THE PROG COLLECTIVE

I had such high hopes for this album. With guests like Annie Haslam, John Wetton, John Wesley, Gary Green, Richard Page, Chris Squire, Rick Wakeman, Peter Banks, et al, I was expecting so much more. The playing is fine, but somewhat uninspired as it's not a whole band with guest spots. This is a Billy Sherwood production - Billy on drums, Billy on guitar, Billy on keyboard, Billy on bass. The guests are playing with recordings. This does not mean it's bad...it's not. BUT. It easily could have been better. Billy is only average on drums, which is not good enough for me. He's average on bass. He's can play a lot of instruments, but not up to my prog standards.

The songs, while not bad, are not memorable. Melodies are kind of ho hum. The songs don't hold up.

I like Sherwood's work in general. Back Against the Wall, his World Trade Albums, his work with Squire, his work with Yes. This to me is too disjointed. One of the best aspects to prog for me was great musicians playing together. That is missing here, the energy is gone. It's just OK.