Author Topic: Official Neal Morse Appreciation Thread  (Read 538030 times)

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Offline The Letter M

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Re: Official Neal Morse Appreciation Thread
« Reply #105 on: December 10, 2010, 09:59:01 PM »
Randomly surfing the net for info on the Morse/Morse project brought me to the following link -
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Neal-Morse/106165732748778?sk=wall

- In which someone who is in contact with Randy George had posted the following:
Quote
Randy George, Mike Portnoy, and Neal Morse will be recording "Testimony 2" in Nashville the week before Chrstmas! Wowsers!!!

I suppose that is this coming week!!! Crazy! If Neal is quick with the turnaround, we can likely see this album before next June! We can only hope!

-Marc.
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Offline Ħ

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Re: Official Neal Morse Appreciation Thread
« Reply #106 on: December 10, 2010, 10:01:05 PM »
YES YES YES

Testimony is an album that comfortably sits in my top 5 of all time.  I am extremely excited about this.
"All great works are prepared in the desert, including the redemption of the world. The precursors, the followers, the Master Himself, all obeyed or have to obey one and the same law. Prophets, apostles, preachers, martyrs, pioneers of knowledge, inspired artists in every art, ordinary men and the Man-God, all pay tribute to loneliness, to the life of silence, to the night." - A. G. Sertillanges

Offline Jamesman42

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Re: Official Neal Morse Appreciation Thread
« Reply #107 on: December 10, 2010, 10:03:39 PM »
But who knows how credible that source is. That isn't even the official NM facebook page, nor is there any info posted anywhere else. Or is there?

Offline The Letter M

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Re: Official Neal Morse Appreciation Thread
« Reply #108 on: December 10, 2010, 10:11:14 PM »
But who knows how credible that source is. That isn't even the official NM facebook page, nor is there any info posted anywhere else. Or is there?

Well given that Neal's InnerCircle Newsletter mentioned him doing Testimony 2 makes me want to believe that post is true. And Randy does get around to Neal's fans more often than Neal himself, so it's not entirely beyond the realm of possibility that Randy would spill those beans.

And Mike is done touring with A7X this year (after this weekend's show in Las Vegas), so him flying out to Nashville next week isn't entirely out of the question. I'm hoping more light is shed on this ASAP, as well as the Morse/Morse project!

-Marc.
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Offline Jamesman42

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Re: Official Neal Morse Appreciation Thread
« Reply #109 on: December 10, 2010, 10:21:57 PM »
Oh, me too, I am just naturally skeptical. But what you said makes sense, and I really hope it's true!

So, speculation: I love the thematic reprises through the whole album of Testimony. I hope the second part uses some of those (in new ways, of course) and introduces new melodies. I think that that is Testimony's strong point: how Neal wraps the album in a giant theme musically and lyrically. Sometimes it can get a bit over done (example: The Man's Gone as its own song and in another song on One), but Testimony pulls it off fantastically well.

Offline j

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Re: Official Neal Morse Appreciation Thread
« Reply #110 on: December 10, 2010, 11:05:03 PM »
Man, Testimony is arguably my least favorite of Morse's solo albums.  Way too long and overly drawn out, and just not very interesting musically or lyrically.

However, I'm excited anyway! :metal  I wonder how and to what degree it will be tied to the original Testimony.

-J

Offline Quadrochosis

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Re: Official Neal Morse Appreciation Thread
« Reply #111 on: December 11, 2010, 09:10:07 AM »
I'm a little confused as to why he's making a sequel. Did he have another epiphany? The first one was so long that I didn't think there was anything left to say.

Maybe he unconverted and he is wrapping up his Christian catalog by coming full circle. :lol
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Offline Ħ

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Re: Official Neal Morse Appreciation Thread
« Reply #112 on: December 11, 2010, 09:17:08 AM »
No one has commented on my theory that this is not Neal's Testimony, but Mike's Testimony.  Unrealistic, but would be really cool if true.
"All great works are prepared in the desert, including the redemption of the world. The precursors, the followers, the Master Himself, all obeyed or have to obey one and the same law. Prophets, apostles, preachers, martyrs, pioneers of knowledge, inspired artists in every art, ordinary men and the Man-God, all pay tribute to loneliness, to the life of silence, to the night." - A. G. Sertillanges

Offline James007

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Re: Official Neal Morse Appreciation Thread
« Reply #113 on: December 11, 2010, 09:58:16 AM »
No one has commented on my theory that this is not Neal's Testimony, but Mike's Testimony.  Unrealistic, but would be really cool if true.
I have recently wondered if Mike's exit from DT had more to do with his faith and his feelings after his dad's death than any musical, personal, or scheduling differences he had with his bandmates.  I have absolutely nothing to base this on other than the circumstances and what MP has said filtered through my perception.  As a Christian, this may just be wishful thinking on my part but I don't think I'm alone in this.   
It was there right before our eyes, we were blind not to realize
In the rush to be globalized we signed away our freedom
We forgot how to criticize, we were scared to be demonized
As the truth was neutralized we lost the art of reason.

