Official Neal Morse Appreciation Thread

[The Letter M]

Neal shared this link earlier this morning:

http://web-extract.constantcontact.com/v1/social_annotation?permalink_uri=2EHRVdN&image_url=https%3A%2F%2Fmlsvc01-prod.s3.amazonaws.com%2Feb4de226201%2Fdcbdf410-bf45-4d03-a32a-b54e123b2b39.jpg%3Fver%3D1551888775000&fbclid=IwAR2s9ys7L_Zt3vVwtbcv8ExUlW4tQbYC0ZGmtQI_0RC_YyNjjfG2C2Yt0b4

Mark your calendars! It's a BIG month at Radiant Records!

Morsefest 2019 tickets go on sale next Tuesday, 3/12 at 9AM CST. We're keeping the details of this year's Morsefest closely guarded until then, but trust us... you'll want to grab your tickets and VIP packages fast! This is a BIG ONE and it will sell out.

JESUS CHRIST: THE EXORCIST  is almost here! Pre-orders for Neal Morse's long-awaited progressive rock opera begin Tuesday, 3/19 at 9AM CST. Special pre-order offer! Details to come.

I'm not sure if Neal is just hyping up Morsefest as he usually does, or if he truly has something spectacular planned. This waiting to find out is KILLING me. I know I probably won't be able to go, but just knowing what the gig is (and that we will eventually get a live release of it) is exciting enough for me!

Also, I wonder what kind of special pre-order offer will come with the rock opera, probably a signed print or signed album? I'm not sure if I am interested enough in it to order it on Day 1. For anyone who was at Morsefest last year, how was it? Will it be worth buying? How does it compare to Neal's other concept albums like Snow, Testimony, and TSOAD?

-Marc.

[goo-goo]

Could Morsefest be the TGA in its entirety with the full horns and extras, much like last year's TSOAD?

[Nick]

Could Morsefest be the TGA in its entirety with the full horns and extras, much like last year's TSOAD?

Could Morsefest be the TGA in its entirety with the full horns and extras, much like last year's TSOAD?

I mean, it's kinda assumed that will be one night. Real question is what the other night will be.

[KevShmev]

Maybe it will be TA and NMB coming together as a 7-piece band to play Transatlantic music one night!

As for the Exorcist, it was pretty great. I have the demos that were released through the Inner Circle last fall and they are good, and of course the final album versions will be better.  It will be worth it alone for the vocal performances.

[The Letter M]

Could Morsefest be the TGA in its entirety with the full horns and extras, much like last year's TSOAD?

Could Morsefest be the TGA in its entirety with the full horns and extras, much like last year's TSOAD?

I mean, it's kinda assumed that will be one night. Real question is what the other night will be.

Exactly, it seems like a given that one night will be TGA with all the bells and whistles that Neal typically brings to Morsefest (brass, string and winds, choir, dancers, and maybe some guests). The opposite night is what we've all been trying to guess, and it seems like Neal might be hyping it up to be something BIG, so what could be bigger than TGA?

Honestly, if it ends up being TSOAD on night one and TGA on night two, I'd feel a little let down. Neal hasn't repeated more than a few songs across all of the Morsefests so far, and now that we're at his 6th Morsefest, it would be weird if he finally repeated a concert like TSOAD when there's still so much more he could possibly do.

Maybe it will be TA and NMB coming together as a 7-piece band to play Transatlantic music one night!

  That would be insane, seeing Pete and Roine up there with the Neal Morse Band, but I wouldn't rule it out as a possibility. Would Ted be there, too, as the current 5th member of TA, or would Bill/Eric substitute all of Ted's parts?

As for the Exorcist, it was pretty great. I have the demos that were released through the Inner Circle last fall and they are good, and of course the final album versions will be better.  It will be worth it alone for the vocal performances.

I do remember seeing that the demos were released, but also reading that the vocalists for the final album would be stellar. I never did get around to listening to those demos, though, so maybe I'll try to give it a spin before pre-orders for the album go up, just to see if I like it enough to pre-order.

-Marc.

[Architeuthis]

The Seattle show was phenomenal last night!  MP went out of his way to thank the enthusiastic audience for a sold out show and the place was packed as far as I could tell.
 The sound guy was a little over zealous on the mains for the first set, way louder than it needed to be for that venue. That problem seemed to be resolved as the second set sounded just right. I think somebody might have said something, or the sound man took a hint when the venue was handing out free earplugs. 
 Such much talent in this band, one of the best concerts I've ever seen!

[KevShmev]

Maybe it will be TA and NMB coming together as a 7-piece band to play Transatlantic music one night!

  That would be insane, seeing Pete and Roine up there with the Neal Morse Band, but I wouldn't rule it out as a possibility. Would Ted be there, too, as the current 5th member of TA, or would Bill/Eric substitute all of Ted's parts?

I would think Bill could handle most of the keyboard parts, which would free up Neal to be the front man and really have fun with it, unlike every other TA concert where he is stuck behind the keyboards for almost all of the show because there is never a second keyboardist (or the 5th guy handling very little of it).

