THE NEAL MORSE BAND: THE SIMILITUDE OF A DREAM

Neal Morse is a genius. Not because he can write great songs, but because he has stitched together an eclectic and extraordinary collection of musicians as the vehicle for this latest album. It's the same bunch that he had for The Grand Experiment but they've grown more comfortable with one another and really shows. You know what Mike Portnoy brings to the table, and this is apparently the 500th album that he and Neal have done together. Randy George is a long time collaborator with Morse and Portnoy on Neal's solo efforts. He may be the most overlooked musician in the band because he is the only one who doesn't sing. Then comes the new kids. Bill Hubauer may ring a bell if you remember the 90's CCM band Apologetix. They were essentially the contemporaty Christian version of Weird Al Yankovic. Hubauer is an excellent multi-instrumentalist and vocalist and his contributions to the arrangements have been mentioned in interviews by both Portnoy and Morse. Like Morse, Hubauer doesn't look anything like a rock musician. In fact, they both look more like tax accountants. And lastly, the kid, Eric Gillette. If you close your eyes you can hear Petrucci. But baby face Gillette lacks the bionic muscles and Grizzly Adams beard. The album is the best album I've heard this year. And as much as I love the new Haken album, this was a real hard thing to say. It was released with much hype when Portnoy claimed it was one of the best albums he'd ever been a part of. I know my initial reaction was "Seriously?" I'm hear to tell you to believe the hype. Within these 100 minutes you'll hear vestiges of Pink Floyd, Genesis, Queen, Kansas, Steely Dan, Riverside, Styx, Dream Theater, ELP, ELO, Yes, CSN, Little Feat, etc etc. Neal Morse's solo work (along with Transatlantic) always get pigeon holed into the Symphonic Prog category. This album won't be confined to such a narrow description. The songs run the gamut from ballads, to heavy metal, to gospel, to broadway, to southern rock. Some of the tracks are as heavy as anything they've done (yes I'm including Sola Scriptura). In case you aren't aware, the album is based on John Bunyan's 1678 book "The Pilgrims Progress". Back in my high school days, this was required reading. Of course, it was on the new release list back then. The transition into this musical presentation is extraordinary. I know I'm asking for laughter when I compare this work to "Tommy", "The Lamb Lies Down", "The Wall", "Jesus Christ Superstar", etc. But the comparisons are fair. The tracks are woven together through the story without compromise. There aren't any epic tracks on this album, save the finale, which still clocks in at less than 10 minutes. The 105+ minutes are divided into 23 tracks. The vocal harmonies throughout are nothing less than stellar. We saw examples of this on their last album with the CSN-like harmonies and layered choruses. On this album, the harmonies are taken to the next level, even to the extent that you're wondering how they fit on such heavy arrangements until you go "oh yeah, that fits." There are several repeating themes throughout the album presented as variations depending on the bit of the story that is being presented at that time. The album starts our with a beautiful melody (to be repeated at other times), that gives way to the Overture. This contains many of the themes found in the album and is a wonder jumping off place for the record. The album then passes into the various dream sequences set forth in Bunyan's book. "City of Destruction" is straight up RnR. "We Have Got To Go" contains shades of Genesis' "Cinema Show". The vocals on "Makes No Sense" are really well done along with a throwback keyboard solo work. This gives way to "Draw The Line" with its driving groove and Portnoy lead vocals until the song evolves into a Steely Dan sounding ending. "The Ways of a Fool" is a well balanced, bouncy, Queen-like fun song. "So Far Gone" combines several motifs presented previously as the first half of the album approaches. The combination reminds me a little of "One Day More" from Les Miz. This passes into the "Breath of Angels" complete with gospel choir to end the first CD. As excellent as the first CD is, the second one is even better. "Slave to Your Mind" kicks the second half with a driving groove complete with keyboard rich jam. This hands off to one of the coolest vocal pieces on the record, "Shortcut to Salvation". Part Little Feat, part Supertramp, overlapping choruses to finish it up. Just great. "The Man in the Iron Cage" is next. This song just kicks ass (think Riverside's "Celebrity Touch" or Zeppelin's "Black Dog"). "Freedom Song" is a country swing with a really cool CSN feel and vocals to match. The song describes the release of the burdens of the protagonist in the story which gives way to "I'm Running", an ELO type fling complete with one of the coolest bass solos anywhere. "The Mask" starts out with a beautiful piano interlude that passes into the darkest and most dramatic part of the album as the protagonist wrestles with himself and his alter-ego or Satan or whatever. This moves into the cool groove of "Confrontation". This song twists and turns and devolves into "The Battle", which is just sick (think Kansas "Magnum Opus"). Finally, peace, "Broken Sky/Long Day (Reprise)". This 10 minute finale is a masterpiece. The wonderful chorus line builds to a Gilmour-like solo at around 3:49. Coming back around for a key change and another chorus topped off with retro Tony Banks keyboard work. This melds into the original "Long Day" motif as the climax of the album as the protagonist proclaims "The son's coming home." At that point Neal yells "Come on!" and Eric Gillette loses his mind on guitar atop of everything else. One last time the music fades to a postlude concluding with "let the great adventure now being?." and a "day in the life" final piano chord. Mike Portnoy fought to keep this record a single disc for fear that the double album "concept" type project for fear that it would get compared to the Dream Theater album. I'm glad Mike lost the argument, because the results really are astonishing (see what I did there).

