Cosmic Cathedral - Deep Water

Deep Water collects some of the best players throughout the far-flung corners of the music universe and creates a jazz/prog/pop fusion extravaganza……

Deep Water

Artist: Cosmic Cathedral

InsideOut Music

13 tracks / 71:26

Well, here’s some really good news for those of you who are waiting for some new music by Neal Morse. Or Phil Keaggy. Or Chester Thompson. Or Byron House. All of the above have new music available – and it’s all on one new project called Deep Water. This stunning combination of musicians goes by the name Cosmic Cathedral, and these players do indeed come from the far-flung recesses of the music universe. Morse is a well-known progressive rock icon, having reached success with the legendary Spock’s Beard and continuing to forge ahead with solo projects, collaborations with the likes of Flying Colors and the prog supergroup Transatlantic, various side-projects and of course ongoing work writing music, singing, and playing guitars and keyboards with The Neal Morse Band. Phil Keaggy is a world-class guitarist as well as a fine singer/songwriter, first with the rock trio Glass Harp, then fronting CCM bands and performing countless solo performances featuring his unique blend of Beatle-esque pop, jazz, and rock. Phil’s career has allowed him to play alongside such luminaries as Tony Levin, Jerry Marotta, and – yes – once with Paul McCartney. Legendary drummer Chester Thompson, aside from his work with jazz group The Chester Thompson Trio, has played with (among others) Genesis, Weather Report, John Fogerty, Santana, Michael McDonald, and Frank Zappa, in Zappa’s much loved and respected ‘Roxy’ period band. Supporting the music on bass is the grammy-nominated Byron House, whose work has been heard on albums by everyone from Al Green to Amy Grant, Jorma Kaukonen, Linda Ronstadt, Nickel Creek and Vince Gill – not to mention touring with the likes of Robert Plant!

The big question of course is, what does this all sound like? Mindless jamming – as awesome as even that could sound with these musical heavyweights – wouldn’t stand up to many repeated playings. Don’t expect a battle of musical egos.  Thankfully, Deep Water is made up of four well-structured songs and one massive nine-part 28-minute suite (the “Deep Water Suite”). If you played this album without any information and had to guess who it was you most likely would assume it was a Neal Morse project. Of the thirteen tracks on Deep Water, Neal wrote four and the remaining nine are collaborations between all of the players born out of jam sessions and organized from that material into solid songs. Morse’s distinctive vocals are present on most of the songs, often joined by Keaggy’s – and the result is wonderful every time. The overall feel of the album is definitely prog but with a jazzy, funky vibe that occasionally flirts with sophisticated Steely Dan-level pop. “Storm Surface” is the project’s sole instrumental track, allowing the guys to strut their stuff in a gutsy way. The bass and drums give solid support to synths and Phil gets to wail away with some spacy guitar. From the opening heavy melodic run to Neal’s growling organ, the band is a driving musical force.

The album starts out with a jazz/prog fusion intro in the thirteen minute “The Heart of Life,” with the whole band working like a well-oiled machine, and offering the first example of just how good Morse and Keaggy sound vocalizing together. “Time to Fly is fast becoming a favorite track for me. The song has a deep, rock-steady groove and soulful keys - and is full of fluid, juicy guitar licks from Phil. Under it all, House provides clean, no-nonsense bass and Thompson plays wonderful little tricks with the timing. The vocal chorus, over some tasty horns, is a thing of beauty – and so is the fade-out. A strong ballad, Neal’s “I Won’t Make It,” is basically a prayer for strength, powerfully delivered. A striking drum fill opens “Walking in Daylight,” which goes forward with a nice funky riff on the keys, jazzy drum patterns and beautifully melodic bass playing. Keaggy performs lead vocals on this song – and his vocals are a pleasure - along with some soaring guitar work while Neal gets in some tasty jazzy piano passages. House starts out an effective middle section with some evocative base lines that strongly carry the song forward into some dazzling Keaggy fretwork.

The balance of the project is made up of the “Deep Water Suite,” composed of nine parts, some are transitions only a couple of minutes long, while the longest, “The Door to Heaven,” is nearly eight minutes. There are stand-out moments throughout all of these parts – too many to detail (although I’ll mention some). It’s fascinating to hear how Phil Keaggy becomes a vocal chameleon when trading vocal verses with Neal on “Fires of the Sunrise.” Chester’s subtly furious drumming and Byron’s busy bass lines on “Nightmare in Paradise” are pretty amazing to focus in on. “New Revelation” is an absolute delight, with every band member cooking to the max. It’s built on an infectious funky riff (Byron House and Chester Thompson really shine here) and features some wonderful trade-off vocals between Phil and Neal. The song has tons of energy and a nice deep groove – it delivers everything you’d expect from these men.

“The Door of Heaven” closes the album in a big, majestic way. Of course, Neal is the master of the Big Ending, and this song has more than one. It’s melodic, emotional, full of modulations, wonderful back-up vocals and returning themes. Toward the end, the vocal lead switches from Neal to Phil, who takes main chorus to vocal heights that are truly inspiring. Yes, it’s a BIG ending. You knew it was coming – but it is amazing! 

Lyrically, the album pulls no punches about being explicitly Christian in nature – and I’m okay with that. This music isn’t subtle so why should the message be buried in metaphors and veiled language? While so much in the prog world is about mystery, doom, and mysticism I’m glad to see projects like this and the recent Glass Hammer Rogue album boldly talking about spiritual Truth. At the same time, I’d absolutely love more instrumental tracks by these guys – I do hope there will be further collaborations, whether as Cosmic Cathedral or perhaps a Keaggy project. Maybe they’ll launch out into even deeper musical waters.

4 1/2 tocks

- Bert Saraco

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