NEAL MORSE

This is without any doubt a true masterpiece and one of my absolute favorite albums in the contemporary "symphonic prog" genre. The album mixes jazz elements with heavy prog and emotional and highly beautiful melodies. You can, with all right, have opinions about the lyrics - but when it comes to the musical compositions, the musical expressions and emotions and the musicians technical skillness, this album is at the very peak. This is one of the few albums that lasts for repeated (and then I really mean repeated) listenings - and an album that you always can return to and find new details. I agree with many other reviewers that "Heaven in my heart" is the weaker track - but it serves as some kind of counterweight - even though it is more like a "christian mainstream" song. A very tight album and Neal Morse and co-musicians at his/their very peak - and an album that deserve a 4.9 star rating.

This is almost like a bonus disc, like Neal Morse does very often, see Transatlantic albums, for instance. This covers album was recorded during the Neal Morse album sessions recording for Testimony (2003), One (2004) and ? (2005).

My highlights: 'Maybe I'm Amazed' (Paul McCartney) 'I'm The Man' (Joe Jackson) 'Feeling Stronger Everyday' (Chicago) 'Where The Streets Have No Name' (U2) 'What Is Life' (George Harrison)

The other versions on the album are: 'Pleasant Valley Sunday' (The Monkees) 'Badge' (Cream) 'Where Do The Children Play' (Cat Stevens) 'Rock And Roll Suicide' (David Bowie) 'Day After Day' (Badfinger) 'I'm Free / Sparks' (The Who) 'Tuesday Afternoon' (The Moody Blues) Find My Way Back Home (Blind Faith)

All in all a good record, but I think it's more a fan thing.

When Neal made the decision that due to his religious beliefs he had to leave Spock's Beard there were many that were absolutely gutted at the decision, myself included. What did this mean both to the band that remained and to Neal himself? Spock's Beard have answered that with 'Feel Euphoria', which I have enjoyed immensely, but what was Neal going to do? This is his third solo album, and while his second is still one that I play a great deal it isn't one that I would overtly term 'progressive'. Then I discovered that the new album was going to be a double disc that was auto-biographical in nature, telling Neal's story and how he found Christ and became a Christian. I wasn't sure how I was going to feel about being preached at for over two hours, and musically how was this going to come across?

Well, Spock's Beard may have become heavier without Neal, but Neal hasn't changed tack but rather has buried himself further into his influences. This is the logical musical follow-up to 'Snow', and any fan of that album (me sir!!) will fall in love with this even more.

Neal had been joined by Mike Portnoy and Kerry Livgren and countless others to produce an album that is not only Spock's Beard through and through but is opening the music up to even more influences and experimentations. This album is more symphonic than previously, and even bombastic, with a large use of strings, and anyone that can put in a country song and have it make total sense within the overall concept has to be doing something right.

The move to using 'proper' strings instead of synthesised has given the music a more dynamic edge, and Neal is obviously happy with what he is producing so that the songs are packed full of emotion. This is his story, one that he lived through and is living again with the telling. The one moan I have with the promotional copy is that it doesn't contain the lyrics, and they have yet to be posted on Neal's site (www.nealmorse.com)

Musically many themes are returned to, which gives the album shape and form, while the lyrics are pushing through the story and message. Yes it is a testimony, yes it is very much an overtly Christian album, and if you are anti-religious then I would say that you probably won't enjoy this very much. But if you have an open mind or are a Christian then this is an album for you. I used to listen to a great deal of White Metal and Christian music when I lived at home years ago as my sister used to play it, but this is far removed from anything I used to listen to back then. Rock, jazz (with some blasting horns), country, classical, Beatles-style pop, this has had everything thrown into it and then some ? Spock's Beard that has been expanded.

Neal has exorcised the demons, and has managed to convey a very personal message in an exciting and dramatic way that will leave all SB fans hungry for more. This is much more of a new beginning than a continuation of his previous solo career. He has taken his music into a new area, and with Spock's Beard moving in their own direction there are two kids on the block who are vying for attention. I have been an SB fan since I first heard 'The Light' and I am sure that I always will, but I for one will now always be looking primarily to see what Neal is doing.

I have listened to literally hundreds of albums this year. This is my number one. Truly superb.

Originally appeared in Feedback #77, Dec 03

Neal Morse released his first studio album in 1999, while already in the midst of his band, Spock's Beard. Of course, Neal was the main songwriting force in the band, so much of the sound and style of the Beard is present in this album. Those familiar with Neal's style know that he is a melodic genius, and is able to flawlessly blend prog and pop. However, the pop and prog seems to be relatively segregated on this album.

