Neal Morse - An Agnostic's View

I can understand why a Christian might find this stuff inspired but a non believer ? Why on earth would a non believer, such as myself,  want to listen to someone waffling on about a belief system that he finds inherently naff ? Fantasy lyrics of a fictional kind, OK but this is not presented as fiction, it is presented as fact. Me I find old Yhwh to be an utterly unadmirable figure. Of course that doesn't stop the believers from thinking otherwise and I have no problem with that at all, not that they give a damn what I think and why should they ? 

For mine, lyrics are an inherent part of the music and if I find the lyrics utterly disagreeable then nope, I don't want to listen. Otoh, while the only post saved Morse I have listened to is part of One, lyrics aside it didn't do much for me.

t d wombat wrote: I can understand why a Christian might find this stuff inspired but a non believer ? Why on earth would a non believer, such as myself,  want to listen to someone waffling on about a belief system that he finds inherently naff ? Fantasy lyrics of a fictional kind, OK but this is not presented as fiction, it is presented as fact. Me I find old Yhwh to be an utterly unadmirable figure. Of course that doesn't stop the believers from thinking otherwise and I have no problem with that at all, not that they give a damn what I think and why should they ?  For mine, lyrics are an inherent part of the music and if I find the lyrics utterly disagreeable then nope, I don't want to listen. Otoh, while the only post saved Morse I have listened to is part of One, lyrics aside it didn't do much for me.

As well as in God, I don't believe in Devil, so why should I like Iron Maiden's 666 the number of the beast?
And what about George Harrison's mantras?
Behind Morse's lyrics there are "feelings" in a general sense, and feelings are what the artists usually try to communicate with their arts.
There are feelings and messages also in instrumentals. Sometimes a track title is enough. It depends on how deep is the message. This is the main difference with pop and dance music.

t d wombat wrote: I can understand why a Christian might find this stuff inspired but a non believer? Why on earth would a non believer, such as myself,  want to listen to someone waffling on about a belief system that he finds inherently naff ?

Lyrics "CAN BE" an important part of the whole thing, not always. Which importance can have "Toka Taye Tay Toka" or "Mitto mutto" sung by Jon Anderson?  (Jon and Vangelis Private Collection and Olias of Sunhillow)

Can we add all the other prog rock bands that have a religious theme in their lyrics.......Why is only one artist getting scrutinized?

I don't mind Christian lyrics so much, despite being an agnostic with a serious dislike for religion, but it is entirely dependant on the writing style and delivery. Morse is a simplistic, crass writer that takes his beliefs and shoves it down the listeners throat without any sense of elequence or poetry at all, evoking all the worst kinds or cliches from christian music. Then there's his delivery, with his voice clearly mixed right to the very front leaving absolutely no doubt about what his singing and enhancing his "message". Then there's the fact that he's broken record, singing about the same damned subject on every bloody song for 15 prolific years. Then there's his music, which has zero identity of any kind. If it wasn't for the obvious absence of Dave Meros thundering bass tones, there'd be absolutley no way to tell his current music apart from his run in Spock's Beard (crappy lyrics aside). Or Transatlantic. Or Dream Theater in the instrumental sections. This might have been acceptable 15, 20 years ago when there were far fewer bands playing a modern take on Symphonic Prog and the musicians were all younger with more to say, but today these bands are ten a penny from the same group of people that have done it all before a dozen times over. Musically he has nothing left to say that we haven't all heard already multiple times.

It's not this is the only way to get his beliefs across in music either. Kerry Livegren wrote about Christianity a lot for Kansas and Proto-Kaw, and whilst the former doesnt interest me musically much, neither of them bother me in the slightest lyrically, even when I know it's religion they're singing about. The difference is talant (a subjective opinion, I know).

Personally i don't care if lyrics praise God, Satan or the Easter Bunny. If i like the music the lyrics are secondary. I like lots of Christian and Gospel, but i also like Satanic metal like Mayhem. I even like those cute Easter songs from my childhood. Good music is good music regardless of philosophical leanings. As for Mr Norse, he is hit and miss with me. He has some great music but his sheer output tends to repeat itself a lot whether it be in the Spock's Beard days, the solo stuff or with Transatlantic

miamiscot wrote: I honestly believe Neal's conversion was the best thing that could have happened to him - spiritually and musically. Before that he wrote some nice stuff (see Spock's Beard V and Transatlantic Bridge Across Forever) but all his best work came after: Testimony, One, ? and Sola Scriptura are all among the finest albums ever recorded. And this is, in my opinion, in no small part because he had purpose. He had a destiny. Those records (whether you're a Christian or not) are inspired works.   Yes, I'm a huge fan. That in no way diminishes what he has accomplished.

Interesting discussion...

Friday13th wrote: miamiscot wrote: I honestly believe Neal's conversion was the best thing that could have happened to him - spiritually and musically. Before that he wrote some nice stuff (see Spock's Beard V and Transatlantic Bridge Across Forever) but all his best work came after: Testimony, One, ? and Sola Scriptura are all among the finest albums ever recorded. And this is, in my opinion, in no small part because he had purpose. He had a destiny. Those records (whether you're a Christian or not) are inspired works.   Yes, I'm a huge fan. That in no way diminishes what he has accomplished.   I'm with this guy!

Agree with you! It seems his creativity took wing. I like Testimony more than his SB and Transatlantic works. Some of his other solo works sound less inspired but I still find something to enjoy like Lifeline and Testimony 2 (second disc).

As a christian I have no problems with his lyrics. Actually it's a plus for me. It's hard to find such good christian prog. I also enjoy any good music with positive message (or feel) but I wouldn't want to listen to something negative or satanic.

Musically I see Neal Morse as "the Mozart of prog". He's a master of musical hooks. This memorable melodies are really compelling to me. His composition can be simple or/and advanced. His discography is vast plus constant concerts ...