Spock's Beard

[Dr. DTVT]

Rankings are somewhat fluid in the middle, but:

1.  V
2.  X
3.  The Kindness of Strangers
4.  The Light
5.  Octane (2 disc ed)
6.  Day For Night
7.  Spock's Beard
8.  Beware of Darkness
9.  Snow
10. Feel Euphoria

[7thHanyou]

I made a thread about rankings...I've seen it happen with other bands, so I figured it would be okay for Spock's Beard.

Maybe not, though.

[KevShmev]

To expand more on your comments and rankings from above...

-I think Goodbye to Yesterday is the hidden gem on V, and definitely one of the most underrated songs of the Neal era.

-I think both Thoughts (I and II) are good, but vastly overrated by the fanbase as a whole.

-I like the lyrics to Waste Away. And the music has that classic upbeat, catchy prog sound that Neal Morse is so good at.

-I still think Jaws of Heaven and From the Darkness are two of their best songs ever.

-I still hate Surfing Down the Avalanche.  It is hard to believe that a band with so many beautiful vocal passages wrote a song with such ugly vocal melodies.  On the flip side, NWC and The Planet's Hum are definitely my two favorites from an otherwise mostly average record, and those were the two you didn't care for.  Funny how that works out, eh?

[Mladen]

The Light
X
V
Snow
Octane
The Kindness of Strangers
Beware Of Darkness
Day for night
Spock's beard
Feel Euphoria

[Nekov]

1. Snow
2. The Light
3. V
4. X
5. The Kindness of Strangers
6. Beware of Darkness
7. Day for Night
8. Feel Euphoria
9. Spock's Beard
10. Octane

Changed the bottom 4 a little bit but basically Kev is about right.

[rumborak]

Yeah, same here. It's pretty close to what I would come up with. Quite a bummer that all post-Neal save X end up in the bottom quarter.

rumborak

[The Letter M]

Neal-Era:
Snow
The Kindness Of Strangers
Beware Of Darkness
V
The Light
Day For Night

Nick-Era:
X
Octane (Special Edition)
SB
Feel Euphoria

All 10:
5/5:
Snow
X / The Kindness Of Strangers

4.5/5:
Beware Of Darkness
V / Octane (Special Edition)

4/5
The Light
SB

3/5
Day For Night
Feel Euphoria

-Marc.

[BlackInk]

I like the newer stuff because I find Neal Morse's voice so very boring it aches.

[Dr. DTVT]

I made a thread about rankings...I've seen it happen with other bands, so I figured it would be okay for Spock's Beard.

Maybe not, though.

It got merged with this one.  Really no need for two separate threads TBH.

-I still think Jaws of Heaven and From the Darkness are two of their best songs ever.

I agree with you on From the Darkness.  I've listened to that song more than any other song on that album, and would put it in my top 3 SB songs.  Jaws of Heaven is just a little too samey and repetative for me.  I prefer Edge of the In-Between and The Emperor's Clothes, and probably Kamikaze as well.

[ColdFireYYZ]

1. V
2. X
3. The Light
4. Snow
5. The Kindness of Strangers
6. Day For Night (very underrated, imo)
7. Beware of Darkness
8. Spock's Beard
9. Octane

6&7 were pretty much a tie.
I still need to get Feel Euphoria. I've been holding off since most fans consider it their worst.

[7thHanyou]

I made a thread about rankings...I've seen it happen with other bands, so I figured it would be okay for Spock's Beard.

Maybe not, though.

It got merged with this one.  Really no need for two separate threads TBH.

I don't really understand why.  I've seen multiple threads for a number of bands.  I think I remember making an Iron Maiden ranking thread that wasn't moved.  There are two Rush threads on page 1 of this forum.  I assumed as a matter of consistency a ranking thread was permitted.  What's the special case here?  Are multiple Spock's Beard threads disallowed, or are ranking threads disallowed?  Or are Rush and Iron Maiden the exceptions?

I put a good amount of thought and time into my post, too, so it's frustrating to see it buried.