[Fritzinger]

Maybe it will be TA and NMB coming together as a 7-piece band to play Transatlantic music one night!

As for the Exorcist, it was pretty great. I have the demos that were released through the Inner Circle last fall and they are good, and of course the final album versions will be better.  It will be worth it alone for the vocal performances.

Nick D'Virgilio sang on this too, right? I am so happy to hear him sing again. I love his participation in BBT (a real win for the band), but I also think he is the best of all 3 SB singers.
One example: The Snow Live version of Falling For Forever, where all the 3 frontmen sang. When Nick kicks in with that "oooOOOOOHHH WHITE HOT CONTENDER", I always go "aw hell yeah!".

[MinistroRaven]

I think it could be one of these 4:

Transatlantic
Flying Colors
Spock's Beard
Yellow Matter Custard

 

[KevShmev]

Maybe it will be TA and NMB coming together as a 7-piece band to play Transatlantic music one night!

As for the Exorcist, it was pretty great. I have the demos that were released through the Inner Circle last fall and they are good, and of course the final album versions will be better.  It will be worth it alone for the vocal performances.

Nick D'Virgilio sang on this too, right? I am so happy to hear him sing again. I love his participation in BBT (a real win for the band), but I also think he is the best of all 3 SB singers.
One example: The Snow Live version of Falling For Forever, where all the 3 frontmen sang. When Nick kicks in with that "oooOOOOOHHH WHITE HOT CONTENDER", I always go "aw hell yeah!".

Yes.

I think it could be one of these 4:

Transatlantic
Flying Colors
Spock's Beard
Yellow Matter Custard

 

Eh, I would reconsider going if Yellow Matter Custard was the main attraction of night 1.  I am not driving 5 hours one way on a Friday to see all covers.

[DTA]

I'm guessing all of the SB epics that he wrote except TGN since that was done already, plus maybe a couple other random songs to fill up the time.

The Light
The Water
Time Has Come
Flow
The Healing Colors Of Sound
At The End Of The Day

[gmillerdrake]

I like Neal....love his music.....will be a lifelong fan and purchaser of all he does. I always buy a physical copy. BUT I’m super ticked that all his music that finally hit Apple Music a few months ago is systematically being taken off. He’s leaving like one song an album. I know he has his Waterfall streaming deal but there’s no way I’m paying a subscription service for just Neal songs.

Even though it’s a pain in the butt I’ll go old school and listen to the CDs.....but it sucks to not have them on my phone any longer.

[gzarruk]

I like Neal....love his music.....will be a lifelong fan and purchaser of all he does. I always buy a physical copy. BUT I’m super ticked that all his music that finally hit Apple Music a few months ago is systematically being taken off. He’s leaving like one song an album. I know he has his Waterfall streaming deal but there’s no way I’m paying a subscription service for just Neal songs.

Even though it’s a pain in the butt I’ll go old school and listen to the CDs.....but it sucks to not have them on my phone any longer.

You can still rip the audio from your CDs, though.

[gmillerdrake]

I like Neal....love his music.....will be a lifelong fan and purchaser of all he does. I always buy a physical copy. BUT I’m super ticked that all his music that finally hit Apple Music a few months ago is systematically being taken off. He’s leaving like one song an album. I know he has his Waterfall streaming deal but there’s no way I’m paying a subscription service for just Neal songs.

Even though it’s a pain in the butt I’ll go old school and listen to the CDs.....but it sucks to not have them on my phone any longer.

You can still rip the audio from your CDs, though.

True. I’ll probably have to do that.

[Learning2Live]

If Neal is saying this year's MorseFest announcement is a 'BIG ONE', I don't know how it couldn't be anything but Transatlantic. What else is left for him to do at this point? He's done all of his major prog albums and has also played the SB album live that SB fans were waiting for. Short of another SB album that fans want, I don't know what else he has left in his arsenal where he is the main/primary singer that hasn't yet been featured.

Of course that thought is the TA fan in me hoping that they come to MorseFest so that I can finally see the band live. But still, don't know what else could be the 'big one' at this point.

[KevShmev]

I like Neal....love his music.....will be a lifelong fan and purchaser of all he does. I always buy a physical copy. BUT I’m super ticked that all his music that finally hit Apple Music a few months ago is systematically being taken off. He’s leaving like one song an album. I know he has his Waterfall streaming deal but there’s no way I’m paying a subscription service for just Neal songs.

Even though it’s a pain in the butt I’ll go old school and listen to the CDs.....but it sucks to not have them on my phone any longer.

You can still rip the audio from your CDs, though.

True. I’ll probably have to do that.

If you have iTunes and an iPhone, it is easy to do and great to work with.  Rip them all at the highest mp3 quality possible and then just transfer the songs from your iTunes to your iPhone and presto you are good to go! 

[bosk1]

So excited for the show tonight!

[Architeuthis]

So excited for the show tonight!

You're gonna love it, the Seattle show was amazing!  Like I said above, you might want to bring ear plugs just in case. The sound guy really cranked the mains on the first set,  The second set was much more balanced. Somebody must have said something.

[bosk1]

Yeah, I bring my Hear-O's to every show.  I'm set.

