Author Topic: Counting down Neal Morse's best 25 albums!!!!  (Read 10391 times)

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

Online The Letter M

  • Posts: 15494
  • Gender: Male
Re: Counting down Neal Morse's best 25 albums!!!!
« Reply #35 on: February 05, 2019, 04:14:06 PM »
I wouldn't say it is a "huge" dropoff.  But I wouldn't say it is an insignificant one either.

For me:
Bridge Across Forever = A+
The Whirlwind = A/A-
SMPT:e = B+/A-
Kaleidoscope = C+/B-

Like, I still really enjoy it, but it definitely doesn't score as high as the other three. It still "passes" as an excellent album, both in prog and in music in general, but compared to it's older siblings, not as high achieving.

-Marc.
ATTENTION - HAKEN FANS! The HAKEN SURVIVOR 2023 has begun! You can check it out in the Polls/Survivors Forum!!!

Offline KevShmev

  • EZBoard Elder
  • *****
  • Posts: 41963
  • Gender: Male
Re: Counting down Neal Morse's best 25 albums!!!!
« Reply #36 on: February 05, 2019, 04:16:56 PM »
It reminds me of the Falling for Forever epic Neal wrote for the Spock's 20th anniversary release.  Very good songs, but paled in comparison to most of the prior 20-minute plus songs Neal had written.

Offline ronnibran

  • Posts: 747
Re: Counting down Neal Morse's best 25 albums!!!!
« Reply #37 on: February 05, 2019, 05:55:19 PM »
I’m in the minority but I absolutely love Kaleidoscope. Into the Blue is possibly my favorite Transatlantic song.

Offline nattmorker

  • Posts: 490
  • Gender: Male
Re: Counting down Neal Morse's best 25 albums!!!!
« Reply #38 on: February 05, 2019, 07:11:21 PM »
Totally agree about Kaleidoscope, I try many times to like the album but the only song I really love is "Black as the sky", the rest is not bad but pales in comparison to the previous albums.

Offline KevShmev

  • EZBoard Elder
  • *****
  • Posts: 41963
  • Gender: Male
Re: Counting down Neal Morse's best 25 albums!!!!
« Reply #39 on: February 06, 2019, 06:06:32 AM »
20. Songs for November



I've always liked this record, and as time has gone on it has really gone up in my eyes. I spin this more now than I did when it was first out, to be honest.  It's a very consistent record, with the back half having many of my favorites, like Daddy's Daughter, When Things Slow Down and Wear the Chains.  Flowers in a Vase is very nice as well, with a cameo by Eric Gillette on vocals.  Very nice record.


Offline Nekov

  • DTF.org Alumni
  • ****
  • Posts: 10715
  • Gender: Male
Re: Counting down Neal Morse's best 25 albums!!!!
« Reply #40 on: February 06, 2019, 07:10:48 AM »
Neal put out a lot of beautiful music in that album. I haven't listened to it in a while but it is usually an album I visit when I need my mood lifted. My favorites are Song for the Free and Flowers in a Vase
When Ginobili gets hot, I get hot in my pants. 

Offline DTA

  • Posts: 2457
Re: Counting down Neal Morse's best 25 albums!!!!
« Reply #41 on: February 06, 2019, 07:31:31 AM »
20. Songs for November



I've always liked this record, and as time has gone on it has really gone up in my eyes. I spin this more now than I did when it was first out, to be honest.  It's a very consistent record, with the back half having many of my favorites, like Daddy's Daughter, When Things Slow Down and Wear the Chains.  Flowers in a Vase is very nice as well, with a cameo by Eric Gillette on vocals.  Very nice record.

Still need to spin this one a few more times. I’ve only casually listened to it in my car 2-3 times. I didn’t like more than any of his non-prog solo albums on those initial listens but time may change that. Are you including God Won’t Give Up in this ranking?

Offline KevShmev

  • EZBoard Elder
  • *****
  • Posts: 41963
  • Gender: Male
Re: Counting down Neal Morse's best 25 albums!!!!
« Reply #42 on: February 06, 2019, 07:58:17 AM »
Are you including God Won’t Give Up in this ranking?

