THE NEAL MORSE BAND: THE GREAT ADVENTURE

What other people have said really. This is an excellent album which Neal Morse fans will love, but there's nothing really new here - except perhaps a bigger emphasis on a more heavy metal sound than previous albums. Morse has a good ear for melody though, so we're not talking thrash metal or anything like that.

As with Similitude, there are repeating musical motifs throughout, including some from the previous album. The first track starts with the motif from the beginning of Slave To Your Mind, then follows on with the final lyrics from the previous album. Then we get the "Love That Never Dies" theme which has the same role as the "Broken Sky" theme in Similitude. The rest of track 1 is an overture and is the only track that breaks the 10 minute mark.

The musicianship throughout is superb, but a special mention must be given to Eric Gillette who can go from shredding to melodic guitar lines in an instant (and he also has a great voice).

My favourite tracks: Welcome To The World, The Great Adventure, Vanity Fair and The Great Despair.

After listening to the album I've stopped being a Taciturn Iconoclast and I now have some pizaaz in my pantacle pantry

(If you've not heard the album you may think that last statement sounds a bit weird) :-)

Where does this fit in the ranking of Neal Morse albums? It's probably as good as Similitude, or at least nearly as good, but I would recommend a new listener to start with the previous album as TGA is very much a companion piece.