Official Neal Morse Appreciation Thread

[Mladen]

I'm utterly in love with both of those, and World without end is the ultimate champion for me. If I had to choose my least favorite epic by Neal, it would be Alive again. It's not bad, it just lacks greatness.

[gzarruk]

World Without end is absolutely stunning, love it every time I listen to it

Alive Again, though, while very nice, was ruined by that section with Bill on vocals
Nothing against Bill, but I think he should stay as far as he can from a microphone. He usually sings in a high register, but it sounds strained.

Least favorite Neal epic? Probably So Many Roads, never clicked with that one or the whole Lifeline album, except for a couple tracks (Lifeline and Leviathan).

And, btw, another epic that should get more recognition: Seeds of Gold

[jingle.boy]

Holy shit balls... Amazon.ca has the Blu-ray for $20 CAD!!!  cha-ching.  Purchase made.

[Fritzinger]

Neals epics often tend to consist of several "songs" and sometimes this becomes too obvious. Many times, he managed to arrange the parts so well that they function as one song (Stranger In Your Soul, Into The Blue, WWE). That is not really the case with So Many Roads... Also, the big final doesn't catch me. The song Lifeline and Leviathan are awesome though 

Seeds Of Gold is an amazing track as well, I agree! It's shame it's one that weird 3-song extra CD of Testimony II.

[Mladen]

Thinking about the Lifeline album again, I think the epic is the only song that really gets me going. Most of the rest of that album is very underwhelming. I've grown a soft spot for Fly high, though, the live version from Momentum live reminded me it's pretty strong.

[KevShmev]

Thinking about the Lifeline album again, I think the epic is the only song that really gets me going. Most of the rest of that album is very underwhelming. I've grown a soft spot for Fly high, though, the live version from Momentum live reminded me it's pretty strong.

This is mostly where I am.  I love So Many Roads, but I am not really big on much else from Lifeline. The title track is good, but too long (could have been a killer 7-8 minute song).

Seeds Of Gold is an amazing track as well, I agree! It's shame it's one that weird 3-song extra CD of Testimony II.

Wait, Testimony 2 has an extra CD? Where? 

Because the regular version has 2 CD's already.

[The Letter M]

I'm glad someone brought up "Seeds Of Gold". I think it's my personal favorite of Neal's solo-work epics, and I rank it as highly as pieces like "Stranger In Your Soul" and "The Great Nothing". While it does have several sections, they're never given any names or titles, and the whole piece just flows so well, and that guitar solo by Steve Morse is pretty amazing as well! It was a missed opportunity to have him play that solo at Morsefest, but oh well - I'm sure Eric killed it!

Anyone want to try and rank the following Neal Solo epics?
A Whole 'Nother Trip
The Creation
The Door
The Conflict
So Many Roads
Seeds Of Gold
World Without End
Alive Again

I wasn't sure about including "The Creation" as it doesn't quite reach the lengths of side-length epic like the ones after it, but I figured I'd put it in as an option if anyone else wanted to include it. Likewise, I put that and the two Sola tracks in as options as well, but you can leave them out if you just want to rank the five non-concept-album epics above.

Seeds Of Gold is an amazing track as well, I agree! It's shame it's one that weird 3-song extra CD of Testimony II.

Wait, Testimony 2 has an extra CD? Where? 

Because the regular version has 2 CD's already.

  - this is true, and I've argued this for YEARS. Testimony 2 *is* a 2-CD album as there is no single-disc version. Every release of the album comes with two CDs, so there's nothing "extra" about "Absolute Beginner", "Supernatural", and "Seeds Of Gold". It's like Porcupine Tree's The Incident - concept album on disc one, unrelated songs on disc two, but all still a part of the album as a whole.

-Marc.

[KevShmev]

Don't forget The Separated Man, which might be my favorite out of all of those, except for maybe Alive Again, which I have a special attachment to for personal reasons.

IIRC, both Neal and Eric played the Steve Morse solo at Morsefest last year. Neal played the first part of it and then Eric took it over till the end.