- Threshold "The Art of Reason"

Offline rumborak

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Re: Official Neal Morse Appreciation Thread
« Reply #114 on: December 11, 2010, 10:09:20 AM »
Yeah, I think that's pretty much wishful thinking. I have not had the impression that religion plays a major role in any of DT's members, present or past.

rumborak
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Offline Ħ

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Re: Official Neal Morse Appreciation Thread
« Reply #115 on: December 11, 2010, 10:37:08 AM »
Yeah, I think that's pretty much wishful thinking. I have not had the impression that religion plays a major role in any of DT's members, present or past.

rumborak

JP is a practicing Catholic, and I've often seen him in photos at churchy events with his family.  JM is some kind of Christian, and when asked about who his hero/role model is, in some interview, he said "Jesus."
"All great works are prepared in the desert, including the redemption of the world. The precursors, the followers, the Master Himself, all obeyed or have to obey one and the same law. Prophets, apostles, preachers, martyrs, pioneers of knowledge, inspired artists in every art, ordinary men and the Man-God, all pay tribute to loneliness, to the life of silence, to the night." - A. G. Sertillanges

Offline The Letter M

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Re: Official Neal Morse Appreciation Thread
« Reply #116 on: December 13, 2010, 01:34:44 PM »
Update from Randy George about "Testimony 2":
(Source - https://nealmorse.yuku.com/topic/3862/master/1/?page=1 )

Quote
"I wasn't aware that it was written yet."
Me either... I think we are making it up as we go....

"hahaha I doubt if Neal is even capable of not making it two discs!"
Well actually... I think there was definitely more than one disc worth of songs.  But I doubt we'll have time to do more than a single disc.   

"we can likely see this album before next June!"
I believe the target release is May...

The bold parts are his replies to questions in quotes. Randy seems to say that Neal has more than a disc's worth of songs so I predict a 2-disc Special/Limited edition of the album with the bonus songs (a la One).

Hopefully they stay on schedule for the May targeted release!

-Marc.
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Offline dedSurroun

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Re: Official Neal Morse Appreciation Thread
« Reply #117 on: December 13, 2010, 03:24:54 PM »
Glad to hear that Neal is doing some solo stuff. Well, if it's better than Lifeline, I'll be happy.

The (temporary?) title "Testimony 2" does not sounds promising, though. Hope it's not too similar, musically. He seems stuck in a certain style that, while it can work, has become overused.
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Offline DarkEternalNight

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Re: Official Neal Morse Appreciation Thread
« Reply #118 on: December 13, 2010, 07:01:54 PM »
Transatlantic is amazing. I should listen to more Neal.

Offline James007

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Re: Official Neal Morse Appreciation Thread
« Reply #119 on: December 13, 2010, 07:34:03 PM »
Transatlantic is amazing. I should listen to more Neal.
:tup
It was there right before our eyes, we were blind not to realize
In the rush to be globalized we signed away our freedom
We forgot how to criticize, we were scared to be demonized
As the truth was neutralized we lost the art of reason.

- Threshold "The Art of Reason"

Offline ytserush

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Re: Official Neal Morse Appreciation Thread
« Reply #120 on: December 13, 2010, 09:22:41 PM »
I'm seeing this as a limited edition book/CD/DVD tie in....

Offline The Letter M

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Re: Official Neal Morse Appreciation Thread
« Reply #121 on: December 13, 2010, 10:05:54 PM »
I'm seeing this as a limited edition book/CD/DVD tie in....

Could happen. He has been writing that book this year, so if it's about his life, his "testimony", he may release it with the CD, or in conjunction with it. I do see the Limited Edition (through Radiant Records, of course) being the Book, a 2CD set (the standard edition single disc, plus the special edition bonus disc), and a bonus DVD (making of and such).

It could totally happen... and you know what? I would LOVE it, especially for the right price, and depending on the packaging, I'd say around $50-60 would be a good asking price, especially for pre-orders.

Neal, please do this - I'm totally on board for it.

-Marc.
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Offline Quadrochosis

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Re: Official Neal Morse Appreciation Thread
« Reply #122 on: December 14, 2010, 01:30:38 PM »
Book?
space cadet, pull out.
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Offline The Letter M

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Re: Official Neal Morse Appreciation Thread
« Reply #123 on: December 14, 2010, 02:32:24 PM »
Book?

