Billy Sherwood’s new album, CITIZEN is out now. Called “a landmark” album by the DAILY VAULT, this “imaginative concept album whose A-list guests deliver in spades, making this trip through time a memorable ride well worth taking.”
Players on the album include almost every keyboardist from Yes (Rick Wakeman, Patrick Moraz, Geoff Downes, and Tony Kaye), plus Dream Theater’s Jordan Rudess. There is singing from Alan Parsons and XTC’s Colin Moulding, and Yes’ current frontman Jon Davison. CITIZEN features guitar playing from Deep Purple/Kansas/Dixie Dregs’ Steve Morse and Genesis’ Steve Hackett, plus violinist Jerry Goodman of the Flock, Dixie Dregs, and Mahavishnu Orchestra.
Of special note is the appearance of Billy’s mentor, the late Chris Squire of Yes, who plays bass on the opening song, “The Citizen" for what would wind up being his last studio recording.
Billy created this concept album based on a lost soul that is reincarnated into various periods of history. "I was inspired by the notion that General Patton believed he was reincarnated on various battlefields through time; I wanted to take that concept even further." As the songwriter/producer, Billy placed the citizen character into significant moments of history.
A special songwriter’s edition of the album is available on Spotify, where listeners can hear commentaries from the artist, himself, explaining the inspiration and meaning behind each song between the songs.
Songs and historical figures on CITIZEN include:
* “No Man’s Land” about a runner in World War 1
* “Just Galileo & Me” about the famous scientist’s earth being flat or round debate,
* “A Theory of its Own” with Charles Darwin,
* “Trail of Tears” on the Indian Removal Act of 1830,
* “Empire” about the Roman Empire’s final days,
* “Escape Velocity” about space exploration,
* “Man and the Machine” about the industrial revolution,
* “Age of the Atom” on the Atomic Bomb,
* “The Great Depression” about the stock market crash,
* “Written in the Centuries” about Nostradamus,
and * “The Citizen.”
Fans can order the album on Amazon at radi.al/BillySherwoodAmazon radi.al/BillySherwoodAmazon
and on iTunes: radi.al/BillySherwoodiTunes
Billy Sherwood was recently handpicked by Chris Squire to fill in for him on bass and vocals in Yes, before he left for cancer treatment and ultimately, his untimely death. Billy started his career in the band Lodgic and then as a member of World Trade, who have two critically-acclaimed albums. He has produced and engineered for many artists including John Wetton, Motorhead, Queensryche, Paul Rodgers, and Yes. He joined Yes first as touring member on the “Talk” tour in 1994, and was a full time member from 1997 to 1999. He recorded two albums with Chris Squire as the “Conspiracy” project and released six albums with Circa, the band he formed with Tony Kaye.
CITIZEN is Billy’s eighth album of new material, though he sees this as a group effort, "While I've created a lot of this record myself I couldn't have done it without the amazing talents brought to bear by all the great artists who participated. So I feel it's much more of a collective effort than a solo album. It's my desire to take this production onto the stage and some of these amazing artists can help bring this concept to life.”
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Enjoy a CITIZEN EPK following this link: youtu.be/0t2xBIRHW7I
www.facebook.com/BillySherwoodMusic
Amazon store: radi.al/BillySherwoodAmazon
iTunes store: radi.al/BillySherwoodiTunes
