Official Neal Morse Appreciation Thread

[The Letter M]

I am really kicking myself for not getting the deluxe version of The Great Adventure. I've already double dipped on so many of the releases and have to decide if the making of doc is worth it to double dip TGA.

The documentary for TGA is pretty good. It's not as heated as TSOAD got to be, but there's a lot of insight into the creating of what would end up being the TSOAD sequel, and there's some disagreements and resolutions that really flesh out the making of the album for me. You really learn a lot about the album-making process here and, well, I won't spoil much more for ya if you decide to buy it. Definitely worth it, but then again, I love pretty much every behind-the-scene doc that Neal has put out (from Spock's Beard, to TA, to his solo stuff).

You could always sell your regular copy of TGA to a friend, or even gift it, just to spread the gospel that is Neal's music!

-Marc.

[faizoff]

Well I have the whole band sign the booklet for the regular edition so not sure I want to get rid of it. 🙂

[Architeuthis]

You could always sell your regular copy of TGA to a friend, or even gift it, just to spread the gospel that is Neal's music!

-Marc.

I've done that before with friends. I bought two copies of The Astonishing and gave one to a friend. I asked him if he listened to it a few weeks later and he said he still never opened it out of the cellophane package. 
 I asked him again a few months later and be said he lost it.   Bottom line,, people suck and don't ever gift them any music they haven't heard. Chances are they will shine it on and never give it the time of day.. 

[The Letter M]

You could always sell your regular copy of TGA to a friend, or even gift it, just to spread the gospel that is Neal's music!

-Marc.

I've done that before with friends. I bought two copies of The Astonishing and gave one to a friend. I asked him if he listened to it a few weeks later and he said he still never opened it out of the cellophane package. 
 I asked him again a few months later and be said he lost it.   Bottom line,, people suck and don't ever gift them any music they haven't heard. Chances are they will shine it on and never give it the time of day.. 

You might want to fix your quote formatting, it's really confusing. Just remember to always check the bottom of your new post and start typing AFTER the /quote brackets, just to be sure you're starting a new statement away from the quoted post!

-Marc.

[Architeuthis]

Thanks, I'll keep that in mind. 
 I get in a hurry sometimes.

[bosk1]

You could always sell your regular copy of TGA to a friend, or even gift it, just to spread the gospel that is Neal's music!

-Marc.

I've done that before with friends. I bought two copies of The Astonishing and gave one to a friend. I asked him if he listened to it a few weeks later and he said he still never opened it out of the cellophane package. 
 I asked him again a few months later and be said he lost it.   Bottom line,, people suck and don't ever gift them any music they haven't heard. Chances are they will shine it on and never give it the time of day.. 

You might want to fix your quote formatting, it's really confusing. Just remember to always check the bottom of your new post and start typing AFTER the /quote brackets, just to be sure you're starting a new statement away from the quoted post!

-Marc.

I totally agree.  It is confusing and annoying.

Oh, and hard to read as well.

[Architeuthis]

Good one Bosk! 

[kaos2900]

kaos2900, how was the show last night? I saw some pics on FB and the venue looked pretty packed!

The Lawrence show on Friday was simply amazing! I was front row right in front of Neal and Eric. It just doesn't get much better than that. The crowd in the front section stood the whole time and even MP commented on that. Neal is just such an amazing performer and was so emotional towards the end of the show. The meet and greet cool and the band was nice as always. The only problem was the venue was absolutely freezing.

[bosk1]

Not surprising, but I've been listening to The Great Adventure a LOT lately.  This may seem a bit controversial, but honestly, as I've listened to this album more and more in the last couple of months, Similitude just keeps fading farther and farther into the background.  That isn't nearly as much of a knock on Similitude as it may sound.  It's just that The Great Adventure is SO good!  [Roine Stoldt voice]No, I can't get it out of my head... [/Roine Stoldt voice] 

[KevShmev]

kaos2900, how was the show last night? I saw some pics on FB and the venue looked pretty packed!

