OCEANA

I was expecting for a work like this from DS.

I cant deny Derek Sherinian is a very good talented musician.

A really tasteful to listen his keyboards playing.

What I really miss in the other albums was the talent in compose .

In other albums too much prog metal jazz guitar riffs .

Songs were in an instrumental prog metal basis with not enough keyboards in my opinion.

Also the compositions were average....no inspiration...quite monotonous ...same line...nothing very good to expect.

In this album :good compositions,talented compositions...in a more jazz prog fusion line than in the prog metal line.

5 stars songs: 5 Elements,Mulholland,Euphoria,Seven Sins,Oceana .

So is very good news this DS album.

4 stars

here we have new Sherinian,Last few ds have been metal without hardly any keybords. This one is prog-jazz-fusion disc,What an monster it is lukather is on this one all time guitar gods. Compositions are top notch,This makes you like whole cd.Not shred fest thru whole cd which gets boring rather fast,Instead you get top notch fusion with lushious keybord passages.

This is the best solo cd he done outside of planet x hands down top pieces are

1)Euphoria 2)Ghost Runner 3)El Camino Diablo 4)Seven Sins 5)Oceana

One best prog-fusion cds of 2011 with high 4 stars,Since there are few songs that are not masterpiece wothy.Bumping it down an star overall must buy cd,Not same old metal shredfest thru his past solo cds.That has top notch guitar players instead you get fusion masterpiece to not be missed.

4 Stars essential Must Buy!!!

Right of the bat I must say that this is one of the strongest releases in 2011, it grabbed with the first listen. Derek proves that he is a real keyboard master and the guitar playing from Steve Lukather, Tony Macalpine and Joe Bonamassa is nothing but incredible. The bass playing is really livid and groovy on the album as well, the rhythm section does an outstanding job on the overall.

The compositions are fantastic in and of themselves too, they have a strong early Jeff Beck feel to them - fusiony yet very groovy. The music is not too focused on being prog, but the prog is all over the place - and it is done remarkably well. The songs are light, there's not much of a nod to metal at all on the album - but they are really energetic and pack a punch.

The only complaint of mine would be that there's too little keyboard spotlight on the album. But it doesn't diminish the listening enjoyment at all. The album has an overall energetic and light feel compared to some of his other work, and it's a truly fantastic release. Everyone should get it.

Best songs: Five Elements, Ghost Runner, El Camino Diablo, Oceana

Do you like Jeff Beck's fusion albums like "Blow By Blow" and "Wired"? How about Jan Hammer, particularly The Jan Hammer Group's album "Oh Yeah?". Well, you're going to love this. This album has ex-Dream Theater keyboardist Derek Sherinian channeling the feel and style of those albums, with a little added heaviness in the guitars, and a few other keyboard sounds not heard from those great 70s albums.

Derek's style has always been a little jazzy, and on previous solo albums, and the albums by his main band Planet X, are a nice mix of jazz, jazz-fusion, and progressive metal. At times he'll even let loose and go completely post-bop amidst the prog-metal. On "Oceana", the jazz and fusion style is pushed to the foreground, leaving only traces of his famous brand of prog-metal. Lots of funky bass, excellent fusion drumming, and with guitarists Tony MacAlpine and Steve Lukather, you know you're going to get some real jazz-fusion guitar ala Scott Henderson; mixed with some heavy riffs here and there.

Seriously, if you are familiar with Planet X or Derek's solo stuff, but wished he'd do a real jazz-fusion album, this is it. Every track here is high quality modern fusion, with great soulful guitar, nice keyboard sounds and solos, but also fast technical stuff that occasionally reminds me of fusion bands like Tribal Tech, Jan Hammer Group, or Return To Forever. Add a little heaviness from the guitars (and keys), and you have a modern fusion classic.