Author Topic: Official Neal Morse Appreciation Thread  (Read 539732 times)

0 Members and 2 Guests are viewing this topic.

Offline darkshade

  • Posts: 4251
  • Gender: Male
Re: Official Neal Morse Appreciation Thread
« Reply #945 on: July 16, 2012, 09:39:31 AM »
This was either discussed here or on the Spock's Beard thread, but part 3 is going to be on the new Spock's Beard album.

The only thing that is unclear is what is the fate of part 4?

Offline ronnibran

  • Posts: 747
Re: Official Neal Morse Appreciation Thread
« Reply #946 on: July 16, 2012, 10:38:24 AM »
There was a youtube interview with Randy George (possibly in this video:  https://youtu.be/K_fZSgW1H9Y )

I didn't just rewatch (so I may be wrong) but I think he said they were reserving part 4 for Spock's if they ever wanted another one.

Offline MetropolisWatches

  • Posts: 167
  • Gender: Male
  • I&W/Awake/SFAM/6 Degrees
Re: Official Neal Morse Appreciation Thread
« Reply #947 on: July 16, 2012, 04:04:47 PM »
Neal Morse is the man. Apart from Sola Scriptura, Testimony and Testimony 2- what other Neal Morse albums would yall recommend?

Offline Implode

  • Lord of the Squids
  • DTF.org Alumni
  • ****
  • Posts: 5821
  • Gender: Male
Re: Official Neal Morse Appreciation Thread
« Reply #948 on: July 16, 2012, 04:14:54 PM »
Same question from me. I'm in love with Transatlantic.

Offline bosk1

  • King of Misdirection
  • Administrator
  • *****
  • Posts: 12791
  • Bow down to Boskaryus
Re: Official Neal Morse Appreciation Thread
« Reply #949 on: July 16, 2012, 04:37:34 PM »
Neal Morse is the man. Apart from Sola Scriptura, Testimony and Testimony 2- what other Neal Morse albums would yall recommend?

One is my personal favorite (followed closely by Sola Scriptura).  ? is very popular among fans, but I personally rank it fairly low by Neal standards.
"The Supreme Court of the United States has descended from the disciplined legal reasoning of John Marshall and Joseph Story to the mystical aphorisms of the fortune cookie."

Offline ronnibran

  • Posts: 747
Re: Official Neal Morse Appreciation Thread
« Reply #950 on: July 16, 2012, 05:12:50 PM »
One is a definate must, I'd get that next (special edition if possible, but regular edition is still da bomb).  My personal favorite is probably Testimony 2, which you already have.  Lifeline is another good one, the song So Many Roads (29 minutes long!) is hands down my favorite song of all time.  I'm hoping the long epic on his new album will rival it.

I see the tracklist has already been posted, but now we have song lengths:

Momentum - Tracklist:

 01. Momentum (6:25)
 02. Thoughts Part 5 (7:51)
 03. Smoke And Mirrors (4:38)
 04. Weathering Sky (4:15)
 05. Freak (4:29)
 06. World Without End (33:39)
       - I: Introduction
       - II: Never Pass Away
       - III: Losing Your Soul
       - IV: The Mystery
       - V: Some Kind Of Yesterday
       - VI: World Without End

Total playing time: 61:17 minutes
« Last Edit: July 16, 2012, 05:20:43 PM by ronnibran »

Offline The Letter M

  • Posts: 15494
  • Gender: Male
Re: Official Neal Morse Appreciation Thread
« Reply #951 on: July 16, 2012, 05:32:29 PM »
Momentum - Tracklist:

 01. Momentum (6:25)
 02. Thoughts Part 5 (7:51)
 03. Smoke And Mirrors (4:38)
 04. Weathering Sky (4:15)
 05. Freak (4:29)
 06. World Without End (33:39)
       - I: Introduction
       - II: Never Pass Away
       - III: Losing Your Soul
       - IV: The Mystery
       - V: Some Kind Of Yesterday
       - VI: World Without End