Just to be up front, I am reviewing as a big Neal Morse, Transatlantic, Spock's Beard, Flying Colors fan; I am not going to change the mind of those who don't like Symphonic Prog, neither will I convince NM haters that complain every time he comes out with something that you've heard it all before...so here we go. Initial Attraction - 8/10; because it is a double album it is like trying to eat an elephant; it takes a while to get through it. With that said, most every song is short and there are an awful lot of catchy hooks, riffs, melodies, and choruses. Longevity - 9/10; because it is a double album I like it more each time I go through it. I am not tired of any of it, and the only song I'm skipping is the Overture because you hear it in the rest of the project. BTW, Mr. Morse, I don't think Overtures are a requirement or add very much to a project. Lyrical Content - 8/10; it is pretty typical NM, very good -- parts that touch your heart, parts that make you laugh, parts that make you say "Huh?" I like spiritual substance and due to the source of the concept (John Bunyan's Pilgrims Progress) it is full of symbolism and weirdness, both of which I like. Production - 10/10; crisp, clean, dynamic range great, vocals and all the instruments are easily heard but nothing is ever out of order. Technicality/Musical Proficiency - 9/10; we have some of the premier musicians here and they each have a turn in showing off but never at the expense of forward progress of the concept or story. My fav instrument is guitar and Eric Gillette has a number of very very tasty solos. MP and RG are typically great but never hijack a song, we have some very strong vocals by 4 of the 5 members, and Bill Hubauer does very good work here on keys. Not really a big space for much key solos, but that is nit-picking. Overall Project - 8.75/10; some may be disappointed that there isn't an "epic" length epic on the project, and yes I love me a good long awesome song, but the overall project moves from one song to the next, where you have your large epic in the whole. We can say that we've heard it all before, but seriously how many projects have come out in the last 50 years that is so transformative you can honestly say you haven't? Consciously or unconsciously, they give nods to Pink Floyd, Yes, Kansas, The Who, Queen, Rush, etc etc, as well as some bluegrass, jazz, and gospel fusions. There are songs of many different tempos and styles; there is a whole lot to like and very little to detract. Slow deliberate loud clap, Neal Morse Band. Bravo

Here's another concept double album of Neil Morse band based on the story of a man who writes his own story in prison and how he has faced many obstacles. This time there's no epic song but many ideas throughout this long adventure. The music covers different styles of rock, from classic rock to hard rock and Progressive Rock. The album starts with some big instrumental sections that are played at the fast pace,reaching the symphonic Prog Rock and the heavy Prog Rock in a rather dark atmosphere. There's still that emotional Neal's singing his heart out that we all know from his past albums. But what really strikes me in this compared to his previous projects is how Bill Hubauer keyboards are showing more vintage sound and superb melodies. Overall the songs seem to go to the point with more concision. The song "Back to The City" is an example of a track that really works. "The Ways of A Fool" is a retro song taking the Queen and ELP influences. "The Man from the Iron Cage" is close to Led Zep with a powerful guitar solo. If you skipped the song "Freedom Song", you have a perfect album less demonstrative restraining the instrumental parts into shorter sections which result in a more exciting listening experience. There're other highlights songs like "City of Destruction", "The Battle","Confrontation"and also some ballads passages because you can't listen to an hour of music without moments of rest. It will be interesting to hear this whole thing live. This album is really the project of Neal Morse band and not your typical Neal Morse solo album, and this little detail make all the difference.

We've heard the hype: this is the one you've been waiting for! Sits right at the top with any of Neal and Mike's best work! The reality? The hype is legit, but not necessarily in the way I initially had hoped, which was finally for a Neal Morse double album that was a non-stop thrill ride overflowing with new material. Unfortunately, that album still doesn't exist. Yes, Neal writes his share of double (or more) albums, but a third to sometimes even half of the album is reprisals and variations of themes. This isn't always a huge problem, but something I think Neal in particular leans on too much if you want to listen to his full albums perhaps hundreds of time (which I do!). I'm afraid all that's happened again.

I also realize that by doing this I'm not getting the full "story", which is important for most concept albums; however, I would also counter that argument by noting that once you've heard "I gotta get out of the city of destruction" in one song, hearing it again, or a third time, doesn't cause the message to sink in any more. I do appreciate the message--and not just the music--in Neal's productions, and they do inspire me to be a better person, and be closer to God, so I don't want to give the impression that I just listen to the music and throw out the message. That said, the music is what draws me in, and it's the music that keeps me coming back.

So then why the high rating? Because Similitude has enough fresh, interesting, nicely produced and collaboratively performed music to make up a regular 5-star album, and so I feel justified in giving this one the full 5 (of which I've only given to one of Neal's dozens of works, Question Mark). In fact, my "album" is the first disc through Ways of a Fool, and then with the Broken Sky/Long Day finale tacked on. That, my friends, is a 50 minute emotional rollercoaster of consistently excellent and diverse prog, and one satisfying finale to wrap it all up. That's not to say that disc 2 doesn't have interesting material--it certainly does--but much of it is interspersed with the second, third, or even fourth reprises. In fact, that leaves me with a number of very good tracks that stand up nicely as singles and/or bonus tracks that I will also come back to plenty of times, so I certainly don't mind that I paid double-album money, even though when I consider the story and the music simultaneously, I think it works better as a regular- length album.

There are a number of reasons why Similitude represents a step up from Neal's recent material (which I find to generally be very good as well). First, I think Neal has a better songwriting edge when he's tackling historical material, and particularly multiple characters, which he hasn't done for a while. Second, while I find Neal's music to be quite well produced, I believe this sounds even better, particularly the acoustic guitars, the synth variety, and Randy's basswork. Third, it's clear that these guys have been getting better as a real band, and the coordination and collaboration shows throughout the album, particularly in the vocals. Finally, although you can certainly hear sections that sounds like Neal's Genesis, Yes and Styx (among many others) influences, and also similarities to his previous work (particularly Snow, Question Mark, and Sola Scriptura), it comes off as more than fresh enough to not sound "samey" to my ears. In fact, perhaps my favorite development is that unlike a lot of Neal's recent writing, in which it seems he is trying to rock as hard as possible, Similitude features more light, intricate, and perky sections, which I particularly appreciated in his Spock's Beard days.