[El Barto]

So excited for the show tonight!

You're gonna love it, the Seattle show was amazing!  Like I said above, you might want to bring ear plugs just in case. The sound guy really cranked the mains on the first set,  The second set was much more balanced. Somebody must have said something.

That's interesting. For the Dallas show they definitely used less sound than that venue is capable of. The volume was adequate for the most part, you've effectively got 10+ instruments up there. There could have been a little more oomph from the bass pedals, though.

[Architeuthis]

DT is really going to bring it with Distance Over Time, if they're going to top this as Album Of The Year for me 

OH THEY BROUGHT IT!!!   

[Moor]

DT is really going to bring it with Distance Over Time, if they're going to top this as Album Of The Year for me 

OH THEY BROUGHT IT!!!   

Big time!

[SwedishGoose]

DT is really going to bring it with Distance Over Time, if they're going to top this as Album Of The Year for me 

OH THEY BROUGHT IT!!!   

Big time!

Far from topping The Great Adventure for me though...

[Mladen]

It's kind of a tie game for me, honestly.

[Architeuthis]

Yeah they are both fantastic albums for sure! 

[gmillerdrake]

DT is really going to bring it with Distance Over Time, if they're going to top this as Album Of The Year for me 

OH THEY BROUGHT IT!!!   

Big time!

Far from topping The Great Adventure for me though...

Ehh.....D/T takes it for me. TGA is fantastic but I give the nod to D/T. Both great albums though.

[kaos2900]

DT is really going to bring it with Distance Over Time, if they're going to top this as Album Of The Year for me 

OH THEY BROUGHT IT!!!   

Big time!

Far from topping The Great Adventure for me though...

Ehh.....D/T takes it for me. TGA is fantastic but I give the nod to D/T. Both great albums though.

This is kind of where I'm leaning right now too. Both amazing and probably depends on my mood for the day. I give the nod to DT simply because D/T is the best thing they've put out in over a decade while TGA is great it's not as good a SOAD.

[KevShmev]

I give the nod to DT because it is a better album.

I still like The Great Adventure a lot, regardless.

[bosk1]

Ehh.....D/T takes it for me. TGA is fantastic but I give the nod to D/T. Both great albums though.

Welp...that's where I was too...up until about 11:00 last night when Neal's show ended.  Now I think I'm back on the side of TGA.    I'm glad I have the rest of the year to let these two albums marinate to decide which one will ultimately take the title. 

What I CAN say with no hesitation whatsoever is that while I was already feeling that TGA topped TSOAD, I came away from last night pretty firmly feeling that the margin is pretty wide.  TSOAD is fantastic.  But TGA is even more...um...fantasticker. 

What a show these guys put on.  I'm so glad I finally got to see Neal after all these years.  And the venue was pretty cool.  It was a pretty intimate little club in S.F.  Mike commented during the first break in the music that this was the only venue that was not seated, which made them a little nervous at first about whether people would come.  But we were packed in, and everybody was rocking and very engaged.  I was parked firmly center stage right in front of Neal, with only one person separating me from the barricade.  And the stage was not very big, so EVERYBODY was pretty close.

A few highlights are:  Vanity Fair.  SO MUCH goofy fun in a live setting.  And Neal's costume took it over the top!  Freedom calling.  WOW!  So much more epic and huge in a live setting.  The encore medley.  I'm kind of hit-or-miss when it comes to medleys.  All told, this one was pretty good.  Bill did a great job of putting this together, other than choosing Leviathan to represent Lifeline.  There are so many great moments on that album.  Oh well. 

After the show, when all five of them came to the front of the stage and took their bow, I yelled out "Play Drive My Car!  Drive My Car!"  Neal heard it and started giggling like crazy. 

Anyhow, if anyone is on the fence about going to see him this tour, JUST GO!  I can almost guarantee you'll love it.  But I guess the sad thing is, there probably isn't anybody who is on the fence.  If you know Neal's music, then you already know.  I swear, Neal is the greatest musician nobody has ever heard of.  It's really too bad that huge crowds aren't clamoring to see him in big theaters, because that's what he and the band deserve.

[Architeuthis]

Nice review Bosk!  I agree the band deserves to be selling out arenas, in a perfect world.  So glad you enjoyed the show. I'm still coming down from the night in Seattle. 

[KevShmev]

Yep, it is a shame that they aren't playing to bigger crowds, but you can tell Neal is grateful for every fan he has and gives his all.  A true professional.

[Architeuthis]

Absolutely!

[bosk1]

Yeah, that really showed last night.

[bosk1]

Architeuthis, did they sing the second chorus of The Great Adventure country and western style at your show?

[Architeuthis]

Architeuthis, did they sing the second chorus of The Great Adventure country and western style at your show?

Yes they did. Then they joked about it and said "don't worry folks, we're not gonna go all country on you". Everyone got a good laugh..

Btw, I also bought one of Eric Gillette's solo cd's at the merch counter. It's called "The Great Unknown" which came out in 2016.  It is really good, I've listened to it three times allready. Very epic and melodic sounding.