Not trying to challenge the mods' decision, I'm just genuinely curious so I don't duplicate my mistake.  I've moderated before and tend to be a bit peeved when I do things incorrectly, because I try to take special precautions to ensure I don't.

[Nel]

1. V
2. X
3. The Light
4. Snow
5. The Kindness of Strangers
6. Day For Night (very underrated, imo)
7. Beware of Darkness
8. Spock's Beard
9. Octane

6&7 were pretty much as tie.
I still need to get Feel Euphoria. I've been holding off since most fans consider it their worst.

It was my first SB album and I still can't really get into it. "Shining Star" is a great song though.

[Dr. DTVT]

I wouldn't take it personally.  Album ranking within a band is generally reserved for general band discussion threads, and if you look in this thread people have posted their SB lists in this thread, and the same holds true for other bands.  The reason Rush has multiple threads is because Rush generates a lot more discussion than Spock's Beard - aside from the current Rush thread there are old locked and deleted Rush threads that got long - and Kev wanted to start an individual song discussion thread so that there wouldn't be two different discussions going on in the same thread.

[ytserush]

Top Tier:

The Light/The Kindness Of Strangers/V

Middle Tier:

Beware Of Darkness/Day For Night/Spock's Beard/X



Bottom Tier:

Feel Euphoria/Octane/Snow

[KevShmev]

I still need to get Feel Euphoria. I've been holding off since most fans consider it their worst.

I sure don't.  It is definitely better than the two records that came after it.  And not that prog archives rankings are the end-all be-all, but Feel Euphoria does rate higher than two SB albums over there (Day for Night and Octane), so the prog fans there do not consider in the worst.

I don't really understand why.  I've seen multiple threads for a number of bands.  I think I remember making an Iron Maiden ranking thread that wasn't moved.  There are two Rush threads on page 1 of this forum.  I assumed as a matter of consistency a ranking thread was permitted.  What's the special case here?  Are multiple Spock's Beard threads disallowed, or are ranking threads disallowed?  Or are Rush and Iron Maiden the exceptions?

I put a good amount of thought and time into my post, too, so it's frustrating to see it buried.

Not trying to challenge the mods' decision, I'm just genuinely curious so I don't duplicate my mistake.  I've moderated before and tend to be a bit peeved when I do things incorrectly, because I try to take special precautions to ensure I don't.

I understand your frustration, but album rankings like that are almost always confined to the bands' major threads, as opposed to having a separate thread for them.

This also sums it up well:

I wouldn't take it personally.  Album ranking within a band is generally reserved for general band discussion threads, and if you look in this thread people have posted their SB lists in this thread, and the same holds true for other bands.  The reason Rush has multiple threads is because Rush generates a lot more discussion than Spock's Beard - aside from the current Rush thread there are old locked and deleted Rush threads that got long - and Kev wanted to start an individual song discussion thread so that there wouldn't be two different discussions going on in the same thread.

[7thHanyou]

Cool. I didn't take it personally but I regret my post cuz it came off that way. Thanks.

[Dr. DTVT]

I was looking at your list Hanyou, and other than Snow they are very similar.  Snow just has too much filler and loses my interest not long into the second disc, and because of that I just don't listen to it often.  The thing I love about SB's is even what I would consider my least favorite albums are still pretty darn enjoyable, a statement I can't even make about my favorite band, Dream Theater.

[KevShmev]

Snow does meander a bit too much near the end of Disc 2 (the three or four tracks before I Will Go), but the rest of it is still great enough for me to call it their best. 

[Priest of Syrinx]

Snow does meander a bit too much near the end of Disc 2 (the three or four tracks before I Will Go), but the rest of it is still great enough for me to call it their best.

 

[ronnibran]

Top tier: Snow, V

2nd tier: Kindness of Strangers, The Light, Beware of Darkness

3rd Tier: Day For Night, X, Octane

4th tier: SB, Feel Euphoria

I'm looking forward to the new disc.  For some reason I could never get into NDV's vocals much.  Top two tiers above I listen to regularly.  3rd tier once in a great while.  4th tier on very rare occasion.