Since I generally like all of Neal's albums, I try to offer some caveats for those who are wary, so as not to just be a fanboy. I don't have many cautions this time though, other than the fact that things can get tedious with the reprises in the second disc. So see that coming if you are on the fence, but I certainly wouldn't let that keep you away if you were wondering if Similitude was simply more Momentum or Grand Experiment. Thank you, Neal Morse Band, for your efforts!

The Pilgrim's Progress by John Bunyan, an allegorical tale of a man who flees a doomed city to journey towards a better place, meeting various characters and situations along the way. Surely an obvious choice for a prog rock concept album. The British band After The Fire, before they changed into a New Wave band, recorded a song called Pilgrim in which they covered the whole book in less than eleven minutes. That effort was reasonable for its time, but if you need the proper prog treatment then who better than Neal Morse? Morse's album in fact takes 106 minutes to cover just the first part of Bunyan's story, so he 's certainly expanded on After The Fire's effort.

Musically The Similitude Of A Dream is closer to the sound of Spock's Beard than anything Neal Morse has put out as a solo artist. So if you like Morse-era Beard (and in particular Snow) then you should love this. There are also similarities in style to Sola Scriptura and Question Mark, which happen to be my two favourite Morse albums. I would go so far as to say this is the first time Neal has matched the quality of those two albums since then. Some parts of Similitude verge on heavy metal, which isn't really my cup of tea, but because of the quality and the mixture of other styles, I really like even the heavier parts. In fact, The Man In The Iron Cage, which pays an obvious homage to Led Zeppelin, is one of my favourite tracks. The only song I really can't stand is Slave To Your Mind, which opens the second CD. It's what my parents (bless them) would have described as "a racket." I wish it had been left off the album, or written as a more melodic piece.

As mentioned before, there is a lot of variety of styles here, from acoustic pieces right through to heavy metal, and the whole album flows nicely. It really should be listened to as a whole rather than individual songs, but having said that I have to pick out a few favourites - The Ways Of A Fool, Freedom Song, Shortcut To Salvation (nice sax solo here), The Man In The Iron Cage, and also the closing tracks on each CD which have the typical Morse emotional feel and grandiose endings. Neal Morse has put together an excellent band of musicians and produced one of his best albums. I will have to give it 5 stars as fractions of stars aren't allowed. In reality I would knock it down to 4.75 for Slave To Your Mind, but that's just me being picky.

As a final comment, only part of the book is covered on this album. I would love them to go on and do Vanity Fair, Doubting Castle, the Celestial City etc. But if not, Broken Sky does give the story a satisfactory ending.

Well, well, well. Once in a while a band makes a statement, a definitive album that people will label ''the one'' you have to own from whatever particular band. For Neal Morse / The Neal Morse Band, this album is that ''one''. I must admit, that I am an obsessive Neal Morse fan, so some may find my judgement towards Neal's work biast, however I must argue that although Neal Morse is my favourite songwriter of all time, I am able to critique his work, finding particular efforts of his (Day for Night by Spock's or his own Lifeline) rather uninspired. It's a rare thing when one makes their definitive masterwork so late into their careers, with certain sections of the progressive world acussing Neal's work of been 'repetitive' and 'safe'. In argument to that I must say that his formula is a winning one, and I for one find plenty of variation throughout all of his albums.

Largely I pay little attention to lyrics and the concept. Although aware of the narrative, it's not something I find myself judging an albums success on. The Similitude of a Dream has a solid concept, and solid lyrics to accompany. Some criticism is levelled at Neal's born again Christian beliefs and how he spells it out in his music. He does not do that in this album for those worried (as he hasn't done since Testimony 2!). The lyrics are spiritual but not preachy (personally I'd much rather listen to something positive and uplifting and find my own happiness in Neal's faith and his proclamation of that faith). Now to the music.

The album begins with a small, beautiful string section, playing the opening theme leading into a soft Neal led piece, 'Long Day'. Although short, the addition of the acoustic guitar midway through this song moves the song forward. 'Overture' follows in all it's progressive instrumental glory. In this instrumental, everything you'd expect from a fantastic overture is there. The main themes / melody ideas are introduced and moves at a swift pace. It is truly epic in every sense of the world. This is mainly thanks to Eric Gillette's singing lead towards the end, gliding effortlessly over the accompaniment to end the overture. 'The Dream' follows, a dreamy (as the name would suggest) acoustic guitar interlude with a beautiful melody in the chorus. Neal's voice is full of passion as his warm tone resonates through the mix. Lyrically, the scene is set.

Without warning, 'City of Destruction', the first single of the album, demands attention. Although this is not my ''favourite'' song, I find the middle 8 / bridge section after the final chorus to be sublime, complete with the 'ahhh' backing vocals. Goosebumps. 'We Have Got To Go', an early highlight, follows. A short acoustic melody is followed by a Neal Morse synth instrumental. It really does just put a smile across my face. In 'Makes No Sense', the catchy hook of ''makes no sense to me'' proves to be a recurring theme. In the final chorus where the chorus modulates as each vocalist takes over the phrase is splendid. Abruptly, the rockin' riff from 'Draw The Line' comes from nowhere. With Portnoy handling lot's of the vocals (sounding better than he has previously I must add) the song switches from heavy to jazzy and laid back, with a great guitar solo which Neal handles with great tone. 'The Slough', a instrumental follows on, with some Bill Hubauer keys before Eric goes all John Scofield in his guitar tone.