Total playing time: 61:17 minutes

Looks like the closing epic got 12 seconds shorter! I wonder what Neal and the guys cut out :lol

This is a relatively SHORT album by Neal's standards. He usually likes to fill the album, but then again he went into this one with few songs demoed and not a lot of time to write/re-write with Mike and Randy. Who knew Neal's new solo album would end up being shorter than the new Rush album! :rollin

I guess both Roine and Neal have the itch to present LESS this year (TFK's latest album is their shortest, at under 60 minutes for the main album, about 75 minutes including bonus tracks). I hope this means they're saving up the longer stuff for TA4! :metal

-Marc.
ATTENTION - HAKEN FANS! The HAKEN SURVIVOR 2023 has begun! You can check it out in the Polls/Survivors Forum!!!

Offline ronnibran

  • Posts: 747
Re: Official Neal Morse Appreciation Thread
« Reply #952 on: July 16, 2012, 06:01:40 PM »
I think Lifeline (the main disc) was under 70 minutes as well.  And Momentum will be roughly the same length as Spock's Beard "V", so I got no worries.  If it's 60 minutes with no sub par or filler songs (Leviathan, anyone?), then we'll be in for a treat.  Just kidding about Leviathan, but it is probably my least favorite song Neal has done. 

Offline Pols Voice

  • Posts: 2323
  • Gender: Male
  • Did ya see the latest Nintendo newsletter?
Re: Official Neal Morse Appreciation Thread
« Reply #953 on: July 16, 2012, 10:37:36 PM »
61 minutes is a good length.

Anybody else love The Separated Man as much as I do? It's absolutely amazing, and the ending gives me chills.
WHOA, NICE GRAPHICS!

Offline ronnibran

  • Posts: 747
Re: Official Neal Morse Appreciation Thread
« Reply #954 on: July 17, 2012, 08:15:06 PM »
The Separated Man is awesome!!!! 

On another Neal note, I started my countdown to Momentum today.  Each week I'll have an album of the week leading up to the new album.  This week is Spock's Beard "V".  The remaining weeks will be for: Snow, Testimony, One, ?, Sola, Lifeline, Testimony 2.

I'd like to say that I haven't looked forward to a new Neal album this badly before, but I'm sure I was looking forward to Testimony 2 at least as much, if not more.

A new press release on Neal's site describes the songs a bit:

"Momentum" features five exceptional stand alone songs and one longer conceptual piece. In addition to the accessible title track, there's the quirkily clever, Gentle Giant-inspired "Thoughts Part 5," which follows in the footsteps of the previous "Thoughts" tracks penned by Morse with Spocks Beard. "Smoke and Mirrors" trods an introspective, acoustic path, while "Weathering Sky" offers a raucous cry for deliverance and renewal from a searching soul. Rounding out the shorter tracks is "Freak," an upbeat, strings-charged song unlike anything Neal has recorded to date. Last comes "World Without End," a near 34-minute, six-part epic that contains everything that defines Morse as a master of the genre.

https://www.nealmorse.com/


Offline Bongasti

  • Posts: 101
  • Gender: Male
Re: Official Neal Morse Appreciation Thread
« Reply #955 on: July 26, 2012, 04:36:20 AM »
A music video for a new song "Momentum" was just uploaded on Neal's YouTube page! https://youtu.be/lH7RBTDd4Yg

The song is pretty typical short song by him, nothing special I think. Paul Gilbert solo was very nice though!

Offline KevShmev

  • EZBoard Elder
  • *****
  • Posts: 41963
  • Gender: Male
Re: Official Neal Morse Appreciation Thread
« Reply #956 on: July 26, 2012, 09:27:00 AM »
Pretty good song.  Not sure what to think of that video.  Neal hamming it up as usual. :lol :lol

Offline Perpetual Change

  • DTF.org Alumni
  • ****
  • Posts: 12264
Re: Official Neal Morse Appreciation Thread
« Reply #957 on: July 26, 2012, 10:31:40 AM »
Pretty good song.  Not sure what to think of that video.  Neal hamming it up as usual. :lol :lol

Pretty much my thoughts exactly. Those shades are weird, and being all in the face in the camera like that really isn't very becoming of Neal, I don't think.

