Official Neal Morse Appreciation Thread

[bosk1]

Everyone is allowed to have an opinion. 

Yes, but clearly not everyone should be.

Please deposit yours in the Opinion Forfeiture Receptacle and leave the premises immediately.

[The Letter M]

Oh, yes.  I'm afraid to start listening.  I get first listen anxiety with Neal Morse and Dream Theater.  I'll probably wait until tomorrow when I can crank it on headphones at work.  Nothing like some good old fashioned machine designing while rocking out to good tunes.

Checked my mail last night and nothing. I hope I get it by the end of the week!!! I've been aching to hear this for so long!!!

-Marc.

I never got an e-mail for either the older NM stuff or the new one...but The Grand Experiment arrived yesterday.  Yours should be here any day.  Enjoy!!

If by any day you mean 4 days ago (as noted in this thread), then yeah!!!

Hope you're enjoying the album as much as I am!!!

-Marc.

[KevShmev]

Bought this off iTunes last night - it wasn't available at amazon as mp3s, and I still had nearly 15 bucks off credit from a gift card I was given for Christmas, so what the hell? - and ripped it to a disc for my car. 

After one listen, to and from work today, I wasn't sure what to think, as the many vocal sections that didn't have Neal on lead at all kind of threw me, but on the second listen this evening, I was more used to it, and I am starting to like most of it.  The Call is doing nothing for me so far.  So many vocal harmonies, yet nary a hook in there.  Agenda is a cool little rocker, though.

Many more listens to come. 

[The Letter M]

Bought this off iTunes last night - it wasn't available at amazon as mp3s, and I still had nearly 15 bucks off credit from a gift card I was given for Christmas, so what the hell? - and ripped it to a disc for my car. 

After one listen, to and from work today, I wasn't sure what to think, as the many vocal sections that didn't have Neal on lead at all kind of threw me, but on the second listen this evening, I was more used to it, and I am starting to like most of it.  The Call is doing nothing for me so far.  So many vocal harmonies, yet nary a hook in there.  Agenda is a cool little rocker, though.

Many more listens to come.

I love "The Call", and I picked up on the fact that the guitar plays the vocal melody from the chorus at the beginning of the song. Lots of good stuff in the 10-minute epic, and I feel like I'm still finding new things to like about it even after nearly a week of listening.

And I know it's only a cover, but "MacArthur Park" is quickly becoming a new favorite of mine. If it had been on the main album like Mike and Bill had wanted (according to Randy's in-studio FB updates), it would've been awesome, but I'm still glad it made it to the bonus disc.

Once I get my hands on some CD-R's, I'll make a copy of the main album with the 3 bonus tracks since they all add up to about 76 minutes anyway (which begs the question - why didn't they just make the whole album 8 songs anyway?).

-Marc.

[ariich]

The best version of MacArthur Park, in my opinion, will always be Maynard Ferguson's big band jazz version. But the NMB prog version is also rather cool.

Overall, very solid album, definitely finding it more exciting that most of recent solo work. Might even be my second favourite NM album behind One. This is after only one full listen though, so far too early to tell with any certainty.

[Prog Snob]

The song will have to grow on me. It didn't hook me completely with the first listen. 

[Nihil-Morari]

I already held the album, haha! Official release date over here is tomorrow. So while the record store had em, I couldn't buy it.

[DarkLord_Lalinc]

I don't know how to feel about both The Great Experiment and Agenda.

[bosk1]

I don't know how to feel about both The Great Experiment and Agenda.

Oh, well let me help you then.  You love them.

[Evermind]

Agenda is

Haven't checked the full album yet, but I'm going to rectify that soon.

[kirksnosehair]

Once I get my hands on some CD-R's, I'll make a copy of the main album with the 3 bonus tracks since they all add up to about 76 minutes anyway (which begs the question - why didn't they just make the whole album 8 songs anyway?).

-Marc.

I know, I don't get it either. 


Marketing, I guess.  You have to lay out more money to get the album version with the bonus CD

[ronnibran]

I have mixed feelings on the album having had it for a week...  It's more of mixed bag for me than any other Neal album.  There's songs I just can't get into. 

Not sure I'm a fan of Bill's singing, which is probably the biggest detractor.  Doomsday Destiny and Macaurther Park I have not listened to all the way through, for example.  His part on the epic is ok, to me it feels like a Transatlantic song and he sounds a bit like Pete.

