Nick D'Virgilio - INVISIBLE - OUT NOW!!!

[HOF]

The last two tracks are lifting my hopes though.

[HOF]

I just can’t get into any of these heavy tracks. It’s just not what I’m looking for from NDV. It’s also way too long. I have cut the track list down to 9 songs 46 minutes. This is mostly the softer tracks and it’s a better listen for sure. Still a few spots that are needlessly heavy that detract from Nick’s strengths (Overcome has some cool parts that are kind of overshadowed by the needlessly heavy sections). I was hoping for more of a songwriter-ish vibe since he downplayed this as a prog album in interviews. I’d say it leans towards prog metal in several places which I was not expecting at all.

[gzarruk]

I'm really digging this album! I find that I need to give a couple more listens to it, but it's really solid to me. Great writing, playing and singing by NDV

[MinistroRaven]

I'm really digging this album! I find that I need to give a couple more listens to it, but it's really solid to me. Great writing, playing and singing by NDV

 

[devieira73]

Interesting how tastes vary. .. to me, the album would benefit a bit in terms of pacing if it didn't have Money and Waiting for No One. Just a minor complaint. And I think all the more rockers ones are truly amazing. Also I didn't hear anything close to prog metal on this album.

[HOF]

Interesting how tastes vary. .. to me, the album would benefit a bit in terms of pacing if it didn't have Money and Waiting for No One. Just a minor complaint. And I think all the more rockers ones are truly amazing. Also I didn't hear anything close to prog metal on this album.

I don’t necessarily love Money or Waiting for No One. But I’d rather listen to them than the heavy stuff because they have some atmosphere and room for Nick to shine vocally. Turn Your Life Around, Mercy, Overcome, In My Bones, and Wrong Place Wrong Time all have some pretty heavy passages that wouldn’t be out of place on something like the second disc of Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence. Not like extreme metal type heavy but more of a metal approach than a straight rock or prog approach if that makes sense. Nick is also getting a little too operatic in some places which ups the prog metal factor.

[DTA]

Listened to this last night...lots of good moments, lots of not-so-good moments. I'm going to give it a bunch more listens but I'm feeling like this one will probably come and go for me. I love Nick in the context of other bands but I just don't quite enjoy his solo efforts.

[KevShmev]

Listened to this last night...lots of good moments, lots of not-so-good moments. I'm going to give it a bunch more listens but I'm feeling like this one will probably come and go for me. I love Nick in the context of other bands but I just don't quite enjoy his solo efforts.

That's kind of where I am.  I am a NDV fan and really want to like this, but the second listen felt forced, and I fear it is going to become a record, like for you, that quickly came and went.  I will probably put it away for a bit and revisit it at some point to see if fresh ears help.

[DTA]

Listened to this last night...lots of good moments, lots of not-so-good moments. I'm going to give it a bunch more listens but I'm feeling like this one will probably come and go for me. I love Nick in the context of other bands but I just don't quite enjoy his solo efforts.

That's kind of where I am.  I am a NDV fan and really want to like this, but the second listen felt forced, and I fear it is going to become a record, like for you, that quickly came and went.  I will probably put it away for a bit and revisit it at some point to see if fresh ears help.

There's no song I love, but there are a few I think I actually hate - Overcome might be one of the worst songs I've heard in awhile, and Where's The Passion? is very meh. I agree with the other posters that removing a few tracks would make this a much better experience and these two (plus the useless Prelude) would be the first to go. I played it in the car and enjoyed it overall besides those tracks so I think there's a big possibility this just needs time to grow on me.

[gzarruk]

I've only removed the prelude, which, I agree, is useless. Other than that, I find the album pretty enjoyable, some songs being better than the rest, but still quite good.

[HOF]

It’s unnecessary, but I kind of enjoy the prelude.

[Kram]

I just picked this up and think it's great! If you're looking for an epic filled progest, stick with Neal Morse or someone else, as this isn't it.  It's more AOR really with a little prog sprinkled in.  But well crafted songs, great playing and man Nick really does have a great voice! Excellent vocals throughout.  Sonically they knocked it out of the park as well.

[DTA]

My opinion of it definitely improved from my initial post. I still think it could've been trimmed a bit, but the last 4 songs make a really strong ending and the quality is pretty high throughout.

[MinistroRaven]

Karma album for 13 USD

https://www.nickdvirgilio.com/shop/

[HOF]

Karma album for 13 USD

https://www.nickdvirgilio.com/shop/

I just picked up a copy of this second hand a couple months ago. Too bad because I definitely would have bought it from Nick instead. Invisible has left me cold, but I’ve loved most of what’s on Karma. That might be part of why I was so disappointed with Invisible. Both Karma and Pieces were great, and Invisible just feels a little over baked.

[goo-goo]

I hope he can find some physical copies of Pieces.

[HOF]

I hope he can find some physical copies of Pieces.

Yeah, I only have that one on download. Wouldn’t mind getting a hold of Rewiring Genesis also.

[kirksnosehair]

This album is way better than I expected. 

[MinistroRaven]

I am here just to say that this is ALBUM OF THE YEAR for me.

Still #1 album of the year for me. Man, I can't get enough of this album.

[HOF]

Of the three Big Big Train related projects released this year, NDV’s is trailing Rikard’s Gungfly and the Dyble Longdon album by a considerable margin for me. I need to pull Invisible out and try it again, but to be honest I haven’t had the urge to at all since I got it. Have also had a lot of new music to listen to this year though, so limited time for it anyway.

I will say, I also got Karma for the first time just before Invisible came out, and that has been one of my favorite albums I’ve gotten this year.

[gzarruk]

I am here just to say that this is ALBUM OF THE YEAR for me.

Still #1 album of the year for me. Man, I can't get enough of this album.

