Best Spock’s Beard album?
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Topic: Best Spock’s Beard album?
Posted By: Ty1020
Subject: Best Spock’s Beard album?
Date Posted: July 04 2005 at 15:44
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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? |
Replies:
Posted By: Spanish
Date Posted: July 04 2005 at 15:49
| Beware of Darkness and V |
Posted By: Man Overboard
Date Posted: July 04 2005 at 15:50
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I'm really partial to Snow. For more TA-like stuff, though, get V. But Snow is their best work, IMO.
------------- https://soundcloud.com/erin-susan-jennings" rel="nofollow - Bedroom guitarist". Composer, Arranger, Producer. Perfection may not exist, but I may still choose to serve Perfection. Commissions considered. |
Posted By: TheProgtologist
Date 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). -------------  |
Posted By: MikeEnRegalia
Date Posted: July 04 2005 at 15:57
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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. ------------- https://awesomeprog.com/users/Mike" rel="nofollow">Recently listened to: 
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Posted By: eugene
Date Posted: July 04 2005 at 16:38
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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) ------------- carefulwiththataxe |
Posted By: MikeEnRegalia
Date Posted: July 04 2005 at 16:43
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 ... ------------- https://awesomeprog.com/users/Mike" rel="nofollow">Recently listened to:
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eugene wrote:Posted By: Jared
Date Posted: July 04 2005 at 16:44
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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. ------------- 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 |
Posted By: The Hemulen
Date Posted: July 04 2005 at 16:45
| V is definitely their least worst. |
Posted By: MikeEnRegalia
Date Posted: July 04 2005 at 16:49
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. ------------- https://awesomeprog.com/users/Mike" rel="nofollow">Recently listened to:
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Posted By: Fragile
Date Posted: July 04 2005 at 16:51
V is their best effort.
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Posted By: Jared
Date Posted: July 04 2005 at 16:54
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 |
Posted By: maani
Date Posted: July 04 2005 at 16:55
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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. |
Posted By: MikeEnRegalia
Date Posted: July 04 2005 at 17:05
I guess you're right. Here in Germany religion is generally not so big a deal ... there is no sunday school. ------------- https://awesomeprog.com/users/Mike" rel="nofollow">Recently listened to:
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Posted By: TheProgtologist
Date Posted: July 04 2005 at 18:04
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. ------------- |
Posted By: transend
Date Posted: July 04 2005 at 18:23
| I would take 'V' and 'Kindness of strangers' a close 2nd |
Posted By: King of Loss
Date 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. |
Posted By: Jared
Date Posted: July 04 2005 at 18:35
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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 |
Posted By: MikeEnRegalia
Date Posted: July 04 2005 at 18:41
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. ------------- https://awesomeprog.com/users/Mike" rel="nofollow">Recently listened to:
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Posted By: Snow Dog
Date Posted: July 04 2005 at 18:43
I don't think he's preachy. He just sings about his own experience (as weird as that might be!) ------------- http://www.last.fm/user/Snow_Dog" rel="nofollow"> 
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Posted By: MikeEnRegalia
Date Posted: July 04 2005 at 18:46
The one situation where he goes over the top is on the DVD: The story about his daughter being miraculously healed. It just sounds too good to be true. But that has nothing to do with his albums, and if it really happened that way, there's no reason not to tell the story. ------------- https://awesomeprog.com/users/Mike" rel="nofollow">Recently listened to:
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Posted By: Snow Dog
Date Posted: July 04 2005 at 18:59
Well he actually says that God spoke to him while he was out running (Neal Morse not God) and told him to leave Spocks Beard. I guess thats why he has to tell his story via music. Great Composer, but you have to wonder! ------------- http://www.last.fm/user/Snow_Dog" rel="nofollow">
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Posted By: MikeEnRegalia
Date Posted: July 04 2005 at 19:06
I read that too ... but a few months later, I read a more in depth interview, and there he said that it wasn't like a voice was telling him to leave the band. It was more like he felt the need to sing about God, and that was something the other members of the band won't do. That happened while Snow was being written, and in fact a lot of the problems he was facing can be read between the lines in the Snow lyrics. And that is also what makes Snow such an exceptional album. The story's odd, but it being that way suddenly makes sense when you look at it that way. Snow (the character) is Neal Morse, but Neal didn't write it obvious enough for the other members (or the fans) to realise that ... until he announced that he would leave the band. Hence the track "I will go" ...
