TESTIMONY LIVE

What is this??? I love God, but I don't need hear this in a rock show... When I go to a concert of Prog Rock (or another Rock Styles) I want to distract myself, I want to fly in the magic that is music! I don't need a guy crying to me why Jesus is his saviour, or how your life was empty without God. I think religion is a thing extremely personal. Well, Mr. Morse is a great composer, a good entertainer, but his new project don't please me. The songs aren't so good like Spock's Beard, and when they seemed religious hymns... is horrible!!! The musicians aren't rockers like the Bearders. They try, but don't get it! And I don't think that Mike Portnoy makes a great difference in this holed boat. If you want to see the best of Neal Morse live, get the Spock's Beard "Don't Try This at Home" DVD. It's WONDERFUL !!!

This is really a great performance. I love it from the first till the last second. I've seen the show in Tilburg. At first we didnt know what we heart. Neal told us about his dauhter who was born with a hole in her heart. And it was a big hole. She had to be operated and even then ... Neal and his wife started praying to God and asked Him to save their girl. When Neal was in Holland for a performing, his wife told him that she has said to God: "I will give my heart to you for the rest of my life if you can only save the life of our daughter. In the next view days the hole in the baby's heart shut completely. She is now a bright young girl. Neal was so greatfull that he would tell the whole world about this miracle. That is what you hear in his songs. Gratefulness. It's a fantastic album. A must have. You can hear it for yourself. The music from Spocks Beard en the lyrics from the heart of Neal Morse. A brilliant combination.

This DVD brings Neal Morse's personal and professional sojourn to complete fruition. His journey is one of a lifetime and although his music is big part of the entire picture, it is only one piece of the equation in the grand scheme of things.

Morse took his "Testimony" album to the masses in 2003 and the complete performance is documented over the course of this two DVD set. He had a fine cast of musicians to back his project and he takes full advantage of all their various talents in a live setting, bringing his life story to light before his appreciative fans.

The audience seemingly becomes one with Neal and his band and not a stone is unturned during this fantastic performance. His brand of progressive Christian rock appeals to a broad base of listeners. It rocks progressively and very tastefully. There is a strong definitive message here; however, the music is what sets the precedence then everything falls in line right behind it. The music is so good it is hard not to like. Morse pours his heart and soul into this performance and you know that it is a genuine thing for him and his band.

Never was there a time where I felt complacent or bored watching this DVD. Morse is a vibrant entertainer and what makes it so enjoyable to view is his incredible energy and enthusiasm for his music and beliefs. He is a gifted vocalist, guitar and keyboard player and never is it more obvious than during this concert. Yes, this certainly is a "Testimony" and in many ways.

© Keith "MuzikMan" Hannaleck-http://www.muzikreviews.comMay 31, 2005

What could we say about this title? First of all, that it's the Testimony album on live, with eight incredible musicians on stage. Neal Morse & Co. offers us a splendid peformance, full of feeling, passion, and thinness. Mr. Morse give away to the audience a emotional and sensitive story of his own life. The technical level is unsurpassable. Mr. Portnoy, Mr. George, and Mr. Altizer: wonderful! Special mention to Mr. Baldwin on keyboards. The show has three covers: two from Transatlantic and one from Spock's Beard list.

This DVD is a great experience, I ordered a copy and waited 2 weeks for its arrival (This DVD was not released in my country, Argentina), and I can tell you it was well worth the waiting.

What we have here is a masterpiece of an album played in its entirety by an amazing group of musicians who play this music with true passion and emotion. The rhythmic section is rich and dinamic, with Mark Leniger adding a lot with his percussion and Portnoy with his.... you know who he is. I didn't knew of any of this performers before watching this DVD (with the exceptions of Neal and Mike) and I got to tell you, all these musicians are top notch, they exceeded my expectations. I was specially surprised with Eric Brenton's skills, wow what a complete and talented musician!

In addition you get 50+ min of music in disc 2, two songs (and what songs!) from Transatlantic (a half of Transatlantic is on stage) and one from his Spock's Beard days. Stranger In Your Soul alone is worth buying this DVD. Also included on disc 2 is a documentary wich lasts for more than an hour. Filmed with their own cameras, and linked by Neal's comentaries, is a nice entertainment, like a day by day diary, with a lot backstage footage, the band on the bus etc. as well as excerpts from other shows of the tour.

Some may complain about the lack of a 5.1 track, but in the other hand the sound quality is superb. The video resolution is very good also.

A must have.

Incredible concert DVD release by Neal Morse showing him and the band at their very best performing the whole Testimony (2001) album and also a couple of non-solo selections. This makes for excellent viewing, in my opinion. Christian lyrics aside, Neal is a musical genious (as are others on here, watch out for the sax player, the guitarist, you get my gist! :D) A note to hebrius, I don't think you should have posted your particular 'review' of this amazing live concert DVD, it is completely out of place. You should have known before watching it that you were about to watch _Christian_ Progressive Rock (CPR).. If you didn't, please don't moan - Neal is only playing and doing what feels he should do by God (and that sounds good to me!), especially after hearing about his baby girl born with the hole in her heart, if you were him you'd probably be shouting out all of the glories of the Lord!!. But seriously, with an album title such as "Testimony", song titles that it contains, I don't know what you expected. I absolutely love Neal Morse, have done while he was in SB, and love his musicianship even more since quitting, and I'm looking forward to Testimony 2. If you think Neal is just a moneymaker or whatever, you're wrong - the Inner Circle, which costs something like $10/month for access you get a bi-monthly CD/DVD, regular emails with photos/videos, and the Inner Circle forum (its a good deal I think, to get 'rare' demos and hear stuff before it comes out and great live shows) - now, because I did a small job for Neal once (all I had to do was take a couple of guitars after the Sola Scriptura tour gig in Shepherd's Bush back to Gibson, also in London the following day as his manager couldn't). For doing this I was given a gift-pack with all kinds of signed CDs/DVDs, got all my CDs/DVDs signed and met Neal after the show, and have been given lifetime Inner Circle access (so you'll probably see reviews of the Inner Circle releases from me :P)... I really believe Neal took the right step in leaving SB, they are doing excellently without him and he is doing excellently at what he does best, Progrock based on Christian themes. I am personally not Christian - well, I am Christian, Jewish, Muslim, and Hindu and all the religions. They all 'preach' the same thing, as long as you live a good and fruitful life and are dedicated to God the name doesn't matter, the subject matter is still the same. So I am not "Christian" only, yet I appreciate the beauty of this music. I'm sorry you don't, hebrius(not directed to hebrius only, to all those with this 'view')!. 10/10.

This is Neal post Spock's, forging a path totally different from the really interesting musical ideas he fostered with the band he spent the 90's developing turning them into a Neo-prog force, that has created tremendous art over the years. In 2003, he created a new path that was more personal and more to the heart. He assembled a great ensemble to forge his vision into something that was truly endearing to the listener. Neal wanted to make his testimony as strong as he could and bring his passion to the world. He probably felt Spock's Beard wasn't the right vehicle to achieve his statement, thus we have a solo project that goes to new places. Many feel it's his masterpiece. 4.5 stars.