Spock's Beard Discography thread

[DoctorAction]

Yeah, as far as pure singers go, I think both Nick and Ted have better voices than Neal. But Neal’s SB stuff is just better written than most of what those guys have had to work with. Post-Neal SB has probably suffered from the lack of a main songwriter, and when the singer isn’t the main writer that tends to show through on the performance to an extent. Not to say there aren’t moments in both the Nick and Ted eras that I really love. They just haven’t reached the same heights as the original band.

Neal Morse doesn’t have a great voice. But he has a plaintive, soulful quality that I can connect to better than most of your average prog metal vocalists. It’s as if he’s singing for the common man, instead of trying to reach for the inhuman operatic ranges.

On the other hand, I LOVE Neal's voice. It reaches in, grabs my heart and makes me feel weepy. He's one of my favourite ever singers and no other singer has ever made feel like he does. (Closest other one being Eddie Vedder)

In retrospect I wish they had changed the band name after he left. I really like Nick's voice and I dislike Ted's. Neither of them move me like Neal. (I mean, no-one has. I can't over-state it.) That combined with the lack of Neal's distinctive song writing makes it a very different thing now. Great on its own merits but not true SB afaic.

Edit: Just been liaising to ATEOTD and that line "Feel your heart like a window open slow...." Agh! 

[goo-goo]

For me, Spock's has been a mixed bag. I personally love the Nick era. Great tone, great voice..but the songs were a bit weak. With Ted fronting the band, love the production and the songs (most of them) but Ted's voice is a bit of a turn-off for me. For whatever reason, the Neal era hasn't clicked with me.

[HOF]

Neal does have a very soulful, emotive, yet “Everyman” type of voice. He’s not technically amazing but he gives it his all and that was part of what made those early Spock’s albums so special. He’s lost some of that as time goes on, in a way I don’t know how to describe. It may just be his voice lost some power over the years as is understandable, but it doesn’t quite have the same quality as when he was in SB.

[425]

Honestly, I don’t think solo Neal Morse sounds very much like Neal-era SB. His style and sound have changed significantly in my opinion. Transatlantic also has the clear influence of Roine as a songwriter so there is some distinction there in my mind, although the last two TA albums have sounded more like Neal’s solo work.

I agree with this. As someone who actually got into Spock's Beard after getting into Transatlantic and Neal Morse solo, SB was definitely not the "more of the same" I was expecting.

[ytserush]

Neal Morse doesn’t have a great voice. But he has a plaintive, soulful quality that I can connect to better than most of your average prog metal vocalists. It’s as if he’s singing for the common man, instead of trying to reach for the inhuman operatic ranges.

He brings the sincerity and the passion, Just like Geddy, Fish and even Mike....

[The Letter M]

When I got into SB, I was between Feel Euphoria and Octane, so Neal had already left, but I started getting into the band with the Neal-era albums (after discovering Transatlantic by way of Mike Portnoy, which I'm sure many of us here did as well). Since the band were already 2 albums deep with Nick as the vocalist by the time I was getting into them, I really dug how the band's sound evolved and enjoyed both eras of the band. Octane remains a favorite to this day because of that, as is X. It really threw me for a loop when Nick decided to leave the band, and I had never heard of his vocal replacement before, but when BNADS came out, I was blown away once more.

I think each vocalist of SB has their own charms, and I would agree with the assessment here that Neal has a very powerful every-man voice that makes his music so easy and fun to sing-along to. Nick has more power in his upper range, and does some fun stuff with his vocals over his four albums fronting the band. There's a lot of energy in his vocals that I quite enjoy (though I can't say I sing along to the NDV-era stuff as much as the Neal-era songs). And Ted can feel like a solid mix of both Nick and Neal, while adding some unique flavors of his own. In recent years, I've also dived into Enchant, which has helped me appreciate the evolution of Ted's voice, fronting a band that was more like Rush, then moving on to SB (which is more like Genesis/Yes at times, though they've certainly carved out their own sound over the last 25 years).

I think watching the Snow Live concert really helped me appreciate all three just about the same, though I will always leave more room in my musical heart for Neal's music (not that I don't like what Nick and Ted do, both with SB and in their other projects). It was certainly a treat to see and hear all three frontmen together on stage, performing my favorite SB album of all time, taking the lead in different songs and parts of songs, and even letting Jimmy sing lead on one song! I think because SB was kind of built on vocal harmonies and interplay, that they could probably change lead vocalists again and I might not be so shocked, just as long as they continue to write great vocal melodies and harmonies.