The epic and New Jerusalem are my two favorites.  But I'm already finding myself not going back to the album like previous albums.  Even with Momentum (the album), I could listen to World Without End every day for months when it came out.  I don't see that happening here.

It seems I'm probably in the minority here, which I guess is a good thing.  Glad y'all are enjoying it for the most part.

Oh, I do really love the Morsefest songs on there.  That was cool to hear, and they are amongst my favorites.  I read in an interview recently that Neal is currently planning on a big Morsefest box set tentatively for late summer/early fall (don't have a link handy, was one of the many interviews linked to his twitter in the past week).

[KevShmev]

Not sure I'm a fan of Bill's singing, which is probably the biggest detractor.  Doomsday Destiny and Macaurther Park I have not listened to all the way through, for example.  His part on the epic is ok, to me it feels like a Transatlantic song and he sounds a bit like Pete.

Is the guy that sings the section around the 17-minute mark or so of Alive Again?  I like that section a lot.  Cool vibe, and having the different singer gives it a different feel you don't normally get in a Neal Morse solo record (I know it's Neal Morse Band technically, but you know what I mean).

Also, who sings the "I can see the light" line in that tune? 

Once I get my hands on some CD-R's, I'll make a copy of the main album with the 3 bonus tracks since they all add up to about 76 minutes anyway (which begs the question - why didn't they just make the whole album 8 songs anyway?).

Well, not every album has to be "hey, let's cram in as much as we can."  There is something to be said for a well-flowing record, and just throwing on other songs that might disrupt the flow, just to fill up the CD, is rarely something I am in favor of.

I don't know how to feel about both The Great Experiment and Agenda.

I loved both instantly.  Agenda is a big ball of cheese, but it rocks, and I had that melody stuck in my head all day at work.

[ronnibran]

Yes, Bill does the long section at about the 17 minute mark of Alive Again.  I don't love it, but I don't mind it.  Because it's mixed with Neal's vocals, and there's a lot more to love in the other sections of the song too.  It's the songs where his are the only lead vocals where I don't care for it at all. 

The "I can see the light" vocal line is the guitarist Eric Gillette.  I really like his voice, and wish they would have utilized it more.  His vocals were also on Thoughts pt 5 off of Momentum.

[KevShmev]

Gotcha.  That "I can see the light" line has a resonance that is very, well, epic.   The way it comes back at the end is pretty great. 

[Mosh]

I'm loving The Call. Probably the most refreshing Morse solo epic I've heard. Not sure how I feel about the rest album yet.

[Thoughtspart3]

I really dig the call as well.  New Jerusalem has such a different feel in a good way.  I would have preferred that on the album proper.  I keep singing the grand experiment.  Having the rest of the band be more involved has helped some of songs feel more fresh. 

[Mosh]

Haven't gotten to the bonus disc yet but the comments on here are promising!

I gave the album another spin, it's even better the second time. Agenda and The Grand Experiment are really fun songs. Alive Again is the only song I'm not sure about, but it's a big song though so I won't make any judgements yet. If I had to give the album a rating right now I'd lean toward a 7/10.

[hefdaddy42]

Gotta get this.

[Leprous]

Agenda is probably the worst song I've ever heard with Neal's name associated with it. Utterly terrible attempt at a "catchy pop rock" song.

However, Alive Again is utterly spell-binding. The rest of the record is fairly predictable and boring. There's only so much of Neal's signature "widdly widdly widdly" keyboards in the intro to a song that I can take.

Worth the entry price for Alive Again though. That shit's up there with Seeds of Gold, The Door and The Conflict.

[KevShmev]

I can't even begin to compare an epic I have only heard several times to his tried and true classics, but I am really liking it so far.  World Without End and The Separated Man are in that conversation as well.

I like Agenda a lot.  Again, it's cheesy, but cheesy in a good way.

And iTunes had the two new songs from the bonus CD as songs you could buy individually, so I got New Jerusalem and Doomsday Destiny last night!  I don't care about the cover or live songs, all of which were album only buys with the special edition, so this worked out nicely.

[Mosh]

I like Agenda because it doesn't take itself seriously. Neal knows he isn't hip, it's cool that he embraces that.