[Silver Tears]

snowsnowsnowsnowsnow! 

[Nick]

1: Beware, Kindness, V, Octane, X
2: Day, Spock's
3. Snow, Feel
4. The Light

[kirksnosehair]

Since we're ranking the Spock's Beard albums here, I guess right now my list would look something like this:


01. The Light
02. X
03. The Kindness of Strangers
04. Beware of Darkness
05. V
06. Snow
07. Day for Night
08. Feel Euphoria
09. Octane
10. Spock's Beard

I'm not sure about Spock's Beard with Ted Leonard as lead vocalist.  I really, really struggle with the band Enchant largely because I find the vocals a little too wimpy sounding, but I'm going to try going into SB XI with an open mind.

[The Letter M]

Just re-watched the February studio rehearsal video from SB's facebook page, and the tracking-Jimmy's-drums video as well. Everyone sounds amazing and in top form. The music bits sound VERY Beard-y, and I wonder how much of the new album will have Neal/Al's stuff on it? Hopefully a lot, but I can tell the guys can still write very well on their own. Seriously cannot wait for this album.

-Marc.

[Dr. DTVT]

1: Beware, Kindness, V, Octane, X
2: Day, Spock's
3. Snow, Feel
4. The Light

This is why people say you fail, Nick.

[Nick]

1: Beware, Kindness, V, Octane, X
2: Day, Spock's
3. Snow, Feel
5. The Light

This is why people say you fail, Nick.

You're right, I've fixed it for you.

[ariich]

DAMMIT NICK

V
Spock's Beard
Snow
Octane
The Light
X
The Kindness of Strangers
Feel Euphoria
Beware of Darkness
Day for Night

[KevShmev]

Calling The Light the worst/your least favorite Spock's Beard album is like saying the same about Rush's Hemispheres or Yes' Relayer.  Sure, we all have the right to our personal opinions, but the words "epic fail" definitely come to mind.

[Pols Voice]

I love the first two tracks on The Light, but after that...eh. It might be my least favorite SB album.

[Mladen]

Not a lot of songs in the entire SB catalog can beat the epicness of The Water and hooks in On the edge. Prog rarely gets more perfect than that. 

[ronnibran]

The Water is indeed a great song!!!  Probably my favorite "epic" song by SB.

[Nel]

The Light is okay. I liked it well enough the first time I heard it, but other than listening to NM sing at people to eff off (at that point, I'd only known his Transatlantic stuff and that his solo career was mainly Christian based, so hearing that for the first time was pretty shocking  ), there's nothing on it that really makes me go back to it.

[The Letter M]

Despite listing it above DFN, SB and FE, I really did not listen to The Light very often in recent years after I first got into the band. Their 2nd and 3rd albums got a LOT more attention from me, and they are much better than their debut, but I will say they did put out one hell of a debut album, but it's only SO good, but they definitely improved in the following years with tracks like "The Doorway" and "The Good Don't Last" and "Harm's Way".

I think The Light definitely laid the foundation of SB's sound quite well - two multi-parted pieces, a single long song, and the quirky short piece. From there on out, it was a format they would toy with as every album since then (with the exception of Beware Of Darkness) has had a sort of long piece, a multi-parted epic (or two), and many quirky short pieces.

I never gave their debut the credit it deserved due to my lack of attention to it, but I do not think it deserves "omg it's da best evarrrrr" praise. The band did better, and they did worse, but they started off right and continued in the right direction.

-Marc.

[KevShmev]

The FU section of The Water is definitely a bit odd, but the rest of the song is absolute money.  For one, Reach for the Sky is an incredible ending, and sounds very unique and not at all like so many of the endings Neal has done since.

And The Light is still the best song SB has ever done, IMO.

[ytserush]

Nick, have you even HEARD The Light?



The FU section in The Water, while a bit shocking to virgin ears, completely belongs there in context and evelates the song to greater heights.





Top Tier:

The Light/The Kindness Of Strangers/V

Middle Tier:

Beware Of Darkness/Day For Night/Spock's Beard/X



Bottom Tier:

Feel Euphoria/Octane/Snow