The Lawrence show on Friday was simply amazing! I was front row right in front of Neal and Eric. It just doesn't get much better than that. The crowd in the front section stood the whole time and even MP commented on that. Neal is just such an amazing performer and was so emotional towards the end of the show. The meet and greet cool and the band was nice as always. The only problem was the venue was absolutely freezing.

Good to hear!  Well, not about the cold , but the rest.

[gmillerdrake]

I was front row right in front of Neal and Eric. It just doesn't get much better than that.

Assuming they keep the same stage arrangement in the future.....this is where I'm purchasing seats from now on should they continue to come through St. Louis and play Delmar Hall. I picked seats in front of MP and Randy this last time because my oldest loves MP so I wanted him to have a straight shot at seeing him play....but next time I HAVE to get in front of Eric to watch him play. He's simply an incredible guitarist.

[kaos2900]

I was front row right in front of Neal and Eric. It just doesn't get much better than that.

Assuming they keep the same stage arrangement in the future.....this is where I'm purchasing seats from now on should they continue to come through St. Louis and play Delmar Hall. I picked seats in front of MP and Randy this last time because my oldest loves MP so I wanted him to have a straight shot at seeing him play....but next time I HAVE to get in front of Eric to watch him play. He's simply an incredible guitarist.

I have some amazing pics and videos of Eric shredding literally feet from my face. Guy is AMAZING live.

[KevShmev]

I was front row right in front of Neal and Eric. It just doesn't get much better than that.

Assuming they keep the same stage arrangement in the future.....this is where I'm purchasing seats from now on should they continue to come through St. Louis and play Delmar Hall. I picked seats in front of MP and Randy this last time because my oldest loves MP so I wanted him to have a straight shot at seeing him play....but next time I HAVE to get in front of Eric to watch him play. He's simply an incredible guitarist.

So basically, you want to be exactly where I was last week.

[KevShmev]

[KevShmev]

I see the Transatlantic blimp in the 't' of Morsefest, so maybe that is a clue that Transatlantic will be featured this year at Morsefest.  I think it'd be cool to see the NMB do an entire night of Transatlantic music.

[King Postwhore]

So on my birthday.  Thanks Neil.

[KevShmev]

So on my birthday.  Thanks Neil.

Neil Peart is retired.

[King Postwhore]

Neal.  *nee ner, nee ner*

[The Letter M]

I see the Transatlantic blimp in the 't' of Morsefest, so maybe that is a clue that Transatlantic will be featured this year at Morsefest.  I think it'd be cool to see the NMB do an entire night of Transatlantic music.

AFAIK, that's been the Morsefest logo since 2014, exactly the same with each album art in those exact letters.



Sorry to burst your bubble!

Too bad this new graphic doesn't supply ANY new details, though, but I think we can surmise that ONE of the two nights will be TGA performed in its entirety, perhaps as the last show of the tour (just like TSOAD was).

The other night will probably be Flying Colors, if I had to guess. The album will be out in late summer/fall, so the timing lines up right for FC to get together and rehearse for a tour on their new album. They could play the whole new album as one set, then do a mix of songs from their first two as the second set/encore. Mike would already be there, and the NMB would only have to play what they're already playing. Flying Colors would already need to be learning the new songs for the new tour anyway, so playing them first at Morsefest would be a great warm-up for the tour.

-Marc.

[axeman90210]

So on my birthday.  Thanks Neil.

Thinking about going down for it this year?

[King Postwhore]

Not this year but it's in the plans. I will keep you in the loop.

[faizoff]

Has anyone gotten the Blu-ray version of Live Momentum? Is it worth the upgrade from the DVD? I would guess the audio would be similar in sound, the video might be a mild upgrade since I don't think it would make much of a difference presentation wise.

[KevShmev]

AFAIK, that's been the Morsefest logo since 2014, exactly the same with each album art in those exact letters.

Hmmmm.

Then again, one of the mods on the Neal Morse FB forum, who is usually in the loop, hinted that there are clues if you look hard enough.

Honesty, I'll be surprised if Flying Colors is one of the two nights, since Morsefest is always very Neal music-centric, and while Flying Colors has Neal, it is not a project where he is the front man/main songwriter.  It is hard to imagine an entire night of Morsefest featuring someone else as the front man (which Casey is in Flying Colors). Even when they did the Exorcist thing last year, while Neal didn't sing a lot, he was still front and center while playing a long conceptual that he alone wrote. 

