Official Neal Morse Appreciation Thread

[425]

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?

On the other hand, one day he really will be gone—or, on a lighter note, perhaps retired from music. I figure if he really releases so much that I can't keep up with it (which he kind of does), it'll be nice to have more material to dig into that's fresh to me down the road.

[ariich]

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

I mean, I like all three of them and am friends with Ross, and even I had that same reaction.

[Metro]

I can’t see Neal of all people ever retiring from music altogether. 

I could see him retiring from touring eventually and calling it a day with NMB, TA, and FC, and just doing simple singer/songwriter stuff, like Life & Times, for the rest of his days.

[HOF]

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

I mean, I like all three of them and am friends with Ross, and even I had that same reaction.

Heh, makes me glad that I have generally avoided Neal’s releases outside of FC and TA. I’m looking forward to this project just because I love the thought of Neal and Nick together again, though I have my trepidation as well.

[Stadler]

I just watched "Alive Again" from the live video "ALIVE Again" and man, breathtaking.   I can do without the instrument switch (in that song; I LOVE it generally, though it's depressing that literally ALL FIVE are better guitarists than I am!) but the ending is just amazing.

[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?

On the other hand, one day he really will be gone—or, on a lighter note, perhaps retired from music. I figure if he really releases so much that I can't keep up with it (which he kind of does), it'll be nice to have more material to dig into that's fresh to me down the road.

Very, very true. 

[DTwwbwMP]

I can't get enough Neal Morse, so the more the merrier for me!

[hefdaddy42]

I just watched "Alive Again" from the live video "ALIVE Again" and man, breathtaking.   I can do without the instrument switch (in that song; I LOVE it generally, though it's depressing that literally ALL FIVE are better guitarists than I am!) but the ending is just amazing.

Been a while since I've seen it, but I agree with you.  I love that.

[darkshade]

So the tickets I bought were for a weekend show, and the rescheduled date in February is a Tuesday, and I probably won't be able to make it then. When I bought the tix it said no refunds, but I should be able to get one with this extenuating circumstance, who do I email about it? TM or Radiant?

[KevShmev]

Glancing at the Neal FB fan page (which can be brutal at times), it looks like the abrupt ending in Beyond the Years is still getting talked about a lot.  Many do not like it.   Probably not a good artistic decision when something like that is the thing getting discussed the most about your new album.

[DTA]

It's just such an odd choice for ending a long epic, and one that seems to have no deeper meaning than to confuse the listener and do something jarring. I haven't focused on any lyrics, but is there a lyrical reason that may justify it?

[Mebert78]

I saw MP say on Instagram that it was intended to be similar to the abrupt ending of "Pull Me Under."

I think it's a cool ending.  Life ends abruptly sometimes.  It gives me chills every time I hear it.

[Stadler]

Glancing at the Neal FB fan page (which can be brutal at times), it looks like the abrupt ending in Beyond the Years is still getting talked about a lot.  Many do not like it.   Probably not a good artistic decision when something like that is the thing getting discussed the most about your new album.

Sometimes fans are the worst.   

[emtee]

I saw MP say on Instagram that it was intended to be similar to the abrupt ending of "Pull Me Under."

I think it's a cool ending.  Life ends abruptly sometimes.  It gives me chills every time I hear it.

Agreed. And that middle section-drifting through the years-when that Hammond starts, Bill sings and then Eric goes into the solo...I could listen to that on a loop for the rest of my life and never get tired of it. I put it up there with Wish You Were Here in terms of moving my heart and soul.

[me7]

I saw MP say on Instagram that it was intended to be similar to the abrupt ending of "Pull Me Under."

Y'know, I'm starting to see a lot of structural similarities between "Images and Words" and "Innocence & Danger"......

[hefdaddy42]

I saw MP say on Instagram that it was intended to be similar to the abrupt ending of "Pull Me Under."

Well, then it was a terrible idea, because it's already been done.

It's virtually the only blemish for me on the new album, but it's a HUGE one.

[Mladen]

I like the ending of Beyond the years. They could have either faded it out or resolved it, but this is more original. I like to be surprised. It's also kind of a creepy theme musically, so it works to cut it off and make it a bit more scary. "Where did it go and will it come back to haunt me?" 

[DTwwbwMP]

I saw MP say on Instagram that it was intended to be similar to the abrupt ending of "Pull Me Under."

Well, then it was a terrible idea, because it's already been done.

It's virtually the only blemish for me on the new album, but it's a HUGE one.

ha, ha. I agree so I just faded it out on Audacity.

[Mr.Mister]

I saw MP say on Instagram that it was intended to be similar to the abrupt ending of "Pull Me Under."

I think it's a cool ending.  Life ends abruptly sometimes.  It gives me chills every time I hear it.

Agreed. And that middle section-drifting through the years-when that Hammond starts, Bill sings and then Eric goes into the solo...I could listen to that on a loop for the rest of my life and never get tired of it. I put it up there with Wish You Were Here in terms of moving my heart and soul.

Same here - although for me it's the part after the multi-vocals in the "Islands in the Sun" section. In a genre that overuses the word "epic" this section gives me goosebumps and an epic feeling. Neil's "more of you less of me" vocals after it's just the cherry on top.

