Where to start with Neal Morse?

[Perpetual Change]

After seeing Transatlantic last night, my appreciation for Neal Morse has increased exponentially. I always liked him, but was never really interested enough to check out his solo stuff. Long story short; I am now. So where's a good place to begin?

For a little helpful background, I think The Whirlwind is by far the best Transatlantic album.

[Nick]

?

It's style and general way it's composed are similar to The Whirlwind.

[Jamesman42]

I'll second the ?. Also One and Sola Scriptura. Heck, get Testimony while you're at it. Lifeline may not be your best bet.

[Sigz]

I'd say Sola Scriptura, but I'm not super knowledgable when it comes to NM's solo stuff.

[juice]

I only have Sola Scriptura but i like it a lot and would recommend it.

[reneranucci]

His first 4 solo albums are all brilliant. You can´t go wrong with any of those. Personally, I would start with One or Testimony , but the later is a double album so maybe it would be too much of a good thing, I couldn´t get into it at first so I moved on towards his second and third albums before coming back to Testimony. ? and Sola Scriptura are excellent (SS is in my all time top 5 and features my favorite guitar solo ever, one of my favorite riffs and the only song that makes me cry everytime I listen to it) but I feel they are not "110% Neal Morse" as the others, in my opinion his early albums showcase his style in a more pure way (in the same way people would say I&W or SFAM are more representative of what DT is all about than their other albums).

Lifeline is slightly weaker but since it is Neal Morse we´re talking about, it is still full of   moments. Just listen to the melodies on the "Star for a day" section, they give me chills every time "You´ll get so hiiiiiiiiigh that you can flyyyy awaaaaaaaaaaaayyyyyyyy". And then "The eyes of the Savior" section, it is probably his most emotional moment since Testimony.

[dedSurroun]

Definitely ? first. Maybe followed by One and/or Testimony, and then Sola Scriptura. Get Lifeline last, if ever.

Also, as long as you understand what you'll be hearing, lyrically, go for it.

[sirbradford117]

? is my favorite.  Sola Scriptura may be the best synthesis of all his compositional styles, but the theological ideas he presents tick me off to the point where I don't enjoy spinning it anymore.

[ZBomber]

This thread must be so confusing to people who don't know ? is the name of an album. 

[KevShmev]

His first 4 solo albums are all brilliant.

I have a feeling you are forgetting about his first two solo albums.  Testimony was his third solo album, not his first.

Anyway, I would start with ? (by far his best solo album), Testimony (a bit too long, but has some tremendous individual songs) or his self-titled debut (more straight-forward and not that proggy, but still damn good).

[Perpetual Change]

This thread must be so confusing to people who don't know ? is the name of an album. 

Well, I'm not THAT oblivious.  I know that he has an album that's called ?.

So, it looks like I'll be starting with that.

Unless, of course, someone thinks a live album would be better. I generally find that live albums are a good starting point.

[ZBomber]

This thread must be so confusing to people who don't know ? is the name of an album. 

Well, I'm not THAT oblivious.  I know that he has an album that's called ?.

Didn't mean you, was just saying in general.

[The Letter M]

I'll echo the sentiments towards ? being a good place to start. I'll also add in One, but do yourself a favor and PLEASE get the Special Edition with the bonus disc! The extra tracks (non-covers) actually work into the album's story-line/concept and "King Jesus" is just a killer tune!

I'll also go out on a limb here and say go out and buy Testimony Live. You get the entire Testimony album in a live setting with Neal, Mike (yes! He plays drums live on it!), and 7 other great musicians playing (including Randy George, who wasn't on the studio release of Testimony). After the daunting 120+ minute Testimony, Neal and company come back on stage to play an amazing encore of "We All Need Some Light", "The Light" and "Stranger In Your Soul". It's one of my favorite live DVDs (next to Transatlantic's Live In Europe), and I would recommend it if you want to experience Neal in a recorded, live setting performing his solo stuff.

If you want a live album, I wouldn't mind suggesting ? Live, which covers the entire ? album, some tunes from the Special Edition of One.

Pretty much any of his live releases cover the majority of his albums (with One and some of Sola Scriptura, as well as a couple songs from Lifeline, having not been released on any live CD or DVD). Once you get a couple, you may get hooked and get them all, like I have... but, to be honest, that's quite alright! 

