Just imagine the super intelligent, but impressively depressed, Marvin The Paranoid Droid from Douglas Adams' Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy book, playing keyboards in a Hard Rock band. Maybe then you can understand the musical wonder that Don Airey is.
After participating in a great number of projects as a session musician, he succeeded the mighty John Lord as full time keyboardist of DEEP PURPLE in 2002. Airey's work speaks for itself with a huge list of artists and bands like Andrew Lloyd Webber, JETHRO TULL, BLACK SABBATH, RAINBOW, JUDAS PRIEST, U.F.O., TEN, Bruce Dickinson, Brian May, Cozy Powell and many, many more. My all time favorite Airey's moments are in 1987 by WHITESNAKE, After The War by Gary Moore and of course the legendary keyboard intro of Mr. Crowley from Ozzy Osbourne's Blizzard Of Ozz that Airey contributes his wisdom and wonderful mood.
A Light In The Sky is Airey's solo release that finally gives to an artist of this magnitude, the freedom to experiment and the power to handle the final result. This album has a variation of musical styles, from electronic synth sounds, to Fusion Jazz (which has the main role in A Light In The Sky) and classic Rock songs that can move the average rocker. Airey transfers his experience and his musical legacy to this work.
The songs are mainly instrumental creations with Rock and Fusion Jazz directions, the use of the violin as a solo instrument in specific songs makes the arrangements sound really great in my ear from the first time. The extent soloing of the keyboards many times as Hammond organ or and other moments as atmospheric synth pads or piano, is something you expect from the solo album of Don Airey, but still he demonstrates beautifully his abilities without boring the ear of the average listener.
The songs that anyone would notice from the fist listening are the old school rocker Shooting Star with obvious the DEEP PURPLE influence in the sound, and the melodic sentimental ballad Love You Too Much that takes you on a romantic journey to the outer space through love. Generally this album is all about space, constellation and far away planets. I think that you need to read Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy first, just to take a hint.
A bunch of amazing musicians from the Hard Rock business teamed up to aid Airey's space traveling A Light In The Sky. Danny Bowes, Harry James, and Chris Childs from THUNDER, Darrin Mooney (Gary Moore, PRIMAL SCREAM), Carl Sentence (KROKUS, Geezer Butler, TOKYO ROSE) and Laurence Cottle (ALAN PARSONS PROJECT, Eric Clapton, Brian Eno) came to add their final touch on this album.
When the famous Don Airey, releases a solo album, its big news for the Hard Rock music community. If you want a ticket for a unique musical journey through space there is your chance my friends, A Light In The Sky is already out.

P.S.: By any chance, if you meet Marvin The Paranoid Droid be nice to him; he can't take any more disappointments.