An absolute highlight follows in 'The Ways of a Fool'. In this piece written and sung (for the most part) by Bill, the band channel their musical idols, The Beatles and ELO stand out the most in the layering of the vocal harmonies and backing vocals. A great Gentle Giant instrumental break follows before leading to a Neal sung outro. Another favourite 'So Far Gone' comes charging in with a heavy riff. Sung by Eric, the verse and chorus are especially catchy with great performances all around (with added Portnoy cowbell!). The real treat comes however in the second part of the long, where the 'Broken Sky' theme enters sung by Bill before and 'Makes No Sense' reprise soars and takes the music to another level. 'Breath of Angels' closes disc one, a Neal ballad that builds to a climax, with a fantastic solo by Eric.

'Slave to your Mind' begins disc 2, a truly progressive song, although possibly my least favourite on the album. The melodic 'Shortcut To Salvation' is followed by 'The Man In The Iron Cage' where the band channel Led Zep, that reprises 'So Far Gone' in the middle. 'Road Called Home' which ends with a reprise of 'The Dream' in 6/8, similar to 'Reflection' from Spock's Beards Snow. Next comes 'Sloth', a captivating song where Neal's vocals resemble the movement of a sloth; a moving piece which reprises 'Long Day'. The country 'Freedom Song' is followed by 'I'm Running', where Randy George gets the spotlight with a groovy bass solo.

From this point, the experience begins drawing to a close. 'The Mask' begins with a Neal piano piece, comparable to the beginning of 'Seeds of Gold' from his own Testimony 2. The song itself expands beyond Neal's usual vocabulary, using industrial sounds to move the music forward, 'Confrontation' demands attention, re visiting themes from 'City of Destruction' and 'So Far Gone'. 'The Battle', a frantic instrumental set's up the finale...

I could write forever on this finale, so I'll try to keep it brief. My favourite thing about Neal Morse album's is his endings. The ending of his albums / epics are without exception tear jerkers. The 'Question Mark' album has long had my favourite ending ever, but with 'Broken Sky / Long Day (reprise)' that spot may be up for contention. It begins with a beautiful, soft piano melody before going into the first verse of 'Broken Sky'. Neal's vocals shimmer with raw emotion, beauty that only his voice can portray. After a standard verse /chorus x2, the middle 8 is stunning. The middle 8 revisits the ending theme from 'City of Destruction' and it's brilliant, a Goosebumps moment. This is quickly topped by Gilette's solo, that majestically soars, before going into a familiar theme. Eric then handles vocals for the final chorus of Broken Sky, as it builds and builds and builds. Themes are reprised instrumentally before the moment arrives when 'Long day' returns, with Eric on vocals. A tear jerking moment. The final theme tops it all off with Eric shredding over it, delivering the knockout blow, leaving the listener floored. It all ends with Neal signing a few lines from 'makes no sense', but now he proclaims ''it now makes sense to me'', a perfect ending to a near perfect album.

Overall, this album is a thing of beauty, an album that the Progressive world, particularly symphonic prog, has been crying out for. With the rise in modern prog, fantastic artists like Steven Wilson spear head the new progressive rock movement, leaving older bands behind. The Neal Morse Band have delivered a masterpiece: 'The Similitude of a Dream'.

One of the most prolific artists in the world of prog has release his next album under the name of The Neal Morse Band. Being able to maintain the level of musical productivity with all of his bands - The Neal Morse Band, Flying Colors, Transatlantic as well as his solo albums, without releasing poor work is an achievement itself. With this band he gives an opportunity for another wonderful musicians to reveal their full potential playing with himself and Mike. The album is typical modern intensive symphonic prog one with some Dream Theater hints, some softer elements, containing complex tempo shifts and some wonderful musicianship from the band members. However, no highly profound and exceptional songwriting methods and ideas are implemented in this work. Recommended to all symphonic prog and Dream Theater fans. Almost 3,5 stars.

I'll admit to being a diehard fan of Neal Morse - love nearly everything he's done from Spock's Beard to Transatlantic to Flying Colors to his solo work - and I can safely say that this is one of the best records he has ever done. The additions of Eric Gillette and Bill Huber to make it a full-fledged band, the Neal Morse Band, have added a major boost to Neal's overall sound. It still sounds very much like a "Neal Morse record" more often than not, but having three lead vocalists (Neal, Eric and Bill), as well as a lead guitarist unlike any Neal has ever had, is like a shot of adrenaline to his sound. And the songwriting is stellar throughout most of the album. Double albums inevitably have that lull at some point, but this record never really does; Disc 2 is arguably as strong as Disc 1. Now, I know that some like using the "Neal Morse formula" as an argument against him, but the way I see it, he has perfected his sound and style, and it's firing on all cylinders on this record, from start to finish. Highly recommended to all prog fans!!

A lot of well known bands have in their composition a well known artist that overshadows the rest in the group. However, here is not the case. This is an example of good teamwork, putting each of these artists under the spotlight. The music: a wide collection of loved styles (from Beatles, Led Zeppelin, to Yes and E.L.P, through Dream Theater and Flower Kings), but they all come together under an excellent mix. The peak of this piece comes in the finale when Mr. Morse makes us realize something extraordinary: he brings back the faith for the good & beautiful things amidst the misery of our times! (even if listened through a non-believers ears).

