Official Neal Morse Appreciation Thread

[El Barto]

Mother.....

I LITERALLY bought my tickets - to NY AND Boston - this morning, and opted out of the "protection" protection.  I say that because I have a strong suspicion that one of those TBA's will be in Connecticut, and likely at a place where I can get front row and save a drive.  Dammit.

Well, I guess our meetup is delayed.

When you asked why I might be in your neighborhood, that was it.

[countoftuscany42]

Sorry to everyone that already had tickets for the fall shows, but I'm hoping this means they'll add a CA date, preferably LA but if its SF I'd consider driving up

[King Postwhore]

Mother.....

I LITERALLY bought my tickets - to NY AND Boston - this morning, and opted out of the "protection" protection.  I say that because I have a strong suspicion that one of those TBA's will be in Connecticut, and likely at a place where I can get front row and save a drive.  Dammit.

Well, I guess our meetup is delayed.

When you asked why I might be in your neighborhood, that was it.

Awe crap.

[Stadler]

Mother.....

I LITERALLY bought my tickets - to NY AND Boston - this morning, and opted out of the "protection" protection.  I say that because I have a strong suspicion that one of those TBA's will be in Connecticut, and likely at a place where I can get front row and save a drive.  Dammit.

Well, I guess our meetup is delayed.

Yeah, and I'm bummed.  That was pretty much why I was going to go to both shows.  Ah; we'll make it happen.  Are you going to DT?  I wasn't going to, but I may add that given I have nothing else now until February except for The Musical Box.

[darkshade]

Is it possible to get a refund if you bought tickets for a fall '21 show, but may not be able to attend in February '22?

[King Postwhore]

Mother.....

I LITERALLY bought my tickets - to NY AND Boston - this morning, and opted out of the "protection" protection.  I say that because I have a strong suspicion that one of those TBA's will be in Connecticut, and likely at a place where I can get front row and save a drive.  Dammit.

Well, I guess our meetup is delayed.

Yeah, and I'm bummed.  That was pretty much why I was going to go to both shows.  Ah; we'll make it happen.  Are you going to DT?  I wasn't going to, but I may add that given I have nothing else now until February except for The Musical Box.

Yes I am.  Box L4.

[Metro]

Was thinking about buying tickets to the Baltimore show. Guess I’ll wait and see if they announce something closer.

[KevShmev]

I doubt STL will be worked into those new TBA dates, but oh well.   

I gave Beyond the Years a whirl in the car today when having to do a drive after work.  Sounded great.  That instrumental section from around the 21 minute mark on that lasts about two minutes or so is still a hair in the soup for me, but the rest of the song is money.

[425]

Am I the only one who gets a Great Despair vibe from the first verse of The Way It Had to Be? There are a couple of moments where I feel like Eric is about to break into "And the master of indifference caught us blind and unaware..."

[Metro]

I gave Beyond the Years two listens today after not listening to it for over a week. Still not feeling it.
The abrupt ending gave me an idea that maybe if you played the song again after it ends, it would loop back into the intro, kinda like how Octavarium ends with the intro to the album.
Spoiler alert: It doesn’t work.  Though that would have been a cool idea IMO.

BTY doesn’t bring down the whole album for me, as the rest of it is brilliant. But man, the whole song just seems like a disjointed mess that doesn’t flow well at all.

[bluefox4000]

I gave Beyond the Years two listens today after not listening to it for over a week. Still not feeling it.
The abrupt ending gave me an idea that maybe if you played the song again after it ends, it would loop back into the intro, kinda like how Octavarium ends with the intro to the album.
Spoiler alert: It doesn’t work.  Though that would have been a cool idea IMO.

BTY doesn’t bring down the whole album for me, as the rest of it is brilliant. But man, the whole song just seems like a disjointed mess that doesn’t flow well at all.

i agree i'm trying with it but it's so herky jerky as an epic that i'm not feeling it.  it's totally fine because i love Not Afraid Pt. 2 . i kind of wish that was the 30 minute one and BTY was 10 minutes, lol

such a throw everything at the wall epic and hope something sticks

[darkshade]

First disc is one of the most solid discs of music out of Neal's discography. Disc 2 is bit of a harder nut to crack, but it's not bad, just very dense music.
I'd rather have that than two Neal-by-numbers epics.

