The analogy of a phoenix rising from the ashes has been used to describe many artists’ journey from debilitating failure to unlikely success, but Derek Sherinian is far from a failure. With a career spanning more than 30 years, the “Caligula of keyboards” has done more in his musical life to date than most musicians could ever dream of. He has done extensive touring and recording for well-known rock acts such as Alice Cooper, KISS, and Billy Idol. He joined Dream Theater as a full-time member through the mid-’90s and has also founded many successful bands of his own (Planet X, Black Country Communion, Sons of Apollo, etc.). Sherinian also has an extensive catalog of solo material, seven albums strong, that has featured a hall-of-fame collection of talented guests that have helped fulfill his musical vision through each of those albums. And that brings us to 2020 and Derek’s eighth solo outing, ‘The Phoenix’.
In many ways, ‘The Phoenix’ isn’t much different from Derek’s past solo work in that it is as much a collaborative project as it is an individual statement. First and foremost, the partnership that has fueled the creative energy behind ‘The Phoenix’, and five other of Sherinian’s albums, is a long-time collaborator and iconic drummer, Simon Philips. Philips and Sherinian not only wrote most of the music on ‘The Phoenix’ but also co-produced the album, as well. Instead of using all this music as a stage to showcase himself, though, Sherinian seems more than happy to share the limelight with his friends. Some of the guest collaborators on ‘The Phoenix’ are regulars from Derek’s previous solo albums (bassists Tony Franklin, Jimmy Johnson, Billy Sheehan, and guitarists Joe Bonamassa and Zakk Wylde) while others are fresh, new recruits (guitarists Steve Vai, Ron ‘Bumblefoot’ Thal, and Kiko Loureiro). Although the talent is certainly present and accounted for, the diversity that comes from a cast like this is tough to hold together cohesively in the context of an album. In the context of Derek’s lengthy career, however, ‘The Phoenix’ takes on an extra layer of meaning.
Derek Sherinian gives the listener a little taste of everything he has been about throughout his entire career on this tight little eight-song package. The songs on ‘The Phoenix’ run the gamut from prog metal to blues-rock to jazz fusion and beyond, which really showcases Derek’s ability to be a musical chameleon and why so many other artists are excited to collaborate with him. However, at the end of the day, ‘The Phoenix’ is not supposed to be a band statement because the name on the marquee reads, “Derek Sherinian”. Some of what you get here are well-written backing tracks that serve as spotlights for other people, while Sherinian plugs away in the shadows. This is strange, especially when you hear a song like “Dragonfly”, which features Sherinian on acoustic piano, and realize what this guy can really do when he lets his creativity and fingers fly. Along with “Dragonfly”, which is my personal favorite track in this collection, there a few other standout tracks, as well. “Clouds of Ganymede”, featuring virtuoso guitarist Steve Vai, feels like you are gently soaring over an endless sea, tiny perfect clouds glowing mellow orange in the sunset as you pass by. “Empyrean Sky”, “Temple of Helios”, and “Octopus Pedigree” all feature Ron ‘Bumblefoot’ Thal and it is easy to see that both Sherinian and Thal have developed quite a chemistry from being in Sons of Apollo together. Each of these three songs has a groovy, heavy jazz-fusion feel to them and, unlike some of the other songs, do not seem like they exist only for Thal’s fretless guitar amusement. I honestly would love to hear an entire album written by just these two gentlemen and see how high into the stratosphere they could push themselves before they pass out.
Though Derek has written and arranged the lion’s share of the music on ‘The Phoenix’, some tracks still feel like they belong to someone else and Sherinian is just a sideman, making a guest appearance on his own solo album. The song where this feeling really hits you in the face is the Buddy Miles cover, “Them Changes”, featuring Joe Bonamassa on guitar and the only vocals on the record. That’s not to say there is anything wrong with the performance, which is stellar, but this song could have just as easily been on Bonamassa’s latest album and no one would have known any different. Though a competent tribute to Sherinian’s first professional gig playing for Miles in the late ’80s, “Them Changes” is a somewhat jarring stylistic shift and kind of interrupts the momentum of the rest of the album. The song that shares it’s title with the album, “The Phoenix”, is actually the least eternal of the bunch and instead sees the talents of bassist Billy Sheehan and guitarist Zakk Wylde wallowing with Sherinian and Philips in the ashes of a fairly forgettable hard rock arrangement, seeing who can play the most notes without kicking up too much dust in each other’s eyes. And then we have the epic closer, the nearly seven-minute “Pesadelo”, featuring and co-written by Kiko Loureiro of Megadeth. Once again, though, Sherinian takes a back seat to Loureiro, whose guitar pretty much takes center stage here. The writing and arranging are great, especially the acoustic flamenco section that happens at about 2 minutes 35 seconds in, but, overall, this is another track that could easily have been penned by Loureiro for his own album. And on top of all that, Sherinian’s keyboard style is so guitar-like in feel and tone, especially his lead patches, that sometimes it is difficult to differentiate his sonic contributions from the five guitar players that he is collaborating with, although it is certainly clear that Derek can stand toe-to-toe with all of them.
‘The Phoenix’ is clearly less of a solo album and more of a career retrospective, in my opinion, but what career to celebrate! There is a reason why Derek Sherinian has been such a sought-after keyboardist over the last 30 years and this album has many moments that prove the point, but there is a fear in my mind that after all the years of burning the creative fires for other artists he may not have saved enough for himself this time. Although I don’t think this album sees Sherinian burned down to a smoldering pile of ashes waiting to be reborn, I do wish he had spread his wings a little farther and puffed his chest out a little bit more, letting his own creativity glint in the sun like the fiery feathers of the eternal bird that never truly dies.