Being fan of Neal Morse i cannot hide my dissapointment, the album is very sophisticated and strong at the first glance, but after i listened to it again and again, only two or three pieces were catchy enough to stay in my memory. It might be a concept album as they called it, but it is too long and pieces are too different in style and mood. As a resume it could probably be better accepted and digested if split in 2 or 3 albums but consisting of compositions which are closer to each other. Now, as it is, the album is very hard to compreghend and rate as a whole. My opinion - 3.5.

Hallelujah! And praise the Lord! As brother NEAL MORSE races into the new phase of his career as THE NEAL MORSE BAND like a renegade choir boy eschewing all the gospel and Christian rock norms, he once again joins his brother in salvation Mike Portnoy (master of percussive fecundity from Dream Theater, Liquid Tension Experiment, Transatlantic, Flying Colors, OSI and much more) along with regular band members Randy George (bassist from Ajalon), Bill Haubauer (organs, pianos, synth) and Eric Gillette (lead and rhythm guitars). This is the second album released by the band and they all contribute vocals to some degree with Brother MORSE picking up the lead spotlight. If that's not enough there are also a whopping ten extra helping hands offering a cornucopia of sounds including violin, viola, cello, saxes, marimba, trumpets, pedal steel guitar and various other forms of percussion. The result of this smorgasbord of musical maestrohood is THE SIMILITUDE OF A DREAM. A walloping double album that takes the worship of all things retro, cleverly crafts them with Brother MORSE's signature sound and unleashes one of his most ambitious musical experiences to date.

Lyrically speaking THE SIMILITUDE OF A DREAM is a concept album that is loosely based on the 1678 Christian allegory written by John Bunyan. The full title of the original book was "The Pilgrim's Progress From This World To That Which Is To Come; Delivered Under THE SIMILITUDE OF A DREAM." The actual 17th century publication contained an astounding 108,260 words and written in narrative form in two major parts. And like the basic plot, this massive double album focuses on MORSE's spiritual practices that recounts a story in a dream sequence that is presented by a narrator that tells the story of a man named Christian who after a life of spiritually unfulfilling anguish is told he must leave the evils of the City Of Destruction and make a pilgrimage to the Celestial City to find peace and ultimate salvation. The album much like the book contains two parts with each part creating a separate mood and culmination of the adventures that unfold. Granted, a loose concept based on a massive double volume tome proves to be a nebulous and grainy representation of the greater writings from the past, but manages to create a coherent albeit simplified account based on brother MORSE's personal interpretations.

Beginning with a melancholic violin and viola intro it first appears that this is a symphonic chamber rock album with Brother MORSE singing in his usual mode making the listener think they're in store for a long, mellow drawn out and boring album. But all of a sudden, Brother MORSE, as if summoning up a miracle transmogrifies the super sappy sonicity into an Area inspired jazz-fusion riff that gives way to an energetic symphonic Yes infused guitar solo sequence that then jumps into a never ending changing-it-up of Keith Emerson keyboard gymnastics, bombastic heavy rock riffing and melodic meanderings punctuated by quick slaps of proggy time sig surprises. Whew! And that's just the first short intro "Long Day" and the longer "Overature!" When we finally get to "The Dream" it begins as a Pink Floyd acoustic guitar ballad that brings another double album "The Wall" to mind in musical structure along with those familiar echoes heard in "Comfortably Numb" which pops in from time to time throughout the album. Luckily none of these influences overshadow the overall musical mission but still screams retro-prog in every fashion. "City Of Destruction" takes the harder edged road that brings the whacky 70s world of Joe Walsh to mind slightly as the guitar riff stomps along like an angry child having a tantrum after not getting its way. The chorus for this track finds a reprise at the end of the second disc.

The retro-rock and prog celebration continues with more Pink Floyd (all throughout), The Beatles ("The Ways Of A Fool"), Peter Gabriel ("Slave To Your Mind"), Led Zeppelin ("The Man In The Iron Cage") and The Who ("I'm Running") finding their way into that familiar MORSE packaging that is ubiquitous on his myriad band projects. Also interspersed throughout the 100 minute plus listening experience are ample jazz-fusion segments, American country ("Freedom Song"), Chopin-esque classical piano ("The Mask") as well as heavy doses of prog metal ("Confrontation.") As far as going crazy and really delivering the prog goods, greatness is displayed on tracks like "City Of Destruction" but it really doesn't get any better than the workouts on the closing instrumental "The Battle" which effectively takes on the most challenging aspects of the progressive rock universe and unapologetically nails them to the wall. Highly turbulent rhythms that spasmodically intermingle with sagacious melodies, choral climaxing, unrestrained and uncompromising musical ascensions that end and trade off with other similarly structured runs in a complex tug of war between tension building theatrical antics is the stuff prog dreams are made of! The visions of a higher prog heaven in full interplay and by far the most challenging and adrenaline inducing track of the entire album experience.

Brother MORSE has stated that THE SIMILITUDE OF A DREAM is the 18th album that he has recorded together with Mike Portney and that this is the one that represents an absolute pinnacle of their musical symbiosis and after just one listen it is hard to deny that the creative juices were flowing on this one with one strong track after another changing things up just enough to keep that old attention span peaked all the while delivering familiar hooks and influences that triumphantly scoured the vast vaults of the hard rock and prog universe. While i would tend to agree with many that this is indeed one of Brother MORSE's strongest offerings to date, i do find the usual flaws that are ubiquitous on the entirety of the NEIL MORSE canon. Firstly is his limited vocal style. Yes, i simply find his range insufficient to fit in with the intensity and dynamics in the sheer scope of styles that the music meander throughout. While i don't find this to be a hindrance in my listening pleasure, i do find it detracts enough from the overall experience and dethrones any possibilities of this ever becoming a true classic in my world.