Yeah - read on the NM Forums earlier this year that Neal was working on a book...

https://nealmorse.yuku.com/sreply/48832/t/Is-Neal-still-interested-.html

Quote
Right now I am writing a book of my personal story, but also writing songs and music is flowing as well.
We are also working on the Transatlantic DVD/CD live package which will be out in the fall.
After that there will be more music to come I am sure. I am a "one project at a time" kind of guy, and right now I am trying to work on my book. I'll try and post here more often though. you can also check: nealmorsefans.com  for info as well.
take care and God bless,
Neal

So as it seems, Neal has been working on a book AND music, presumably all tied together for this upcoming "Testimony 2" album. That post by Neal was from the end of August, so if Neal works as fast as he usually does, Randy's quote about Neal having a little over a disc's worth of music seems about right at this time.

I'm hoping Neal makes some sort of news-release about his upcoming projects for the new year and informs us fans!

-Marc.
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Offline dech2410

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Re: Official Neal Morse Appreciation Thread
« Reply #124 on: December 19, 2010, 12:56:37 PM »
Mike on twitter:

On my way to Nashville to record Neal Morse's Testimony 2...his love and positive spirit will be PERFECT for me right now

Nuff said, we're getting an awesome new album :D

Offline The Letter M

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Re: Official Neal Morse Appreciation Thread
« Reply #125 on: December 19, 2010, 01:09:03 PM »
Mike on twitter:

On my way to Nashville to record Neal Morse's Testimony 2...his love and positive spirit will be PERFECT for me right now

Nuff said, we're getting an awesome new album :D

More-or-less Official Confirmation now... it's funny, we've heard from both Randy and Mike on this but NOT Neal... Well, with 6 days before Christmas, I'm willing to bet Neal, Mike and Randy jam out the new album in 5 days (which isn't entirely out of the realm of possibility, especially if what Randy has said is true and they're only making no more than a disc-and-a-half's worth of music).

Looking forward to hearing more about this as it develops!

-Marc.
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Offline Jamesman42

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Re: Official Neal Morse Appreciation Thread
« Reply #126 on: December 19, 2010, 03:26:16 PM »
YES! New Neal Morse and DT pretty much all in the works. Next year FTW

Offline James007

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Re: Official Neal Morse Appreciation Thread
« Reply #127 on: December 19, 2010, 04:06:27 PM »
YES! New Neal Morse and DT pretty much all in the works. Next year FTW
:tup
It was there right before our eyes, we were blind not to realize
In the rush to be globalized we signed away our freedom
We forgot how to criticize, we were scared to be demonized
As the truth was neutralized we lost the art of reason.

- Threshold "The Art of Reason"

Offline Nihil-Morari

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Re: Official Neal Morse Appreciation Thread
« Reply #128 on: December 19, 2010, 04:26:52 PM »
I better post here, since I adore Neals song writing abilities.
The FZ Discography Thread! https://www.dreamtheaterforums.org/boards/index.php?topic=44650.0
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Offline Jamesman42

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Re: Official Neal Morse Appreciation Thread
« Reply #129 on: December 19, 2010, 05:02:18 PM »
Straight from Neal's facebook status:

Neal Morse
Will be joined by Mike Portnoy and Randy George for the recording of "Testimony 2" during the holidays. Stay tuned for more!
22 minutes ago

Offline Perpetual Change

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Re: Official Neal Morse Appreciation Thread
« Reply #130 on: December 19, 2010, 08:23:12 PM »
Wow. For the holidays? Are the Portnoy and Morse family spending the holidays together this year?

Offline ddtonfire

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Re: Official Neal Morse Appreciation Thread
« Reply #131 on: December 19, 2010, 10:44:21 PM »
That would be cute!

Offline KevShmev

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Re: Official Neal Morse Appreciation Thread
« Reply #132 on: December 20, 2010, 07:53:09 AM »
Wow. For the holidays? Are the Portnoy and Morse family spending the holidays together this year?

Yeah, and I am pretty sure I know what Neal will give Portnoy for Christmas: a request to God to smite John Petrucci, Jordan Rudess, John Myung and James La Brie.

Offline Jamesman42

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Re: Official Neal Morse Appreciation Thread
« Reply #133 on: December 20, 2010, 08:29:14 AM »
Wow. For the holidays? Are the Portnoy and Morse family spending the holidays together this year?

Yeah, and I am pretty sure I know what Neal will give Portnoy for Christmas: a request to God to smite John Petrucci, Jordan Rudess, John Myung and James La Brie.