Considering there is no chance I consider that one of his 25 best albums, all signs point to no. :P

Offline Mladen

  • Posts: 15203
  • Gender: Male
Re: Counting down Neal Morse's best 25 albums!!!!
« Reply #43 on: February 06, 2019, 11:35:33 AM »
There are some really pretty songs on this one. Daddy's daughter is a clear stand out to me. However, I remember this being my first of Neal's singer/songwriter albums and, having thought it was just OK, I was afraid the rest of them might be kind of bland as well. Luckily, Life & times and the debut proved me wrong once I gave them a go.

Offline KevShmev

  • EZBoard Elder
  • *****
  • Posts: 41963
  • Gender: Male
Re: Counting down Neal Morse's best 25 albums!!!!
« Reply #44 on: February 07, 2019, 06:03:47 AM »
19. Day for Night



This album was initially a big disappointment for me, as it came off as so inferior to other Spock's albums they had done with Neal, but while it still my least favorite of the six, I have come around to really liking it.  Okay, it has a few weak spots (Ski, Gibberish, Can't Get It Wrong), but the title track, Crack the Big Sky, The Gypsy, Distance to the Sun and the Healing Colors of Sound suite are all major winners. Plus, this record just sounds like band had an absolute blast when making it.

Offline DTA

  • Posts: 2457
Re: Counting down Neal Morse's best 25 albums!!!!
« Reply #45 on: February 07, 2019, 07:11:54 AM »
Are you including God Won’t Give Up in this ranking?

Considering there is no chance I consider that one of his 25 best albums, all signs point to no. :P

Fair enough! I think the music actually holds up really well but the lyrical content definitely makes it tough to really get into. If the lyrics weren’t so religious, I’m sure this album would be much more well-liked by all. I thought you were doing every single one of his releases and it just happened to be 25 albums.

Offline DTA

  • Posts: 2457
Re: Counting down Neal Morse's best 25 albums!!!!
« Reply #46 on: February 07, 2019, 07:14:32 AM »
19. Day for Night



This album was initially a big disappointment for me, as it came off as so inferior to other Spock's albums they had done with Neal, but while it still my least favorite of the six, I have come around to really liking it.  Okay, it has a few weak spots (Ski, Gibberish, Can't Get It Wrong), but the title track, Crack the Big Sky, The Gypsy, Distance to the Sun and the Healing Colors of Sound suite are all major winners. Plus, this record just sounds like band had an absolute blast when making it.

DFN rocks. It definitely is their most fun-sounding album and I’d probably rank Healing Colours as my favorite Beard epic. The My Shoes solo at the end is so intense. The Gypsy also flies under the radar with seemingly everyone and I always thought that was a really strong track.

Offline KevShmev

  • EZBoard Elder
  • *****
  • Posts: 41963
  • Gender: Male
Re: Counting down Neal Morse's best 25 albums!!!!
« Reply #47 on: February 07, 2019, 08:55:26 AM »
Despite my initial disappointment with the album, The Gypsy was the one song from it I always thought was great, and still do. 

The "Lay It Down" section of the suite is one of Neal's great melodic moments.  Such a simple melody, yet so glorious.

Offline Nekov

  • DTF.org Alumni
  • ****
  • Posts: 10715
  • Gender: Male
Re: Counting down Neal Morse's best 25 albums!!!!
« Reply #48 on: February 07, 2019, 09:14:00 AM »
The other day I was looking at the Neal era Spock's Beard and I realizes this album is top 3 for me, might even be my second favorite. Really solid and fun
When Ginobili gets hot, I get hot in my pants. 

Offline Mladen

  • Posts: 15203
  • Gender: Male
Re: Counting down Neal Morse's best 25 albums!!!!
« Reply #49 on: February 07, 2019, 01:20:54 PM »
Day for night is also my least favorite of the first six Spock's Beard albums, but it's still good. The epic is slightly underwhelming and Can't get it wrong is extremely bland, but the rest is very solid. I'll go out on a limb and say that Gibberish and Skin are the two most underrated Spock's Beard song ever.