And then there are those overly sentimental sappy pieces that seem to haunt every MORSE album whether it be Spock's Beard, Transatlantic or the solo releases. In this case it's the last songs on each disc "Breath Of Angels" and "Broken Sky / Long Day (Reprise)" which find Brother MORSE entering AOR territory strutting around on easy listening autopilot and IMHO completely derailing all the momentum that each side of the album so masterfully accrues although there are segments of these light passages that do effectively mix and meld with the other styles on many tracks dispersed throughout that work quite well. While this album could not rightfully be deemed significantly dissimilar from Brother MORSE's previous strong albums such as "?" or "Sola Scriptura," it does pack a healthy dose of plentiful punches that will guarantee to hook the retro-prog fanatic from the get go. After several spins of this one, i'm still enthralled minus the minor quips that prevent the five star crown. All in all an excellent release and even more so considering it's a double album release.

Lastly, this is an album that is meant to be experienced as a continuous listen. It doesn't seem to be nearly as effective just sampling a track here and there, therefore is very much the sum of the parts that makes this a compelling cognitive workout. While brother MORSE's vocal limitation may dissuade me from becoming the most hardcore of fans, i readily concede that he is the master of delivering some of the most compelling Christian themed prog rock (and rock in general) in the music biz. While certainly on the pop side of the prog universe, great care is laid out in every little aspect of this album with the crystal clear production bringing the musical concept to fully realized vivaciousness. Retro-prog yes ,but an exciting slice of it's immortal calling. Music so compelling and animistic that it just refuses to be put to rest. While this album could not possibly be qualified as the most original of the lot, it nonetheless delivers many aspects of the past in the most equanimous, fastidious and efficacious ways possible along with the sheer stridency of brother MORSE's didactic prose backed up by his most eager and devoted musical followers. Let us give thanks for the music bestowed upon us today. Amen.

Neil Morse knows how to make music. This is IMO the best album he has made (and the best made on 2016). He writes strong melodies. He knows how to create a "conceptual album", by using intelligent transitions, combining themes and returning repeatedly to many of them. He choose great musicians to play with too. Each musician on this album is a great one and masters his own instrument. In a very "Pink Floyd's style, he chooses the right sonority for each album's moment. Four of the musicians take leather voice in different moments of this album. Like Ian Anderson on his current albums , he knows when he needs another voice to reach some high notes. Mike Portnoy doesn't need a justification to be here. Randy George is a fantastic bass player. Bill Hubauer sounds great on keyboards and on voice. And Eric Gillette combines a great voice (singing with great skill most of high voice parts) and guitar skills that reminds Petrucci a great choice to play with. Saxes, trumpets, violin and a trio of female singers complete this wonderful team. Singing and instrumental parts combination is well done. There are not long instrumental solos, neither are there hard to listen and overloaded lyric pieces. Some tunes ("So far gone", "Broken sky", "Slave to your mind"), are great. "Overture" and "Confrontation" are great "revisions" of some great tunes of the album. The album's ending songs (Broken sky/ Long day) shows THE way to "build an epic", it goes up, up and even up. Love the way they take turns in singing to get the feeling of always going up and how each voice is firm and warm at the same time. OK, Morse insists again and again on preaching about his mythical guru, but who cares? Since "I am he, as you are he, as you are me and we are all together" and "No one I think is in my tree, I mean it must be high or low"(1967), I don't care much about the lyrics, I just enjoy the music. My favorite song goes: "A seasoned witch will call you from the depths of your disgrace" (1972) and for 50 years I haven't know what that means.

Summarizing: An album to buy right now.

Review # 42. Starting this piece, I should first of all mention that I'm not a fan of Neil Morse. I surely respect him as a composer and musician, I have many of his solo albums, and of his projects as well, but still...

The Similitude of a Dream is the new work of The Neal Morse band, in which many very good musicians are participating, and Mike Portnoy is one of them. The album is available as a double CD, with a total length of almost 105 minutes. It includes 23 tracks, and none of them is more than 10 minutes in length; so no epic this time. The longest song here, is the album's closing piece, the very beautiful Broken Sky / Long Day (Reprise), which is almost 10 minutes long, and one of my most beloved songs.

I am not going to write about each song separately, first of all because the songs are many, but also because I usually put the CD and I listen to it as a whole work, not song by song. Surely there are some songs I like very much, and some of them are the following: Broken sky/Long Day, City of Destruction, Back to the City and The Ways of a Fool, to name a few.

The album is filled with very beautiful melodies (which is my soft spot), many interesting turns, and of course excellent musicianship, not to mention Neil Morse's singing abilities that are adding a lot to the album. The Similitude of a Dream is not an easy album; it needs some time in order to appreciate it. But once you do, it will satisfy you without any doubt. Recommended! 4 stars from me

The first Neal Morse Band album was a deliberate exercise in Neal Morse shifting gear from his usual approach to making albums. Don't have a plan, don't have anything pre-prepared, just go into the studio as a group and cook everything up collaboratively.

To my mind, it was a major success - and clearly enough people thought the same to make it worth giving the Neal Morse Band idea another shot. This time, however, things seem to have shifted a little, with Neal taking on a bit more of a "band leader" role - seeing how it's his name on the cover and all - whilst not totally abandoning the collaborative approach of the group.

In particular, The Similitude of a Dream is based on a concept decided by Neal (it's an adaptation of The Pilgrim's Progress), with lyrics all written by Neal, and in a format which was ultimately decided by Neal. (Reportedly, he and Mike Portnoy had a disagreement over whether it should be a 1CD or 2CD release - Mike favoured a shorter album to prevent the concept from wearing thin - and Neal eventually got his way.)