------------- https://awesomeprog.com/users/Mike" rel="nofollow">Recently listened to:
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Posted By: Snow Dog
Date Posted: July 04 2005 at 19:10
He modified his story then, because its not exactly what he said when he posted a letter to the fans on the SB website. Its nice that he finished Snow before he left though! ------------- http://www.last.fm/user/Snow_Dog" rel="nofollow">
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Posted By: King of Loss
Date Posted: July 04 2005 at 19:10
Yea, that is why Snow is my favorite Spock's Beard album and because its such an exceptional album. I love the album very much, even though there are parts where I don't really like. About that poll, I think I'm going to create one in the Polls area. |
Posted By: MikeEnRegalia
Date Posted: July 04 2005 at 19:18
The obvious part that doesn't fit in is "Looking For Answers" ... Nick D'Virgilio wrote it. It really shows that the band wanted to evolve in a different direction than where Morse was headed. That would be proven later by FE and Octane. Brilliant albums, but they lack the essential parts of SB: The Gentle Giant influences are gone, the counterpoint brilliance, the vocal arrangements ... it's a completely different beast now. ------------- https://awesomeprog.com/users/Mike" rel="nofollow">Recently listened to:
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Posted By: King of Loss
Date Posted: July 04 2005 at 19:21
Well,I still like Octane and FE but I agree, its nothing special now.... And I have to buy both Neal Morse and SB albums... |
Posted By: boo boo
Date Posted: July 04 2005 at 19:30
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their debut album...the light. |
Posted By: MikeEnRegalia
Date Posted: July 04 2005 at 19:30
Well, I really DON'T like FE. It has some good moments, but the epic in particular seems absolutely lifeless to me. Octane is quite good. You just have to accept that it's not prog anymore. If you look at it objectively and imagine that this was a debut of a band, without the history that they have ... you would consider it to be a nice pop album with progressive tendencies. I like such albums a lot, and I love Ryo's solo album, but it does no longer posess the magic of the previous albums.
------------- https://awesomeprog.com/users/Mike" rel="nofollow">Recently listened to:
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Posted By: eugene
Date Posted: July 04 2005 at 19:55
I beg to differ. I think that FE is a weak album, but understandably, as they had to live without Neal Morse then. All in all it is quite listenable. But "octane" IMO is a complete fiasco, and if one had not known this is SB, he would not recognise it. Looking at it objectively and imagining this was a debut of an unknown band, I can imagine that I would never follow this band, as it falls into my category of "nice pop band not deserving my time". Solo album by Ryo Okumoto is to the contary very good one, in line with Spock's Beard previous works. ------------- carefulwiththataxe |
Posted By: ahvilela
Date Posted: July 04 2005 at 20:52
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"The Light" is the best, after "Beware of Darkness"
------------- What happened to this song we once knew so well,We must have waited all our lives for this moment |
Posted By: herbie53
Date Posted: July 04 2005 at 23:55
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My first contact to SPOCK'S BEARD music was through the TRANSATLANTIC, that I've buyed because of Roine Stolt and Pete Trewavas (I'm a fan of FLOWER KINGS & MARILLION). When I perceived that the mind behind TRANSATLANTIC was Neal Morse, then I decided to buy the live DVD "Don't Try This at Home". Well, SPOCK'S BEARD is very very very better than TRANSATLANTIC. The problem with the supergroup I think is the abscense of a major contact between the musicians. They come from different schools in Prog Rock and the chemistry didn't flow perfectly. But in SPOCK'S BEARD the sound goes naturally and they can make fantastic songs... I will indicate for you "The Light" and "V" (each one with two suites, like Transatlantic albuns...), but if you like conceptual albuns, with short songs that complete one to another, like PF "The Wall" or GEN "Lamb Lies..." then try the fantastic "Snow" |
Posted By: Ty1020
Date Posted: July 05 2005 at 00:12
Oh, yeah, I've been into prog for quite a while, I've just never got around to listening to Morse's work for some reason. So The Light is similar to 70's prog? Any bands in particular that it sounds like? |
Posted By: Man With Hat
Date Posted: July 05 2005 at 02:01
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The Light And then The Kindness Of Strangers And then Snow ------------- Dig me...But don't...Bury me I'm running still, I shall until, one day, I hope that I'll arrive Warning: Listening to jazz excessively can cause a laxative effect. |
Posted By: Yurkspb
Date Posted: July 05 2005 at 02:35
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The first Spock's Beard CD I bought was V. Cannot say it's a masterpiece or a bad album, somethng in between. As I see from this discussion, V is recommended quite often as the best album. So if this is the best, I guess I won't buy any SB albums anymore |
Posted By: the dragon
Date Posted: July 05 2005 at 03:00
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The Light!!!! ------------- Still alive... |
Posted By: MikeEnRegalia
Date Posted: July 05 2005 at 03:02
I don't like FE because it tries to sound like Neal Morse was still with them. Octane is more authentic. ------------- https://awesomeprog.com/users/Mike" rel="nofollow">Recently listened to:
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Posted By: MikeEnRegalia
Date Posted: July 05 2005 at 03:07
The reviews sum it up pretty well. SB have a number of influences, namely Gentle Giant, Yes and Genesis, also a little Kansas at times. They mix it with american rock and pop music, and that influence is growing stronger with each album. I like that mixture very much, but it annoys prog "purists". But if you like Transatlantic, I'm pretty sure that you won't have any problem with those influences. ------------- https://awesomeprog.com/users/Mike" rel="nofollow">Recently listened to:
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Posted By: BiGi
Date Posted: July 05 2005 at 03:10
I perfectly agree.  I would rate Beware of darkness as a good third! Octane is also very good, especially the suite (A flash before my eyes), though it's usually underrated because there is no more Neal Morse at the helm... The Light, Day for night and Feel Euphoria are weaker points in their discography. As concerns Snow, it surely contains interesting tracks, but IMHO there is far too much filler and I honestly find listening with attention to a double CD set quite a tiresome experience! (the same goes for the pretentious Neal Morse solo efforts...in which the lyrics play a significant role in making the listening process even heavier) Ok...now the diehard Neal Morse fans will blast me off the face of the planet! ------------- A flower? 