Call me crazy, but The Great Nothing would be one of my lowest ranked Neal epics.  It is good, but it feels like work to get through it nowadays, to where I literally never listen to it anymore.  Long epics are so time-consuming , and he has so many, most of which I love way more, so it just never makes it into the rotation.

[The Letter M]

Don't forget The Separated Man, which might be my favorite out of all of those, except for maybe Alive Again, which I have a special attachment to for personal reasons.

I had forgotten about that, I always forget how long it is, but it is nearly 18 minutes in length, but then where do we stop? Should we include "The Conclusion" as well, being over 16 minutes in length? Maybe if Neal had released all of his albums on vinyl, we could make the argument of only including the epics that are just that one song on a side of vinyl (or more, as would be the cast for "World Without End").

IIRC, both Neal and Eric played the Steve Morse solo at Morsefest last year. Neal played the first part of it and then Eric took it over till the end.

Oh I didn't know that, but that's pretty cool! I hope Neal gets around to releasing that show before the end of the decade!

Call me crazy, but The Great Nothing would be one of my lowest ranked Neal epics.  It is good, but it feels like work to get through it nowadays, to where I literally never listen to it anymore.  Long epics are so time-consuming , and he has so many, most of which I love way more, so it just never makes it into the rotation.

I've been re-listening to all of the SB albums in the last couple of weeks so the song is fairly fresh in my mind, and I think, like you, I had grown tired of it, but coming back to it after a year or two, it still holds up for me as a pretty great Neal Epic, at least among his six SB albums (definitely a step up from "The Healing Colors Of Sound", and maybe a bit better than "The Water"). I think only "The Light" might beat "The Great Nothing" in terms of Neal's longer SB pieces for me. Though I do agree - epics are pretty time-consuming, but they make for great long car-ride playlists!

Between, SB, TA and his solo stuff, though, I wouldn't rank "The Great Nothing" too high, definitely not even Top 5 (most of which would be Transatlantic anyway), and possibly not even top 10, but thinking about how they'd all rank would take a LOOOONG time (at least 25 minutes ).

-Marc.

[MajorBoobage]

How does the new blu ray sound, does it sound any better than these https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TwRQIwWid38 and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TwRQIwWid38 promos? They sound kinda weird to my ears.

[Mladen]

Call me crazy, but The Great Nothing would be one of my lowest ranked Neal epics.

Thank God, I though I was the only one.

Anyway, rank 'em all:

World Without End
Seeds Of Gold
The Conflict
So Many Roads
A Whole 'Nother Trip
The Door
The Creation
Alive Again

Had I added The Separated Man and The Conclusion, they would be in the bottom half. All of the epics from the list are amazing, except for Alive Again.

[ytserush]

Call me crazy, but The Great Nothing would be one of my lowest ranked Neal epics.  It is good, but it feels like work to get through it nowadays, to where I literally never listen to it anymore.  Long epics are so time-consuming , and he has so many, most of which I love way more, so it just never makes it into the rotation.

One of my faves.  I've always  thought it was less caustic version of The Shaming Of The True.

[Fritzinger]

I like TGN very much, but I always thought the mid-tempo middle part is a little too long.

[gborland]

I saw Neal the other day at his solo acoustic show in Glasgow. A nice intimate little show, with loads of great music. Some of the stuff he did with that looper, building up all the vocals harmonies from Thoughts and Thoughts pt. II, was mindblowing.

Unfortunately towards the end all the Hallelujah crap started sneaking in, so it ended on a downer for me, but overall it was a brilliant performance.

[KevShmev]

Interesting.  While he played Sing At High at our show, he didn't really do much Jesus talk in his chatter.  I know there is a song from one of his worship CDs he has been playing at a lot of shows on this little tour, but it got skipped at ours, so maybe that is the difference. 

[kaos2900]

How does the new blu ray sound, does it sound any better than these https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TwRQIwWid38 and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TwRQIwWid38 promos? They sound kinda weird to my ears.

I'm wondering this as well. I will definitely be getting the Morsefest edition but I'm tempted to get this too.