[The Letter M]

AFAIK, that's been the Morsefest logo since 2014, exactly the same with each album art in those exact letters.

Hmmmm.

Then again, one of the mods on the Neal Morse FB forum, who is usually in the loop, hinted that there are clues if you look hard enough.

Clues? My best guess would be something to do with the "9" being in red rather than blue, like the rest of the year in 2019. What significance could 9 hold for Neal? His 9th solo album would be Momentum, so maybe a full live performance of Momenutm? It would technically be next since he did Testimony 2 in 2017, and it doesn't seem like he'll go back and play all of Lifeline, so Momentum is the next album in line. I wouldn't be opposed to this, even though the Neal Morse Band has already played (and released) most of those songs live, so it would be for "Freak" and "Smoke And Mirrors", which I don't think have even been played live by the band (maybe by Neal in some capacity), but one album wouldn't been enough to fill out a whole night, so what else could they play? Other tunes from TGE they hadn't played/released live, like "Doomsday Destiny"?

Honesty, I'll be surprised if Flying Colors is one of the two nights, since Morsefest is always very Neal music-centric, and while Flying Colors has Neal, it is not a project where he is the front man/main songwriter.  It is hard to imagine an entire night of Morsefest featuring someone else as the front man (which Casey is in Flying Colors). Even when they did the Exorcist thing last year, while Neal didn't sing a lot, he was still front and center while playing a long conceptual that he alone wrote.

Hmm, you do have a point, unless Neal takes more of a lead-role on the new album, which might showcase his vocals and keys more than they had been on the previous two albums. But you're right, whether it's Spock's Beard or The Neal Morse Band, Morsefest is typically focused on Neal and his work, so for Flying Colors, where he is less of a lead and more of a contributor to the whole, to appear there would be a bit odd.

I guess we will all find out in a week!

-Marc.

[Nick]

As I'm already committed to Ayreon in September MorseFest is definitely out of the cards this year, so that being said I hope the announcement doesn't feature anything I'm going to hate missing.

[kaos2900]

I was talking to the merch guy and he said that Neal and Mike recorded a video on Friday for the Morsefest 2019 announcement. Should be coming soon.

[KevShmev]

Clues? My best guess would be something to do with the "9" being in red rather than blue, like the rest of the year in 2019. What significance could 9 hold for Neal? His 9th solo album would be Momentum, so maybe a full live performance of Momenutm? It would technically be next since he did Testimony 2 in 2017, and it doesn't seem like he'll go back and play all of Lifeline, so Momentum is the next album in line. I wouldn't be opposed to this, even though the Neal Morse Band has already played (and released) most of those songs live, so it would be for "Freak" and "Smoke And Mirrors", which I don't think have even been played live by the band (maybe by Neal in some capacity), but one album wouldn't been enough to fill out a whole night, so what else could they play? Other tunes from TGE they hadn't played/released live, like "Doomsday Destiny"?

I think Neal probably only views his albums that are conceptual from start to finish as ones that need to be played from start to finish (Disc 2 of T2 notwithstanding) at Morsefest.  Notice that none of his non-conceptual albums have been played at Morsefest yet.

[gmillerdrake]

I was front row right in front of Neal and Eric. It just doesn't get much better than that.

Assuming they keep the same stage arrangement in the future.....this is where I'm purchasing seats from now on should they continue to come through St. Louis and play Delmar Hall. I picked seats in front of MP and Randy this last time because my oldest loves MP so I wanted him to have a straight shot at seeing him play....but next time I HAVE to get in front of Eric to watch him play. He's simply an incredible guitarist.

So basically, you want to be exactly where I was last week.

Pretty much...yes. 

[KevShmev]

I was front row right in front of Neal and Eric. It just doesn't get much better than that.

Assuming they keep the same stage arrangement in the future.....this is where I'm purchasing seats from now on should they continue to come through St. Louis and play Delmar Hall. I picked seats in front of MP and Randy this last time because my oldest loves MP so I wanted him to have a straight shot at seeing him play....but next time I HAVE to get in front of Eric to watch him play. He's simply an incredible guitarist.