[KevShmev]

With the new album out now and putting me in a mood for Neal's music, I gave Songs from November a whirl last night.  It's still a nice listen.  Nothing great, but mostly very nice.  Neal is at his very best when he's doing all-out prog, but with an album like that, you can't say every album of his sounds the same.  Songs for the Free, My Time of Dying and When Things Slow Down are probably the songs I enjoy the most from that record.

[Mladen]

I've also returned to Songs from November this week, it really is a nice listen and a nice break from full-on prog he usually puts out. My favorites are Love shot an arrow and The Way of love, although I really like Daddy's daughter, I've never heard a song that honest with that kind of topic.

The new album still needs a few more spins, it's been very enjoyable so far.

[Nihil-Morari]

Sitting down right now for my first listen of the new album. I'm excited!

[KevShmev]

Even though I am not going to see him, it will be interesting to see what he plays when touring this year.  Now that Neal has a lead guitarist with the chops to handle some of the guest solos on his records, I think that opens up the possibility of something like 12 or the final section of The Door being played.  Hell, they could easily get away with playing just Keep Silent and Upon the Door from The Door epic.  Heck, I broke The Door up into three separate mp3s for the purposes of my Neal CD for the car, and I often listen to the Keep Silent/Upon the Door mp3 on its own.

[dedSurroun]

I'd like to see them live, or just see a live DVD/Blu-Ray, of this band. Some great music on this release, but personally think they could've put Agenda on the bonus disc instead.

I thought The Call was fresh for being a fairly standard Neal Morse-type song. In the Making Of..., Neal even says they were "throwing flags" down whenever they felt they were repeating themselves. So, efforts were made to not repeat formulas. They mostly succeeded, I think

Great album, really like it!

If they do end up putting out a live DVD, dear lord, have someone else mix it than whoever botched KaLIVEoscpe. The stereo mix on that DVD is unbelievably bad - the volume jumps and dips, the guitar/keyboard/bass/drums are LOUD one minute, only to drop off the map the next; inconsistent levels, instruments jump in levels, etc. I couldn't believe how awful it was first time I heard it, and I haven't put on the DVD ever since. It's an audio mix disaster.

[reneranucci]

Some please take "Agenda" out of my head! that song it's not catchy, it's invasive!

[KevShmev]

I thought The Call was fresh for being a fairly standard Neal Morse-type song. In the Making Of..., Neal even says they were "throwing flags" down whenever they felt they were repeating themselves. So, efforts were made to not repeat formulas. They mostly succeeded, I think

 

Interesting.  Like I said before, while this still sounds like a Neal record, it does sound pretty fresh. 

The bonus track New Jerusalem (Freedom Is Coming) is pretty outstanding.  That is one of the cooler drum patterns Mike Portnoy has laid down in some time.

[hefdaddy42]

Just finished my first listen of the main disc.  I really liked The Call, and Alive Again was outstanding.  Waterfall was gorgeous.

The Grand Experiment doesn't quite do it for me, it's not bad, but it's not that good either.  And Agenda can just get out right now.

[bosk1]

Picked it up on Friday and still have not had a chance to really absorb it yet.  I like what I am hearing.  The Call is great, and the Grand Experiment and Agenda are fantastic.  Haven't listened to the second disk yet.  More later...

[hefdaddy42]

I really liked the other two new songs on the bonus disc, too.  They were certainly better than Agenda, and probably better than The Grand Experiment as well.

MacArthur Park was pretty cool, too.

Haven't listened to the live songs yet.

[Mladen]

As always, the epic is fantastic. I love the Fly away section, especially the heavy bit afterwards, and the part with Bill singing is very different for a Neal Morse record, which is good. Agenda is extremely infectious. The title track is growing on me, even though I find the chorus slightly underwhelming. I'm also not too fond of the chorus in Waterfall.

[KevShmev]

Waterfall is like Smoke and Mirrors for me in that they are both nice little acoustic numbers I enjoy, but aren't wowed by either. 

[425]

Hey, all. I've really loved listening to Neal's work in Transatlantic and decided it was about time to get into solo Neal Morse. For reference, I have and greatly enjoy all four Transatlantic albums. I also have The Light from Spock's Beard, which after a couple of listens I like but do not love, mostly because at times it's a little silly for my taste (all the weird Señor Valasco and Catfish Man stuff in the title track, for instance).

How do y'all recommend I approach Neal Morse's solo discography? Should I just start with Testimony and move chronologically, or is there a more advisable place to start?