[Dedalus]

I finally listened to the new record (sorry Neal, but Iron Maiden have priority  ). So far I've only listened in full once (but I already knew the first three).

Quick considerations (not that anyone asked):

CD1
01- Do It All Again - It has a great arrangement, a lot of interesting stuff... but I don't like the vocal lines and I hate the chorus. Unfortunately.

02 - Bird on a Wire - I don't like anything here.

03 - Your Place in the Sun - I like everything here. Everything works for me.

04 - Another Story to Tell - Reminds me of something I don't know what. Pretty cool and it has a kind of non-Nealmorseian vibe.

05 - The Way It Had to Be - Great start. It reminds Pink Floyd a little bit. Again I like the arrangement. I like the piano, the bass, the guitars. Good vocal melodies and Eric works well (and I'm not on team- Eric). Beautiful music.

06 - Emergence - Kind of loose on the record, but fuck it. I love stuff like that.

07 - Not Afraid, Pt. 1 - Great start with acoustic guitar and beautiful vocal melodies. I think the first half (more folk) is better than the second half.

08 - Bridge over Troubled Water - Interesting cover. Great vocal melodies (thanks Paul Simon  ). I liked the version.

CD 2
01 - Not Afraid, Pt. 2 - I like it. There are moments like Neal Morse, others not so much. The arrangement is interesting, the vocals work (I just don't like the ending with Eric singing in a rather pompous way). One of the highlights.

02 - Beyond the Years - Very interesting start! I loved it. Afterwards the song is very Neal Morse-like. Gentlegiantisms. 15 min mark, very interesting. John Petrucci does a solo on this song? At 20 minutes, a totally random instrumental starts. The song seems to be over, but there are still 4 minutes left  . The strings and the organ return. John Petrucci returns. Strings only (nice). Abrupt end.
Looks like you have it all here. I need to listen to it again.


I think the main quality of CD 1 is not being so similar to what Neal Morse (NMB) has always done. There is a flavor of newness here, although not everything has worked for me. Point for the band.
CD 2 has more of the band's style.

I don't think it's SB or Neal's early solo albums level, but I think it's the best NMB. 

I will listen again.

[KevShmev]

01- Do It All Again - It has a great arrangement, a lot of interesting stuff... but I don't like the vocal lines and I hate the chorus. Unfortunately.

Regarding this, I know what you mean about the vocal lines.  I just haven't really connected with this song, and it hit me the other day that I do not like the verses at all.  It is just a clunky melody.  It doesn't happen often where I dislike a melody Neal sings, but it happened with that one.

[425]

Do It All Again has been a slow build for me, in part because, yeah, the verse melodies aren't particularly impressing me. Another element is that it doesn't quite have the level of energy I feel like it wants to have. I've come to like it more over my last few listens, though. I think it's pretty good instrumentally and I do like the chorus.

For a song that is sort of inviting comparisons to The Call with its length and placement on the album, though, it doesn't quite measure up to the standard that's been set before.

[KevShmev]

The comparison to The Call "makes no sense to me."  They are both track 1's. That is where the extreme similarities begin and end. 

[425]

The comparison, which I've seen in a couple of reviews, is that they're both long, proggy tracks to open the album—one a little shy of 9 minutes and other a little more than 10. That's pretty much where it begins and ends. I, at least, am not trying to imply that Do It All Again is The Call Part Two.

[KevShmev]

Eh, that is the annoying things about prog reviewers.  It is always "this song sounds like that song" or "this song sounds like that band."  Granted, the band invites that with their constant "this is the Supertramp part" or "this is the Gentle Giant section," but you'd think reviewers could be a little more creative with their wording.  I mean, we might as well call A Love That Never Dies Part 2 of Broken Sky / Long Day (Reprise), right?  I mean, they are both the last song of a double concept album, both feature several of the main themes of their albums, both feature Eric singing the climax, and both are overly dramatic in a good way.  THEY ARE THE SAME, AMIRITE??

[Stadler]

02 - Bird on a Wire - I don't like anything here.

Favorite song on the entire work.  Everything about this song is perfect to me.

04 - Another Story to Tell - Reminds me of something I don't know what. Pretty cool and it has a kind of non-Nealmorseian vibe.

Me too!  The song before is pure Jellyfish but this song, particularly the intro, has a vibe that I struggle with too; the closest I can come is Chicago.