-Marc.

[gzarruk]

Still going through the SB catalog and really enjoying my journey!

Was listening to A Flash Before My Eyes today and realized SB has done the "epic song split in different tracks" quite a few times, specially during the NDV frontman era. So, my question is, how do you guys treat them, like full songs split or like separate songs that form a suite? I recently decided to make full tracks out of SDOIT and ITPOE and I'm deciding if I should do the same for these SB songs.

[HOF]

Still going through the SB catalog and really enjoying my journey!

Was listening to A Flash Before My Eyes today and realized SB has done the "epic song split in different tracks" quite a few times, specially during the NDV frontman era. So, my question is, how do you guys treat them, like full songs split or like separate songs that form a suite? I recently decided to make full tracks out of SDOIT and ITPOE and I'm deciding if I should do the same for these SB songs.

I have a version of The Healing Colors of Sound that I ripped as one track. There’s actually a section of A Flash Before My Eyes (Surfing Down the Avalanche) that I don’t even have ripped to my computer because it’s balls.

[gzarruk]

There’s actually a section of A Flash Before My Eyes (Surfing Down the Avalanche) that I don’t even have ripped to my computer because it’s balls.

I didn't like it at first but it's starting to click with me a bit more. The one that hasn't worked for me yet is Is This Love from the self titled album.

[RoeDent]

I treat them as full songs, as I do every split-track epics. Very few of the individual movements feel like complete songs to me, and even the ones that do (She Is Everything is the only one that really springs to mind) still act like smaller parts of a bigger whole. I don't fully understand why they suddenly decided on X to not split the two epics after going that way for the entirety of the Nick era. Especially From the Darkness which, of the two, feels more like four separate songs, with no reprises to unify the movements. Obviously how it feels like and how it is are two different things.

[HOF]

There’s actually a section of A Flash Before My Eyes (Surfing Down the Avalanche) that I don’t even have ripped to my computer because it’s balls.

I didn't like it at first but it's starting to click with me a bit more. The one that hasn't worked for me yet is Is This Love from the self titled album.

I do really like the rest of AFBME. Listened to She is Everything twice because of that epic guitar solo!

[HOF]

Now listening to another split epic, A Guy Named Sid, which I still think is really cool. Love the guitar on  Judge section.

[The Letter M]

Still going through the SB catalog and really enjoying my journey!

Was listening to A Flash Before My Eyes today and realized SB has done the "epic song split in different tracks" quite a few times, specially during the NDV frontman era. So, my question is, how do you guys treat them, like full songs split or like separate songs that form a suite? I recently decided to make full tracks out of SDOIT and ITPOE and I'm deciding if I should do the same for these SB songs.

On all my rips of the albums, I've combined all those split-track epics into single songs, even AFBME. Of course, I did this with all the NDV-era epics and THCOS, especially since on V and X, those albums' epics are tracked as single tracks, so it always made me wonder why songs like "A Guy Named Sid" or "As Far As The Mind Can See" weren't single tracks.

-Marc.

[gzarruk]

Still going through the SB catalog and really enjoying my journey!

Was listening to A Flash Before My Eyes today and realized SB has done the "epic song split in different tracks" quite a few times, specially during the NDV frontman era. So, my question is, how do you guys treat them, like full songs split or like separate songs that form a suite? I recently decided to make full tracks out of SDOIT and ITPOE and I'm deciding if I should do the same for these SB songs.

On all my rips of the albums, I've combined all those split-track epics into single songs, even AFBME. Of course, I did this with all the NDV-era epics and THCOS, especially since on V and X, those albums' epics are tracked as single tracks, so it always made me wonder why songs like "A Guy Named Sid" or "As Far As The Mind Can See" weren't single tracks.

-Marc.

I think that's what I'll do too!