I was bit turned off with the sudden stop at the end of the song but 1 sec won't change how much I enjoy the other 31mins... which BTW how is this song half hour long? It goes by so fast

[Dedalus]

Quite frankly, that's not the biggest problem with this song. It didn't need to be more than 30 minutes. It's a fine example of the exaggerations of the prog.

But there are great moments.

[bluefox4000]

yea the people on Neal's FB page are going crazy like they never heard an abrupt ending, lol.

myself i still think it's an anti-climax on an already confused and disjointed epic but what can ya do?

and BTW i still love the album but that epic.......misfire. at least there is Not Afraid Pt. 2.

[darkshade]

I like the ending of Beyond the years. They could have either faded it out or resolved it, but this is more original. I like to be surprised. It's also kind of a creepy theme musically, so it works to cut it off and make it a bit more scary. "Where did it go and will it come back to haunt me?" 

Agreed, it's definitely a bit creepy, especially with the abrupt ending the way it is. It's grown on me for that very reason.
The entire epic is still digesting in my brain though.

[KevShmev]

Glancing at the Neal FB fan page (which can be brutal at times), it looks like the abrupt ending in Beyond the Years is still getting talked about a lot.  Many do not like it.   Probably not a good artistic decision when something like that is the thing getting discussed the most about your new album.

Sometimes fans are the worst.   

Sometimes, we really are. 

[Architeuthis]

The abrupt ending in Beyond the Years doesn't bother me.  I kind of wanted that dumb keyboard riff at the end to just stop. The rest of the song was so epic leading up to that point,  and with that keyboard outro being cut off is kind of a "enough is enough" moment.   

Btw, I'm really digging their version of Bridge Over Troubled Water. Very well done!   

[KevShmev]

Actually, even though I think doing it was a misstep, the abrupt ending doesn't bother me either.  As I have mentioned before, the instrumental section that kicks in around the 21-22 minute mark is the issue for me.  The first 21+ minutes of the song is pretty much perfect, but then we can get that random instrumental section, and even though the song transitions back to the main theme for the climax, it feels like the song never really gets back the momentum it had been building for over 20 minutes.  The climax is still really good (that's what she said), but it just doesn't feel as natural due to the several minute of randomness that preceded it.  Prog can sometimes eat itself, and that feels like one of those "throwing everything in there including the kitchen sink worked against the song" moments.

[Mebert78]

Looked back ar MP's comment on Instagram about the ending of "Beyond the Years." Basically, he said the intent was to let the orchestration loop hypnotically and then abruptly cut it to snap the listener back to reality. He compared it to the Beatles' Abbey Road and Pink Floyd's The Wall.

[Architeuthis]

I finally got my copy of innocence and Danger. I've listened to some of it on youtube allready, but when I listened to the whole album on cd it made a much bigger impact on me.  I loved it the whole way through and those guys are really cranking out some good music.  They have a great way of constructing songs that elevate to new heights as the song progresses. I like how they add more and more harmonies in the later part of the song and exclamation points in the instrumentation and drums.
I've realized the importance of Eric Gillette in this band, it's the equivalent of how Tommy Shaw is to Styx. Great vocals and guitar playing, with compositional skills.  Another thing I like about this album is it really showcased Randy's bass playing skills, he's a monster on the bass!  Bill really shines on this album too with they keys and vocals and acoustic piano.  Mike's drumming carries this album with great enthusiasm, and Neal is putting out some of his best performances of his career.
All I have to say is,, WHAT AN ALBUM!  Love the epics too.   

[ariich]

Looked back ar MP's comment on Instagram about the ending of "Beyond the Years." Basically, he said the intent was to let the orchestration loop hypnotically and then abruptly cut it to snap the listener back to reality. He compared it to the Beatles' Abbey Road and Pink Floyd's The Wall.

That's fine in theory, but for me it would have worked vastly better had there been some sort of sound to snap it back. As it is, it just cuts out and sounds accidental.

It doesn't ruin the song or anything, but I'm not a fan of it at all.

[MinistroRaven]

Excited to announce the theme of the MF21 Inner Circle concert… I’ve decided to revisit my first two solo albums, "Neal Morse" & "It’s Not Too Late," with a setlist drawn from those two albums. I’ll be joined by Bill Hubauer, Randy George, Philip Martin, and Wil Morse for some seldom heard songs which I know IC members will love! If you aren’t yet a member of the Inner Circle, you can join at www.nealmorse.com/#circle.

Details of how to access the show in person or online will follow soon.

[RoeDent]

MinistroRaven is Neal?

[The Letter M]

MinistroRaven is Neal?

 

MinistroRaven just Copy-Pastes all news, and it can be a bitisleading, especially if it's not in a quote block, or linked to a source.

But yes, MinistroRaven is Neal.

-Marc.

[gzarruk]

MinistroRaven is Neal?

We've never seen both in the same room, so...

[MinistroRaven]

MinistroRaven is Neal?

 

MinistroRaven just Copy-Pastes all news, and it can be a bitisleading, especially if it's not in a quote block, or linked to a source.

But yes, MinistroRaven is Neal.

-Marc.

Neal, would love to be me.

[MinistroRaven]

MinistroRaven is Neal?

We've never seen both in the same room, so...

haha, wrong!

[hefdaddy42]

Sup Neal