Dean Watson's "Unsettled" now Available

[Dean Watson]

Hi prog fusion lovers!

I'm posting this here because while I consider Unsettled to be more of a progressive CD, others are telling me it sits right smack dab in the middle of the Jazz Fusion camp. So, you might like it.

Soon I will have Unsettled available at CDBaby and Abstract Logix. You can however, get one directly from me right away. The CD can be purchased through paypal. My paypal address is dwatson@vianet.ca and you can find ordering details on my blog, as well as listen to the CD in its entirety here: www.myspace.com/deanwatson2


Thank you!

[John Watt]

Maybe it's because I'm from Canada also, but I'm "Unsettled" already.
And I've never heard of "right smack dab in the middle of the jazz fusion camp".
So I'm relectant to commit to a listen and my usual lengthy review.

[Dean Watson]

John,

Ok, perhaps I could have worded that more appropriately. I'm not lying when I say it though. This is what I'm being told. As stated though, personally, I think the music is more progressive in nature.

If you don't want to listen, I'm ok with that. Enjoy your day!

[John Watt]

Dean Watson! I knew a fellow Canadian would be into the linguistics,
and I felt an immediate upgrade in vocabulary, posting at magle.dk.
Please don't think I'm all about being appropriate, or don't want to listen.
I'll be back, not using this borrowed office system, after I get back to my place.
Then I'll be able to use my Sony studio headphones or Altec Lansing computer speakers,
hopefully, to get insightful with your music for a detailed commentary.
There's a chance I might lose that and just start jamming along with my guitar.
We'll see.

[Dean Watson]

And you're a lefty? Me too.

[John Watt]

Mr. Dean Watson! I listened to "The Encounter" and saw some of your info.
So you're in Toronto, where I lived three times playing guitar.
And you're a Todd Rundgren fan! I shook his hand in Niagara Falls.
He was doing a record signing thing in the afternoon at Maple Leaf Village.
Up close he looked like a different kind of human being.

Let me be open and honest with you, as musicians. Your playing is great, fast fast fingers, as precise as you wanna be, the keys being enough to impress never mind the guitar and everything else. It made me want to pull your head out of your all by yourself recording and start a real band.

And that's where I'm changing flow here from your posting, not getting into the fusion or progressive debate, but hearing influences and recognizing some parts. This might sound critical, not about your musicianship or recording quality, but about production. Change a few notes on the bass and guitar at the start and it would be "Livin' For The City" by Stevie Wonder. That's nice as an instrumental, but it sounds light without vocals.

But that doesn't last long. It turns into a lead guitar and organ sounding piece of "Freeway Jam" by Jeff Beck. That's smooth and nice to hear, the riffage winding around, and then there's an almost symphonic build-up of orchestral chords, sounding like some Alfie Zappacosta, one of my favorite Toronto singer-songwriters. I was singing to myself "Now, nothing will stand in my way".

Overall, the production left me thinking sections and parts and precision.
So I would have slowed it a little to see if that did anything, adding texture.
No, that's wrong, because I'm not hearing this as soundtrack material.
This does come off as a band of players with an instrumental number.
Please, consider just being a keyboardist and starting a band.

If there's one nice Toronto keyboard influence, great for melodic songs,
that you might enjoy, it's Terry Watkins when he was part of Max Webster.
"Coming Off The Moon", "Toronto Tontos", "Cold Night in The Drums",
"Diamonds Diamonds", "Hangover", they're still strong.

Have you done anything with a protest theme from the summit?
Are you going to summit up? Ouch...

You have inspired me.
How about doing "Little Wing" Pat Metheny and Lyle Mays style?
I can hear you getting into that, some French Horn synth and soaring leads,
some Jaco Pastorius bass riffage and percussion that can do little wing-beats.
I'll be coming back.

[Dean Watson]

Very, very strange review, but I'll take it! Thanks John!

[John Watt]

Yeah, I have to admit I was relating to your recording as much as reviewing,
so who are we going to blame for me getting off on it so much?

Did you ever see Todd Rundgren up close?
I'm six feet, and he was maybe five inches taller than me.
His hands and fingers looked big, like he had a different skeletal type.
His fingers looked like flattened sausages from being abused through hard labour,
but that was just the shape. The skin looked perfect and smooth.
That was another surprising thing, his skin. It almost looked artificial, looking perfect, but gray.
His face looked gray too, and very gaunt, with big, sad eyes.
But he was very conversational and friendly to everyone, mixing with the crowd.