[King Postwhore]

01- Do It All Again - It has a great arrangement, a lot of interesting stuff... but I don't like the vocal lines and I hate the chorus. Unfortunately.

Regarding this, I know what you mean about the vocal lines.  I just haven't really connected with this song, and it hit me the other day that I do not like the verses at all.  It is just a clunky melody.  It doesn't happen often where I dislike a melody Neal sings, but it happened with that one.

How do you hate a chorus like this?  I can get you not liking the vocal lines but the chorus is excellent.

[KevShmev]

01- Do It All Again - It has a great arrangement, a lot of interesting stuff... but I don't like the vocal lines and I hate the chorus. Unfortunately.

Regarding this, I know what you mean about the vocal lines.  I just haven't really connected with this song, and it hit me the other day that I do not like the verses at all.  It is just a clunky melody.  It doesn't happen often where I dislike a melody Neal sings, but it happened with that one.

How do you hate a chorus like this?  I can get you not liking the vocal lines but the chorus is excellent.

Hey now, that was Dedalus who said he hated the chorus.

I like the chorus a lot.  I just do not care for the verses. 

[Learning2Live]

Am I the only one who gets a Great Despair vibe from the first verse of The Way It Had to Be? There are a couple of moments where I feel like Eric is about to break into "And the master of indifference caught us blind and unaware..."

Pretty sure this song was an extra from the TGA sessions that didn't make the final cut. I noticed the similarities as well.

[Learning2Live]

04 - Another Story to Tell - Reminds me of something I don't know what. Pretty cool and it has a kind of non-Nealmorseian vibe.

Me too!  The song before is pure Jellyfish but this song, particularly the intro, has a vibe that I struggle with too; the closest I can come is Chicago.

Can't remember exactly where I heard this (guessing I heard this on the Making Of video), but I can remember Mike mentioning somewhere about a Supertramp-esque track on the album and assumed this is the one he was referring to.

[King Postwhore]

01- Do It All Again - It has a great arrangement, a lot of interesting stuff... but I don't like the vocal lines and I hate the chorus. Unfortunately.

Regarding this, I know what you mean about the vocal lines.  I just haven't really connected with this song, and it hit me the other day that I do not like the verses at all.  It is just a clunky melody.  It doesn't happen often where I dislike a melody Neal sings, but it happened with that one.

How do you hate a chorus like this?  I can get you not liking the vocal lines but the chorus is excellent.

Hey now, that was Dedalus who said he hated the chorus.

I like the chorus a lot.  I just do not care for the verses.

I know. I just used you quoting to respond to him.

[Dedalus]

01- Do It All Again - It has a great arrangement, a lot of interesting stuff... but I don't like the vocal lines and I hate the chorus. Unfortunately.

Regarding this, I know what you mean about the vocal lines.  I just haven't really connected with this song, and it hit me the other day that I do not like the verses at all.  It is just a clunky melody.  It doesn't happen often where I dislike a melody Neal sings, but it happened with that one.

How do you hate a chorus like this?  I can get you not liking the vocal lines but the chorus is excellent.

I think it's tacky (I really don't know if this term translates well into English what I mean).

[Dedalus]

04 - Another Story to Tell - Reminds me of something I don't know what. Pretty cool and it has a kind of non-Nealmorseian vibe.

Me too!  The song before is pure Jellyfish but this song, particularly the intro, has a vibe that I struggle with too; the closest I can come is Chicago.

I'm not so familiar with Chicago. Of the American bands with place names only Kansas I know well. 

[King Postwhore]

01- Do It All Again - It has a great arrangement, a lot of interesting stuff... but I don't like the vocal lines and I hate the chorus. Unfortunately.

Regarding this, I know what you mean about the vocal lines.  I just haven't really connected with this song, and it hit me the other day that I do not like the verses at all.  It is just a clunky melody.  It doesn't happen often where I dislike a melody Neal sings, but it happened with that one.

How do you hate a chorus like this?  I can get you not liking the vocal lines but the chorus is excellent.

I think it's tacky (I really don't know if this term translates well into English what I mean).

I just think it's weird because that is a staple chorus to a typical Neal Morse song.  Now the pre chorus with Bill singing seems a bit off to me and that I do understand.

[Kram]

04 - Another Story to Tell - Reminds me of something I don't know what. Pretty cool and it has a kind of non-Nealmorseian vibe.