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Posted By: BiGi
Date Posted: July 05 2005 at 03:13
Come on! One man's trash could be another man's treasure! Maybe the other efforts of the band would suit you more than V...give them a try! ------------- A flower?
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Posted By: BiGi
Date Posted: July 05 2005 at 03:31
In my opinion the problem with Neal Morse was that he never gave room to his mates' composing skills, due to his overwhelming and prolific writing talent. After listening to the last two albums, I must say that it's a pity that Dave Meros was not given a chance before! In my opinion he's a very talented songwriter! ------------- A flower?
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Posted By: Sir Hogweed
Date Posted: July 05 2005 at 04:42
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If you're into 70's symphonic prog you might like Beware Of Darkness best. It really sounds like it is recorded somewhere in the 70's. They sound more like a mix of Yes, Genesis, Tull and The Beatles here than they sound like the Spock's Beard on other albums. If that's a good thing or not is for you to decide. The Light and V are the next most symphonic-oriented. |
Posted By: BiGi
Date Posted: July 05 2005 at 05:23
Don't forget the Gentle Giant influence on Thoughts The beatlesque component can be surely found in the title track, a cover of George Harrison's 1970 song! (check out Neal Morse's rendition of What is life? among the bonus tracks of One...it seems he's very fond of the late fab-four album All things must pass - a SHOULD have, in my opinion) ------------- A flower?
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Posted By: MorgothSunshine
Date Posted: July 05 2005 at 05:28
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Beware Of Darkness! No doubt! ------------- For every truth even the contrary is true... 
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Posted By: Teaflax
Date Posted: July 05 2005 at 05:35
Caveat emptor. I think Transtalantic are pretty good (with the exception of We All Need Light), but find Spock's Beard middling at best (and offensive at worst). I can listen to V and Snow, but it does require some skipping and some overlooking of overt AOR tendencies.
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Posted By: MikeEnRegalia
Date Posted: July 05 2005 at 05:36
I love those tendencies. ------------- https://awesomeprog.com/users/Mike" rel="nofollow">Recently listened to:
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Posted By: Teaflax
Date Posted: July 05 2005 at 05:40
Kansas/Boston/Toto/Survivor vocal sections with sudden incongruous bursts of Yes, GG and Genesis. The two sides seem to bear almost no relation to each other at all.
I've described SB as a bunch of kids growing up on mainstream US Rock radio trying to make Prog music based entirely on a description in a book or a retelling from a friend, without ever hearing the bands involved.
If you have no problem with incredibly mainstream vocals, harmonies and chord progressions, you will probably love SB.
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Posted By: Jared
Date Posted: July 05 2005 at 05:41
So do I, have long been a 'Journey' fan, no-one will make me feel guilty for liking them! ------------- 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 |
Posted By: Teaflax
Date Posted: July 05 2005 at 05:42
Fine, but can we please stop calling them a great Prog band? They're AOR Prog, which by all rights should be a subgenre of its own.
