Prog/Fusion at its Finest?

[jeffworman]

Dean Watson has done it again with his latest effort, Track of Days, a 53-minute slice of prog/fusion heaven. His previous album, Sum of Parts, soon became one of my favorite albums in this genre, but this new one may even eclipse it (a little too early to tell for certain). Do you like creative chord progressions, exquisite guitar/keyboard interplay, stunningly original soloing on both guitar and keys, outstanding composition, and stellar production values? Here it is. And Dean provides all the musicianship and programming himself. The 6-Act title suite is meant to be considered as one long composition, so by all means, experience it that way. Why Dean is not better known on this site escapes me - - -

https://deanwatson.bandcamp.com/album/track-of-days

[MYSTERIOUS TRAVELLER]

I have 2 albums by Dean and I agree that he strikes an amazingly engaging balance of the Symphonic Rock and Jazz Rock styles of progressive Rock music as perhaps only a dozen artists in the past have

[Bytor]

as perhaps only a dozen artists in the past have

I'd be curious to know that list :-)

[Poisoned Youth]

Thanks for sharing! I removed your duplicate thread.

I liked the music and he's very talented. But it has a bit of a one-man band quality that seeps through, and the sequences suffer from a quantization effect (to my ears), lacking an organic quality. It would be interesting to hear this same music recorded in the studio by a full band.


Why Dean is not better known on this site escapes me - - -

This might provide some idea...

1. He's competing with 32,392 other current artists competing for the same slice of audience.

2. He (presumably) doesn't tour. He's a studio musician.

3. The fusion market (along with jazz and instrumental music) is a subset of the overall musical tastes of this site, limiting the audience further.

4. The 70s still dominate this audience. Only a subset are interested in actively exploring new music.

5. There was recently a 10 page thread on the "artificial crowd noise" on the latest Yes (related) live album. That's all you need to know.

But honestly, the bottom line is that there is so much music out there, it's very difficult to stand out. It's good that you shared it.

[Supersonic Scientist]

Hummm…..I found it to be a bit too sleep-inducing...ymmv

[MYSTERIOUS TRAVELLER]

I'd be curious to know that list :-)

going way back to the beginning of progressive Rock music, there was the
Mahavishnu Orchestra
11th House
Soft Machine
Return To Forever
Happy The Man
David Sancious
National Health
Gilgamesh
Billy Cobham
Stanley Clarke
just to name a few

all these artists have the common thread of intricate compositions with many twists and turns, suites, odd time sigs like Symph Rock but with the added excellent, improvisational soloing that comes with Jazz Rock

[Nearfest2]

1. He's competing with 32,392 other current artists competing for the same slice of audience.

Including Carl Hupp.

(Sorry, Ed. I couldn't resist. :))

[Sean]

What's Hupp with that?! :D

[JKL2000]

I checked it out, liked it, and bought the download! Very enjoyable music. Like many have said, that even combination of fusion and prog is very enjoyable. I understand the reservations some people have about it sounding like one person, but that doesn't bother me. The sounds are varied enough, and the compositions and melodies take you somewhere.

Poisoned Youth is of course right about how hard it is to find a needle in a haystack, but that's the value of PE in a nutshell (can I use more metaphors?). So thanks to the OP for pointing this out.

[Dean Watson]

Thanks Jeff for starting the thread - there's two now! :) And thank you to all who have commented regarding my music. It seriously means a lot to me.

btw - there's also a version of this on Youtube, connected as one piece - which I how I hope you will listen to it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hou_jv2X7uw&t=1911s


Cheers!

[Gizmotron]

Thanks Jeff for starting the thread - there's two now! :) And thank you to all who have commented regarding my music. It seriously means a lot to me.

btw - there's also a version of this on Youtube, connected as one piece - which I how I hope you will listen to it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hou_jv2X7uw&t=1911s


Cheers!

I only had time to "drop the needle" in a few places but I very much liked what i heard. Yum! Drums sound very good.
I'll be back for more.

Thanks for the thread!

[Dave (in MA)]

5. There was recently a 10 page thread on the "artificial crowd noise" on the latest Yes (related) live album. That's all you need to know.

5 pages, but they were brutal.

[StarThrower]

I'm a fan. Been listening to Phantasizer quite a bit. The guitar sounds are fairly generic, but the compositions are impressive, and the keyboard playing sounds great. It's a CD I can keep coming back to without diminishing returns and that's a good thing.