[Learning2Live]

Was thinking about Morsefest over the weekend and trying to think of what future Morsefests would consist of. Since he's about ran the gamut of his solo/NMB material, and since I was listening to a live album from this group over the weekend, how about getting Transatlantic to reunite for one of the nights? I've enjoyed the Morsefest outputs and just trying to see how he can continue on with it and keep it fresh. I'd LOVE to see those guys reunite and to get a chance to see that band live.

[The Letter M]

Was thinking about Morsefest over the weekend and trying to think of what future Morsefests would consist of. Since he's about ran the gamut of his solo/NMB material, and since I was listening to a live album from this group over the weekend, how about getting Transatlantic to reunite for one of the nights? I've enjoyed the Morsefest outputs and just trying to see how he can continue on with it and keep it fresh. I'd LOVE to see those guys reunite and to get a chance to see that band live.

I've thought upon this as well, and I've hoped that one future Morsefest WOULD include the first two Transatlantic titles, played in their entirety, featuring a 5th member (be it Gildenlow or Leonard, or someone else entirely), and then doing other TA songs as 2nd-set options, like FINALLY playing the bonus tracks from The Whirlwind ("Spinning", "For Such A Time", "Lenny Johnson", and "Lending A Hand"), or doing some of the TA covers live.

The Morsefest logo DOES feature artwork from the debut album, so I've hoped that they would cover it at some point, as well as "Bridge Across Forever" (which would, hopefully, feature "Suite Charlotte Pike" in its original form, without the Abbey Road songs (not knocking that version, I love it, but I'd like to hear the original version played live, with its original ending as well).

-Marc.

[Learning2Live]

I've thought upon this as well, and I've hoped that one future Morsefest WOULD include the first two Transatlantic titles, played in their entirety, featuring a 5th member (be it Gildenlow or Leonard, or someone else entirely), and then doing other TA songs as 2nd-set options, like FINALLY playing the bonus tracks from The Whirlwind ("Spinning", "For Such A Time", "Lenny Johnson", and "Lending A Hand"), or doing some of the TA covers live.

The Morsefest logo DOES feature artwork from the debut album, so I've hoped that they would cover it at some point, as well as "Bridge Across Forever" (which would, hopefully, feature "Suite Charlotte Pike" in its original form, without the Abbey Road songs (not knocking that version, I love it, but I'd like to hear the original version played live, with its original ending as well).

-Marc.

They could do both nights and make a weekend out of it. Hopefully something like that will be in the works. One can dream of it at least.

[The Letter M]

I've thought upon this as well, and I've hoped that one future Morsefest WOULD include the first two Transatlantic titles, played in their entirety, featuring a 5th member (be it Gildenlow or Leonard, or someone else entirely), and then doing other TA songs as 2nd-set options, like FINALLY playing the bonus tracks from The Whirlwind ("Spinning", "For Such A Time", "Lenny Johnson", and "Lending A Hand"), or doing some of the TA covers live.

The Morsefest logo DOES feature artwork from the debut album, so I've hoped that they would cover it at some point, as well as "Bridge Across Forever" (which would, hopefully, feature "Suite Charlotte Pike" in its original form, without the Abbey Road songs (not knocking that version, I love it, but I'd like to hear the original version played live, with its original ending as well).

-Marc.

They could do both nights and make a weekend out of it. Hopefully something like that will be in the works. One can dream of it at least.

That's pretty much what I'd imagine.

Night 1:
All Of The Above
We All Need Some Light
Mystery Train
My New World
In Held ('Twas) in I
---intermission---
Spinning
Oh! Darling
(Some Genesis cover?)
Honky Tonk Women
Lending A Hand
Band Medley (a new medley featuring songs from SB, TFK, Marillion, and DT)

Night 2:
Duel With The Devil
Suite Charlotte Pike (with ending jam/solos)
Bridge Across Forever
Stranger In Your Soul (with middle-jam)
---intermission---
Shine On You Crazy Diamond
For Such A Time
Smoke On The Water
Lenny Johnson
And I Love Her (extended jam, and/or a Beatles medley)
(Another Genesis cover? Maybe ELP or Yes?)
(Closing epic?...or maybe they cover "Supper's Ready" instead of the above cover?)

The possibilities are endless with the 2nd sets!