[HOF]

Nick D’Virgilio talks in depth about “V” on the 20th anniversary of its release. Awesome stuff here (can’t believe it’s been 20 years)!

https://m.youtube.com/watch?fbclid=IwAR2Ljn57TJIqNd-PiH0viNpxOWl4CASWdaHY_wghvDPfxl5Q6ezTshvY2UU&feature=youtu.be&v=72x2oH50Q_Y

[utopiarun]

Nick D’Virgilio talks in depth about “V” on the 20th anniversary of its release. Awesome stuff here (can’t believe it’s been 20 years)!

https://m.youtube.com/watch?fbclid=IwAR2Ljn57TJIqNd-PiH0viNpxOWl4CASWdaHY_wghvDPfxl5Q6ezTshvY2UU&feature=youtu.be&v=72x2oH50Q_Y

That was a blast to watch! I love NDV's enthusiasm in describing each song and his remembrances, he is so into it. It is an amazing album, bookended by two of the band's greatest songs ever (IMO). Thanks for sharing.

[DTA]

That was really cool. Stuff like this is so easy for musicians to do but so few are doing it. I’d love a series like this for tons of bands...just revisiting old albums and giving background info that is unavailable elsewhere.

[Dedalus]

Nick D’Virgilio talks in depth about “V” on the 20th anniversary of its release. Awesome stuff here (can’t believe it’s been 20 years)!

https://m.youtube.com/watch?fbclid=IwAR2Ljn57TJIqNd-PiH0viNpxOWl4CASWdaHY_wghvDPfxl5Q6ezTshvY2UU&feature=youtu.be&v=72x2oH50Q_Y

Very cool! Thank you for sharing. 

I love NDV. He is a great dude.

[Mladen]

That video reminded me of how awesome V is. I'm not crazy about The Great nothing, but the rest is spectacular. 

[Zydar]

Easily my favourite SB album.

[Kwyjibo]

Easily my favourite SB album.

+1

[gzarruk]

Easily my favourite SB album.

It's definitely up there with Brief Nocturnes, and probably X, for me.

[Kwyjibo]

My favourite three would be in this order

1. V
2. X
3. Brief Nocturnes

[HOF]

I have a hard time ranking SB albums, but I’d probably rank all of the Neal era albums above any since (maybe not The Light though). 

From the Neal era my top three are probably: V, Snow, and Kindness of Strangers in no order.

From the NDV era: Feel Euphoria

From the Ted era: Noise Floor (Might rank just below the Neal era albums).

[The Letter M]

Are we ranking albums?? Oh boy... I think, like HOF, I'll list them by era, and maybe, if I'm willing enough, try and mash them together into a master list of all 13 albums ranked.

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

Nick Era:
X
Octane
Spock's Beard / Feel Euphoria (I kept going back and forth trying place one above the other, so they tie instead)

Ted Era:
Brief Nocturnes And Dreamless Sleep (Limited Edition)
Noise Floor (Japanese Edition)
The Oblivion Particle

And now, a complete list...here we go...*deep breaths*...
Snow
V
Beware Of Darkness
X
The Kindness Of Strangers
Brief Nocturnes And Dreamless Sleep
Noise Floor
The Light
Octane
Day For Night
The Oblivion Particle
Spock's Beard / Feel Euphoria

...well, that's what I feel like, right now, at this moment. It could chance in a day, a week, a month, or even a year, but I think the top 3 will forever be the top 3. When I first got into SB, Snow and V were always in rotation, and BOD not much less than them, and I absolutely fell in love with those albums. The rest have kind of fallen into general places relative to the others, so it's not necessarily in stone, but I definitely don't feel strongly about DFN, TOP, SB9, or FE, all the weaker albums of their respective eras IMO.

-Marc.

[HOF]

I wouldn’t say there’s much difference in my opinion of Snow, V, Day for Night, Kindness of Strangers, or Beware of Darkness. They are all great albums each with some really high highs.

I’d also say that each of the Nick era albums have some really great moments and some not so great moments, without a ton to separate any one of those albums from the other but none quite reaching the heights of the Neal era.

With the Ted era, I haven’t found Brief Nocturns or Oblivion Particle to have a ton of replay value, though there are some great moments on each for sure. I’d put those two below the Nick era albums probably. But I just really really like Noise Floor and feel like it’s the strongest group of songs since Neal left.

[The Letter M]

I wouldn’t say there’s much difference in my opinion of Snow, V, Day for Night, Kindness of Strangers, or Beware of Darkness. They are all great albums each with some really high highs.

I will agree that after The Light, and once Ryo joined, the band definitely solidified their sound, and as you say, there are some really high highs on all five of those albums.

