THE NEAL MORSE COLLECTION

This is an apparently solely digital compilation album for Neal Morse throughout his career, released in 2019. I think, especially after the first few songs, it is a great showcase of the best of the best that this man can offer in composition and truly excellent performance, of course with others included.

In title and in certain flavors, our first song, "My Time of Dying", is like some quieted homage to Led Zeppelin in my mind. It is more overtly reminiscent of Kansas' radio hit "Dust in the Wind", if I can put my finger on it. Pretty, but nothing to write home about. "Daddy's Daughter" is exactly what you'd expect from the title. I mean, it's certainly no regular Prog fodder and... it's certainly not something I would ever want to listen to free from this compilation. Next, "Wear the Chains" is a glowing, clean track with triumph and optimism. No surprises here, but a pretty nice song.

With "Momentum", we get the first true-blue glimpses of Prog Rock officiel on this album. This is a booming song with full instrumentation and a wide open composition. Very fun. A real head-bopper with a beautiful Peart-esque tom roll from Portnoy followed by a blazing synth and (then) guitar solo... Sheesh. The classic, yet modern Prog continues in fullness on "Lifeline", a 13-minute epic. The references range from American bands such as Kansas and Styx and even Happy the Man to more classic feels that might evoke bands like Gentle Giant (not a group I associate with the sound of Morse or many of the bands in which he's played). This latter eclecticism, specifically here, is a rarity still, to be clear. Fantastic performances over an expectedly excellent composition, thanks to Mr. Morse. Christian or not, don't miss this one, ye fellow fans of Symphonic Prog.

From that so-called 'mountaintop experience', nothing really to report here on "There is Nothin' That God Can't Change"... This is an unabashed ballad praising the works of God, as he do, with just Neal and a guitar. That's it. More folksy still, and undoubtedly in a sort of Dylan style, Morse lightly makes fun of those of his own ilk on "Talkin' Mega-Church Blues", all the while railing on the universally condemned sins of the modern American Mega Church: "At first I thought he might be a crook / But then I found out he has a best-selling book". Just a regular ol' folk tune about the emptiness of the so-called Jesus buildings that they like to fill up the most haha.

And gratefully, we have another return to Proggings on "The Door". Praise be! This is a long one(!), at a whopping 29 minutes' length! And certainly epic it is, right from the start. A much darker track, at first, than those it follows. I'm into that. In the first 4 minutes alone, we see something like 3 different movements, all interlinked seamlessly together. Delicious stuff. The first vocals can be heard around minute 5. Y'all know what that means: Prog! hahaha. I'll quit cheesin'. It shifts to a half-time groove around minute 6 with sweet group vocals singing, "In the name of God you must die", which is... pretty metal really. This is later repeated with vocal parts reminiscent to Gentle Giant (there they are again!), though with no counterpoint to be found [grateful to say, as you'll see below, this is rectified haha]. It's around minute 8 that the darkness comes back with some sweet riffage and a blazing organ solo. Around minute 11, there is a section that is increasingly gospel-esque but more overtly classic CCM, which, really, I don't mind at all. Like very '90s sort of Pop, though, again, just overtly CCM. I'm unsure I'd be able to unveil what exactly it is that makes that sound 'that sound'. I'm now thinking, it was back with Rick Wakeman where these really churchy sounds were fit into the context of Progressive Rock back in the early-70s (though in a much different musical landscape). Around minutes 15 and 16 is a really really sweet section: just awesome. This track offers a lot. I wish I could speak on every section, but I know it will only get monotonous and repetitive. Great song. Truly epic.