Outside of a couple tracks I don't like, this album is FANTASTIC

[Fritzinger]

Of the three Big Big Train related projects released this year, NDV’s is trailing Rikard’s Gungfly and the Dyble Longdon album by a considerable margin for me. I need to pull Invisible out and try it again, but to be honest I haven’t had the urge to at all since I got it. Have also had a lot of new music to listen to this year though, so limited time for it anyway.

I will say, I also got Karma for the first time just before Invisible came out, and that has been one of my favorite albums I’ve gotten this year.

D/L and Gungfly released the better albums in my personal opinion too, but Invisible is still great!
I think, NDV is best when he does drum-driven art pop. That's why the closer I Know The Way is my favorite song on the album.

[kirksnosehair]

Like I wrote above the album is better than I expected.  I dislike Karma. I expected not to like this album, but I supported Nick because I wanted to give him a shot.  I'm not disappointed that I bought the album.  I will listen to it from time to time, but there's nothing here that makes me want to hurry back to it.  I listened to it 3 or 4 times after it first came out and every time I listened to it, I removed a couple of tracks and now it's down to just 6 songs.

[Kram]

I am here just to say that this is ALBUM OF THE YEAR for me.

Still #1 album of the year for me. Man, I can't get enough of this album.

Not my album of the year but top 5 for sure.  Good stuff!

[HOF]

Alright, going to give this album another try after a long layoff. For whatever reason I hadn’t tried it in the car yet. I was able to hear the first three tracks on my way into work. The prelude is nice but somewhat unnecessary. Invisible is a nice showcase for Nick’s voice. I enjoyed it for what it is. But Turn Your Life Around really hit me for the first time. Maybe just that I was able to hear the details in the mix better in my car, but the drum track is incredible, and all the crazy little twists and turns in the music really held my interest. This is a track that I probably wrote off initially as unnecessarily heavy, but I really enjoyed it this time.

[HOF]

So having completed a re-listen of Invisible, I think I can appreciate the production value and scope of the songwriting more than I can the songs themselves if that makes sense. It’s a serious work with a lot of great performances. Some of the story seems a little trite, and I don’t love all of the songs, but there’s enough good stuff here that I think I will be able to come back to it from time to time. I do think Where’s the Passion is the best song here, but I also really like I Know the Way and Turn Your Life Around. Money is a pretty well done cover. There are other points I like as well, but those stand out.

[HOF]

If I can turn this into a general NDV appreciation thread for a moment, I put a playlist of my favorite NDV vocal tracks together (lead vocals only, not so much focused on the drum aspect though there’s plenty of that here too). Most of the way through listening to it now. So much vocal goodness here, but also just really great songs:

1. The River Is Wide (Karma)
2. Childhood’s End (Pieces)
3. Where’s The Passion (Invisible)
4. Carie (SB - Snow)
5. Looking for Answers (SB - Snow)
6. Shining Star (SB - Feel Euphoria)
7. She Is Everything (SB - Octane)
8. Mary Jane Says (Pieces)
9. Come What May (Karma)
10. Will It Be Me (Karma)
11. There Was A Time (SB - Octane)
12. Watching The Tide (SB - Octane)
13. Many Too Many (Supper’s Ready - Genesis tribute)
14. I Know The Way (Invisible)

[Fritzinger]

Nick is a fantastic singer and I think he often gets a little overlooked as a singer. His vocals on Watching The Tide alone prove that. You might like the song or think it's just a cheesy ballad (I like it), but it's brilliantly sung.

[romdrums]

Nick is a fantastic singer and I think he often gets a little overlooked as a singer. His vocals on Watching The Tide alone prove that. You might like the song or think it's just a cheesy ballad (I like it), but it's brilliantly sung.

I got to see him sit in with Frost last winter and he sang Experiments in Mass Appeal while drumming and reading the lyrics off of his floor tom.  He nailed it, of course!

[HOF]

Nick is a fantastic singer and I think he often gets a little overlooked as a singer. His vocals on Watching The Tide alone prove that. You might like the song or think it's just a cheesy ballad (I like it), but it's brilliantly sung.

For my money, Nick is at his best on these types of songs, Carie, Watching the Tide, Childhood’s End, etc. Where he really gets to work in his upper register and really push it. Not that he can’t also do rock type stuff, but his voice is made for ballads. I think that’s one thing I didn’t like about Spock’s Beard’s X. They really didn’t have any of the ballads that were typically some of the high points of other Nick era SB albums.

[SoundscapeMN]

he was just interviewed on the Kevin Gilbert podcast (the 1st of many)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6vxevLiwXb0

[HOF]

he was just interviewed on the Kevin Gilbert podcast (the 1st of many)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6vxevLiwXb0

Watched this the other day. A lot of fun stories. I kinda hate how dismissive of prog the host is though!

[HOF]

Nick is a national treasure. Performing Big Big Train’s Transit of Venus Across the Sun:

https://m.youtube.com/watch?fbclid=IwAR24WrLB0sJ_6c47JnBm5gYFlJ5BtlP0BvSyiNO3G7Fv-DtLZ0zL4plbm-I&feature=youtu.be&v=6tpwpAJm1sA

[Fritzinger]

Nick is a national treasure. Performing Big Big Train’s Transit of Venus Across the Sun:

https://m.youtube.com/watch?fbclid=IwAR24WrLB0sJ_6c47JnBm5gYFlJ5BtlP0BvSyiNO3G7Fv-DtLZ0zL4plbm-I&feature=youtu.be&v=6tpwpAJm1sA

Seriously, this guy is just amazing. What an insanely talented musician.

[MinistroRaven]

Hope he represses his music (first album), Pieces EP, and Live and Acoustic DVD.

Pieces is available as digital here: https://nickdvirgilio.bandcamp.com/album/pieces-ep