SnowThe summer of 2002 saw the release of the 6th Spock's Beard; it was also the final album they did with Neal Morse (as a full-time member), who left the band shortly after the release of the album. I always sort of noticed Neal's spiritual lyrics on the first five Spock's albums, as well as the first two Transatlantic albums, but I never really thought he was a guy who was gonna convert and leave the band over it, although I admittedly never thought about it. I remember it was not long after the release of
Snow that rumors starting circulating that Neal was either gonna leave the band or had already left the band, and when several online presences close to the band would neither confirm not disconfirm the rumors, you just kind of knew that their silence spoke volumes. When Neal released his statement announcing his departure, and the reasons why, it wasn't totally unexpected, but it was still like a punch to the gut. One of our favorite bands had just released a phenomenal record, epic in just about every way, and here there main songwriter and the man many thought was THE heart and soul of the band was suddenly not a part of it. I am not saying it took the wind out my sails regarding my enjoyment of the album, but it certainly changed the way I interpreted certain lyrics (some of which can relate to the story as well as Neal's personal journey).
It is hard to go in depth with each song with this record like I did with the others, since there are a total of 26 songs across the two CDs, but I will start by saying this format is pretty similar to Genesis'
The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway, in that Disc 1 is nearly flawless from start to finish, while Disc 2 is pretty great, too, even if there are times you think some trimming could have been done. I mean, there isn't any single song on this album I do not like, but songs like "Welcome to NYC," "Looking for Answers" (which sounds completely out of place, especially since it is nearly the only song that is isolated on its own to where it doesn't fade it or out to anything else), "Devil's Got My Throat Revisted" (pretty unnecessary, although that long rising keyboard note is freaking awesome) and "Ladies And Gentlemen, Mister Ryo Okumoto on the Keyboards" (not sure what the purpose of this was, other than to have a live-like tune on the album), all could have been taken off and the album would have been just as great.
One thing in particular I really like about this album is the heavy focus on piano and acoustic guitars. Neal is just such a great writer of simple, yet very catchy, melodies, and while he can prog it up, and does here at times, there are a lot of simple melodies on the piano and acoustic guitar that are just lovely to listen to and add to the overall cohesiveness. I especially like some of the "end of song" transition bits, like how could the acoustic guitar at the end of "Long Time Suffering" leads into the next track, or the piano at the end of "4th Of July" leads into "I'm the Guy." Very clever and effective writing there.
For my money, the Disc 1 standout tracks here are "Long Time Suffering" and then everything on Disc 1 from "Love Beyond Words" to "Wind at My Back.' Nothing but pure greatness mostly the whole way on Disc 1. Favorites on Disc 2 include "I'm the Guy" (love that bass line), "Reflection" (short, yet great), "All is Vanity" (love how the moog solo is the same melody as the 'Love Beyond Words" piano solo), "I'm Dying," " I Will Go" and "Made Alive Again/Wind at My Back Reprise." I have to admit I wasn't a fan of that tacked on thing following the last track (just makes what feels like a disc that is a tad too long feel even longer, and the normal ending was so perfect), but that was easily lopped off my mp3 of it and I haven't listened to that bit in years.
Many other favorite little moments include:
-that little jazzy breakdown in "Open Wide the Flood Gates" with the guitar solo and the piano and drums complimenting it perfectly.
-pretty much every melody in "Wind at My Back."
-The "Thought I was the bigger man..." vocal section of "All Is Vanity. That vocal sections gives me the chills every time.
-The Kansas-inspired instrumental section in "Devil's Got My Throat."
-Neal's call-out and thank you to the fans and the band at the end of the album (no way you can convince me that, knowing he was leaving the album, he didn't do that to thank the fans and the band).
-The way the final vocal in "Love Beyond Words" segue ways perfectly into the power chord that opens up "39th Street Blues."
-The climax in "Solitary Soul." EPIC.
-"I had a mustard today..." what would a SB album be without an absurdly, silly Neal Morse lyric.
Overall, this probably is the band's best studio album to date. Even with feeling a bit padded, it is still a beast of a record, and a recent start to finish listen of it reminded me of just how freaking much I love it, even if it did take me several days to get through it on drives to and from places.