"Author of Confusion", I saw elsewhere and I must concur, is a bit of a Dream Theater-type of song [at least at first], everything heavier and being propelled forward by all parts present. This thing that happens around minute 1 is... just amazing. So good. This song, as implied with my first statement, just goes and does not let up. Around minute 4, we do get that Gentle Giant-esque contra punto. And this madness then subsides all of a sudden with the most stunning smoothness [I realize now I didn't know how to refer to this] around minute 5, like... holy hell... Wow. Just blown away here. Some more CCM somethings going on here with "Entrance", but overall a lot of great Prog throughout. Like seriously, if this was a thing for Christian Radio, I think that would be a good thing. But I guess that would also require Prog Rock itself to not be so niche... Perhaps a moot point? The next few tracks are from Testimony 2 (2011), and starting with "Mercy Street" we have some Dennis DeYoung up in here [not literally]. I love it. I guess to me it most sounds like "Sing for the Day". I think that's the one that's coming to mind most. Very upbeat and melodic song. Seamlessly from "Mercy Street", "Overture No. 4" has a much more grand feeling, with a more prominent feature of strings. Another awesome showing of Morse on synth. He really is such an impressive figure, so it's no wonder he ended up with folks like Portnoy and, most notably for me, Roine Stolt (Flower Kings, Transatlantic). Another clean transition, we have "Time Changer", another more metallic track from Portnoy's blaze and some very quirky instrumentation. Love it. They got me into frisson territory on this one. There is something, too, that is actually reminiscent of his Transatlantic bandmate's band, Roine Stolt's The Flower Kings, which is a compliment to me. This track, though, as on another before it (my apologies I've forgotten), features a violin solo. Much welcomed to me. And then more than welcomed Gentle Giant counterpoint... I am in heaven with this one! These other vocalists are none other than Neal's brother Alan Morse, Dave Meros and Nick D'Virgilio of Spock's Beard! Lovely! The final track from Testimony 2's 'Part 6', "Jayda" is far more quieted and personal. I didn't have a whole lot to say about this track until around minute 4, with some simply grandiose instrumentation. Very Yesque on this one.

Our final epic of the compilation, at 26 minutes, is "Seeds of Gold", a song of epic proportions... of course. There is something perhaps Power Poppy about some of these vocals, this being one of the best performances in that arena from Neal. This is going to fly over some of your heads (or just appear as super odd), but some of these vocals are reminiscent of Newsboys' Peter Furler. Much of their early material in the '90s was really just great Pop music. I have to know if they know each other... [With a quick Google search, it appears they don't.] Welcomed, I'd say. This track features absolutely stupendous and stupefying guitar from Flying Colors bandmate Steve Morse (Dixie Dregs, Kansas, Deep Purple), no relation. Just wanted to have an opportunity to say that haha. Pleased to see him here, of course. This track just gives and gives. Awesome awesome awesome around minute 12 and on... Sheesh. A tad neo-classical, a tad Crimson-esque. Very nearly a perfect epic in my book. Can't stress it enough: fantastic.

Another song cycle, this time from 2003's Testimony [1], is kicked off with "The Land of Beginning Again". Not a whole lot to say here. Pretty nice introductory track, if anything. Eerie thereafter, "Overture No. 1" starts like an incessant swarm of strings, which quickly opens up from its claustrophobia. This is like a film score. Epic. And praise be to Mike Portnoy. He's had many a strong performance, but this is one of 'em for certain. Love the more orchestral instrumentation here. This element is all apparently due in great thanks (or full thanks?) to longtime Morse collaborator Chris Carmichael, appearing on much of his albums throughout the last 20+ years. This is a huge song for only being 6 minutes long... Perfecto. Naturally, this flows into the sort of quirky intro of "California Nights". Some really cool rhythmic complexity here. I guess with all that complexity, I wish the song itself had more to offer me.

Despite being more or less a Pop Rock song, the very early Morse track "Nowhere Fast" is pretty solid. I mean, if I can place it anywhere, my mind goes to AOR. Love it or hate it, it does have something solid to offer. Very different from anything else on the album here. Finally, we have "Emma", certainly a very pretty, personal song. A decent way to finish off an album that doesn't necessarily have a singular thematic or stylistic focus. Because this album certainly did not.

True Rate: 3.5/5.0