Official Neal Morse Appreciation Thread

[bosk1]

Yeah, I hear you.  And believe me, I'm not complaining that he is so prolific.  It's great for us!  Just saying that I am perfectly okay with him dialing it back just a bit.  ...although after your post, I think his next live release MUST conclude with an encore of them covering Tom Sawyer. 

[KevShmev]

Heh, I don't see that happening.  I am not even sure Neal is a big Rush fan; has he ever covered them?  Neal has never struck me as a big fan of classic hard rock/metal.  We know Portnoy loves Rush, Maiden, Sabbath, etc., but not sure they are high on Neal's list of classic favorites.  And that is okay.

[darkshade]

Listened to TSoaD for the second time. Still need to digest it more, but I'm definitely finding a lot of cool moments, and overall, I think this is way better than The Grand Experiment, and might be the best Neal Morse album since ? and Sola Scriptura; but we'll see. I personally enjoy all the Dream Theater-esque moments, and though it's totally still a Neal Morse album, I'm enjoying it way more than I did The Astonishing on second listen.

[KevShmev]

I think they are pretty close in quality for much of the way, but TA loses its way for a while on Disc 2, while TSOAD is stellar throughout, so I give it the nod.

[Zydar]

TSOAD wipes the floor with TA.

[SwedishGoose]

TSOAD is really good but has a couple of spots that bring it down. Cut a few songs and it would be great. Storywise I can't get into it even if I try to take it as fantasy...

The Astonishing is composed as a whole much better than TSOAD and I never find that I want to skip songs. Storywise I can get into it even if I have some issues with the story. It is told so emotionally great that I can forgive a few flaws.

Overall TA takes the lead over TSOAD... still exited as hell to see TSOAD live on the 1st of April.

[Mladen]

I listened to it yesterday. It's still really good. 

[Big Hath]

TSOAD wipes the floor with TA.

[darkshade]

I forgot how heavy One is. Overall, SS is Neal's heaviest album, and actually I think TSoaD is pretty heavy too, but the heaviness that happens on One is crazy. It sounds so big.

About TSoaD vs The Astonishing, I have to go back to TA, but I haven't felt like listening to it for months, and I wasn't big on the self titled album either, but it's grown on me, though still low on my list of DT albums I like. I think Neal's work just made a better first impression, but I'll come back to this.

What's the consensus on Testimony vs Testimony 2 since T2 has been out for over 5 years now? For me, T1 has grown on me immensely, but I still find T2 is the better album, partially because of the length of T1, as it's a little long-winded; but more because I think T2 sounds amazing, as good as The Whirlwind, and having Randy on bass makes it even better.

[hefdaddy42]

T2 never really struck a chord with me, so I have Testimony ranked WAY higher.

[bosk1]

Same here.

[Nihil-Morari]

Although T1 has a special place in my heart, it's long, sounds pretty out of date (and it lacks extra instrumentalists), and (while that's normally not the case) some parts are too praise-y for me. T2 is really good, has some weaker parts in terms of songwriting, but everything's enjoyable, and the end is close to being the most emotional ending of a NM piece, in my opinion.

[Mladen]

T2 is my favorite solo album by Neal. It flows magnificently well, it works as a concept album but the songs are also great to listen to when taken out of context. The Truth will set you free, It's for you, Nighttime collector, Mercy street, Time changer... So many great songs. And then there's Seeds of gold, one of his two or three best songs. Even the two average short songs on disc 2 can't drag the album down.

[Stadler]

T2 is my favorite solo album by Neal. It flows magnificently well, it works as a concept album but the songs are also great to listen to when taken out of context. The Truth will set you free, It's for you, Nighttime collector, Mercy street, Time changer... So many great songs. And then there's Seeds of gold, one of his two or three best songs. Even the two average short songs on disc 2 can't drag the album down.

There are only two short songs on Disk 2, and one is the greatest song ever - Supernatural - so I'm not sure what disk you mean? 

     I'm kidding with you (though I LOVE "Supernatural"). 

