NOISE FLOOR

I'm quite liking the Spock's Beard albums with Ted Leonard. The Nick D'Virgilio fronted albums started off unimpressive, but as th the band was finding it's groove, NDV ran away to join the circus. But these past three SB albums have been quite strong.

This album brings the group back toward their original sound, with some of the hooks and passages that almost sound like Neal Mo Morse has returned (again).

The first three track make me think of Kansas (in a good way). The lyrics, song structures, and even Ted Leonard's voice are very reminiscent of the 70's version of Kansas. Like Kansas, the tracks are precision-performed arena-like songs with some specta spectacular breaks to take them over the top.

I won't go into every song, but I will point out some standouts:

"Have We All Gone Crazy Yet" sound exactly like a classic SB piece. Written by Alan Morse and Leonard, it has many of the bells an and whistles that still adorn Neal's albums.

I have heard "Box Of Spiders" described as a Keith Emerson styled piece, but to me, it sounds more like The Flower Kings at their peak. Ryo Okumoto is outstanding on this one. I've never heard him play with this much fire.

The bonus EP in the set sounds like it's name "Cutting Room Floor". Three of these songs are forgettable, and the fourth, while mu musically excellent, has an unfinished quality to it.

It's not a perfect album, but it has kept me listening repeatedly for the past few months.