Search - Billy Sherwood :: Big Peace

A new progressive rock "masterwork"

Jeffery K. Matheus | Indianapolis, IN United States | 06/24/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Billy Sherwood's "The Big Peace" should not be missed! This now ex-Yes member really put his heart and soul into the making of this album, and it shows! Some have branded Billy as some sort of simple "pop" songsmith (due largely to Yes disappointing "Open Your Eyes" album), but this album proves that Billy is indeed a very complex and truly "progressive" writer. The songwriting is outstanding, with great melodies and clever musical arrangements all around. The musicianship is fantastic, with Billy playing guitar, keyboards, and some of the most powerful bass this side of Chris Squire. In fact Billy plays all instruments here except drums. The production is very unique and creative. And contrary to what one of the other Amazon reviews said, I think that Billy DOES have a great voice, and these songs really show it off nicely, with Billy adding his own 3 and 4 part harmonies. The "effects" on the vocals just add an "etheral" or "otherworldly" quality, while in my opinion never detracting from the music. The whole album is strong, and is best enjoyed played as one piece from start to finish. If I had to pick favorites though I would go with "Self Made World", a track that begins (and ends) spacy and mysterious, and then builds into something more powerful in the middle. "Walking With the Rain" a rocker with some nice guitar & keyboard touches, and "The Big Peace", a true prog-rock epic, (clocking in at over 15 minutes) with enough rhythmic & melodic twists and turns to satisfy the most finicky proghead! This title track (especially the majestic ending section) gives me the same feeling I had when I heard Yes classic "epics" for the first time. I feel that this is overall a stronger album than some of the Yes albums, icluding the ones that Billy was involved with. Buy it ASAP!"

The best prog album of 1999

Dan Rance | Ohio | 11/30/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Just ignore any negative reviews that you read of this album. They are probably written by people who did not listen to this album more than once, but this is a really deep album and requires more than one listen to really appreciate fully. Billy Sherwood is a great talent, much better than Trevor Rabin. He plays almost all of the instruments on this album, and has an excellent singing voice and writes good uplifting songs. I would describe the album by calling it a mixture of classic-Yes, 80's Yes, Asia, Pink Floyd, Ozric Tentacles, Alan Parsons Project, and World Trade, but that wouldn't do Billy justice. Billy does have his own sound, he is influenced by other bands but he is not a slave to them. "The Big Peace" is one of the best prog songs ever. "Self Made World" should be put in a time capsule of great 90's music. This album was never a hit, but it is a great album. Buy it and listen to it repeatedly."

A must for World Trade fans

Rick Aster | Valley Forge, PA USA | 10/29/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Billy Sherwood was the singer and principal songwriter of World Trade. On this solo album, he produces the same style of thoughtful hard-edged progressive music. Billy's guitar playing doesn't have quite the same bite, but other than that, there is nothing to tell you that you are not listening to a World Trade record. The songwriting explores big ideas and is often confrontational and ironic, but ultimately insightful and reassuring. Billy proves to be an extraordinarily versatile musician, performing most of the tracks himself and sounding every bit as good as his other former band, Yes. Yes fans who might think of Billy Sherwood as a guitar-strumming backup singer may be surprised to hear how much more he can do. This is not really an album of Yes-like music, but there are just enough echoes of Yes to make a Yes fan comfortable. For anyone who likes rock music that it is thoughtful, powerful, and complex, there is a lot to like in The Big Peace."