So basically, you want to be exactly where I was last week.

Pretty much...yes. 

 

[bosk1]

Rod, I finally just listened to your interview with the entire band.  That was really cool.  Kind of a double-edged sword was aiming specific questions at specific band members.  On one hand, it was limiting in that you may have questions aimed at one person, where another might have a lot more useful information to contribute.  There were a few questions where I thought to myself, "Oh, man! I wish he would have opened that up to everybody." or "I wish that was aimed at so-and-so instead."  But the flip side is that Neal and Mike are the far more outspoken personalities.  Doing it the way you did forced kind of equal time to Randy, Bill, and Eric, and forced them to talk more than they likely otherwise might have.  Overall, I think that was the best approach.  It was great hearing some of the perspectives from the other guys.  Really well done.

[RodrigoAltaf]

Rod, I finally just listened to your interview with the entire band.  That was really cool.  Kind of a double-edged sword was aiming specific questions at specific band members.  On one hand, it was limiting in that you may have questions aimed at one person, where another might have a lot more useful information to contribute.  There were a few questions where I thought to myself, "Oh, man! I wish he would have opened that up to everybody." or "I wish that was aimed at so-and-so instead."  But the flip side is that Neal and Mike are the far more outspoken personalities.  Doing it the way you did forced kind of equal time to Randy, Bill, and Eric, and forced them to talk more than they likely otherwise might have.  Overall, I think that was the best approach.  It was great hearing some of the perspectives from the other guys.  Really well done.

Thanks so much, man! The preparation for that interview was a mess, because like I said before in this thread, they never confirmed who was going to be available to talk. I had questions for all of them, and when I realized it was going to be all five members, I made sure all of them had a somewhat equal time to reply. I was surprised at how willing Bill and Randy were to contribute too. One mistake I made towards the end was ask them if "a Transatlantic album is still scheduled for the end of summer" - I was meaning to ask about Flying Colors!  . It's all good though. I'm really happy with the end result, and hope I can get an exclusive with MP some time in the future.

[ronnibran]

Due to how much I've been loving The Great Adventure, I rejoined Neal's Inner Circle this weekend (I was previously a member from approx. 2007 to 2013).  I just now got the waterfall app.  Looking forward to checking out a bunch of new (to me) music tomorrow while I work.  I don't have any of the worship albums, only a couple of the live albums (and no live Transatlantic albums).  Going to be schweet….

[The Letter M]

I think Neal probably only views his albums that are conceptual from start to finish as ones that need to be played from start to finish (Disc 2 of T2 notwithstanding) at Morsefest.  Notice that none of his non-conceptual albums have been played at Morsefest yet.

Well, that doesn't leave very many full albums he could play, then. I can only think of The Whirlwind as being the only full-on concept album he hasn't played live yet at Morsefest, but I would think he would do that with Transatlantic and not NMB, but I would like to be surprised. Then again, I have said before, if Neal gets TA back together for Morsefest, that would be the perfect time for them to write a new album after rehearsing and performing together, they would be in prime condition to write and arrange a new album together.

Other than that, I guess Neal could do another variety show like the Storytellers one he did opposite of Snow Live a couple years ago.

-Marc.

[KevShmev]

I doubt he'll do a storytellers thing again this year, since the Voices of Spock's Beard thing last year was basically that.  As cool as it was, I'd rather get the full power of the band going all-out both nights like they did in 2017 when we got T2 night 1 and Similitude night 2.

I still like the idea I had a few weeks ago, where they take the current tour's medley idea, and then expand it into a full set for night 1 (playing songs in full from each Neal/NMB prog album in chronological order, with the Similitude songs being the encore).  The new album can then be night 2, with the encore that night being a total wild card.

[bosk1]

The preparation for that interview was a mess, because like I said before in this thread, they never confirmed who was going to be available to talk.

Yeah, I'll bet that was a challenge.  I was thinking about that very fact as I was listening.  Again, great job to be able to pull that off and to get all of them comfortable talking.