That isn't to say this is a reversion to the approach of Neal's solo albums, or the time he spent as leader of Spock's Beard - an era when he'd write more or less all the music and lyrics and everyone else was there to execute his vision and did only minimal songwriting of their own. Once again, the credit for the music goes to all the band members - and once again, you can hear that, with more nods to pastoral-era Genesis and Pink Floyd (for example) than is typical for Neal's usual writing approach, plus some even wilder stylistic curveballs (there's bits of Draw the Line which seem almost nu-metal influenced, in terms of having a hard, funky instrumental basis which you could imagine a nu-metal vocalist rapping over at points). All this is the the sort of thing which also felt novel and interesting on The Grand Experiment, and so seem likely to be the contribution of other band members.

The shift here, then, seems to be that Neal has taken on the responsibility for providing the broader structure and concept, whilst the band as a whole take that framework and put the meat on the bones. It's a change which makes a lot of sense; The Grand Experiment was successful, of course, but it's the sort of thing which can only really be truly novel once. Coming into the studio with at least an outlined concept to hand is the sort of thing which focuses the mind, and having that sort of focus saves the album from being a mere rehash of what came before.

Using The Pilgrim's Progress as a concept also makes a lot of sense in terms of Neal's wider career; although Neal seems to be more open than he was back in the 2000s to be involved in projects producing music which is secular, or at least not overtly and explicitly Christian, he does like to involve his religion in his art. One of the things which is genuinely good about the prog albums in his solo career is that he doesn't just restrict himself to the same very limited set of themes which more conventional Christian Rock artists tend to rag on about over and over again. He's aware that Christianity has a rich cultural history behind it, and he'll use that to do concept albums based on obscure parts of the Bible, or Church history, or - in this case - Christian allegorical fiction.

In addition, the whole "weird allegorical journey" thing which The Pilgrim's Progress is based on is, of course, exactly the sort of thing which has been the substance of a bunch of great prog concept albums of the past - The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway by Genesis is exactly that concept, in particular. (For that matter, so's Spock's Beard's Snow...) Basing the album on the structure of the original story means that John Bunyan is, in effect, an additional collaborator - because in his lyrics Neal is interpreting Bunyan's characters and plot, rather than coming up with his own story from whole cloth.

The end result is something which is both different from what Neal Morse would have come up with adapting The Pilgrim's Progress all by himself and then just handing down the finished compositions to the band, and different from what the Neal Morse Band would have come up with just wandering into the studio with no fixed plan for a second time. As such, despite all the retro-prog influences on it, the album still seems fresh in the context of Neal's prog discography, and helps to continue the revitalisation of that side of his output which the Neal Morse Band represents.

5 stars no question about it. I hadn't heard much of Neal Morse's music before, aside from a song called "The Light" and a few live videos of Transatlantic performing with Daniel Gildenlow, but after reading some very complimentary reviews(the most complimentary of which was found on Mike Portnoy' s blog) I decided to buy the album, and I haven't stopped recommending this to everybody I know. My first thoughts upon listening were that I found this much easier to listen to as a whole compared to other double disc concept albums. Other than feeling the need to play just "Ways of a Fool" which is certainly the catchiest and strongest track, I play this whole thing start to finish each time I listen without ever feeling like it drags. This was one of the last albums I bought in 2016 but it is almost certainly my favourite. The musicians are skilled enough to really show off, but they never feel like they are overdoing it, but the real surprise for me here were the vocals from all four musicians, simply incredible. I can't recommend this enough

Well, where do I start? Neal Morse - says - "I want to preach about my born-again xtian god-delusion, again". "H'm haven't you done that to death already?" says a.n. other - "I'll tell you what - I will base the concept on a well known xtian allegorical tale - Bunyan's The Pilgrims Progress!". "I wouldn't call it that - it won't sell - give it a proggy name". "Good idea" muses Morse, "I'll call it 'The similitude of a dream' - How's that?" "OK"...... Well , I listened to CD1 and the lyrics didn't twist my melon until - "Breath of Angels" - I had to turn it off immediately! I gave it a second chance - and got as far as CD2 - before his preaching got to me again. The musicianship is awesome , the prog music equally the best around at the moment. - Oy! Morse why didn't you include an edition with an instrumental CD for me to enjoy? I will re-capitulate and go-over my review - in terms of it's musical content - and Like I said - Had the CD come with an instrumental version - the instrumental Cd would receive a the maximum score - like I said the musical content and musicianship CANNOT be bettered by any prog act at the moment! The religious context of the CD would be acceptable - if it was applied in a yes-like vague spiritual haze of strange lyrics - like Tales from Topographic oceans - a prog epic about the teachings of an eastern religious guru. But the lyrics are appalling and cloyingly preachy (Again). If Mr Morse had a sense of fun / history - perhaps he could produce a CD about a gang of U.S. youths and call it "The battle of Gettysburg" or something similar - or an epic about the White-Europeans land-grab and their massacre of the earlier Indian cultures! BUT..... I'm afraid his narration, is of a man, - sick of earthly delights - realises that real life only happens when you're dead but has no actual proof that this is the case - just his smug - I KNOW!!! YOU FOOLS! attitude. Well he would have got more interest from me - if he has told a tale about a similarly deluded pilgrim, wandering about Manchester with a bomb in his back-pack for 2.5 hours before taking 22 men, women and children with him into oblivion because "HE KNOWS" that he will get 36 virgins in his city in the sky. Neal - give it a rest!

In the months leading up to the release of "The Similitude of a Dream" it was clear in all the promotional material that Neal was particularly excited about this one. In more than once instance his drummer, Mike Portnoy, was even quoted in saying it was the album of his career. Since its release Neal even said on his Facebook page that it was his favorite album of his.

