By 1999, the prog rock band Spock's Beard had gotten to be a pretty well known name in the circles of fans that enjoyed this weird, somewhat forgotten genre of music. The band had put out several albums at this point, and had solidified their place in the pages of Progressive Rock history. So it may have come as a shock to some when Neal Morse put out his first, self titled solo album.
Fans had come to know Neal Morse as the master of prog composition. With long, sprawling prog epics under his belt, such as "The Light", "Flow", and the most recent Spock's epic, "The Healing Colors of Sound", it seemed so strange that the front-man, and Spock's mastermind would release an album comprised primarily of pop songs. But that's just what he did.
For most of the disc, the listener is treated to a completely different side of Neal. Gone are the lengthy instrumental sections, the multiple part, story telling lyrics, and the bombastic glory of full on prog rock. Instead we hear songs like the pop-rock "Living Out Loud", and "Nowhere Fast", the ballads "Everything Is Wrong", and "Emma" (I dare you to not get misty eyed at this one!), and even a bit more rock with "That Which Doesn't Kill Me", and "Lost Cause".
To the new fan, this is unlike anything that Neal Morse should have been capable of, to pull back his writing genius, and do something a little more middle of the road. But for those of us that know better, we know that Neal can write in just about any genre, and deliver a masterpiece. He's proven this fact many times. After a few songs in, you really get a feel for where Neal's head was at during this album; leave the prog behind, and show the world what else he is capable of.
And then, just when you're sure you've got a pleasing singer/song-writer album, Neal throws another curve ball, with the closing track, "A Whole Nother Trip". At just under twenty-four minutes, Neal turns in one hell of an amazing prog epic, in a very long list of prog epics. Broken into four parts, this song is a reminder of just what this man can do. And though he is great at writing radio oriented songs, it's in the land of Prog that he really thrives.
Another thing that I really like about this album are the drum tracks. Of course, that's to be expected with fellow Spock's Beard band member, Nick D'Virgilio behind the kit on all but one song. Nick and Neal have always had such an amazing chemistry together, and this disc is no exception to that well paired partnership.
Throughout his career, Neal has dipped into a lot of genres, and to the best of my knowledge, this is the first full album of more pop oriented songs. It's far from my favorite album that Neal has been a part of, but it's an album that I still find myself going back to it several times a year. And one that I genuinely love. Especially that brilliant closing track, which The Neal Morse band recently performed live, for the first time, at MorseFest in 2015. Well worth the price of admission for that set. If you like the genius of Neal Morse, I'm confident that if you go in with an open mind, you will love this album.
Fans had come to know Neal Morse as the master of prog composition. With long, sprawling prog epics under his belt, such as "The Light", "Flow", and the most recent Spock's epic, "The Healing Colors of Sound", it seemed so strange that the front-man, and Spock's mastermind would release an album comprised primarily of pop songs. But that's just what he did.
For most of the disc, the listener is treated to a completely different side of Neal. Gone are the lengthy instrumental sections, the multiple part, story telling lyrics, and the bombastic glory of full on prog rock. Instead we hear songs like the pop-rock "Living Out Loud", and "Nowhere Fast", the ballads "Everything Is Wrong", and "Emma" (I dare you to not get misty eyed at this one!), and even a bit more rock with "That Which Doesn't Kill Me", and "Lost Cause". To the new fan, this is unlike anything that Neal Morse should have been capable of, to pull back his writing genius, and do something a little more middle of the road. But for those of us that know better, we know that Neal can write in just about any genre, and deliver a masterpiece. He's proven this fact many times. After a few songs in, you really get a feel for where Neal's head was at during this album; leave the prog behind, and show the world what else he is capable of.
And then, just when you're sure you've got a pleasing singer/song-writer album, Neal throws another curve ball, with the closing track, "A Whole Nother Trip". At just under twenty-four minutes, Neal turns in one hell of an amazing prog epic, in a very long list of prog epics. Broken into four parts, this song is a reminder of just what this man can do. And though he is great at writing radio oriented songs, it's in the land of Prog that he really thrives.
Another thing that I really like about this album are the drum tracks. Of course, that's to be expected with fellow Spock's Beard band member, Nick D'Virgilio behind the kit on all but one song. Nick and Neal have always had such an amazing chemistry together, and this disc is no exception to that well paired partnership.
Throughout his career, Neal has dipped into a lot of genres, and to the best of my knowledge, this is the first full album of more pop oriented songs. It's far from my favorite album that Neal has been a part of, but it's an album that I still find myself going back to it several times a year. And one that I genuinely love. Especially that brilliant closing track, which The Neal Morse band recently performed live, for the first time, at MorseFest in 2015. Well worth the price of admission for that set. If you like the genius of Neal Morse, I'm confident that if you go in with an open mind, you will love this album.
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