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Ty1020 View Drop Down
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    Posted: July 04 2005 at 15:44
I recently got into Transatlantic, which was my first exposure to Neal Morse, and I really loved it. I'm thinking Spock's Beard (another band I haven't listened to) would sound similar, so if I'm going to get one of their albums, which one should it be? Should I check out Neal's solo efforts, too?
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Points: 20 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: July 04 2005 at 15:49
Beware of Darkness and V
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Points: 3830 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: July 04 2005 at 15:50
I'm really partial to Snow. For more TA-like stuff, though, get V.  But Snow is their best work, IMO.
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Points: 27802 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: July 04 2005 at 15:57
They are all good,but my favorites are Snow,V and The Light.And Neal's solo albums Testimony and One are excellent cds,very proggy(Mike Portnoy plays drums on both,which is a definite plus).


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Points: 20694 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: July 04 2005 at 15:57

Spock's Beard is really different from Transatlantic. I agree with Man Overboard, you should start with V.

IMHO the best music Morse has ever made is One, closely followed by Testimony. The Spock's Beard albums before V are more aquired taste ... I LOVE them, but it all depends on how you like Neal's vocals, and his approach to songwriting. 



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Points: 2703 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: July 04 2005 at 16:38

Think you should start with "Light" to be followed by "V". These two are the best. "Light is their debut, - hence this parcticular order.

Enjoy.

Also "Testimony" by Neal Morse solo is terrific (one of the very best albums last year, and definitely the best double album)
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Points: 20694 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: July 04 2005 at 16:43
Originally posted by eugene eugene wrote:

Think you should start with "Light" to be followed by "V". These two are the best. "Light is their debut, - hence this parcticular order.

Enjoy.

Also "Testimony" by Neal Morse solo is terrific (one of the very best albums last year, and definitely the best double album)

The Light is very good, but considering that he currently only knows Transatlantic, it may be too much. But if he already knows some 70s prog records, it should be no problem ...
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Points: 17724 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: July 04 2005 at 16:44

I agree... If you like Transatlantic, start with 'V'.. its superb, followed by 'Snow'. 

Personally, I like them all, but 'The Kindness Of Strangers' is also a standout IMHO.

I only have 'Testimony' as a solo album, and while there is undoubtedly great music on there, I would say 2 things about it.  Firstly, my version (S Ed) is 135 minutes long!  It's longer than Apocalypse Now, and is quite a lot to digest. 

Secondly, you'll need to be OK about a barrage of overtly Christian lyrics, about how misguided he was, and how he's let the holy spirit enter him... for someone like me who has a strict christian upbringing, its a bit hard to take.
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V is definitely their least worst.
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Points: 20694 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: July 04 2005 at 16:49
Originally posted by fandango fandango wrote:

I agree... If you like Transatlantic, start with 'V'.. its superb, followed by 'Snow'. 

Personally, I like them all, but 'The Kindness Of Strangers' is also a standout IMHO.

I only have 'Testimony' as a solo album, and while there is undoubtedly great music on there, I would say 2 things about it.  Firstly, my version (S Ed) is 135 minutes long!  It's longer than Apocalypse Now, and is quite a lot to digest. 

Secondly, you'll need to be OK about a barrage of overtly Christian lyrics, about how misguided he was, and how he's let the holy spirit enter him... for someone like me who has a strict christian upbringing, its a bit hard to take.

I'm not christian at all, and I don't have any problem with it. He NEVER get's preachy. He never TELLS you what to believe. He just explains in great detail what happend to him.
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Points: 1125 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: July 04 2005 at 16:51
V is their best effort.
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Points: 17724 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: July 04 2005 at 16:54
Originally posted by MikeEnRegalia MikeEnRegalia wrote:

Originally posted by fandango fandango wrote:

I agree... If you like Transatlantic, start with 'V'.. its superb, followed by 'Snow'. 

Personally, I like them all, but 'The Kindness Of Strangers' is also a standout IMHO.

I only have 'Testimony' as a solo album, and while there is undoubtedly great music on there, I would say 2 things about it.  Firstly, my version (S Ed) is 135 minutes long!  It's longer than Apocalypse Now, and is quite a lot to digest. 

Secondly, you'll need to be OK about a barrage of overtly Christian lyrics, about how misguided he was, and how he's let the holy spirit enter him... for someone like me who has a strict christian upbringing, its a bit hard to take.

I'm not christian at all, and I don't have any problem with it. He NEVER get's preachy. He never TELLS you what to believe. He just explains in great detail what happend to him.

