Elite's top 30 Spock's Beard songs - #1: I AM

[Elite]

To celebrate the release of Spock's Beard's 11th studio album, titled Brief Nocturnes & Dreamless Sleep (which is fucking awesome, go get it now!), I made a list of my favourite 30 Spock's Beard songs at this moment, since they are currently one of my favourite bands. I have no idea how many people will follow this, but I know there's quite some Spock's Beard fans around on these boards, so we'll see.

A couple of things first;
- For obvious reasons I haven't included the new album
- Multiple part epics (like 'The Healing Colors of Sound' on Day For Night) are all taken as one song

So, let's go!

Also, if there's people that want to go after me, that's all fine by me, I like reading other people's takes on songs

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30. Cakewalk on Easy Street (from The Kindness of Strangers)

We start the top 30 with a very nice track from The Kindness of Strangers, which I hold op very high in quality. In fact, the album does not contain a single bad track, but this is one of my least favourites (like that means anything) from this album. It's a nice, happy, upbeat rocker with lots of cool stuff thrown in. The chorus is obviously what makes this song good. It's a typical Spock's Beard short song; it's rocking, has a good chorus and is a little proggy here and there. A nice way to start off this list, I would say.

29. On the Edge (from The Light)

Here we have the shortest song on the band's debut album and the lengths of the other songs on the debut makes this one stick out. It's the only song under 10 minutes and it's also the closer of the album. This length is also a disadvantage to the track when listened on the album, because I like this one the least out of the four tracks on their debut. That said, it still holds itself really well compared to their later stuff, considering it does make the cut here. Again, this is a great rocker and since this on their first album, we have some great Neal Morse screams in the chorus (which he mostly stopped doing after this album). The main riff is awesome and the chorus makes the song. Again, a wonderful typical Spock's Beard song.

28. Crack the Big Sky (from Day for Night)

Save for the multi-part epic 'The Healing Colors of Sound', this is the longest track on Day for Night, and dare I say one of the most 'progressive' as well. This is prog done right, with cool stuff and riffs and solos and everything. The riffs at the end and the organ solo are very nice and are just one of the great moments from their keyboard player Ryo Okumoto, who completely slays on most of their tracks. Again, Spock's Beard is very much about choruses and this song has a great one to boot as well. This is in a sense not so much a rocker as the two previous tracks, it's a bit more mellow and even treads in the direction of prog-ish-ambient in the middle part. Just one showcase of Neal Morse's insane songwriting capabilities.

[KevShmev]

Will follow...

All interesting choices.  Crack the Big Sky is great and would definitely make my top 30.  The other two I like, but neither is a favorite.

Also, did you mean you aren't including the new album (but accidentally typed it as plural)?  Or you aren't including anything post-Snow?

[Scorpion]

Will follow, maybe take it as a guide what to check out. The stuff that I have heard from the Beard hasn't been bad by a long shot, but nothing that grabbed me either.

Also, inb4 The Light at #1.

[Elite]

Also, did you mean you aren't including the new album (but accidentally typed it as plural)?  Or you aren't including anything post-Snow?

I meant just the new album, it was a typo

[KevShmev]

Okay, cool.

That makes it more interesting to see songs like Cakewalk... and On the Edge make it, since you are choosing from 10 albums, not six.

[ColdFireYYZ]

Following. I love Crack The Big Sky and Cakewalk on Easy Street. On The Edge is good but it gets overshadowed by the rest of the album. Great song though.

[KevShmev]

The decision to throw On the Edge on as the last track, after having three long songs, was misguided to say the least.  It comes off as more of an afterthought than anything, especially after the beast that is The Water.

[Pols Voice]

Unlike most (all?) SB fans, I never counted Healing Colors of Sound as one song because it just seems more suite-like. A Flash Before My Eyes has the same feel, but that one does have a title listing it as one composition...I dunno what to think anymore.

Anyway, Cakewalk is okay, but my least favorite on TKOS (their best album). On the Edge is decent, and Crack the Big Sky is pretty cool...perhaps a little underrated by most SB fans.

[Mladen]

I am so following this! 

I'm also having thoughts (no pun intended) about doing a list after you, but I'll still have to think about it, it might be very hard to create one...

[KevShmev]

Unlike most (all?) SB fans, I never counted Healing Colors of Sound as one song because it just seems more suite-like. 