[KevShmev]

What's the consensus on Testimony vs Testimony 2 since T2 has been out for over 5 years now? For me, T1 has grown on me immensely, but I still find T2 is the better album, partially because of the length of T1, as it's a little long-winded; but more because I think T2 sounds amazing, as good as The Whirlwind, and having Randy on bass makes it even better.

Although T1 has a special place in my heart, it's long, sounds pretty out of date (and it lacks extra instrumentalists), and (while that's normally not the case) some parts are too praise-y for me. T2 is really good, has some weaker parts in terms of songwriting, but everything's enjoyable, and the end is close to being the most emotional ending of a NM piece, in my opinion.

Overall, I can get on board with this sentiment.  T1 has some great stuff, but the lack of a regular guitar player and bass player really hurts the overall sound, and it is waaaay too long.  While Neal's conceptual albums are always full of reprises, T1 goes nuts with them, almost to the point of absurdity.  Don't get me wrong, I like the album a lot, but its flaws are more than obvious.

I find T2 to be much better.  The flow is wonderful and there are no weak spots. 

[The Letter M]

I'll also echo some of the sentiment regarding Testimony, in that yes, it can be a BIT to preachy/praise-y at times, and it can drag on for a bit (but I've gotten used to long albums at this point in my prog-listening life - TFK's Unfold The Future is a breeze to me, and that's a MONSTER album), and there are a lot of repeated themes, but they're all still enjoyable to an extent. It's not his BEST album, but far from his worst. Paired with the sequel, the two make for a killer journey of Neal's life told through music, though I will agree, Testimony 2 stands above it, though I wish the ending hadn't been a fade-out, but I understand the sentiment behind it in context of the album.

Because I came in to enjoying Neal Morse around the time the ? album came out, his only post-SB solo albums were those first three - Testimony, One, and ?, and so all three got a LOT of spins and listens from me back in those days. At first, I shied away from Testimony BECAUSE of how preachy/praise-y it got, but enjoyed One and ? more because of the concept-album slant to it - sure, they're religious in nature, but when taken from a "this is a story set to music, and can be seen as a work of fiction like any great rock opera" mindset, I was able to enjoy them more, even with all the God and Jesus in there, but Testimony still took me awhile to break in to. I'd say around the time Sola Scriptura came out, I liked it more, but since then, especially since Testimony 2, I've grown to see more of it's slight flaws and weaknesses compared to later albums.

And yes, I definitely agree - the lack of a non-Neal guitarist and bassist do hurt the album a bit, but the two live performances (well, 3 if you count BOTH Testimony Tour shows from 2003 that were released, plus Morsefest 2014) REALLY amplify how good the music is with a huge band of 8 or 9 players, including a dedicated guitarist and bassist.

As an MP fan, when Testimony 2 was announced, I was REALLY excited to see what the first Post-DT album would be like for him, and I'd have to say, I really enjoyed his playing on that one. There's a lot of good grooves on T2, and the whole band seems to feel very tight on that one as well. Neal's been hitting them out of the park every since then, giving us four straight albums of amazing music! It'll be fun to see what the Neal Morse band will do next (though that probably won't come out until 2019...).

-Marc.

[Mladen]

T2 is my favorite solo album by Neal. It flows magnificently well, it works as a concept album but the songs are also great to listen to when taken out of context. The Truth will set you free, It's for you, Nighttime collector, Mercy street, Time changer... So many great songs. And then there's Seeds of gold, one of his two or three best songs. Even the two average short songs on disc 2 can't drag the album down.

There are only two short songs on Disk 2, and one is the greatest song ever - Supernatural - so I'm not sure what disk you mean? 

     I'm kidding with you (though I LOVE "Supernatural").

Kudos to you, man, no irony. I wish I loved it as well.

[Stadler]

Just a point to the two "Testimony" albums; it IS one of his more preachy works - I don't personally have a problem with that, but I understand why some might - but that's the point of a "testimony".  It's not named that for shits and giggles; it's a thing.  Some people believe that part of being "born again" requires you to "testify", that is, speak - some say "preach" - of your conversion.  That is a "testimony".    You sort of can't have one without the other. 