I guess you won't be as sensitive to it, if you didn't have to go to church three times every Sunday as a boy, whether you wanted to or not!
Music has always been a matter of energy to me. On some nights I believe that a car with the needle on empty can run 50 more miles if you have the right music very loud on the radio. Hunter S Thompson
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Points: 2632 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: July 04 2005 at 16:55

Ty1020:

I believe it is always best to start at the beginning.  I, too, first heard Neal Morse with Transatlantic.  And when I decided to start listening to SB, I started at the beginning.  And I was very glad I did.  The Light is an exceptional album, and one of the best debuts by any band in any genre (see my review for more).

That's my two cents...

Peace.
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Points: 20694 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: July 04 2005 at 17:05
Originally posted by fandango fandango wrote:

I guess you won't be as sensitive to it, if you didn't have to go to church three times every Sunday as a boy, whether you wanted to or not!

I guess you're right. Here in Germany religion is generally not so big a deal ... there is no sunday school.

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Points: 27802 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: July 04 2005 at 18:04
Originally posted by MikeEnRegalia MikeEnRegalia wrote:

Originally posted by fandango fandango wrote:

I agree... If you like Transatlantic, start with 'V'.. its superb, followed by 'Snow'. 

Personally, I like them all, but 'The Kindness Of Strangers' is also a standout IMHO.

I only have 'Testimony' as a solo album, and while there is undoubtedly great music on there, I would say 2 things about it.  Firstly, my version (S Ed) is 135 minutes long!  It's longer than Apocalypse Now, and is quite a lot to digest. 

Secondly, you'll need to be OK about a barrage of overtly Christian lyrics, about how misguided he was, and how he's let the holy spirit enter him... for someone like me who has a strict christian upbringing, its a bit hard to take.

I'm not christian at all, and I don't have any problem with it. He NEVER get's preachy. He never TELLS you what to believe. He just explains in great detail what happend to him.

I agree with you there Mike,I don't think Neal is preachy on either of his post SB solo efforts.He just tells you personally what has happened to him.


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Points: 876 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: July 04 2005 at 18:23
I would take 'V' and 'Kindness of strangers' a close 2nd
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Points: 16351 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: July 04 2005 at 18:25
I believe there is another thread like this in the "Polls section", but whatever. Buy Snow and V, both are great, and also Kindness of Strangers is great too. At times Neal Morse does get a bit on the "preachy" side.
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Points: 17724 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: July 04 2005 at 18:35

Originally posted by King of Loss King of Loss wrote:

I believe there is another thread like this in the "Polls section", but whatever. Buy Snow and V, both are great, and also Kindness of Strangers is great too. At times Neal Morse does get a bit on the "preachy" side.

I'd agree with every word.  It would be rather interesting if someone did a poll about Neal Morse's solo lyrics and how people felt about them, and then had an opportunity to say whether they had a christian upbringing or not!
Music has always been a matter of energy to me. On some nights I believe that a car with the needle on empty can run 50 more miles if you have the right music very loud on the radio. Hunter S Thompson
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Points: 20694 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: July 04 2005 at 18:41
Originally posted by fandango fandango wrote:

Originally posted by King of Loss King of Loss wrote:

I believe there is another thread like this in the "Polls section", but whatever. Buy Snow and V, both are great, and also Kindness of Strangers is great too. At times Neal Morse does get a bit on the "preachy" side.

I'd agree with every word.  It would be rather interesting if someone did a poll about Neal Morse's solo lyrics and how people felt about them, and then had an opportunity to say whether they had a christian upbringing or not!

It would be interesting ... but I don't particularly like religious discussions in forums. But it would be a difficult poll, too. You'd have to multiply

I'm an atheist/I'm mildly christian/I'm a fanatic christian/I'm a member of another religion

with

I love the lyrics and can relate to them/I don't have an opinion on the lyrics, they don't bother me/I hate these preachy lyrics.  
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Points: 32995 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: July 04 2005 at 18:43
Originally posted by fandango fandango wrote:

Originally posted by King of Loss King of Loss wrote:

I believe there is another thread like this in the "Polls section", but whatever. Buy Snow and V, both are great, and also Kindness of Strangers is great too. At times Neal Morse does get a bit on the "preachy" side.

I'd agree with every word.  It would be rather interesting if someone did a poll about Neal Morse's solo lyrics and how people felt about them, and then had an opportunity to say whether they had a christian upbringing or not!

I don't think he's preachy. He just sings about his own experience (as weird as that might be!)
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