NEAL MORSE

The debut from the voice of Spock's Beard is as good as any debut from a solo artist. He is feeling out his audience and capturing a new market here with the Christian content, though it never feels as though he is preaching to us. The tracks are sung beautifully and are uplifting.

There are not as many progressive elements as Spock's Beard or other more recent solo albums, however the lengthy epic, A Whole Nother Trip, clocking 23 minutes is a great addition that would satiate the pallete of any proghead (like myself). I like the way it moves seamlessly from one song to another and there are many time sig changes and wonderful musicianship, though I miss Portnoy, who later featured on the Morse solo CDs.

Other highlights on this debut include the melodic 'Landslide', 'That Which Doesn't Kill', and 'Nowhere Fast'. Morse's vocal performance gives each track a majestic quality outside the realm of the type of material he was doing with Transatlantic or for that matter Spock's Beard.

Morse loves to indulge in the ballad style but is always ready to crank it up, particularly in the last track. There is an emotional depth in the track as he pours out his hear about his pure faith in God. It's not Spock's Beard but it's an effective start to Morse's solo career.