[Nihil-Morari]

Just a point to the two "Testimony" albums; it IS one of his more preachy works - I don't personally have a problem with that, but I understand why some might - but that's the point of a "testimony".  It's not named that for shits and giggles; it's a thing.  Some people believe that part of being "born again" requires you to "testify", that is, speak - some say "preach" - of your conversion.  That is a "testimony".    You sort of can't have one without the other.

I understand that completely. The difference between 1 and 2 though is songs like Sing it High, Rejoice or Oh Lord My God. I feel that on T2 the message of those songs is more absorbed into songs about life in general. Although it has to be said that on T2 the feeling of rejoice is not really a part of the story, like it ends after part 4 on T1, chronologically.

[KevShmev]

When asked about The Great Nothing on the FB thing yesterday, Eric Gillette admitted to never having heard that song, and seemed a bit clueless about it in general, so unless he was displaying a major poker face, we can probably rule that out as being something they'll play at Morsefest this year.

[darkshade]

Is The Light the best Neal piece ever? Every time I listen to it, I think he hit it right out of the park with Spock's Beard's first song on their first album. I feel this way with All Of The Above. Naysayers always point out they don't like Neal's voice but he has a lot of character, same with Roine Stolt, and James LaBrie, and that matters more to me overall.

[The Letter M]

When asked about The Great Nothing on the FB thing yesterday, Eric Gillette admitted to never having heard that song, and seemed a bit clueless about it in general, so unless he was displaying a major poker face, we can probably rule that out as being something they'll play at Morsefest this year.

It's always possible that Neal could get Al to come back as he played at Morsefest 2014, so that's a possibility in terms of covering "The Great Nothing". I still say that "The Water" would be hilarious in that he's done "The Light" and "Go The Way You Go" already, so "The Water" would be next, just to cover the whole first album (well, and "On The Edge", too). Maybe MP can sing the FU section? 

As far rare epics, Neal has been dishing them out at Morsefest, especially last year with the TGE B-sides and "A Whole 'Nother Trip". Actually, now that I think about it, a performance of "Starless" would be pretty fitting, as both a call-back to the Lifeline sessions (when it was recorded, tho not released), and as a tribute to John. Neal's played a few of the Morse/Portnoy/George covers over the years, but "Starless" would be a huge treat. I know, I know, a lot of fans will say "But Neal has SO MUCH of his own material to play!", but that didn't stop them from doing "MacArthur Park" in 2015, so it's a possibility.

-Marc.

[KevShmev]

I think you need to give up, regarding Lifeline.   The album isn't that good, which is obviously why Neal skipped over it.  Expecting them to nonetheless play a bunch of tracks from it to acknowledge it is totally unrealistic.

Is The Light the best Neal piece ever? Every time I listen to it, I think he hit it right out of the park with Spock's Beard's first song on their first album. I feel this way with All Of The Above. Naysayers always point out they don't like Neal's voice but he has a lot of character, same with Roine Stolt, and James LaBrie, and that matters more to me overall.

I think The Light and All of the Above are two of Neal's best epics ever, without a doubt.  It'd hard to compare his long epics to the shorter songs, but as far as long epics go, those are two of the best.

And I totally agree, re: Neal's voice.

[The Letter M]

I think you need to give up, regarding Lifeline.   The album isn't that good, which is obviously why Neal skipped over it.  Expecting them to nonetheless play a bunch of tracks from it to acknowledge it is totally unrealistic.

I haaaaave, kind of, because Neal's obviously given up on it for Morsefest, though I still maintain that he will play, at the very least, "So Many Roads". Hearing anything else would be interesting, though as I was saying, if they DID play anything else, I'd at least wouldn't mind "Starless", both as a "hey, sorry we skipped our most mediocre album, so here's a cover" and as a "here's our tribute to John Wetton". It would certainly also fit the bill as being a rarely played song (because he's NEVER played it live before!).

Is The Light the best Neal piece ever? Every time I listen to it, I think he hit it right out of the park with Spock's Beard's first song on their first album. I feel this way with All Of The Above. Naysayers always point out they don't like Neal's voice but he has a lot of character, same with Roine Stolt, and James LaBrie, and that matters more to me overall.

