Oceana

I was listening to one of my Pandora channels when one of Derek's compositions came up (from the Mythology album); his name didn't sound familiar at first until I realized he was with Dream Theater, a favorite of mine, for a number of years. Then, I learned about his magnificent music career and the number of albums he had recorded and produced, both his and with Planet X, the band he formed with Virgil Donati on drums, and initially, Tony Macalpine, on guitar, followed by other brilliant collaborators, on guitar and bass. I have listened, and relistened, to all of the albums Sherinian has recorded and I am certain he is absolutely an incredibly talented and unrecognized musician, other than in the small circle of progrock/jazz. This, his latest album, has increased my respect for him. He has blended a number of styles and techniques which only a master at his instrument can amass. The participation of Simon Phillips (who has been a producer or co-producer in a number of Derek's albums)is on drums,performing an admirable job. Here we find also the long time friend, and collaborator from Billy Idol's band, Steve Stevens, showing, as always, incredible musicianship, yet, without outdoing Tony Macalpine, Steve Lukather and Doug Aldrich, who also play the guitar in one or two of the tracks. We also find here Joe Bonamassa in a great track. Derek was invited to form with Joe and Doug Hughes (former Deep bassist), the super-group Black Country Communion, also with Jason Bonham (son of legendary John Bonham of Led Zeppelin). If you like prog-rock and jazz, and funky blues, with at times fast paced rock blended in, you will likely find this, Oceana, a very fine album; though you may have to give it a few listens to catch all of the subtleties.

This is Derek Sherinian's best solo effort to date and I hope he continues to collaborate with Simon Phillips because they obviously make a great team. Prior to the release of "Oceana" my favorite was "Inertia," another Sherinian-Phillips collaboration that was released in 2001.With "Oceana," Derek seems to have really perfected his craft. Every track is stellar -- powerful, engaging, well-written compositions with jaw-dropping musicianship and plenty of hooks to keep listeners satisfied. There are no vocals on this one, it's pure instrumental bliss all the way through.I think what makes "Oceana" better than previous Derek efforts is the fact that it is so consistent. The entire album has the same sound and "feel" to it -- basically it's all jazz fusion with very few metal elements. There are no neo-classical metal numbers, a la Yngwie Malmsteen; there's no Black Sabbath knock-offs with Zakk Wylde doing his Ozzy impression; and there are no jarring, out-of-place selections such as "In the Summertime" on "Blood of the Snake."Another thing that makes this album great is that there are more Derek keyboard solos throughout -- I think every track has at least one keyboard solo whereas previous efforts had some tracks that were so guitar driven it was easy to forget you were listening to a keyboardist's solo work.In addition the production and engineering are superb. The recording sounds a lot like Jeff Beck's "There and Back," I assume mainly due to Phillips' influence. In fact some of the tracks -- especially Mercury 7 and Mulholland -- sound similar to the compositions found on "There and Back" and other early Jeff Beck solo works. I think this is because 1) Phillips was heavily involved in the production and 2) Sherinian is heavily influenced by Jan Hammer and Jeff Beck and I think he personally loves the sound captured on "There and Back."After listening to this CD many times (about a year now), though, I don't think Sherinian and Phillips were trying to devise some sort of a "There and Back" knock-off. These compositions are way too original to suggest that they were trying to emulate Jeff Beck's work. Further, I think the fact that the album sometimes sounds like a Jeff Beck album is by no means a detractor -- I loved "There and Back" and I especially liked the way it was produced, so I have no problem with someone trying to achieve a similar sound in the studio. (BTW "Inertia" sounded a little like "There and Back" at times as well...)As usual, Derek invites some of the best guitar players on earth to perform with him on "Oceana" -- and they're all spectacular. But it is the performances by Steve Lukather and Tony Macalpine that really stand out -- what a couple of gems they are. Making this an even stronger album is that the incomparable Jimmy Johnson plays bass throughout.If you're a fan of progressive rock/jazz fusion, get this CD -- I think it is one of the best all-instrumental prog/fusion efforts for 2011.

Sometimes a typical instrumental record with extraordinary musicians can be intelecually exciting, but lack the staying power to be listenable again and again. This was a pleasant surprise in that the songs are so well written. The musicians show expertise without having to be over the top. I'm glad to have purchased it. Interesting enough, I thought Tony MacAlpine was playing guitar on this (like Planet X), but I was mistaken. Instead, there are several different guitar players, even one song with Joe Bonamassa. I like the fact that there is a wide pallet of musicians. Nice job Derek!