Me too!  The song before is pure Jellyfish but this song, particularly the intro, has a vibe that I struggle with too; the closest I can come is Chicago.

Can't remember exactly where I heard this (guessing I heard this on the Making Of video), but I can remember Mike mentioning somewhere about a Supertramp-esque track on the album and assumed this is the one he was referring to.
[/quote]

I can see that - I would say it's got a Supertramp, Chicago, Toto, maybe even a Steely Danish type of vibe.  Definitely a 70's feel.

[darkshade]

I like Bird On A Wire, probably the best tune on the album, and the only song to get stuck in my head from I&D so far.

[bluefox4000]

04 - Another Story to Tell - Reminds me of something I don't know what. Pretty cool and it has a kind of non-Nealmorseian vibe.

Me too!  The song before is pure Jellyfish but this song, particularly the intro, has a vibe that I struggle with too; the closest I can come is Chicago.

Can't remember exactly where I heard this (guessing I heard this on the Making Of video), but I can remember Mike mentioning somewhere about a Supertramp-esque track on the album and assumed this is the one he was referring to.

I can see that - I would say it's got a Supertramp, Chicago, Toto, maybe even a Steely Danish type of vibe.  Definitely a 70's feel.

agreed. in fact the whole of disc 1......cover aside......seems a close homage to AOR which is fine by me....AOR nut here, lol


[/quote]

[The Letter M]

04 - Another Story to Tell - Reminds me of something I don't know what. Pretty cool and it has a kind of non-Nealmorseian vibe.

Me too!  The song before is pure Jellyfish but this song, particularly the intro, has a vibe that I struggle with too; the closest I can come is Chicago.

Can't remember exactly where I heard this (guessing I heard this on the Making Of video), but I can remember Mike mentioning somewhere about a Supertramp-esque track on the album and assumed this is the one he was referring to.

I can see that - I would say it's got a Supertramp, Chicago, Toto, maybe even a Steely Danish type of vibe.  Definitely a 70's feel.

agreed. in fact the whole of disc 1......cover aside......seems a close homage to AOR which is fine by me....AOR nut here, lol

The completely demolished quote train was *really* bothering me, so I fixed it.

Just remember, if you're going to quote someone, make sure YOUR response is BELOW all the quote text, including the code "[ / q u o t e ]" (without spaces) just so everyone knows what everyone is saying, especially when people are quoting posts with multiple quotes in them.

To bring the post back on topic - I've kind of given I&D a bit of a rest this past week or so. Not that I dislike it, but I think I kind of over-Nealed myself in the lead-up to the release of I&D. I'm sure I'll spin it again over the next few weeks before the new Yes and DT albums coming out next month.

Count me among the few that, while I was initially perplexed by the ending of BTY, have come to enjoy the sudden ending to the song and what it means in context with the song itself. I definitely need to revisit both epics with the lyrics in front of me to appreciate them more, though. The songs on disc 1 are a bit more direct and catchy, which I like. I'm sure others would have liked a more mixed-up track sequence, but I don't mind them putting both epics at the very end. I wonder if people would have felt differently if they had indexed BTY into its seven sections/movements since the way songs/epics are presented can affect the response and opinions of listeners.

-Marc.

[KevShmev]

Yeah, even though I really like most of I&D, I am not binging on it like I normally do with new Neal releases, and the simple reason is I am a bit burned out on Neal.  Don't get me wrong, him being prolific is a gift to fans, but it is like there is no let-up.  How can we miss him if he is never gone?

[The Letter M]

Yeah, even though I really like most of I&D, I am not binging on it like I normally do with new Neal releases, and the simple reason is I am a bit burned out on Neal.  Don't get me wrong, him being prolific is a gift to fans, but it is like there is no let-up.  How can we miss him if he is never gone?

I know! And now he has *another* project coming out next year, in addition to NMB and TA tours, and who knows, maybe Flying Colors will reconvene for a fourth album soon too! In the words of The Beatles - "It's all too much."

-Marc.

[KevShmev]

I have to admit that when I heard about the Neal, Nick and Ross thing, my immediate reaction was, "Oh jeez, another project?"

[bluefox4000]

yea i'm skipping the new project don't really care actually, lol

besides as much as i love neal there's so much other music to sample.