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Posted By: MikeEnRegalia
Date Posted: July 05 2005 at 05:47
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It is often a problem of "progheads" that they're so accustomed to inaccessible music like VdGG or GG, that they belittle bands like Spock's Beard and say that they're too mainstream. While that may be true for certain songs (namely ballads), the majority of Spock's Beard works would be immediately described as non-mainstream by people accustomed to REAL mainstream radio music. Listen to The Light, Go The Way You Go, The Water, In The Mouth Of Madness, Thoughts, ... it is NOT mainstream by any standard. ------------- https://awesomeprog.com/users/Mike" rel="nofollow">Recently listened to:
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Posted By: MikeEnRegalia
Date Posted: July 05 2005 at 05:48
Please stop this categorizing madness. ------------- https://awesomeprog.com/users/Mike" rel="nofollow">Recently listened to:
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Posted By: Sir Hogweed
Date Posted: July 05 2005 at 05:53
Thanks for the addition, BiGi. How could I forget GG? It was the section "Thoughts are like black ravens in the sky" that brung The Beatles into mind. And luckily I have the One bonus CD (also liked his Pete Townshend and Roger Daltrey impersonations) |
Posted By: Teaflax
Date Posted: July 05 2005 at 06:01
Listen, I can prove it on a slide rule. It's an empirical fact, not an opinion. Where the opinion comes in, is whether you like it or not.
It's an incontrovertible fact that the Blues/Rock style cadences, standard chord sequences, smooth harmonies, the shortness and repetition of melodic lines and overall lack of key changes or unexpected rhythmic phrasing in the vocal sections makes them provably similar to, say, Journey (and show me a die-hard SB fan who hates AOR).
As for "categorizing madness", it's extremely useful to have a common vocabulary when discussing music, because it cuts down on confusion. Maybe if someone had told me "unless you think Styx and Night Ranger are pretty good, you won't like Spock's Beard", I could have avoided one of the biggest musical disappointments I've had in the last ten years.
AOR Prog is extremely useful as a term for the kind of music which fuses instrumental prowess and inventiveness with the songwriting chops of Winger or Triumph. It's not a lie to say that it's in quite a different league than Symphonic Prog, Art Rock, Neoprog, RIO or all of the other subgenres that are already in place under the Big Prog umbrella.
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Posted By: MikeEnRegalia
Date Posted: July 05 2005 at 06:14
AOR Prog is an adequate description for 50% of the Spock's Beard material. I'd say that another 10% are standard AOR, and the remaining 40% are Prog with slight AOR influences. All that is not taking into account the non-Morse albums. BTW: I hate Styx. I love Spock's Beard. Go figure ... ------------- https://awesomeprog.com/users/Mike" rel="nofollow">Recently listened to:
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Posted By: Teaflax
Date Posted: July 05 2005 at 06:26
Fair enough - I haven't heard the non-Morse stuff either. I'd say the stuff I can handle is that last 40% (for instance The Great Nothing on V - it comes itchingly close to making me want to turn it off about two or three times during its length, but never quite).
Well, I'd be lying if I didn't say that.
 No, but honestly, that's what makes it so galling. You'll hear this great instrumental intro and then the vocals come in, and it's like some ingratiating Toto tune, and the suddenly: Prog fireworks for two minutes and then back to sub-Totoville again. It's such an odd combination to me.
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Posted By: Progzilla
Date Posted: July 05 2005 at 09:37
Just because people in general think one particular album is the best never means YOU will think the same way. On the other hand, if you don't like a band's most popular album at all, you probably won't like the rest. Why don't you give The Kindness of Strangers or Beware of Darkness a try, I personally think V is good, but I really started digging SB through the older albums. For me it is extremly difficult to compare SB's albums. They all hold the same solid high standard, and never fail to get you in a good mood. |
Posted By: King of Loss
Date Posted: July 05 2005 at 13:34
I totally agree. Some of the stuff he wrote on Octane and FE was brilliant. About Octane: It is probably one of the most underrated albums. People have been turned off because the fac that Neal Morse has left them, but remember there are still 4 really talented members left in the band.... |
Posted By: The Prognaut
Date Posted: July 05 2005 at 13:56
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I go for "Snow" on this one...
------------- break the circle reset my head wake the sleepwalker and i'll wake the dead |
Posted By: Meng
Date Posted: July 05 2005 at 15:00
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I think Beware of Darkness is absolutely superb. I've got a couple of their others but that's the one I usually listen to. A lot of people rate Snow but I couldn't get into it. ------------- "Who are all these people in my office anyway?" |
Posted By: limeyrob
Date Posted: July 05 2005 at 16:50
| Start at the beginning like I did. SB was one of the first bands I got into from this site and they do have their own distinctive style. V is definately their best but I am one of those who like to leave the best till last. I am not really a cherry picker. Especially with something as consistently good as SB. However having said that if this site's concensus is that a debut is a howler I may start with a later album. It's a question of judgement and preference - and a few hundred other factors. Snow is also good but lost me on the last couple of tracks |