Yes, because there is so much animosity there. ;)

Offline The Letter M

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Re: Official Neal Morse Appreciation Thread
« Reply #134 on: December 21, 2010, 01:14:13 AM »
https://nealmorse.yuku.com/topic/3866

Randy George's Testimony 2 Studio Diary:
Quote
Day 1: Well it started out to be a good day. I awoke about 8:00 or so but I still needed a couple hours of sleep. I had some Honey Nut Cheerios for breakfast. Not long after my cell phone died and I realized I left my cell phone charger at home so I had to run to Wal Mart. I got back and we started dialing in tracking mixes and getting things ready. Mike showed up at 1:00 which is normal for him. We really didn't get into tracking until about 3:30 or so though. But we did get through a good amount of stuff. We had some extensive reworking of a few things. What we did get really shaped up to be quite nice. Mike is sounding awesome as usual. I'm using a Mike Lull Thunderbird Bass and the tone is just amazing. I'm really glad I brought it. We still have alot to do though so the next couple of days should prove interesting. Neal has done some extensive remodeling of the studio so there are still things being worked on in preparation for the big session next month with Steve Morse. That will be an interesting project. Anyhow I'll try to post some more tomorrow.

Randy

Solo album this month, Morse/Morse collaboration next month! Mike & Neal are going to be busy boys!

-Marc.
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Offline Jamesman42

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Re: Official Neal Morse Appreciation Thread
« Reply #135 on: December 21, 2010, 05:17:53 AM »
*eye twitch*

*drool*

Offline The Letter M

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Re: Official Neal Morse Appreciation Thread
« Reply #136 on: December 21, 2010, 07:31:49 PM »
So I've been spinning ? a lot lately, mostly due to my Neal Morse Survivor being on that album right now (which you should all check out in the Polls/Survivors Forum!). Even after 5 years, this album is definitely some of the best work Neal has ever done. Also, Jordan's solo during "In The Fire" is just, well, on FIRE. And Randy's bass solo during "Solid As The Sun" is pretty sweet. And of course Steve Hackett's solo during "12" is mind-blowingly awesome!

I also enjoy the fact that Roine played on this album in 2005, and then Neal played on Roine's Wall Street Voodoo that same year (and both albums were released 2 weeks apart). Then later on in 2007, Neal guested on Jordan's The Road Home and his brother's solo album 4 O'Clock & Hysteria. Glad to know Neal is nice enough to appear on his friend's albums for having them appear on his!

-Marc.
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Offline James007

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Re: Official Neal Morse Appreciation Thread
« Reply #137 on: December 21, 2010, 07:52:49 PM »
So, if MP really is done with DT, how does that play into the Morse/Morse/MP group scenario?  It that closer to a reality or will it just be a side project?
It was there right before our eyes, we were blind not to realize
In the rush to be globalized we signed away our freedom
We forgot how to criticize, we were scared to be demonized
As the truth was neutralized we lost the art of reason.

- Threshold "The Art of Reason"

Offline The Letter M

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Re: Official Neal Morse Appreciation Thread
« Reply #138 on: December 21, 2010, 08:06:18 PM »
So, if MP really is done with DT, how does that play into the Morse/Morse/MP group scenario?  It that closer to a reality or will it just be a side project?

I don't quite follow your question... it IS a reality, and it IS happening (next month as confirmed by Randy George who said Neal is remodeling his studio and preparing for the sessions with Steve Morse/Mike Portnoy/Dave LaRue). It's likely just another side-project for Neal and/or Mike. I don't see how Mike not being in DT plays a factor in this. If anything, his LEAVING them probably allowed it to happen as soon as it is. Instead of going in the studio with DT next month, Mike's going back in with Neal (after recording with him THIS week/month). If anything, I hope this opens up the possibility that this band/project gets to tour! I hope they find a very fitting vocalist for the group too! I wonder if this 5-piece becomes more permanent that it might be Mike's "new band"? Hmmm...

-Marc.
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Offline James007

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Re: Official Neal Morse Appreciation Thread
« Reply #139 on: December 21, 2010, 08:18:02 PM »
So, if MP really is done with DT, how does that play into the Morse/Morse/MP group scenario?  It that closer to a reality or will it just be a side project?

I don't quite follow your question... it IS a reality, and it IS happening (next month as confirmed by Randy George who said Neal is remodeling his studio and preparing for the sessions with Steve Morse/Mike Portnoy/Dave LaRue). It's likely just another side-project for Neal and/or Mike. I don't see how Mike not being in DT plays a factor in this. If anything, his LEAVING them probably allowed it to happen as soon as it is. Instead of going in the studio with DT next month, Mike's going back in with Neal (after recording with him THIS week/month). If anything, I hope this opens up the possibility that this band/project gets to tour! I hope they find a very fitting vocalist for the group too! I wonder if this 5-piece becomes more permanent that it might be Mike's "new band"? Hmmm...

-Marc.
That was my actual question:  Is there a possibility of the side project becoming a new full time band?  Thanks for putting it better than me.  I was trying to forum post and watch my Dallas Mavericks at the same time. 
It was there right before our eyes, we were blind not to realize
In the rush to be globalized we signed away our freedom
We forgot how to criticize, we were scared to be demonized
As the truth was neutralized we lost the art of reason.

- Threshold "The Art of Reason"