I gotta get to Toronto. There's a lot of guys I haven't seen in a long time.
And I've got my new guitar, Ring Music approved, to start sticking in with.

[Catrina]

And you're a lefty? Me too.

Me three.

Listened to the first piece. Bracing. I can see elements to work with here, but then I should get out of 'producer-composer' mode. I work too hard.
A heaviness I presently am working to get away from in my own stuff, but I can see how it is compelling, why do I think of Rush? You are a good multi instrumentalist. Perhaps you would not want my input.


(mea culpa)
Thread hog here:
Will someone review my CDs and get people to buy them already? This starving artist routine is really 'getting old'

Much Love and Money

[John Watt]

Catrina! I saw your name and looked right away. If I'm not mistaken aren't you from Singapore?
I remember your music clearly, not North American rock. So I'm surprised you're mentioning Rush.
I never bought any of their albums, but I sang two songs off the first album and saw them in a bar
with the original drummer, Mike Rutsey. I also jammed with Neil Peart at a matinee when he was in
a band call Bullrush. He was local for me.

I can't hijack this thread typing about you,
but I was also interested in what you'd have to say about Dean Watson,
considering I thought your music escalated into a warmer "Bitches Brew".
So you consider yourself a producer, not just a singer-songwriter?
Now I'm more impressed if your production was the result of your efforts.

Hearing your music and Dean Watsons' one after the other were both intense experiences,
but for completely different reasons.
I just started off hearing your music as some nice acoustic ethnic, but it flowed and built in surprising ways.
Deans' playing, tones, the production, actually faultless, but it was the local sonics I identified with,
and it felt emotional for me that way. It reminded me of clubs where I was gigging in Toronto.
After typing my over-view-review I looked for Alfie Zappacosta and couldn't find anything.
A couple of my favorite Toronto songs are his, and I liked his voice.
The fact he asked me for my number and gave me his also impressed me.
He was a guest at a venue in my home town and went out of his way to make me look very good.
That's a part of being an entertainer I like, pumping each other up in public, bumping us up in here.

But this has all just been about you two. A song of mine isn't in the discussion.
So I decided if I was going to make a quick video of me singing and playing,
a new effort, a global effort, I was going to get something new together.
That started happening tonight. I can't believe I was stop and start, thinking,
for over half an hour, sitting outside, a beautiful still, body temperature night.
The full moon in a bright sky and the low layers of dark clouds along Lake Erie were around me.
I thought I was have having my first post-middle-aged moment. Actually, lots of moments. Half an hour.
But then I started riffing in Em, hitting E as bass and working the next two strings,
thinking it's kind of new wave blues, but E minor all the time will always sound done already,
so I started moving it up the neck and it took off up in Bm, and I tried different lower frets,
and it clicked in again in F#m back to E.

I started singing along to the blues riffing as I worked through the chords,
and it was surprisingly free musically.
Hitting the bass string with a steady driving beat goes back to the sixties with me,
so it was easy to relate to and sing and the new wave blues riffing created a flowing harmonic mix.
That was exciting. I kept going, taking a few breaks, until I started riffing it out.
It was so nice to get into I played some things I never did before and broke an A string.
I just came in. I had to tell you that.

[teddy]

John
So when will we hear the results.

teddy

[Dean Watson]

If you're interested, Unsettled is now available for download - well, all over - I-Tunes, Amazon, Napster, CDBaby, Last.fm, and more. This is a good way to get some new 'fusion' for about 10$.

[teddy]

If you're interested, Unsettled is now available for download - well, all over - I-Tunes, Amazon, Napster, CDBaby, Last.fm, and more. This is a good way to get some new 'fusion' for about 10$.

Will have a listen. I always like to hear the forum members music.

teddy

[Dean Watson]

"Unsettled" was just reviewed at Harmonic Lizard. You can read it here: http://harmoniclizard.com/?q=node/371

[John Watt]

That's a nice review. He liked you.
He liked you enough to identify with bands that were influences for him,
and Steely Dan is more than just a nice band to be grouped with.
I know how the reviewer felt.