I'm so glad you listed Roine Stolt here. Next to Neal, Roine feels like the Swedish flagship progger of the 90's "Come back" prog band surge. I also put him and Neal together as two voices that are both so full of heart and emotion, but can also be hard to get into. On top of all that, they're both VERY prolific (well, Roine WAS, but he's slowed down a lot in the last ten years), fantastic multi-instrumentalists, and as you say, great vocalists as well. All of that makes Transatlantic one of my favorite bands of all time because their work together, both in the writing and performing aspects, is truly inspiring. I truly hope they all find the time to do at least one more Transatlantic album, then we can have a SOLID five-album-run from a tremendous band!

-Marc.

[darkshade]

Going back to The Grand Experiment recently, I realized I just don't like the album as much as other NM albums. The Call is a great song, but middle songs are just not doing it for me, from silly, corny melodies, to plain boring music; and I'm feeling Neal's music right now. The epic Alive Again is cool, I still need to digest more (I only listened to the TGE twice when it came out) but I don't know if it's even top 15 Neal Morse related epic, we'll see. Overall TGE is down there with Lifeline for me right now as an album, I have mixed feelings about the other singers, particularly one, I'm not sure which one, though, but he sings most of the lead vocals on TSoaD besides Neal, and I find them better on that album than TGE.

I'm so glad you listed Roine Stolt here. Next to Neal, Roine feels like the Swedish flagship progger of the 90's "Come back" prog band surge. I also put him and Neal together as two voices that are both so full of heart and emotion, but can also be hard to get into. On top of all that, they're both VERY prolific (well, Roine WAS, but he's slowed down a lot in the last ten years), fantastic multi-instrumentalists, and as you say, great vocalists as well. All of that makes Transatlantic one of my favorite bands of all time because their work together, both in the writing and performing aspects, is truly inspiring. I truly hope they all find the time to do at least one more Transatlantic album, then we can have a SOLID five-album-run from a tremendous band!

-Marc.

Roine is great, and I started up Transatlantic's discography yesterday with SMPT:e and Bridge Across Forever right now. Neal dominates the vocals on the first two TA albums, but when Roine is singing lead, it adds much more color to the music, like on My New World, or Duel With The Devil. Roine and Neal split vocal duties more equally on the later two TA albums, with more input from Mike and Pete (admittedly I've only listened to Kaleidoscope twice, both back in 2014! so I'm excited to hear it again with fresh ears so my memory of the music might be hazy.)

[MinistroRaven]

Watching this right now for review

[Nihil-Morari]

Cool! Can you post your thoughts on here afterwards? Really looking forward to this set. (Possibly even more so to the Snow Live Morsefest 2016 set, but that might take a while. Although that ball is possibly in SB's court, instead of Neal putting it on his agenda)

[OpenYourEyes311]

Cool! Can you post your thoughts on here afterwards? Really looking forward to this set. (Possibly even more so to the Snow Live Morsefest 2016 set, but that might take a while. Although that ball is possibly in SB's court, instead of Neal putting it on his AGENDA!)

Fixed for Neal.

Also, my uneducated guess (read: hope) is that Morsefest 16 will be available to buy first at Morsefest this year, and then come out for real later that month (September). Total speculation, though.

[The Letter M]

Cool! Can you post your thoughts on here afterwards? Really looking forward to this set. (Possibly even more so to the Snow Live Morsefest 2016 set, but that might take a while. Although that ball is possibly in SB's court, instead of Neal putting it on his AGENDA!)

Fixed for Neal.

Also, my uneducated guess (read: hope) is that Morsefest 16 will be available to buy first at Morsefest this year, and then come out for real later that month (September). Total speculation, though.

That would be awesome, but they'd have the start working on MorseFest 2016 stuff soon since Neal and others would have to review the footage and audio over a few months, but Neal will be recording FC3 in the next couple months, then preparing for the summer TSOAD shows and MorseFest 2017, so...we can hope and pray that there's time for it!

-Marc.