-Marc.

[reneranucci]

His first 4 solo albums are all brilliant.

I have a feeling you are forgetting about his first two solo albums.  Testimony was his third solo album, not his first.

Anyway, I would start with ? (by far his best solo album), Testimony (a bit too long, but has some tremendous individual songs) or his self-titled debut (more straight-forward and not that proggy, but still damn good).

Ok. Maybe it should read "his first full prog rock solo albums that everybody knows about and praises" 

[reneranucci]

Also, if you dig the studio albums, the live DVDs are worth every dollar. They give you insane amounts of material and killer performances. Testimony Live features 8 musicians on stage, including a super-talented guy (forgot his name) that plays guitar, violin, flute, lap steel guitar and a bunch of other things. MP and Randy George are there as Marc said. You also get stellar performances of We All Need Some Light and Stranger in Your Soul, and a 1-hour documentary of the tour. Many of the crazy things you saw Transatlantic doing during Stranger in Your Soul are recorded here (except MP crowd surfing). You can get this DVD first and leave the others for later.

The Sola Scriptura DVD contains most of that album, plus medleys from the other albums. The musians do an excellent job and there is a little bit more improvisation than in the other DVD. Overall, the material on ? in underepresented on the DVDs, but you can get live versions of those songs in ? Live as Marc said. Then the "So Many Roads" triple CD features most of the Lifeline album, plus a couple of songs from One, medleys from Testimony and ?, Stranger in Your Soul and a couple of Spock´s Beard songs I think.

I hope Neal releases another album soon. He´s such a great muscian. I  him.

[yeshaberto]

? and Sola Scriptura are my top two favorite

[cthrubuoy]

I haven't heard any of his solo stuff, but I'm currently completely addicted to Snow. It it worth me checking this out?

[Sigz]

I haven't heard any of his solo stuff, but I'm currently completely addicted to Snow. It it worth me checking this out?

Yes.

[Jamesman42]

I really need to get the Testimony Live DVD. The Sola Scriptura and Beyond DVD is awesome.

[Quadrochosis]

I really need to get the Testimony Live DVD. The Sola Scriptura and Beyond DVD is awesome.

[Jamesman42]

Hey, that's what I said.

[Quadrochosis]

Hey, that's what I said.

Pass the bottle, will ya?

[UnutterableSquid]

Sola Scriptura is one of the most amazing albums I have ever heard in my entire life, and it also played a pretty decent role in my religious conversion experience.

[KevShmev]

 The Sola Scriptura and Beyond DVD is awesome.

I never gave consideration to buying that, simply because I have never been overly wild about Sola Scriptura, but looking over the set list of it just now, wow, it looks pretty awesome.  I might have to get it just for all of that ?, Testimony and One material.  Plus, it has a few SB tunes, as well.  

[hefdaddy42]

Among his live stuff that I have heard, I prefer the studio versions - except Testimony.  I don't remember the last time I listened to the studio version of that.

Lifeline takes a lot of heat, but I still like it, although it is really nothing like his other solo prog stuff.  It isn't a concept album, and it isn't really as proggy, either.  But the title track if fantastic, and "Leviathan" is a beast (pun not intended).

[Nick]

Kev, if it makes it even more worthwhile, I like listening to the Sola stuff a lot more on that DVD than on the studio album.

[bosk1]

Among his live stuff that I have heard, I prefer the studio versions

I mostly do as well.  But that doesn't mean the live stuff is bad.  SS and Beyond is interesting to me because it is a lot more "loose" than I am used to hearing Neal and his band.  That was a bit offputting at first, but I really like it now.  I still prefer the studio versions of most of the songs, but that doesn't mean the live versions are any less fun to watch.  And there are some neat additions and variations as well.

Lifeline takes a lot of heat, but I still like it, although it is really nothing like his other solo prog stuff.

I like it, but just not nearly as much as his other solo material.  But this album is a definite exception to what I typed above.  I definitely prefer the live versions on So Many Roads to the studio versions of the Lifeline songs.  They just feel to me like they translate better live.