I like most of the Healing Colors suite, although I think it goes on about five minutes too long.  It should have ended with Part II of Healing Colors, but then they did that unnecessary My Shoes reprise, which makes the ending of it really drag.  As great as Neal's songwriting often is, he can sometimes get wrapped up in reprising too many themes near the end of a long epic/suite.  It's like he is so pleased with multiple themes that he wants to reprise them all.   I always think that the same thing when I hear the last song of The Whirlwind suite.

[Pols Voice]

Unlike most (all?) SB fans, I never counted Healing Colors of Sound as one song because it just seems more suite-like. 

I like most of the Healing Colors suite, although I think it goes on about five minutes too long.  It should have ended with Part II of Healing Colors, but then they did that unnecessary My Shoes reprise, which makes the ending of it really drag.  As great as Neal's songwriting often is, he can sometimes get wrapped up in reprising too many themes near the end of a long epic/suite.  It's like he is so pleased with multiple themes that he wants to reprise them all.   I always think that the same thing when I hear the last song of The Whirlwind suite.

Wow! The My Shoes reprise is one of my favorite Spock's Beard moments. Different strokes, I guess.

I do think Neal does the long slow epic ending thing too much, though, but he hadn't worn it out yet back then.

[Elite]

TKOS (their best album).

Unlike most (all?) SB fans, I never counted Healing Colors of Sound as one song because it just seems more suite-like. 

I like most of the Healing Colors suite, although I think it goes on about five minutes too long.  It should have ended with Part II of Healing Colors, but then they did that unnecessary My Shoes reprise, which makes the ending of it really drag.  As great as Neal's songwriting often is, he can sometimes get wrapped up in reprising too many themes near the end of a long epic/suite.  It's like he is so pleased with multiple themes that he wants to reprise them all.   I always think that the same thing when I hear the last song of The Whirlwind suite.

Wow! The My Shoes reprise is one of my favorite Spock's Beard moments. Different strokes, I guess.

I do think Neal does the long slow epic ending thing too much, though, but he hadn't worn it out yet back then.

I really like The Healing Colors of Sound and the My Shoes reprise. I think it adds just a little 'something' to the song. I can't really comment on it too much, you'll see it when we get there

[Mladen]

I forgot to mention that those three songs are awesome, what a way to kick off. 

[Elite]

Thanks! The start is always important, that's why this next batch will have some unconventional choices

NEXT THREE:

27. Thoughts (Part II) (from V)

This is a very nice short proggy song, with lots of sound changes and vocal harmonies that Spock's Beard (and Neal Morse!) are known for. I like this one a lot better than its predecessor, which, while good, manages to drag too much in my opinion. On the album V, this one feels a bit weird, since it's pretty 'progressive' in its short length of time. The lyrics are good, but what makes this song is the vocal harmonies, something I was very glad with that they did this in the new track 'Afterthoughts' on the new album too. Anyway, cool song, one that's guaranteed to make you smile when you listen.

26. The Emperor's Clothes (from X)

Oh my, trumpets! Trumpets laying down a very nice motive that will be the main musical theme for this song about the well known tale of the emperor who gets tricked to walk down the streets naked, after having been given the promise of getting clothes that will be invisible to those unfit to see them. Quite an unconventional, or even pretty weird topic to write a song about, but I guess it's not the first time songs have been written about (fairy) tales. Anyway, this is a good showcasing of what the beard could do after losing chief songwriter Neal Morse (though this song isn't the finest example, since the booklet clearly states that Neal co-wrote this song). Well, this song has everything you want from a Spock's Beard track; nice melodies, cool transitions and a great chorus you can sing along to, with an instrumental section that's significantly faster than the rest of the song to boot as well. This is one of my favourites off of 'X' and a great track overall.

25. Skeletons at the Feast (from Spock's Beard)

I know this album is shunned by quite some Spock's Beard fans, but I am a real fan of Spock's Beard's self-titled 9th album. This is the only Spock's Beard instrumental to make my list and it's because I find it fantastic. It's fast, the riffs are crushing and there's enough variety and solos to keep you entertained during its length. The song really doesn't need any vocals with the great instrumentation that's already in there. Of particular interest to me are the guitar parts. Alan Morse, the band's guitarist and Neal Morse's brother, plays exclusively with his fingers with great virtuosity and that makes it even more awesome that he can pull off the stuff and riffs he does in this song. This is the Beard's best instrumental, in my opinion.