[MinistroRaven]

Cool! Can you post your thoughts on here afterwards? Really looking forward to this set. (Possibly even more so to the Snow Live Morsefest 2016 set, but that might take a while. Although that ball is possibly in SB's court, instead of Neal putting it on his agenda)

Sure, I will post them here.

I finished watching the two videos. I am downloading the documentary right mow

[darkshade]

Just wanted to comment and say "Snow" does nothing for me. I listened to it again, and couldn't wait for it to be over. Not one track makes me want to go back. It's so bland to my ears.

On the other hand, I also went through the first 3 Transatlantic albums, hanging on every note. The Whirlwind might just be the crowning achievement of the 4 members of TA; well maybe Mike was part of Scenes but it's not a perfect recording, and Images is dated. Actually, Octavarium might be a better epic than The Whirlwind, but only by a little bit. Neal, Roine, and Pete have been part of, and created, some magical music over the years, but they just did something 'more' with The Whirlwind, just seems like everything came together perfectly. The sound of the recording, the production, the energy, and the actual music itself sounds so inspired, there is no let down, no slow moments, no boring parts. Albums like The Whirlwind only come around once in a while, though 2009 was a good year for prog rock.

Listening to Kaleidoscope now, and I wasn't into it when it came out since I was not listening to prog at the time, and I only listened twice, but I recalled a few cool moments. Well now that I'm listening with fresh ears and having gone through just about all of Neal Morse-related albums now, I'm really digging this one. I won't say it's better than The Whirlwind, but it's on par with the first 2 albums, maybe not as good, but this still needs to sink in. It's definitely better than Snow! and I'm enjoying it a lot more than The Grand Experiment or the last Flower Kings album from a few years ago. The opening epic Into The Blue is a interesting epic, it gets pretty heavy for TA, but has a cool, laid back middle section. The part with Daniel singing is nice, and the ending is climatic, I'll definitely need to revisit this one. The two ballads are fine, Shine is nice enough. Black As The Sky is like the 3rd non-epic, non-ballad tune fro Transatlantic, am I right??? Well it's a cool tune. I wouldn't mind seeing a TA album with a few 5-10 minute songs, maybe one ballad, and then a big 30+ minute epic, just to mix it up. OK the title track for Kaleidoscope has started, here we go!

[darkshade]

What live albums are good to get? I don't have any, and have only heard the live Transatlantic album, Whirld Tour 2010.

[Nihil-Morari]

What live albums are good to get? I don't have any, and have only heard the live Transatlantic album, Whirld Tour 2010.

Neal Morse (solo): I think his latest band is the best one. So if you like his latest work you'd want to get Alive Again
Transatlantic: Sure KaLiveoscope is way better recorded than older releases, but Live In Europe remains my favourite live record of TA, possibly because it got released just before I got into the band. The Beatles medley is great, and it has Stranger, All of the Above, My New World and Duel.

[The Letter M]

What live albums are good to get? I don't have any, and have only heard the live Transatlantic album, Whirld Tour 2010.

Neal Morse (solo): I think his latest band is the best one. So if you like his latest work you'd want to get Alive Again
Transatlantic: Sure KaLiveoscope is way better recorded than older releases, but Live In Europe remains my favourite live record of TA, possibly because it got released just before I got into the band. The Beatles medley is great, and it has Stranger, All of the Above, My New World and Duel.

What Nihil said, but for solo Morse stuff, I also have to put Testimony 2 Live In LA out there as well, especially if you love the T2 album. The live rendition of "Seeds Of Gold" is amazing, as well as songs from all of his previous post-SB solo albums except ?.

The Live Momentum album also has a pretty decent mix of material old and then-new.

Honestly, it just depends on what you like the most from Neal's music. Just look at the tracklists, and get which ever live album has the most songs you like. Recording quality is pretty good from all of them, though the newer ones DO sound a bit better because of just how much better technology has gotten.

-Marc.

[Nihil-Morari]

Welllll, and the NMB is technically a lot better than previous bands. The T1 band was ok, the SS band sub par, after that it starts building up. I agree that the Live Momentum band is good too, but in my memory (I haven't watched that in ages) the T2 band wasn't that tight either.