It's worth noting that "The Similitude" marks as the second album with the new lineup aptly named "The Neal Morse Band." Up until 2015, Neal Morse's solo albums mainly consisted of him, his drummer Portnoy, bassist Randy George, and a host of guest musicians who show up occasionally throughout the music. But with the release of 2015's "The Grand Experiment," Neal brought into the band two full-time musicians: Eric Gillette on guitar, and Bill Hubauer on keys. Both of which are also excellent vocalists. With the release of "The Grand Experiment" it was clear that Gillette and Hubauer had contributed somewhat to the songwriting style, giving the album a different flavor than the preceding Neal Morse albums. With this in mind, I looked forward to hearing another installment of this new flavor.

So how do I feel about it? It's pretty much the best album Neal has made since "Solo Scriptura," but I wouldn't say that it's better. The sharp, dramatic quality that holds together the excellence of his earlier concept albums like "Testimony" or "One" has been somewhat dulled here. Having said that, it was refreshing to hear another concept album that covers deep, theological ground, and "Similitude" does that in a very interesting way: writing the songs on themes from the 1678 book "Pilgrim's Progress."

So how's the music itself? Every time I listen through it I feel like I can hear the joy of everyone in the band. It just sounds like they had a blast recording this album. I was glad to see that Gillette and Hubauer have moments singing lead vocals. Even Portnoy sings on one track. The diverse character of each vocalist allows for them to fit different characters in different scenes, such as when Neal is playing the part of the sloth in "Sloth," urging the main character to sleep ("Why do you work so hard?"), and Gillette gloriously enters as the main character with lyrics climaxing on the line "I can't sleep or slumber or I could get lost here." There's also a very catchy track near the end of disc one with a possible Beatles influence, "The Ways of a Fool," which also has some excellent vocal tradeoffs as well as harmonizations that seem reminiscent of the Beach Boys. "Breath of Angels" has a gospel touch to it, "The Man In the Iron Cage" is built around a hard, bluesy guitar riff, and "Freedom Song" has more of a country/folk flair to it. Needless to say, the album diversely covers many of the styles seen on previous Neal Morse albums.

Would I recommend this album? Of course. Is it the best Neal Morse album? I wouldn't put it in my top three favorites. Overall I give it four stars, but it may be deserving of four and a half.

I've been a Neal Morse fan ever since High School when someone turned me on to Spock's Beard, and have been following him ever since, through Transatlantic and his solo career. As a long time student of his music and discography, I can tell you this: he has many, many ideas, all of them great, but he is best when he is collaborating. I love his solo career from Testimony through One, Question Mark, Sola Scriptura and Testimony 2, but felt he slipped a little on albums like Lifeline and Momentum, and even the first Neal Morse Band album The Grand Experiment. For the first time, it seemed like he was running out of inspiration, but I think in hindsight he was just doing too much himself. Randy George and Mike Portnoy have always been excellent collaborators, but they can only do so much when it comes to the lead instrumentation. The Similitude of a Dream is, I think, one of Neal Morse's finest albums ever, and I think that credit is due to the new members of his band, Eric Gillette and Bill Hubauer. Neal's lead guitar parts have never been particularly inspired, and I think he does better work on the keyboards, so bringing in a guitar player to fill that role must have freed Neal up more to work on concept and songwriting, with the rest of the band chipping in on that second part. For the first time, as far as I can tell, the lyric credits go to Neal as always, but music is credited to all five members. It really, really shows. The sheer volume of variance of mood, theme and genre here eclipses anything even on Testimony or Snow, perhaps Neal's most broadly creative albums.

Concept and Story: I know the concept is based on a Christian Allegory called the Pilgrim's Progress, but the lyrics skew toward a more broad appeal, speaking on human nature and spiritual themes without being overtly religious. As a non-religious person, I've never had a problem with Neal's more overt religious themes, but I connect more with the journey here and the more universal application of the themes. If there's a criticism to be made here, it's that the two discs can often feel like they tell the same story in two slightly different ways: man lives in corruption, struggles, casts around searching for meaning, finds it, loses it, is at his lowest, and eventually finds redemption in spirituality. These are familiar themes to Neal, but the enhanced creative force behind this album seems to have reinvigorated the story and given it significantly more punch and depth.

Music: Overall, the first disc is much stronger, but the second disc contains plenty of excellent music. My personal favorites are City of Destruction, Makes No Sense, Back to the City, So Far Gone, Breathe of Angels, Shortcut to Salvation, Road Called Home, Sloth More, and the climactic string of instrumental pieces. As I said before, the creativity is just at a level rarely seen in Neal's other work. Admittedly, a lot of the heavier stuff reminds me of Dream Theater in the gothic metal kind of melodies, but Neal's never been one to be entirely original, and there's nothing wrong with inspiration. I also have to mention, I don't know which of the two new guys does it, but on songs like Ways of a Fool, Makes no Sense, and a couple others, there's another vocalist that takes over on the higher notes, presumably that Neal isn't able to hit anymore, and the voice is quite unique and beautiful sounding. I have to mention also, there are several instrumental sections, usually a showcase for a guitar solo, that just hit that prog sweet spot, like the second half of The Slough, a jazzy drum-piano-bass backing, reminiscent of the breakdown in "Open Wide the Flood Gates Part 1", that kind of stuff has also been absent from Neal's more recent work, and it is more than welcome to return.

Overall, this will hopefully signify a creative resurgence in Neal's work as he opens up and continues to collaborate rather than do everything himself. Again, nothing against that, but even someone like him only has so many ideas left in him, and almost all great musicians work better together. The Great Adventure is an equal album to this in almost all respects, and I look forward to seeing what they do next together.