In fact, I would venture to say this actually closer to a pop-rock album than full on prog. The first half is comprised of seven songs each of which is built around the simple verse-chorus and 4/4 time signature found in pop. It isn't until the final four songs, (which are bundled into a single suite) that a shred of prog becomes evident.

'A Whole Nother Trip' is Neal's first right solo epic. It's comprised of four songs that blend flawlessly into each other. The Spock's sound definitely permeates through the suite, with crunchy guitar, Nick's pounding drums, Neal's dramatic vocals, and some very fun melodies. The suite is also pretty diverse; there are the classic Spock's Beard-sounding tunes in 'Bomb That Can't Explode' and 'Mr. Upside Down Man,' the former of which is driven by Neal's vocals, and the latter based around a simple, but heavy guitar riff. 'The Man Who Could Be King' is the song where Neal establishes his "Spanish" sounding landscape with acoustic guitar that he abuses frequently in future albums. The ending 'It's Alright' is basically Neal repeating the title for the duration, but it is a warm conclusion.

Overall, besides the 'A Whole Nother Trip' suite, the album is mostly comprised of simple pop drivel. Neal has got away with this in the past on records like A Day For Night and Kindness of Strangers, but they were cleverly masked in a more progressive sound. Fortunately, Neal would re-locate his prog edge in future albums, like Testimony and One.

4/10

This is Neal Morse's best album and a masterpiece of modern prog rock/metal. The two epics "The Door" and "The Conflict" are heavy, coplex, yet melodic with great personal lyrics even though it is a concept album on the life of an old dead dude (Martin Luther). I'd call the style heavy symphonic prog. Neal doesn't refrain from using heavy riffs that will please fans of Dream Theater while also throwing in catchy melodies that are reminiscent of Genesis or Pink Floyd. The story is told in a very fitting, first person perspective that manages to relate to the lives of modern listeners. This is easily one of the best releases in "Christian" music and modern prog rock. Highly recommended for fans of symphonic prog and prog metal!

One of the disadvantages of living at the end of the world is that these days I get most of my promos as downloads, which generally isn't too much of a pain but here I find myself reviewing a DVD set where I haven't actually seen the DVDs! Okay, so this has been released as a double DVD (more than 4 hours), along with a triple CD set and it is the latter that I am reviewing. This recording took place on October 11th, 2012 at The High Line Ballroom, New York, and captures the band in incredible form. I have no idea how many live recordings of Neal there are in my collection, from duetting with NDV through Spock's Beard and Transatlantic and of course his solo work, but there are one or two. I have seen him in concert with SB as well as on the 'Testimony' tour and have had the privilege of interviewing him a few times as well, so I guess you can say that I am a fan.

I greatly respect the way that he decided to stand up for what he believed in (even though I don't share those beliefs), although I still regret that SB never had the chance to tour 'Snow' which is easily their finest work. I have never given anything that he has been involved with a bad review, and there is no reason at all to start now as this triple CD set (2 hours 45 minutes) is as close to perfection as one could hope to hear. When it came to choosing the musicians to form the band he brought in close friends Mike Portnoy and Randy George and then used YouTube for the audition process! He ought to do that more often, as during "Sing It High" he gets it right when he says that the guys are "Sick". Adson Sodré (guitar, vocals), Eric Gillette (guitar, keyboards, percussion, vocals) and Bill Hubauer (keyboards, violin, sax, vocals) do a stunning job. Mind you, it's handy when you have three multi-instrumentalists in a band as it does mean that you can spread the wings. Vocally they are all in fine voice as well, just listen to "Author Of Confusion" to see what I mean.

Both Adson and Eric really riff and shred as the need requires, and this is probably the heaviest that Neal has ever sounded as he works his way through material from throughout his career: this is much more than just a live rendition of the latest album. The suites from 'Testimony' and '?' work incredibly well and it is the longer sections that really allow Neal and the guys to shine. There are four songs more than twenty minutes long and one more than thirty!

But, for me one of the major highlights sees Neal taking a back seat, literally. One of my favourite live albums that feature Neal is 'One Night in New York City' by Yellow Matter Custard. This was a band put together by Mike Portnoy to play Beatles' numbers, and the line-up was completed by Neal, Paul Gilbert and Matt Bissonette. The whole purpose of that band was to provide a new take on classic numbers and have fun at the same time. Well, on "Crazy Horses" Neal takes over on drums while Mike becomes the frontman, and everyone has an absolute blast. Mike says that when he first heard the song when he was five years old that it was the heaviest song that he had ever heard, and the band certainly do it justice. I defy you to listen to this and not smile throughout. There are some people who don't enjoy what Neal does, and feel that he hasn't dramatically changed since he left SB, but I sincerely hope he keeps going in this vein for the rest of his very long career as I love it.