I’d also say that each of the Nick era albums have some really great moments and some not so great moments, without a ton to separate any one of those albums from the other but none quite reaching the heights of the Neal era.

You wouldn't even put X above or at-level with anything from the Neal era? I always felt that X was just as good as anything Neal put out with SB, but the other three only barely catch up to them, but regardless of how one would compare the Nick albums to the Neal ones, there are some amazingly well-written tunes on those albums (just not in the same vein of prog as Neal).

With the Ted era, I haven’t found Brief Nocturns or Oblivion Particle to have a ton of replay value, though there are some great moments on each for sure. I’d put those two below the Nick era albums probably. But I just really really like Noise Floor and feel like it’s the strongest group of songs since Neal left.

I often find myself going back and forth on which Ted album I like more - BNADS or NF. Even though it's already two years old, NF still feels quite new to me, and hasn't settled in as much as BNADS has, which was such a great surprise when it came out (and on/near my birthday too!) that I was blown away by how good it was, especially coming after X and Nick's departure. Even the bonus disc tracks are really good on BNADS, and I wished the album had been a proper 2-disc album with all the songs. Same with Noise Floor, which has some killer bonus tracks.

-Marc.

[HOF]

I’ve mentioned before that X is a bit of a mixed bag for me. I love Edge of the In Between, and then I think From the Darkness and Quiet House are also really strong. But then I don’t care for Kamikazee (it’s ok), Emperor’s Clothes (don’t like much at all), or Man Behind the Curtains. If I regarded Jaws of Heaven as highly as most, I think X would be up there, but it’s never really grabbed me either. It is one of the best sounding SB albums though. I agree they knocked it out of the park from a production standpoint.

I also include the Noise Floor bonus tracks in my evaluation of that album. They are all really great and should have just been incorporated into the main disc (I believe everything would have fit, though I would have dropped Have We All Gone Crazy Yet and Box of Spiders if it were up to me).

[RoeDent]

Ranking by era:

Neal era
Beware of Darkness
Snow
The Light
The Kindness of Strangers
Day for Night

Nick era
X
Feel Euphoria
Spock's Beard
Octane

Ted era
Brief Nocturnes (my favourite SB album)
Oblivion Particle
Noise Floor

[jammindude]

I adore the Neal era. Never heard a full album from the Nick era. And I have the first two from the Ted era...and I like them both, but they don’t capture the stellar quality of the first six, which I would rank:

Kindness of Strangers
V
The Light
Beware of Darkness
Day for Night
Snow

[Kwyjibo]

By era:

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

Nick
X
Octane
Spock's Beard
Feel Euphoria

Ted
Brief Nocturnes
Oblivion Particle
Noise Floor

[frogprog]

I loved that video by Nick! I was lucky enough to see the V tour at a tiny place (North Star Bar) in Philly. Got to see them sound check and mess around before the show and had a chance to meet all of them. Really fond memories of a special time!

[Zydar]

Looking at Progarchives, the only album who has a higher rating than V (4.14) is Brief Nocturnes (4.00). Combined with your rankings, I have to check that one out.

[Fritzinger]

I’ve mentioned before that X is a bit of a mixed bag for me. I love Edge of the In Between, and then I think From the Darkness and Quiet House are also really strong. But then I don’t care for Kamikazee (it’s ok), Emperor’s Clothes (don’t like much at all), or Man Behind the Curtains. If I regarded Jaws of Heaven as highly as most, I think X would be up there, but it’s never really grabbed me either. It is one of the best sounding SB albums though. I agree they knocked it out of the park from a production standpoint.

I also include the Noise Floor bonus tracks in my evaluation of that album. They are all really great and should have just been incorporated into the main disc (I believe everything would have fit, though I would have dropped Have We All Gone Crazy Yet and Box of Spiders if it were up to me).

I agree that the EP songs are just as good as the ones on the album and that they should have been included on the album. But they were released with the album and they can be purchased without a problem, so I don't really mind. The way this whole thing was released is a little weird though (as is the release of The Sea Within's debut).

[RoeDent]

I agree that the EP songs are just as good as the ones on the album and that they should have been included on the album. But they were released with the album and they can be purchased without a problem, so I don't really mind. The way this whole thing was released is a little weird though (as is the release of The Sea Within's debut).

And The Flower Kings' Waiting for Miracles.