Offline KevShmev

  • EZBoard Elder
  • *****
  • Posts: 41963
  • Gender: Male
Re: Counting down Neal Morse's best 25 albums!!!!
« Reply #50 on: February 07, 2019, 05:08:50 PM »
That is really going out on a limb. ;)

I listened to both again recently for the first time in years and my thoughts were the same.  Gibberish is more annoying than bad, and the hook in Skin is almost there, but doesn't quite hit the mark.  I think the thin sound of the album didn't do certain songs any favors.

Offline ronnibran

  • Posts: 747
Re: Counting down Neal Morse's best 25 albums!!!!
« Reply #51 on: February 07, 2019, 06:58:28 PM »
Day For Night is a good album, but it’s the only Spock’s Neal album that doesn’t have any songs that I absolutely love.

Offline KevShmev

  • EZBoard Elder
  • *****
  • Posts: 41963
  • Gender: Male
Re: Counting down Neal Morse's best 25 albums!!!!
« Reply #52 on: February 08, 2019, 08:34:15 AM »
18. Momentum



I have mixed feelings about this album nowadays.  While it sounds like Neal was kind of on auto-pilot, it still gave us a tremendous epic in World Without End and another brilliant Thoughts tune (part 5!).  I get why some might feel like World Without End is too long, as it is pretty long, but it is heckuva journey and I love every part of it. And I feel that Thoughts Part 5 is the second best of the Thoughts tunes, behind only the original.  Freak and Smoke and Mirrors, both good songs, are my favorites of the rest, with the title track being a catchy rocker. Weathering Sky has never done much for me.  Very good record overall, with one his best epics.

Offline Mladen

  • Posts: 15203
  • Gender: Male
Re: Counting down Neal Morse's best 25 albums!!!!
« Reply #53 on: February 08, 2019, 10:22:44 AM »
This was my first solo album of Neal's and World without end remained my favorite epic he ever did solo. I also love Weathering sky and Thoughts part 5.

Offline KevShmev

  • EZBoard Elder
  • *****
  • Posts: 41963
  • Gender: Male
Re: Counting down Neal Morse's best 25 albums!!!!
« Reply #54 on: February 08, 2019, 01:18:10 PM »
I probably should have talked up Freak a bit more in my earlier write-up; I really love Neal's vocal in that one.

Online The Letter M

  • Posts: 15494
  • Gender: Male
Re: Counting down Neal Morse's best 25 albums!!!!
« Reply #55 on: February 08, 2019, 01:29:38 PM »
It's nice to see Momentum here, though personally, I'm not sure if I would rank it this high. For me, I don't feel like it has aged well, though it certainly has aged better than say, Lifeline, but the epic is just so over-long for me. I would rather listen to "Alive Again" or "Seeds Of Gold". The shorter songs are all OK, with "Thoughts Part V" being the stand-out among them. Neal has done better albums with this similar format - a handful of short songs with a huge closing epic, like V and TGE, and I think they're better than Momentum in almost every way possible. Maybe I just haven't spun the whole album in a long while, but I haven't really felt the urge to back and listen to it in a couple of years. I feel like Neal was definitely trying to push for new ideas and sounds here and there, like with "Freak" and "Smoke And Mirrors", but they still end up sounding like Neal. I do like that he cut out the middle part of "Momentum" to tighten it up, and just to drop the over-used and cliched bridge with the piano bit that he seems to enjoy a lot in those kinds of songs. Dropping it really allowed the song to keep it's, well...momentum, especially as the album opener!

I think, if I have time this weekend, I'll spin this one again and see how I feel about it, and see if it has gotten better for me. I know I really enjoyed the live versions of the songs from the Live Momentum, which is a killer album from the proto-NMB. I think of Momentum had been FULLY done by the NMB, it might have had a bit more "oomph" to it, which is why I would LOVE to see them perform the whole album at Morsefest, just to hear more of Eric and Bill on it than what they initially recorded.

-Marc.
ATTENTION - HAKEN FANS! The HAKEN SURVIVOR 2023 has begun! You can check it out in the Polls/Survivors Forum!!!