So there you have it, a five star review for a DVD set that I haven't even seen. But to me they are just an added bonus as this triple CD set is just mindblowing. www.insideout.de

With ''Testimony'' Morse actually got back on track of a second-born highly prolific career.Along with Mike Portnoy he played on The Beatles' cover band Yellow Matter Custard, while at the same time he prepared his second concept album ''One'', based on the relationship of God with a Christian man.He established a supporting duo with Mike Portnoy on drums and Randy George of Ajalon on bass, while Morse was responsible for guitars, keyboards and vocals.Of course the album again features a long list of guest musicians like Phil Keaggy on guitars or Chris Carmichael on strings.''One'' was eventually released on Inside Out in November 2004.

To talk about the concept is needless, it actually depends on what anyone believes religionally speaking.To talk about the music of Morse though is more than interesting.''One'' is compiled by one CD of almost 80 minutes of music, split in three epic tracks and some shorter compositions, and the composition level is on par with the best of THE FLOWER KINGS or SPOCK'S BEARD.Very tight and grandiose musicianship all the way, exploring the fundamentals of 70's Prog music in a contemporary way.The blend of modern and vintage sounds in melodic and deeply atmospheric textures remains Morse's biggest weapon and the main reason the man is regarded as one of the leading figures of Progressive Rock, maybe a member of a future Prog Hall of Fame.The long tracks are full of orchestral arrangements, spicy interplays, strong breaks and sufficient melodies, filled with balanced vocal- and instrumental parts.The use of analog keyboards next to the bombastic synthesizers and the atmospheric piano lines of Morse lead the way, though there are strong amounts of great guitar lines with both sensitive solos and more aggressive riffs.The compositions are trully magnificent with a strange twist from rich and powerful venues to lighter, more emotional textures.There has been some fantastic work done also in the vocal department, full of demanding harmonies and multi-vocal crescendos, one of the best vocal performances in a Prog album.Anyone into Classic Prog ala GENTLE GIANT, GENESIS, YES, GENTLE GIANT or KING CRIMSON will simply love Neal Morse's personal career.

Another highlight in Neal Morse's career.His departure from Spock's Beard seems to have worked as a rebirth and ''One'' is an excellent release of Classic Progressive Rock, served with today's standards.Highly recommended.

Another live DVD's for Neal Morse that contains the usual components: Lot of music, long songs, a festival of medleys and preachy lyrics. The guy open his heart to the crowd and talk about his life where Jesus always have a big place, which give some emotional moments where some tears comes out of Neal Morse. Like all his DVD's, it's a small venue with a lot of close ups that gives the impression that the band is in your face. But this time there is some new musician that fit perfectly in the Neal Morse's formula.

There is a lot of songs from the latest Momentum's CD, plus medley of Testimony, Question Marke and some songs from others CD'S. The NY crowd is enthusiast, maybe because Neal and Mike Portnoy knows how to entertained a crowd. The formula of the music here is the same : long symphonic songs, with multi-movement parts that links together the quieter acoustic passages with the more heavier electric ones.

So nothing to say wrong about the the performance or the DVD quality, just a bit of little boredness at times , because i have heard a lot of times something similar in his music, like i have the impression that he plays the same song over again with some minor changes. But there is a lot of high emotional moments that you keep enjoying that make you realize that the man is a genius despite the lyrics that i found too preachy, but if it's give him inspiration to make a cd and a tour each year why not. But the next time he does another DVD/CD that you have to pay big bucks to get it, i may pass this time et wait for the next Spock's Beard instead.

Utterly speechless... I am speechless!!! When will the momentum stop ha ha. Neal Morse has surely brought the Momentum literally once again. Out of all the live dvds of Morse I can safely say up to this point that this one might be the best (still debatable though). There is one matter for sure, the guys who made the tryout contest are insane. This is probably the most technically talented band Neal has ever put together. He himself proclaims, "Sick... these guys are sick!" I couldn't agree more. The guitar tone and thickness is the best I've heard yet on a Morse live release (both guitarists are insane and playing Petrucci Musicman models interesting ha ha) Another thing I notice is Morse's vocals are some of his best yet on a live release too. He has always done a solid job, but I think here he really shines above the other live releases. And everyone in the band sings too (even Mike does) and sounds amazing.

