THE LIGHT

Spock's Beard exploded into the prog scene with this album back in 1995. It got critical aclaim from reviewers everywhere and with justification. The Light is a fantastic album for both traditional and new proggers! Leading man Neal Morse and the band managed to come up with 57 minutes worth of pure prog magic that just clicked in all aspects. The Light manages to fuse highly melodic hooks with the complexities we all know and love in prog. 3 out of the 4 songs clock at over 10 minutes in length yet I still find myself humming them at work.

The band has quite a few obvious influences here, notably Gentle Giant and Genesis. However, don't be fooled, they aren't mere copies of these bands. They manage to combine all their influences into one highly unique and enjoyable sound. Every musician here is practically a virtuoso, but Morse stands out above the rest, taking lead mostly on piano. However he blows away the listener with pretty much everything practically smothering the album in mellotron and hammond organ. It's really a pleasure to hear such melodic tunes yet be amazed by the stunning musicianship. Few bands managed to do this in the 90s which is why Spock's Beard became one of the best selling prog acts at that time.

The Light might as well be the perfect track to introduce anyone to the band. There's some real melodic twists that can't really be heard by anyone band before them. Spock's Beard formed their own signature sound with this kind of orchestration. The harmony arrangements are absolutely masterful through the entire album. The 23 minute magnum opus, The Water is brilliant. The infamous "Fuck you" section is always a burst of adrenaline for me, which I found comes very frequent with the band due to their zaniness. The thing that makes the band so unique is the converging of all the diverse influences that is just executed so well. This is really demonstrated beautifully in The Water.

And of course there's enough mellotron use and time signature changes for any prog lover! All in all this album has something enjoyable for anyone. Not only can prog fans appreciate it for it's complexity, but modern rock and pop fans as well! One of the most essential albums of the 90s by one of the decades most essential bands!