Offline DTA

  • Posts: 2457
Re: Counting down Neal Morse's best 25 albums!!!!
« Reply #56 on: February 08, 2019, 01:43:20 PM »
I go back and forth on Momentum. I think the title track is a great track and opens the album in a really positive way. I had no idea there was a longer version until it appeared in the TSOAD setlist. I also think Thoughts 5 is great, though nothing will top Part 2 to me. Weathering Sky and Smoke & Mirrors are a bit meh for me, though I never skip them if they come on and I can occasionally hum the Weathering Sky chorus. Freak is awesome. I really like that kind of quirky track that Neal is so good at. World Without End....good parts, but just like So Many Roads, it's just too damn long. I'd rate this one higher than SMR and there's a heavy riff in the middle that I absolutely love, but this epic would rank pretty low overall.

I think Momentum is a good album, but the epic misses for me as a whole and the middle of the album drags a bit.

Online King Postwhore

  • Couch Potato
  • DTF.org Alumni
  • ****
  • Posts: 59297
  • Gender: Male
  • Take that Beethoven, you deaf bastard!!
Re: Counting down Neal Morse's best 25 albums!!!!
« Reply #57 on: February 08, 2019, 02:27:01 PM »
For some reason, I love Day For Night.

The Distance to the Sun and Crack The Big Sky are right up there as my favorite SB songs of all time.
I don't like country music, but I don't mean to denigrate those who do. And for the people who like country music, denigrate means 'put down'.” - Bob Newhart
So wait, we're spelling it wrong and king is spelling it right? What is going on here? :lol -- BlobVanDam
"Oh, I am definitely a jackass!" - TAC

Offline KevShmev

  • EZBoard Elder
  • *****
  • Posts: 41963
  • Gender: Male
Re: Counting down Neal Morse's best 25 albums!!!!
« Reply #58 on: February 08, 2019, 06:18:37 PM »
Crack the Big Sky is a crackin' tune! ;)

Offline KevShmev

  • EZBoard Elder
  • *****
  • Posts: 41963
  • Gender: Male
Re: Counting down Neal Morse's best 25 albums!!!!
« Reply #59 on: February 09, 2019, 07:46:57 AM »
17. Testimony



When Neal left Spock's Beard, and gave the reason why, no one really knew what to expect him, but here it was just a year later and he was releasing his 3rd solo album, his first double album as a solo artist, which lyrically featured his personal spiritual journey. The overt nature of the lyrics threw me off a bit at first, but the music was still generally of the quality we had come to expect on a Neal Morse record. Some of my favorites include Somber Days, The Storm Before the Calm, Sleeping Jesus, It's All I Can Do and Moving in My Heart. I do have a few issues with it, the main one being that the album is way too long (it feels like it could have been 20-25 minutes shorter and been much better), but for what it is this is still a damn fine record, and I get why it is the favorite for some.

Offline Mladen

  • Posts: 15203
  • Gender: Male
Re: Counting down Neal Morse's best 25 albums!!!!
« Reply #60 on: February 09, 2019, 11:04:32 AM »
This one is a bit too much for me. I like some of the songs, but overall, it's very tedious. It would be near the bottom of my list.

Offline KevShmev

  • EZBoard Elder
  • *****
  • Posts: 41963
  • Gender: Male
Re: Counting down Neal Morse's best 25 albums!!!!
« Reply #61 on: February 09, 2019, 09:18:45 PM »
Being that it was his second double album in as many years, it was hard to not directly compare it to Snow, which I like more and will be in this top 25 at some point, but I still liked it a lot and listened to it like crazy for months after it came out. However, since he has released so many albums since, most of which I prefer, it's just not easy to find the time to dig deep into this one, although it does have songs that I revisit quite a bit individually.

Offline Mladen

  • Posts: 15203
  • Gender: Male
Re: Counting down Neal Morse's best 25 albums!!!!
« Reply #62 on: February 10, 2019, 03:28:01 AM »
Thinking about it more, the streak of songs they played on the Momentum DVD is quite brilliant and might contain some of my favorites on here. Other two songs I truly adore and play often are Sing it high and It's all I can do.