Now for the setlist, All the tracks are great and it would take me forever to get through each one, but I'll share some highlights. Author of Confusion was awesome especially the the four part vocal part, they totally killed it there. Of course, the last minute is where Mike tears it up and it's awesome. Thoughts pt.5 is crazy hard here, its like as hard as death metal, but it's prog. So heavy and wonderful to headband to ha ha, I love the conviction in the Testimony segment they play, Neal shows his passion and totally conviction at the end of wasted life. That part was so powerful (thank you Neal for your heart, I will always admire and respect you). After that Neal goes into the heavy Sola Scriptura material with the Conflict. To be honest I was totally blown away by this performance, I knew it would be awesome, but wow!!! The three guitarists brought such a heavy tone, it was crazy. The jazz segment in that song is a real treat and surprise, but I won't spoil it. The ? segment is wonderful too to say the least. World without end the last epic played is another highlight.

A big surprise was the short cover track they perform Crazy Horses (thanks Neal for letting Mike do this, it really was fun!!!) Mike sang it and Neal was on drums here, a fun little song. Sing it High has a cool improve, jam playful section between the band members, another cool moment as well. My only complaint is the sound could be a bit grainy and rough at times. Once in a while it sounded like the amps were blown too, but that's not a mixing problem so (Amps couldn't take the awesomeness maybe ha ha).

Well if you are a Morse fan, it's a must. This is by far the most technical live performance I've seen and I have all his live dvds and seen him once live too so. Neal is truly truly a gifted musician and songwriter. His skills are from the World Without End (yeah I just did that sorry ha ha) there is no other explanation. Truly a blessed guy along with the phenomenal musicians he would not have been playing with if he was not such a classy guy with the audition thing. Morse you are such a good example:) and the usual crew of Randy and Mike nail it too with their out of this world skill and talent too. Morse is such a fun guy to watch and it's always an out of this world experience to watch and listen to him. Beyond the skill, he is a passionate and real showman pouring out his heart with vulnerability. And man, he's just so much fun to watch, he gets into the music along with the band.

I got the blue ray version too and I recommend it the picture is clear and concise (except on some of the cameras they used, I guess that's another small gripe I have) Buy a blue ray player it's worth it. I converted to the blue ray life a year ago and it's sweet (even buying some blue rays even though I had the movie on dvd ha ha). But yeah blue ray is the real deal, so there's my rant on that too. Thanks Neal for going to the trouble of granting us blue ray freaks our wish, I really appreciate it:)

Also included is the full show on 3 cds, packages very nicely in a proggin' mega pack!!!

Well the verdict, to say the least this is a masterpiece. Highly recommended. Sure brightened my Friday night. I even had a friend watching it and he really enjoyed it. We might have another person join the family and be a fellow brother in prog ha ha ha. So tight!!! Well thanks again and again Neal Morse for everything. Thanks for this release:)

Neal Morse's first 'prog' solo album sees him tackling yet another concept album, a lengthy one at that. Only a year after Snow was released, Neal comes up with over two hours of material, which is a true testament to his songwriting ability. Being a master composer and melody writer, surely he knows what sounds great to the ear, but also has a great prog sensibility.

Musically this does sound a lot like Spocks Beard, as Neal was indeed the main songwriting factor for the band. The music still has the strong melodies, vocals, and epic arrangements the Beard is known for. Yet not everything is the same for Morse, as he joins the forces of Mike Portnoy and myriad of guest musicians which definitely help shape the sound of the album.

I won't go through every song as there are many, but there are a myriad of styles present. 'In the Land of Beginning Again,' 'Overture' (1 & 2), 'The Prince of the Power of the Air' and 'Long Story' are all reminiscent of Spock's Beard, especially Snow. 'Colder in the Sun,' 'Break of Day' and 'Transformation' are all examples of the Neal Morse sound that is refined in future albums. He also manages to reach for some other sounds in the form of the Spanish-like 'The Promise' and slightly jazzy 'The Storm Before the Calm.'

While the first disc is high quality Morse, the second disc suffers greatly from weaker compositions, and overly preachy lyrics. Not only are these songs just generally inferior to those on the first disc, they are often very repetitious to the point where they don't sound like anything new. Though this is nothing new to the double album format.

Overall, this is a strong effort from Morse, who proves he is able write effectively without the support of his ex-bandmates. Unfortunately, as strong as the first disc is, the second disc really drags down the rating as a whole. Though, if you can get through all 120-minutes, it is an enjoyable listen indeed.

A 8/10 for the first disc and a 5/10 for disc two yield an album rating of 6/10