[KevShmev]

Oddly, SB doesn't have that many instrumentals, or at least ones I would call full-band, stand-alone instrumentals (as opposed to solo instrumentals like Letting Go or Chatauqua, or something like Second Overture that runs right into the next song).  Skeletons at the Feast is the best one, but it doesn't have much competition; I wouldn't call it a truly great instrumental.

[Mladen]

Never really cared for Skeletons at the feast, I might have to give it another listen.

Thoughts 2 is fantastic, and I also really like The Emperor's clothes, although I'd pick that song as my least favorite one from X. That says something about that album, even the least good song is still damn good. 

[KevShmev]

I like The Emperor's Clothes more than Kamikaze, mainly cause of that killer piano-driven instrumental section, but I still think every other song on X is definitely much better than those two.  Great record overall. 

[ColdFireYYZ]

Thoughts Part II is one of my favorites, and The Emperor's Clothes is a great song. It was my favorite from X at first, but there are a several songs that I like more than it now.

I think Skeletons at the Feast was the first Spock's Beard song I listened to. I don't remember how I stumbled upon it, but after hearing it I immediately bought the self-titled album and became a fan of the band.

[Pols Voice]

I'd put Thoughts Part II way higher. Emperor's Clothes is good, and I love Skeletons at the Feast. What a furious rocker. There's also one part that sounds like a nod to the Flower Kings.

[Elite]

Keep in mind that in Spock's Beard's discography of about ~100 songs, without counting bonus tracks, 27 is already pretty damn high. I love Thoughts (Part II), but there's just certain songs I love more. That said, here's the next three.

24. The Edge of the In-Between (from X)

Another track from 'X', the opener that sets the mood for the entire album, and damn, what a good song this is! This album reaches some great heights, and quite some of them are in this song. This is a great opener for the album, but it's a shame a lot of the tracks on the album can't really live up to the awesomeness that is this song. Another fine example of a great Spock's Beard song in their time after having lost Neal and one of my favourites of their tenth album.

23. On a Perfect Day (from Spock's Beard)

We start off the top 25 with a perfect opener to one of my favourite Spock's Beard albums. On a Perfect Day literally does everything well, it starts loud, introducing a nice keyboard theme that sets the mood for the whole song and the way the chorus develops from something pretty soft into the bombastic thing that it is at the end of the song is nothing short of great songwriting. Wonderful. Funny thing, I just realised. When I saw them in 2012, they opened with The Edge of the In-Between and went into On a Perfect Day straight afterwards. Pretty funny that they end up back to back in my list as well.

22. In the Mouth of Madness (from The Kindness of Strangers)

Probably the 'heaviest' song on their third album, but that doesn't really mean a whole lot on that album, since the album is arguably their 'least heavy' in their whole catalog, whatever that means. Anyway, the song itself can be summed up using two words; short & sweet. That's it, a great little rocker of Neal Morsian quality, as we've gotten used to over the years. In fact, this is the shortest song out of everything that's left to come and that says something about how much awesome the Beard can cram into a little under 5 minutes.

[Mladen]

Again, three incredible song, especially the two longer ones. I'd probably put them a bit higher, though. And man, what a fantastic way to start off the show, Elite. I saw them in 2010, they opened with The Edge of the In-Between and then continued with the rest of the X album, but they played On a perfect day later. Needless to say, it was an awesome experience. 

[KevShmev]

The Edge of the In-Between is definitely pretty great.

I like On a Perfect Day quite a bit, but I doubt it would break my top 30.

I like In the Mouth of Madness, but I don't love it.  It is my least favorite song from The Kindness of Strangers.  But I am not surprised when other fans love it, as it has that kind of quirky craziness that so symbolized early Spock's Beard.

[Pols Voice]

I find Edge of the In-Between, like most of X, overrated. On a Perfect Day is one of my top favorites, and In the Mouth of Madness is great. Some awesome drumming on that one.

[Elite]

Edge of the In-Between

You're right, it's called that, without the article  I always do that wrong

[Pols Voice]

Oh, I didn't even know if it did or not. I just typed it that way.

[ColdFireYYZ]

Another set of great songs. 

[Elite]

Thanks! To be honest, I think Spock's Beard doesn't have ANY bad songs. With that in mind, it makes it that much harder to adequately rank them. I kind of forgot about it today, but I will update tomorrow.

[Elite]

Sorry, life caught up with me, but here's the next three, with considerably shorter write-ups due to time constraints, especially considering the length of two of the songs.