Good song though.

Offline Mladen

  • Posts: 15203
  • Gender: Male
Re: Official Neal Morse Appreciation Thread
« Reply #958 on: July 26, 2012, 11:37:26 AM »
I'm going to make Momentum my first Neal Morse solo album. I'm a huge fan of his work in Spock's beard and Transatlantic, also loved Flying colors, but I never had the time to pay some attention to his solo career. The new album obviously won't be the best place to start, but it's gonna be popular and people are gonna talk about it, so I might as well give it a whirl for the sake of being in touch with what's going on.

Offline unklejman

  • Posts: 715
  • Gender: Male
Re: Official Neal Morse Appreciation Thread
« Reply #959 on: July 26, 2012, 02:12:05 PM »
I found the song a little underwhelming. It kind of gave me a similar vibe to Lifeline, but not as interesting.

I do love how when Randy shows up in the video, he's just kinda chillin'.

Offline unklejman

  • Posts: 715
  • Gender: Male
Re: Official Neal Morse Appreciation Thread
« Reply #960 on: July 26, 2012, 02:13:29 PM »
Oh and, crashed God's partayay.

Offline darkshade

  • Posts: 4251
  • Gender: Male
Re: Official Neal Morse Appreciation Thread
« Reply #961 on: July 29, 2012, 02:59:58 PM »

Offline AMindBesideItself

  • Posts: 53
Re: Official Neal Morse Appreciation Thread
« Reply #962 on: July 30, 2012, 08:51:13 PM »
Love Neal. I'm not a Christian, but I like how he relates his songs to universal themes rather just quoting Bible verses or something.

Offline Ħ

  • Posts: 3247
  • Gender: Male
Re: Official Neal Morse Appreciation Thread
« Reply #963 on: July 30, 2012, 09:02:13 PM »
The video for the new song was switched to private... :/
"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 Hayden

  • Posts: 276
  • Gender: Male
Re: Official Neal Morse Appreciation Thread
« Reply #964 on: August 02, 2012, 10:47:15 AM »
It's back up now; I just watched it then. Definitely not his best work, not by a long way. It is a good song, however, without too many flaws. I'd be lying if I said it wasn't a tiny bit underwhelming and lackluster, though. Oh well, maybe it will sound better in the context of the album.

But, while the song isn't too bad, I really wish he didn't do the video. Or, at least didn't do it the way it was done. If it was simply video of in-studio performances, that would've been fine; in fact, that would've been great. But, the way it is, it's kind of embarrassing.

Offline ColdFireYYZ

  • Posts: 1167
  • Gender: Male
Re: Official Neal Morse Appreciation Thread
« Reply #965 on: August 02, 2012, 11:13:37 AM »
The song was okay but the video was pretty embarrassing. It says "single edit" so I'm hoping that they edited out an instrumental section or something.

Offline Priest of Syrinx

  • Feeding my Narpets
  • Posts: 539
Re: Official Neal Morse Appreciation Thread
« Reply #966 on: August 02, 2012, 11:48:08 AM »
The song was okay but the video was pretty embarrassing. It says "single edit" so I'm hoping that they edited out an instrumental section or something.

+1

Really, the video looks like Neal inserted himself into outtakes from a Rebecca Black video, or something.  Cringe-worthy.
It's the Internet.  Everything everybody says, no matter how factual-sounding, is opinion.

Offline KevShmev

  • EZBoard Elder
  • *****
  • Posts: 41963
  • Gender: Male
Re: Official Neal Morse Appreciation Thread
« Reply #967 on: August 02, 2012, 12:16:56 PM »
It's back up now; I just watched it then. Definitely not his best work, not by a long way. It is a good song, however, without too many flaws. I'd be lying if I said it wasn't a tiny bit underwhelming and lackluster, though. Oh well, maybe it will sound better in the context of the album.

