DEATON LEMAY PROJECT

A great voice, great musicians, great playing, interesting hooks, and nice signature changes. Those are the positive things I can say about this latest instalment of the Deaton LeMay Project.

But there's hardly a moment that hits me or grips me. They walk the beaten track of prog music. Especially ELP comes to mind. Pompous for the sake of being pompous. And for me, in essence, that's not prog.

I especially cringe every time I concentrate to listen to the lyrics. They are so pastiche and forgettable.

I can't go higher than 2 stars for this. Solid, but I recommend this for fans only.

Back with their second album, Roby Deaton (keyboards, guitars) and Craig LeMay (drums, percussion) have again invited singer Hadi Kiani and guitarists Ehsan Imani and Josh Mark Raj to take part, as well as also bringing in bassists John Haddad and Charles Berthoud with violinist Liza Evans on one track. When I heard their debut, I said it reminded me of Kansas in many ways, and this album sees them also bringing into play another classic prog band, Emerson Lake & Palmer. Deaton is an incredible keyboard player who is at home on beautiful piano as he is belting out synth rockers, while LeMay is incredibly technical and is a drummer who fully understands the need for space, which means he sits back at times and is driving hard at others.

Kiani has an amazing voice, and I am so glad they have brought him back as his vocals are incredible, and he is perfectly linked with the others. The bass is an important element throughout, providing powerful linkage but a special mention should be made of Charles Berthoud on "A Different Place In Time" as some of his bass runs are just perfectly formed. It is the guitars which moves this more into Kansas than ELP, as it has that innate feeling of American prog/melodic rock, but when Deaton brings the Moog to bear, we are definitely in the realms of the latter, and possibly even the later project, 3.

It is difficult to find a fault with this album as somehow it is firmly rooted in the Seventies yet is also modern and up to date, with the result being something which many progheads will thoroughly enjoy if they can bring themselves to find something new. This album has been out for some time, but only one solitary review on PA, which means it has slipped under the radar somewhat, which is nothing short of criminal as if you enjoy any of the bands mentioned, then this album should be on your list. It is fresh, old, new, and so much more, containing wonderful songs and amazing performances from all involved to create a very special album indeed.

Second offering from these guys and damn are they legit. Prog heads and keyboardists are going to drool over this one as there are tons of vintage keys, organ and beautiful piano passages. LeMays drumming is beyond extraordinary. He sounds like a mix of Peart, Palmer and early Genesis Phil Collins. Very keyboard heavy, but both guitarist are allowed room to breath. Opening songs The Great Awakening, A Different Place in Time and the Nightmare have a Kansas/ Rush vibe to them. Dragonfly is a beautiful solo piano piece that reminds me of Close to Home by Keith Emerson. Highlights for me are Exordium, Overture, Water and Earth. These are heavy more aggressive songs that at times veer off into 90s Dream Theater territory. This whole album is very listenable from beginning to end. Although there are epic pieces the songwriting and composition is very catchy. The vocalist on this is also phenomenal. I looked up the keyboardist Roby Deaton and found a few new age guitar and piano albums, but his sweet spot is definitely this. He seems to have been inspired by Keith Emerson and Kerry Livgren, but that's just my opinion.Easily one of the better release's of 2022.

As one can surmise from the title, this band has been formed by Roby Deaton (keyboards, guitars) and Craig LeMay (drums, percussion), who then brought in singer Hadi Kiani and guitarists Ehsan Imani, Joel Gregoire and Josh Mark Raj to complete the recording line-up. They say they were inspired to produce exciting progressive rock by the likes of Rick Wakeman and Keith Emerson, but this has much more in common with Nineties-style American prog than what was around in the Seventies. This shines through in the instrumental "Tri-Overture" which contains some wonderfully tight sections and time signature changes, with the only issue being that it is way too short! Putting that to one side, one of the delights here is that while the music is based around Roby and Craig, they allow the guitarists to shine by providing some blistering solos on top.

Although we do get plenty of instrumental passages, there are also times when Hadi is allowed to take centre stage, and rightfully so as he has a wonderful voice. They often straddle the boundaries between progressive rock and melodic rock, almost like a modern-day Kansas (without the violin), with drums providing a powerful melodic element as well as rhythmic. "The Past" is a fine example of a band being able to provide the right amount of edge to the sugar, so that while it may at points seem like it is going to veer too far away, we then get a blistering instrumental passage with guitars, keyboards and drums all combining to provide incredible excitement. This certainly never sounds like a debut album, as there is a confidence and passion throughout which makes this an American neo-prog release which really stands out. I note this was released in 2019, so I can only hope that it means there will be another to follow soon, as this is a superb introduction to the guys.

US project DEATON LEMAY PROJECT is spearheaded by composers and musicians Roby Deaton and Craig LeMay. Just how long this creative duo has been collaborating isn't exactly stated anywhere, but as I've seen phrases about a project 25 years in the making somewhere I presume the ideas for this venture has been ongoing for some time. DLP self-released their debut album "Day After Yesterday" towards the tail end of 2019.

Classic era symphonic progressive rock can come in many different guises, and in this case the most dominant aspect of the album are keyboard arrangements it's just about impossible to listen to without thinking of the late Keith Emerson. My impression is that this album as a whole has stronger similarities with the later ELP offshoot 3 than ELP itself, at least the more expressive parts of the sole studio album by 3 from the 1980's. That being said, I rather suspect that the majority of ELP fans will find it worthwhile to give this CD a spin as well.