UNSETTLED

Unsettled is the debut full-length album by Canadian musician Dean Watson. The album was independently released. Unsettled is what I call a "real" solo album as the album was written, recorded, mixed and mastered between May 2009 & March 2010 by Dean Watson himself. In addition to that Dean Watson plays all instruments on the album. That means all guitars, keyboards, bass, drums and percussion. The music on the album is inspired by a painting by Ron Eady called Unsettled. I was first introduced to Dean Watson through his involvement in the Desensitized to Insanity (2008) album by Where´s the Nine but he is also known for his involvement in the seventies fusion act Airkraft. I guess it was only a matter of time before a skilled multi- instrumentalist like Dean Watson would release a solo album.

The music on Unsettled is high quality fusion. Compared to the frenzied and busy nature of Desensitized to Insanity, Unsettled is a bit more well balanced in terms of including both harder edged fusion tracks ( there are even the occasional part that sounds like progressive metal in some tracks) and more melodic content. The strong opener The Encounter sets the standard right from the start. Strong musicianship, intricate songwriting and a clean and powerful production. The production might be a bit too sterile for some people but I enjoy the sound. My favorite here is probably the slow building, dark and atmospheric Out of the Mist. It´s a pretty unique track on the album and it really touches me. The mood changes a lot on the album though and a "lighter" track like The Push is also great material.

As noted above the sound production is clean and maybe a bit sterile, at least compared to the more warm sounding jazz rock/ fusion albums from the seventies.

Unsettled is a great album by Dean Watson. Not only are we exposed to brilliant musicianship but also high quality songwriting. I really enjoy that the songs are not just show-offs of Dean Watson´s playing skills but also really great structured compositions filled with emotions and intricate ideas. A 4 star rating is fully deserved.