In
your footsteps Ill follow, sings Billy Sherwood on
The Following, track four of his 2010 CD Oneirology.
Interesting name for an album Id say considering Ive
never heard that word before! Sherwoods come a long way since
helping guide YES into a brave new world on late 90s classic
rock albums like Open Your Eyes and The Ladder in addition
to a pair of trendsetting albums that Billy crafted with YES bass
ace Chris Squire and their on again / off again band called Conspiracy.
Of course, that was during the good old days between Summer 2000 and
the close of 2004 but, yet even with Squire leaving L.A. for England
and then reforming with his 60s band The SYN in 2005 and then,
Chris' subsequent return to the classic YES format with Steve Howe
and Alan White, Billys been anything but idle regarding new
musical endeavors. Releasing several CD and DVD titles with his band
CIRCA, with founding YES keyboardist Tony Kaye as well as a 2008 solo
CD, At The Speed Of Life, Sherwood is breaking records again
with his 2010 CD Oneirology. I must say, the eight track Oneirology
is the most Yes / Conspiracy sounding release since 2003s
The Unknown, itself one of the key prog-rock records of the
double 0s. Making an excellent introduction, the title track
of Oneirology serves as a musical mantra with its circular
melodies and near Asian flavored word play.
Regarding
the intriguing CD title Billy adds, I had a dream about making
my next solo CD about my dreams, so I did just that. All the songs
relate to specific dreamscapes I have visited and continue to revisit.
When considering what to call the record I felt the best summation
of the concept was "Oneirology"... meaning "the study
of dreams". Taking a late 90s YES inspired approach to
postmodern prog rock for the millennium, Oneirology puts Sherwood
in a most favorable light, especially with those
long standing
YES fans lucky enough to have heard the two Conspiracy albums featuring
Chris Squire. Theres hardly a note out of place here and the
whole thing comes off as a musical miracle, especially considering
that the entire Oneirology CD was written, produced and performed
entirely by Sherwood at his hi-tech, state of the art 4Tune Studios.
www.BillySherwood.com