[hefdaddy42]

I'm sure that's true (the Lifeline songs translating well live), but I don't have that one yet.

[KevShmev]

I still haven't heard Lifeline.  I heard mostly okay to bad things about it, and it came out at a time where I was a bit tired of Neal's style (just a phase at the time), so I never bothered checking any of it, outside of a few online samples, none of which wowed me at all.  

And I still wish Testimony was a tad shorter - like 20-25 minutes could have been chopped off (a fair amount from Part I), and it would have been much better.  I still think it is really good, as is, but some of the reprises are a bit overkill.  Still, some of the best songs of his solo career are from that record:

"Sleeping Jesus"
"Wasted Time"
"Break of Day"
"Somber Days"
"Long Story"
"It's All I Can Do"
"Sing It High"
"Moving in My Heart" (this absolutely slays both "Power in the Air" and "Colder in the Sun," all of which share virtually the same chorus melody)
"I Am Willing"
"The Storm Before the Calm"

[bosk1]

Testimony reminds me a lot of Lord of the Rings, in a sense.  Both plod and seem overly long.  But that is entirely intentional and actually adds to the fact that both are supposed to feel like a long, involved, arduous process of a story.  You are meant to feel the weight and the length of the process involved in transforming the characters because you are, on a smaller scale, forced to patiently endure to get to the end as well. 

Yes, I've been emotionally hit just as hard by things that are more concise.  But I haven't been emotionally hit just as hard in the same way, and I can appreciate what the length, amount of detail, and even intentional repetition is accomplishing in the telling of the two stories that are Testimony and Lord of the Rings.

Hopefully, that makes a bit of sense.

[Perpetual Change]

It definitely makes sense.

I'm reading an abridged version of Journey to the West right now, and author has decided to cut out about 1700 pages of the journey-- which is overly long, copy & pasty, drawn out, etc-- in favor of maintaining the absolute essential parts of the story.  Basically, imagine if Lord of the Rings was written like a novelization of the movies.  You totally lose all sense of the epicness and the relationships these characters build slowly through the journey, and when it ends it's not nearly as touching.

[KevShmev]

I'm not a fan of LOTR, but what you said makes sense.  It is all about the journey.  I get it.  However, it is not the length that bothers me - Snow is just as long, but isn't replete with non-stop reprises pretty much the whole way through - it is the fact that there are too many "main" themes that pop up way too often.  I think the "Power in the Air" reprise in the middle of the otherwise spectacular Part II was really unnecessary, for example.  But I don't want to keep critiquing too much, because, after all, I do like this album A LOT, so I will shut up now.

[Perpetual Change]

there are too many "main" themes that pop up way too often. 

I actually had this issue with the Whirlwind at first.  You hear those main themes constantly in the first 25 minutes or so, and then you don't here them AT ALL until Dancing With Eternal Glory.  I still think it's kind of weird.   

[Jamesman42]

 The Sola Scriptura and Beyond DVD is awesome.

I never gave consideration to buying that, simply because I have never been overly wild about Sola Scriptura, but looking over the set list of it just now, wow, it looks pretty awesome.  I might have to get it just for all of that ?, Testimony and One material.  Plus, it has a few SB tunes, as well.  

You won't be disappointed. If you are, I should be permabanned.

[KevShmev]

there are too many "main" themes that pop up way too often. 

I actually had this issue with the Whirlwind at first.  You hear those main themes constantly in the first 25 minutes or so, and then you don't here them AT ALL until Dancing With Eternal Glory.  I still think it's kind of weird.   

I don't think that is really true.  "The Whirlwind" does a great job of not beating you over the head with reprises, at any point, and many of the main themes heard throughout the whole thing are heard in the "Overture" at the beginning.  But the lack of reprises is why I think most of the songs work really well as great stand-alone songs.

 The Sola Scriptura and Beyond DVD is awesome.

I never gave consideration to buying that, simply because I have never been overly wild about Sola Scriptura, but looking over the set list of it just now, wow, it looks pretty awesome.  I might have to get it just for all of that ?, Testimony and One material.  Plus, it has a few SB tunes, as well.  

You won't be disappointed. If you are, I should be permabanned.

Hmmmmm....I may have to make a purchase here very soon.