21. Beware of Darkness (from Beware of Darkness)

The first track on the Beard's second album and apparently it's a cover of a George Harrison song. I must say I've never heard the original, but this track is a great way to start of the album. It's relatively short in comparison to the rest of the songs on the album, but overall I hold this one up pretty high, hence its placement. One of the better tracks on a very good album, if you ask me.

20. The Great Nothing (from V)

By far the longest song so far in this top 30 and the first 'epic' that's divided into multiple movements. I suppose some people would place this one higher, maybe in the top 10 even, but I firmly believe that Spock's Beard has done better songs (21 to be precise) and that this isn't their best epic, or even near it. With a discography full of short songs and epics, it gets pretty difficult to sort out what you like better than others, but I feel in this case, the band tried to cram too much into one song. This isn't a bad thing in itself, but it works better on some tracks than it does on others. In any other way though, this is just a stellar showcasing of Neal Morse's superb songwriting and a fantastic song overall.

19. A Guy Named Sid (from Feel Euphoria)

I always get the idea that this song gets far too much slack or hate, for some reason. Granted, Feel Euphoria is my least favourite Spock's Beard album and this is the only song you'll see from it on my list, BUT; consider this: the band had just lost Neal Morse who was their chief songwriter and the torch had to be passed on. Luckily, we still had Nick D'Virgilio, who wrote this really cool multiple-part epic, or call it a suite, whatever. To me, it's just one big musical piece, although it might not flow as well as the above mentioned track. My favourite parts are the choir part and the final part (VI. Change) and every instrumentalist is on fire here. I wasn't a Beard fan back when this was released, but I can imagine myself being dissatisfied with Feel Euphoria, until this track would come on. And I would know the Beard was still alive and they have made some fantastic things after this. So yeah, I don't like Feel Euphoria all that much, but A Guy Named Sid is one of my favourite Spock's Beard songs.

[KevShmev]

The Great Nothing is really good, but I agree that they have around 20 songs that are better.  It is a bit too padded, but it still has some moments that are absolutely mind-blowing.

I am pleased to see A Guy Named Sid in here and that high; great song (despite some really awful lyrics at times).

I like the Beware of Darkness cover,  but I don't love it.  A friend and I always joke that the first line of the song sounds like, "Watch out now, take care, beware, of farts that linger."

[Elite]

Yeah, I can see why you'd say A Guy Named Sid has awful lyrics at times, but they're not all too, just maybe a bit sub-par compared to the rest of their stuff. And I agree with what you said about The great Nothing as well

[Mladen]

Dang, I'm not a fan of any of these. I could never get into The Great nothing, and A Guy named Sid has its moments (Same old story and Sid's boys choir are fun movements) but it doesn't do a whole lot for me. Beware of darkness is my least favorite song on the album and not too memorable, I haven't heard the original neither.

[Pols Voice]

Beware of Darkness is alright. Leading off an album with a cover was kind of weird, but it's quite different from the original. The Great Nothing is great. A Guy Named Sid is cool. I wouldn't put it above TGN though.

Granted, Feel Euphoria is my least favourite Spock's Beard album and this is the only song you'll see from it on my list,

No Ghosts of Autumn?

[Elite]

Dang, I'm not a fan of any of these.

How the? Ah, well, I suppose I have some weird picks coming up still as well..

Beware of Darkness is alright. Leading off an album with a cover was kind of weird, but it's quite different from the original.

To be honest, I had no clue it was a cover until I started doing these write-ups. What I then found even more striking was that they used the name of a cover song to title their album. Weird.

Granted, Feel Euphoria is my least favourite Spock's Beard album and this is the only song you'll see from it on my list,

No Ghosts of Autumn?

Nope, I'm sorry. I like it, but there's others I like much more. Like I've said before (I think), there's literally NO song in the Beard's entire discography that I dislike and again, there will be some weird picks along the way.

[ColdFireYYZ]

Beware of Darkness is a good song (haven't heard the original) but it wouldn't be in my top 30. The Great Nothing is great but a bit overrated. I think I'd place it a little lower than you did, but I don't rate it as highly as most do. Not familiar with A Guy Named Sid since I still haven't listened to Feel Euphoria.

[The Letter M]

I did not even see this thread over the last week. Now following and if I have the time and energy to, I'd love to do a Top list of SB songs!

Anyways - great list so far, and many of them are among some of my favorites! Although I notice there are no songs from Snow so far (or yet!) and I'm hoping that changes at some point soon!

-Marc.