Rick Wakeman Plots 'Return To The Red Planet'

07-16-2026

(Glass Onyon) Following his acclaimed 2020 album The Red Planet, Rick Wakeman makes a triumphant and inevitable return to Mars with Return To The Red Planet, a sweeping new progressive work that fuses science, imagination and musical virtuosity into one of the most ambitious recordings of his career. Return To The Red Planet will be released on the Madfish label on 16th October.

"Once I started looking at the new data and photographs, I realised there was an entirely new album waiting to be written. There was simply too much more to say about Mars - musically and spiritually - not to return." - Rick Wakeman

At a time when space exploration has moved back to the forefront of human endeavour - with missions to the Moon, Mars and beyond once again capturing the world's imagination - Return To The Red Planet feels both timely and visionary, rekindling the cosmic spirit that helped define progressive rock's golden age.

Where its predecessor opened the story, this album explores the planet's ancient lakes, vast canyon systems, shifting dust storms and geological epochs, drawing directly on the remarkable images and research that have transformed our understanding of Mars in recent years, Wakeman immersing himself in planetary research, data, and mission reports before a single note was written.

Return To The Red Planet tracklist:
The Jezero Crater - 06:56
Bowie's Vision - 05:45
Noctis Labyrinthus - 05:28
Noachis Terra (Land of Noah) - 06:23
Witch Hazel Hill - 04:02
St Paul's Bay - 06:53
Martian Dust Devils - 04:53
Medusae Fossae - 04:26
The Epochs of Mars - 07:45