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░ ██ ██ Artist: Billy Sherwood ██ ██
▓ █░░ ■█ Album: Citizen █■ ░░█
■ █▓▀ █ Year: 2015 █ ▀▓█ ░
█ ▓ Rel. Date: 2016-04-01 ▓ █
▒ ▒ Genre: Progressive Rock ▒ ▒
█▄ ░ Label: Frontiers Music Srl ░ ▄█
░ █▄ ░ Source: CD ░ ▄█
░ █▓ Type: Album ▓█ ░
▓ █ Quality: VBR, 44.1kHz, Joint Stereo █ ░ ▓
▓ █ █ ░ ▓
▄ ■ ■ ▓ ■
░█ █░ ▀
█ US artist and composer Billy Sherwood is a rather █
█ well known name in the music business. His various █
█ tenures as a member of legendary progressive rock █
█ band Yes arguably his main claim to fame, but he █
█ has also been involved in numerous other bands and █
█ projects over the years. His solo career has been █
█ ongoing since the tail end of the 1990's, with █
█ eight studio albums released to date. "Citizen" is █
█ the most recent of these, and was released in the █
█ fall season of 2015 through Italian label █
█ Frontiers Music. █
█ As Billy's career have been rather firmly tied in █
█ with the history of Yes for a few decades, an █
█ obvious question that will rise when he release a █
█ solo album is how close, or not, the music will be █
█ to the material made by that band, and especially █
█ when quite a few guest musicians that also have █
█ been members of that band have contributed. The █
█ answer to that question is, I guess, a yes and a █
█ no. There are similarities, most certainly, but █
█ no, this is not a Yes album released as someone's █
█ solo project. █
█ The album as a whole is a conceptual one from what █
█ I understand, so those who find such ventures █
█ fascinating will have a concept to immerse █
█ themselves in, and the music at hand is a rather █
█ compelling one throughout, where the focus is on █
█ smooth, elegant themes and arrangements employed █
█ in compositions that tends to be fairly slowly █
█ paced. Those fond of dramatic effects, challenging █
█ escapades and instruments clearly highlighted as █
█ dominant features while going through technically █
█ challenging, virtuous territories will have to █
█ look elsewhere. While we are treated to a fair █
█ share of instrument solo runs and some of them █
█ rather virtuoso indeed, these are flavors provided █
█ without using the limelight to hone in on them as █
█ the central or dominant aspects of the █
█ compositions, instead they come across as one part █
█ of a total package, one element among many rather █
█ than the key element everything else builds up to. █
█ Acoustic guitars and fairly careful, toned down █
█ guitar riffs and solo runs combine with layered █
█ keyboards throughout to form careful, elegant █
█ soundscapes, ranging from the relative sparse and █
█ fragile to the rich and majestic, with the bass █
█ guitar possibly having a slightly more central █
█ place in the arrangements by way of firm and at █
█ times booming basslines, but rarely if ever in a █
█ dramatic or dominant manner. Elegant and █
█ sophisticated comes across as key words for me to █
█ describe the totality, with subtle nuances and █
█ details used to add tension. I get the impression █
█ that a lot of work have gone into the mix and █
█ production here, and that this album is the kind █
█ that will reward the listeners by carefully █
█ unveiling additional detail upon repeated listens. █
█ There's a lot going on throughout, but the smooth, █
█ melody-oriented focus doesn't hone in on these █
█ details as such, and it usually will take multiple █
█ listens for most listeners to become aware of █
█ these. █
█ The lead vocals and vocal harmonies, both by Billy █
█ and the occasional guest vocalists, all give me █
█ strong associations to the music of Yes, and then █
█ primarily the landscapes they have explored from █
█ the tail end of the 1980's and onward. I'm not an █
█ expert on that band by any means, so those who █
█ have a deeper knowledge of and experience with █
█ that band that I have may not concur to this █
█ description, but for me it's the vocals that adds █
█ that touch of Yes to the landscapes explored here █
█ first and foremost. Some nifty, atmospheric guitar █
█ solo details hovering in the background on █
█ occasion and the aforementioned bass guitar █
█ emphasize this somewhat, but at least for me the █
█ greater totality isn't all that similar: The songs █
█ on this album are generally slower paced and █
█ lacking the focus on dramatic movements and other █
█ features of a more bombastic nature I associate █
█ with Yes. █
█ My main impression is that "Citizen" is a well █
█ made and excellently produced concept album, in █
█ terms of style residing somewhere in the █
█ neo-progressive oriented parts of the symphonic █
█ progressive rock universe. The main focus is on █
█ melodies and harmonies, and with the lead vocals █
█ given a lot of the limelight here. Which isn't all █
█ that unexpected presumably, as a concept is █
█ explored and stories are told. Those with a █
█ general taste for compelling, well made and well █
█ produced albums that arguably may be placed █
█ somewhere close to a neo progressive context comes █
█ across as a key audience for this album in my █
█ book. █
▓ ▓
▒ ▒
░ 1. The Citizen 6:34 ░
░ 2. Man & The Machine 6:44 ░
░ 3. Just Galileo and Me 5:02 ░
░ 4. No Mans Land 5:35 ░
░ 5. The Great Depression 8:40 ░
░ 6. Empire 5:34 ░
░ 7. Age of the Atom 6:23 ░
░ 8. Trail of Tears 6:28 ░
░ 9. Escape Velocity 6:03 ░
░ 10. A Theory All It's Own 5:33 ░
░ 11. Written in the Centuries 7:20 ░
░ 69:56 ░
░ ▒ ▒
▓ █ ░ ▓ ░
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