Offline DTA

  • Posts: 2457
Re: Counting down Neal Morse's best 25 albums!!!!
« Reply #63 on: February 10, 2019, 06:30:53 AM »
I was going through a teenage crisis when T1 came out and played the everloving shit out of it in the months after its release but then I didn't really return to it until many years after. It holds a special place for being the album that sort of carried me through that rough time, but now that enough time has passed, I can listen to it objectively. It's good, but gets long-winded on the first disc. I like the second disc quite a bit more, and I Am Willing has a fantastic hook. Somber Days is also great, and California Nights/Colder In The Sun are cool too.

This is where he began his "Overture" obsession and began calling everything Overture rather than coming up with unique names for the tracks.

Offline KevShmev

  • EZBoard Elder
  • *****
  • Posts: 41963
  • Gender: Male
Re: Counting down Neal Morse's best 25 albums!!!!
« Reply #64 on: February 10, 2019, 07:03:50 AM »
16. Flying Colors



Like many, I find the straight-forward nature of this band's debut very appealing.  Sure, they stretch out a little on songs like Blue Ocean and Everything Changes, and of course they end the album with the mini-epic Infinite Fire, but the real heart of this album are the short catchy rock songs like The Storm, Love Is What I'm Waiting For, Better Than Walking Away, Kayla and Forever in a Daze.  It has a couple of throwaway songs (All Falls Down and Shoulda Coulda Woulda), but I like the rest of the album so much that I am not even bothered by those two songs.  I sure hope they recapture this vibe for the forthcoming third album.

Offline ronnibran

  • Posts: 747
Re: Counting down Neal Morse's best 25 albums!!!!
« Reply #65 on: February 10, 2019, 07:11:22 AM »
Testimony is one of my all time favorite albums. Flying colors, not so much.

Offline Mladen

  • Posts: 15203
  • Gender: Male
Re: Counting down Neal Morse's best 25 albums!!!!
« Reply #66 on: February 10, 2019, 08:19:45 AM »
I listened to this one like crazy when it came out, it seemed like a perfect new thing for Portnoy. Hopefully the new one features some shorter, poppier songs similar to Kayla, Forever in a daze and Love is what I'm waiting for.

Offline DTA

  • Posts: 2457
Re: Counting down Neal Morse's best 25 albums!!!!
« Reply #67 on: February 10, 2019, 08:25:30 AM »
Very exciting debut and an album I like quite a bit. The song-oriented approach was refreshing, and it felt more diverse and "like a band" than the other NM/MP projects (which feel more like Neal & Friends). Oddly enough, Fool In My Heart is probably my favorite track even though MP's vocals usually work best in the background. Everything Changes is also a standout and Infinite Fire is a great ending song and just proggy enough to justify its length, but not so proggy that it feels like a run-of-the-mill Neal Morse outtake (unlike Open Up Your Eyes).

Offline KevShmev

  • EZBoard Elder
  • *****
  • Posts: 41963
  • Gender: Male
Re: Counting down Neal Morse's best 25 albums!!!!
« Reply #68 on: February 11, 2019, 07:54:09 AM »
15. The Kindness of Strangers



This is an interesting album for me. I like every song from it a lot, and it has two of my favorite Neal songs ever, Flow and Harm's Way, yet it is only finishing at 15 here, I think because it is tough to listen to from start to finish because of the sound. It doesn't sound bad, but it does sound a bit loud and cluttery at times, which makes it not as easy a listen as every other Spock's record.  It also contains June, one of the band's most loved songs by fans, and the opener, The Good Don't Last, really stands out as well.  Hideous album cover :lol, but despite the nits I am picking with the sound, I am still a big fan of this record.

Offline Zydar

  • Creep With Tonality
  • DTF.org Alumni
  • ****
  • Posts: 19210
  • Gender: Male
Re: Counting down Neal Morse's best 25 albums!!!!
« Reply #69 on: February 11, 2019, 08:09:43 AM »
June was the first SB song I heard - that one and The Good Don't Last are among my favourites in their discography.

I got to spin some Spock's Beard soon.
Zydar is my new hero.  I just laughed so hard I nearly shat.