FEEL EUPHORIA

It didn't surprise me that Neal Morse announced that he was one of those Christians. There were always undercurrents of Christian imagery in his songs (The Light was one of the most obvious). However, it did surprise me when he announced that he was leaving Spock's Beard because of these beliefs. I suppose that's the risk one takes when believing in a savior who sometimes demands that his followers only create art in honor of him*.

This was Spock's Beard's first album without Neal Morse, and the band did a fair job of creating good music without him. Nick D'Virgilio takes over the lead vocals, and the entire band, with some outside help, takes over the songwriting. Naturally, there is a change in style. There is a more mainstream approach for the most part, but the majority of the mainstream moments are broken up by some very good prog breaks.

Gone are the Gentle Giant comparisons, although in the Sid's Boy's Choir section of A Guy Named Sid, they do some nice vocal work. And while there are no songs that are great all the way through, there is only two tracks (excluding the bonus tracks) that I just don't like. Shining Star and Ghosts Of Autumn are just too mundane for my tastes.

The bonus tracks on the special edition are nothing special. Moth Of Many Flames is plain and boring, and From The Messenger is more a sound collage than a song.

While this is very different from the previous Beard albums, there is more than enough good material to make it worth purchasing.

*Except when the artist needs more money to create such art. Then it's okay to reform a past supergroup, tour and make an album.