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Nick-Era Spock's Beard Appreciation

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RoeDent:
I've recently been really getting into Spock's Beard. While I do like some songs from the Neal Morse era (and will probably grow to like more over time), the majority of  :omg: moments for me have come in the songs from Nick d'Virgilio's leadership. Hence, this appreciation thread.

I first heard the name 'Spock's Beard' through Transatlantic. But it wasn't until I noticed the Spock's Beard survivor that I started to pay attention to them. And when I 'joined' the P/S board, that survivor had just started the Nick-era Finals, so I put together a playlist of the songs that were in the final. I listened to 1 or 2 of them, and then I came to 'On A Perfect Day'. The melodies (particularly that of the chorus) really got me, and I reached the next stage of new-band-discovery: that of finding a song that you really like.

A few weeks passed by, and since just before Christmas, I've really grown to like this band. Their use of vocal counterpoint in some songs (the prime example from the Nick era being Sid's Boys Choir) is remarkable.

My favourite songs of theirs include, in addition to the aforementioned:

A Flash Before My Eyes (particularly She Is Everything)
Rearranged
From the Darkness

I've still got a long way to go in discovering the rest of the Beard's output, but if that is anything like what I've heard so far, it'll be a great ride.

Show your appreciation for recent Spock's Beard!  :hefdaddy

Nick:
I know I'm in the minority here, but I'd say Octane and X are stronger than any Morse era album I've heard and I generally think losing Morse didn't end up hurting them any at the end of the day.

The Letter M:
Appreciated!

I've recently been spinning X, and even 8 months after it's release, it still sounds fresh and interesting to my ears! Definitely my favorite release of 2010! Nick and the boys churned out an amazing album that cross-pollinates Old SB and New SB with other styles and feels that create a very unique but familiar sound throughout the whole album.

Before X came out, Octane was my favorite Nick-Era SB album! I love "A Flash Before My Eyes", and actually while the other 5 tracks are pretty good (especially "NWC"), it was the 5 tracks on the Bonus Disc that really caught my ear, so if anyone has the single disc version, definitely seek out the 2-disc set because there are songs they REALLY should've put on the main disc. And actually, I burned a CD-r of the main album + the first 5 tracks of the bonus disc, and they fit all onto one 80-minute CD-r! Perfect for the car!

Feel Euphoria and Spock's Beard took me a bit longer to appreciate. I don't think it was until a couple months before the release of X that I truly appreciated those albums and every song on them. I really enjoy the multi-part epics they've made on those albums ("A Guy Named Sid" and "As Far As The Mind Can See"), as well as some of their ballad-y songs ("Ghosts Of Autumn" and "Hereafter"). They really seem to do those quite well, but I also LOVE their rockers ("Onomatopoeia" and "On A Perfect Day").

I also think it's quite interesting that they've made instrumentals the 2nd song on the last three albums: "NWC" follows "A Flash Before My Eyes", "Skeletons At The Feast" follows "On A Perfect Day", and on the retail edition of X "Kamikaze" follows "Edge Of The In-Between", and they're all pretty good instrumentals too, although they got better with each album, IMO.

Also, I'm glad my SB Survivor helped you get into this Era of the band! I really love what these guys have put out so far and I look forward to, AT LEAST, two or three more albums from them! Although to be honest, I'd love to see them make it to XV!

-Marc.

The Letter M:

--- Quote from: Nick on January 06, 2011, 04:11:59 PM ---I know I'm in the minority here, but I'd say Octane and X are stronger than any Morse era album I've heard and I generally think losing Morse didn't end up hurting them any at the end of the day.

--- End quote ---

:neverusethis:

Also, I agree! :tup

-Marc.

ich bin besser:
Here is a vid of "June" from the last tour (filmed in Rüsselsheim/Germany - a gig which I attended). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bFax3eXR9xk
Check out the user's other videos from this gig.

Nick is a GREAT frontman. Al seems to enjoy himself more and more, he simply rocked. This band, along with the mighty Dave on bass and Jimmy on drums: I'm quite sure there will be at least one more great album!  :hefdaddy

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