CD review for fAZE 3 magazine 

ASSEMBLY released 1993
-Ken Watson
Kinesis Inc. (KDCD 1010)
1430 Wisp Ct.
Hanover, MD 21076 USA
Tel/Fax: 410-551-8081
email: info@kinesiscd.com
http://www.kinesiscd.com

     This review has not been an easy one due to the diversity of music graffiti Ken 
Watson has left on each track. I heard very well rendered Happy The Man in "Next X". 
The compositions a tight, intricate, clean and executed with perfection at times mirroring 
HTM in uncanny precision. "Skeletons in Armor" is a blending of Bruford, Pekka 
Pohjola, HTM and Yes. Watson's guitar stylings bring to mind a crisper Al DiMeola 
staccato leaning towards Steve Howe and dancing around in Stan Whitaker's phrasings.
     Unfortunately, the title cut, "Assembly Parts 1-5" was a let down. I cannot slight the
excellent musicianship but as a whole the patchy piece was too "all over the place". 
Peaslee, Hyman, Bohansson, early analog, dorky-dweeb, dated, Moogish keyboard parts 
drove me up the wall. Guitar, bass and percussion work were each exemplary. The 
compositions were perhaps too crammed together without a place for my brain to latch 
onto. The next fast-paced track, "Yuppie Jazz" is again very dated sounding. It sounded 
like the theme song to some foreign game show at times. West German electronics, 
analogish, moogy meanderings of the Bohansson-like noodlings or Pekka Pohjola on 
speed in a heavy 70's "avant-garde" nostalgia mode plagued this piece. At least the outro 
was cool.
     From here on out to the last second this CD is PAR EXCELLENCE!! "Beating 
Swords Into Plowshares" was a great ride down the Return To Forever, HTM, 
Mahavishnu Orchestra, Dixie Dregs, Al DiMeola's first solo album, memory lane. I was 
in nostalgia/inspiration nirvana. This is what progressive rock is to be hailed for as the 
gem of the 70's! A drum cadence carries you off into splendor and daydream. "Elroy's 
Poem" is very, very Al DiMeola yet better in the eerie twists and turns of the Far East's 
musical flavorings and there is Pekka Pohjola sensitivities in composition through out. 
Acoustic guitar with electric guitar interwoven is wondrous the way Watson arranges it 
all. I heard Steve Morse's web of pluckings sail by in guitar voicings and skillful playing 
by Watson.In strolls some funky Billy Preston keys laced with guitar attacks again and 
again. Layered mosaics of various guitar and steady bass, drums, and incessant keys build 
to a Birds of Fire type finish.
     The later recorded, previously unreleased tracks, "Prelude to Beating Swords Into
Plowshares", "Next X Part 2" and "Barking at the Moon" are definitely Watson but have 
a darker, moody, mature, well-aged wine taste to them. Pekka Pohjola is there, 
DiMeola/Whitaker riffs, and more HTM. In "Next X Part 2" there is evidence of the 
influence of Kit Watkins' early solo efforts, especially the Labyrinth years. However, I 
prefer Watson's works here as it retains the excellent guitar that was missing after HTM 
disbanded. The tempo change-ups and the otherworldly carousel feel of HTM is strong in 
"Next X Part 2". Pekka Pohjola's "Risto" from the Space Waltz release drifts in towards 
the end of "Next X Part 2". I believe Ken Watson has successfully created a piece here 
that is where HTM was headed before their demise. What one can't forget and I 
emphasize is this is Ken Watson, 95% written by him alone!! Bravo! The last track, 
"Barking at the Moon" is a guitarist's playground meshing the best of any of the great
axemen out there into Watson's imaginative, riff-fest, with that Steve Morse/Joe 
Satriani/Randy Rhoads powertrain on overdrive. This piece is just plain 75 miles an hour 
across the Great Plains fun!! More power to ya Ken on that upcoming release. If you are 
a progrock lover in any degree you need to have this in your collection. File it right 
beside Happy The Man.  
                                   -John W. Patterson









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"Next X Part 2" excerpt


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