But, while the song isn't too bad, I really wish he didn't do the video. Or, at least didn't do it the way it was done. If it was simply video of in-studio performances, that would've been fine; in fact, that would've been great. But, the way it is, it's kind of embarrassing.

Agreed all-around.  Neal has the tendency to come off as a bit too hokey at times, and that is on full display in that video.  But hey, that's who he is, so there ya go. :biggrin:

And the song is pretty good, but nothing special.  I hope this isn't another Lifeline, with a great epic and then a bunch of shorter songs that range from okay to just good.

Offline rumborak

  • DT.net Veteran
  • ****
  • Posts: 26664
Re: Official Neal Morse Appreciation Thread
« Reply #968 on: August 03, 2012, 01:48:21 PM »
I just chanced on that song because it was mentioned on mp.com. I dunno folks, but I find his musical crank-turning almost laughable at this point. Same chord progressions, same drummer, same keyboard patches etc. etc.

rumborak
"I liked when Myung looked like a women's figure skating champion."

Offline kirksnosehair

  • DTF.org Alumni
  • ****
  • Posts: 8521
  • Gender: Male
  • Bryce & Kylie's Grandpa
Re: Official Neal Morse Appreciation Thread
« Reply #969 on: August 03, 2012, 01:53:07 PM »
It's back up now; I just watched it then. Definitely not his best work, not by a long way. It is a good song, however, without too many flaws. I'd be lying if I said it wasn't a tiny bit underwhelming and lackluster, though. Oh well, maybe it will sound better in the context of the album.

But, while the song isn't too bad, I really wish he didn't do the video. Or, at least didn't do it the way it was done. If it was simply video of in-studio performances, that would've been fine; in fact, that would've been great. But, the way it is, it's kind of embarrassing.

Agreed all-around.  Neal has the tendency to come off as a bit too hokey at times, and that is on full display in that video.  But hey, that's who he is, so there ya go. :biggrin:

And the song is pretty good, but nothing special.  I hope this isn't another Lifeline, with a great epic and then a bunch of shorter songs that range from okay to just good.


I've seen a couple of reviews posted already and they're all comparing to....


Lifeline


Offline KevShmev

  • EZBoard Elder
  • *****
  • Posts: 41963
  • Gender: Male
Re: Official Neal Morse Appreciation Thread
« Reply #970 on: August 03, 2012, 02:17:11 PM »
I get the sense they mean that in regards to format: an album full of songs unrelated to each other (as opposed to the conceptual nature of most of his solo albums), one giant epic and then almost all shorter songs. 

rumborak, I get what you mean; Momentum is definitely "Neal Morse by the numbers."  But considering how small his niche audience has gotten, I can't blame him for sticking to what he does best.  Gotta keep his hardcore fans happy to keep the money flowing in, especially since this is how he earns a living.  He definitely has sort of become the "AC/DC of symphonic prog rock," to say the least.  You pretty much know what you are getting from him every time out, for the most part.  I was almost air drumming to the song halfway through it the FIRST time I heard it, for God's sake! :lol :lol

Offline Scrub206

  • DT.net Veteran
  • ****
  • Posts: 1673
  • Gender: Male
Re: Official Neal Morse Appreciation Thread
« Reply #971 on: August 07, 2012, 03:19:48 PM »
"Momentum" Pre sales have begun... as of midnight last night!!

https://www.radiantrecords.com/products/396-momentum.aspx


got mine then  :metal

Offline The Letter M

  • Posts: 15494
  • Gender: Male
Re: Official Neal Morse Appreciation Thread
« Reply #972 on: August 07, 2012, 03:37:17 PM »
"Momentum" Pre sales have begun... as of midnight last night!!

https://www.radiantrecords.com/products/396-momentum.aspx


got mine then  :metal

Ordered mine at 12:05am EST last night! I hope I am one of the chosen 100 to get a signed copy!

