formulation of the artist credit, "with Oliver Wakeman", was suggest by Oliver based on his album The 3 Ages of Magick that was credited to "Oliver Wakeman with Steve Howe".

Oliver did a solo piano show at an art exhibition by Matthews in Bourton-on-the-Water in Nov 2017. He also performed a solo piano show as part of Matthews' Mythopoeia – The Art of Literary Legends, Aug 2018. Wakeman played for 80 minutes, with an audience of over 120. In May 2019, he played 2 acoustic piano sets at a charity show at another Matthews exhibition, in Leamington Spa; set included "November Wedding" (from Trinity), "Lottie's Song" (new piece), "A Mayfair Kiss", "LJW", "Heaven's Isle" and "Lutey and the Mermaid".

Matthews and O Wakeman continued to work together on subsequent projects. (HP, 25 Apr 20; revised 28 Apr 20)

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