TESTIMONY

Talk about a slice of life! An amazing concept and a very big one to tackle... but Neal Morse has pulled it off with amazing clarity of such themes that can be very hard to convey into a musical setting. This is one of the landmark albums in prog rock to me. I don't say that lightly but thisis easily top 10 of all time to me. Also myself being a Christian it was quite a shock to me to learn that there was another Christian out there playing prog. Usually I find myself ignoring or at least downplaying the vocals/lyrics in prog albums as many of them are "zen" or "new age" related which is contrary to my belief. Yes in particular come to mind with Jon Anderson's lyrics of inner peace, harmony, etc. Anyway this was very very refreshing to me to finally be able to lose myself in the lyrics too!

Musicianwise this is exceptionally diverse in styles, types of instruments, and the musicians themselves. Mike Portnoy was a good fit with this one although he plays a bit less powerfully and showy than I am used to, but it just FITS! Everyting here just seems to FIT! If I were to write something like this it would take me decades if not even longer to get it close to this point in song arrangements, diversity and mixes. Several standouts to me were the subtle female background vocals, the cellos & violas, and the guitars were all wonderful, but I HAVE to say that because I too play guitar so there will naturally be some bias there. But Neal is mostly a keys guy, but there is enough GOOD guitar here to keep anyone happy. Kerry Livgren guitar work is great and a standout on the disc.

Several songs on this entire album have several different themes that just seem to pop up when you least think they will, but they tie everything together very very nicely. Lyricwise the same thing happens. The same lyrics pop up in slightly different versions which I feel chronicle Neal's trip into Christianity in a very unique way.

Songs that stand out to me on this album are: "Colder in the Sun", "It's All I Can Do", "sing it High", " The Storm Before the Calm", and "Oh to Feel Him" which brought tears to my eyes the first time I heard it. For the naysayers you need to listen to the entire thing with no distractions to get it. To Neal I say jobe Very well done, AND THANK YOU FOR A CHRISTIAN PROG ALBUM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!