-Marc.
ATTENTION - HAKEN FANS! The HAKEN SURVIVOR 2023 has begun! You can check it out in the Polls/Survivors Forum!!!

Offline Scrub206

  • DT.net Veteran
  • ****
  • Posts: 1673
  • Gender: Male
Re: Official Neal Morse Appreciation Thread
« Reply #973 on: August 07, 2012, 04:00:32 PM »
12:08 here :( HOPE I GET PICKED

Offline KevShmev

  • EZBoard Elder
  • *****
  • Posts: 41963
  • Gender: Male
Re: Official Neal Morse Appreciation Thread
« Reply #974 on: August 07, 2012, 08:32:08 PM »
I couldn't care less about getting a signed copy and will probably order my copy of the CD the week it comes out. :biggrin: :coolio

Offline ronnibran

  • Posts: 747
Re: Official Neal Morse Appreciation Thread
« Reply #975 on: August 07, 2012, 08:54:36 PM »
Pre-ordered from Radiant today....  Was going to wait and order a cheaper way, but got sucked into the chance of getting a signed copy (but won't be disappointed when I don't get it).

Not sure I agree regarding Neal sounding too samey...  First time I heard Sola Scriptura I was blown away, and it sounded nothing like what I thought it would.  When I compare to other bands I love (Dream Theater, Redemption, etc.) they aren't "groundbreaking" with new releases either usually...  My exception with Neal is Seeds Of Gold from disc 2 of Testimony 2.  I thought that song sounded kind of blah and uninspired compared to Neal's other epics.

I'm predicting the new album will sound closer to "V" than "Lifeline", but of course different in it's own way.

Offline Perpetual Change

  • DTF.org Alumni
  • ****
  • Posts: 12264
Re: Official Neal Morse Appreciation Thread
« Reply #976 on: August 11, 2012, 07:19:33 AM »
Oh, so some people were wondering about how Momentum is a single-edit. Well, Neal performed the song before, so this is what the full version is like. Another guitar solo and  piano cool-down section.

Offline darkshade

  • Posts: 4251
  • Gender: Male
Re: Official Neal Morse Appreciation Thread
« Reply #977 on: August 11, 2012, 09:47:31 AM »
I don't have physical copies of all the Neal prog albums yet, and I've held off ordering them all so I can get them from my local record store so I can support them. I've been waiting for a long time for my local shop to stock some Neal albums on their shelves. They've had Testimony 2 since it came out, and Sola Scriptura for the longest time, as well as the Cover to Cover albums, which I don't care for.. One guy I talked to said they were finally getting some new stuff in soon. I go there the other day, and what did they add? "Lifeline" and "Neal Morse"  :facepalm:

I picked up Lifeline anyway, since I didn't have the physical copy of it, but still...

Offline KevShmev

  • EZBoard Elder
  • *****
  • Posts: 41963
  • Gender: Male
Re: Official Neal Morse Appreciation Thread
« Reply #978 on: August 11, 2012, 12:26:22 PM »
Oh, so some people were wondering about how Momentum is a single-edit. Well, Neal performed the song before, so this is what the full version is like. Another guitar solo and  piano cool-down section.

Randy George really needs to calm down when performing on stage. :lol

Offline bosk1

  • King of Misdirection
  • Administrator
  • *****
  • Posts: 12791
  • Bow down to Boskaryus
Re: Official Neal Morse Appreciation Thread
« Reply #979 on: August 13, 2012, 08:46:26 AM »
Oh, so some people were wondering about how Momentum is a single-edit. Well, Neal performed the song before, so this is what the full version is like. Another guitar solo and  piano cool-down section.

Randy George really needs to calm down when performing on stage. :lol

:lol  Can't wait to get this, but I refuse to order anything through Radiant's site unless forced to.
"The Supreme Court of the United States has descended from the disciplined legal reasoning of John Marshall and Joseph Story to the mystical aphorisms of the fortune cookie."