D'VIRGILIO, MORSE & JENNINGS: TROIKA

Copied over from a review I wrote on the forum in the "non prog album reviews" thread.

I tried to get this trio added to Progarchives because the three individuals are all prog musicians, but it was deemed not proggy enough. Which is fair, the sound is more Crosby Stills Nash and Young or Simon and Garfunkel, than the usual output of Nick D'Virgilio, Neal Morse, and Ross Jennings.

The idea for this collaboration came together during the covid lockdown, and was at the instigation of Neal Morse, who had wanted to do a more acoustic album for a while. He invited his long-time friend Nick D'Virgilio to come on board, and the trio was completed by Ross Jennings of Haken. Because of covid the album was recorded remotely, making it all more remarkable that the harmonies turned out so well.

So what we have is a collection of pretty much acoustic songs, occasional use of electric guitar and drums, great melodies, fantastic harmonies. Five songs are attributed to Neal, three to Nick, two to Ross, and a final song which appears in two alternative versions, one attributed to Jennings and Morse, and the other just to Jennings.

Track list:

1. Everything I Am (Morse): A bright start with a chorus that sticks in your head

2. Julia (Jennings and Morse): This is the song that also appears in longer form as a bonus track attributed only to Ross Jennings. Ross submitted it to Neal but he didn't feel it fitted the style of the album so he shortened it and tweaked it. The bonus track version is longer and quite different, both versions are excellent.

3. You Set My Soul On Fire (D'Virgilio): Another nice song, though in my opinion not as good as the first two.

4. One Time Less (Morse): Very catchy, bouncy song

5. Another Trip Around The Sun (Jennings): Another catchy tune, Neal's favourite vocal trick of counterpoint vocal lines a la Gentle Giant is used in the middle of this song.

6. A Change Is Gonna Come (Morse): Taking the tempo down now, this is very much in the vein of a 1960s protest song

7. If I Could (D'Virgilio): Yet another catchy tune, nice use of keyboard here (a windkey, whatever that is).

8. King For A Day (Jennings): Probably the heaviest song on the album, and one that it took me a while to get into.

9. Second Hand Sons (Morse): Another heavier track, this one is better than King For A Day. Puts me in mind of Neil Young's "Southern Man" at one point.

10. My Guardian (D'Virgilio): Still a bit on the heavier side, though less so than the previous two songs. Nothing special about this one.

11. What You Leave Behind (Morse): Beautiful song to finish. Acoustic guitar based, great vocal harmonies, lovely message.

I can totally recommend this album to anyone who likes CSNY and similar bands.

This project came about with Neal Morse writing some acoustic songs that he thought would be enhanced by strong vocal harmonies, so of course he turned to his old friend Nick D'Virgilio. One must remember that not only have they worked together in bands and on albums, but they have toured Europe together in this format (check out the excellent 'Nick 'n Neal live in Europe - Two Separate Gorillas' release from 2000). They have a relaxed camaraderie, and as soon as this commenced I was reminded of the feeling of Neal's 2001 solo album 'It's Not Too Late', not musically but just with the atmosphere. However, they decided it would be nice to bring in a third voice so they approached Haken's Ross Jennings and collectively pooled their resources, working on each other's material.

Incredibly this, like many albums from this period, was recorded individually as it really does sound as if all three are in the same studio bouncing off each other. The focus is very much on three-way harmonies, a modern taken on CSN if you like, with the three of them not only providing all the harmonies but whatever instrumentation was required. They move through different styles, and while there is little here which could remotely be thought of as prog, even though that is the genre with which they will always be associated, there is no doubt that fans of Spock's Beard "June" will soon get into this. But there are times when I think of The Byrds, CSN, and the other great bands who relied on vocal harmonies like this, but interestingly they have kept the accompaniment complex yet simple, so one never thinks of Steely Dan as this is just too clean and acoustic for this.

While there is no doubt that fans of Spock's Beard and Haken (plus all their other ventures) are going to seek this out, but those who enjoy the classic American vocal harmony rock style also needs to give this is a listen as this is sheer fun throughout