-Marc.

[faizoff]

How does the new blu ray sound, does it sound any better than these https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TwRQIwWid38 and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TwRQIwWid38 promos? They sound kinda weird to my ears.

I'm wondering this as well. I will definitely be getting the Morsefest edition but I'm tempted to get this too.

I usually never judge the sound quality with youtube videos since the upload conversion is so different comparted to the original version.

On another note, amazon seems to be shipping this bluray in 1-2 months. WTF? They have it for $20. Radiant records has it for $25 +$5 shipping. Lasercd has it for $24 + $3 shipping.

What to do what to do.

[KevShmev]

I think we already have enough live recordings of Transatlantic playing the biggies from the first two records where we don't need another one of them. I'd rather Morsefest be used for stuff more rare. There is a ton of solo Neal and Spock's Beard material that hasn't been tackled yet. 

[The Letter M]

I think we already have enough live recordings of Transatlantic playing the biggies from the first two records where we don't need another one of them. I'd rather Morsefest be used for stuff more rare. There is a ton of solo Neal and Spock's Beard material that hasn't been tackled yet.

I suppose so, but then again, playing "The Light" and "June" over and over again hasn't stopped Neal from playing them or releasing them on live albums, so who knows.

I'd be ok with a Transatlantic-focused Morsefest, with or without the first two albums in their entirety, but I think rather than thinking about the eventual live recordings, it'd be a great way for fans who have only become fans in the last 10 years to see some of these songs played live, and in their entirety! To my recollection, "Mystery Train" was only ever played on their first tour, and "Suite Charlotte Pike" was only ever played on their second tour. But I suppose, other than those two, the other epics and ballads have had some play, but not in some years for some of them. I'm sure there are plenty of Morse/TA fans who haven't seen these songs played live and would pay to see them.

Outside of that, I'm not sure what Neal Morse solo material he could possibly play. From Momentum onward, we've got live versions of nearly every song he's released, and I doubt he'll do a Momentum/The Grand Experiment Morsefest since those albums aren't that old, and both tours have live albums with the current line-up anyway. I guess he could do some more Spock's Beard material, but would it be whole albums? I don't see him doing all of The Light (mostly because of "The Water"), nor do I see him doing all of V either (as much as I'd like to see that happen).

Maybe after this year, there won't be another Morsefest for awhile? Who knows...

-Marc.

[The Letter M]

Neal sent out his latest Inner Circle newsletter, and a couple of tidbits:
-The Neal Morse Band will reconvene in July to work on the next album more, with the hopes of finishing it in the fall and releasing it in early 2019.
-He affirms that the third Flying Colors album will continue to be worked on throughout the rest of the year, and released in late 2019.
-And he does address Transatlantic, to which he says another album won't likely be released, or even worked on, until 2020. With how busy 2019 is shaping up to be with new NMB and FC, I don't blame him. And at some point, I'm sure Mike will want to reconvene with The Winery Dogs and/or Sons Of Apollo, between the tours for NMB and FC (if both happen).

So there you have it - news for all 3 of Neal's bands!

-Marc.

[Architeuthis]

Wow the new Blu-ray (live in Tilburg 2017) looks and sounds incredible!!  I really like the Similitude of a Dream album, but this electric performance really brings it to life. I think it sounds even better live and the whole band is pretty much flawless all night. I am really impressed with Neal Morse as a live performer, he just has a great time and I've come to appreciate his vocals and musicianship alot more.  Eric Gillette just kills it on this show, fantastic guitar player and singer! Mike Portnoy is amazing as always too.
I highly recommend this release. It is one of the best live productions I've seen for a concert dvd/blu-ray. Great camera angles and intense colors captured from the light show. The audiovisual is just a great experience all together. The band gives you your money's worth, the encore is a whole other set in itself..lol!    🍺

[KevShmev]

Wow the new Blu-ray (live in Tilburg 2017) looks and sounds incredible!!  I really like the Similitude of a Dream album, but this electric performance really brings it to life. I think it sounds even better live and the whole band is pretty much flawless all night. I am really impressed with Neal Morse as a live performer, he just has a great time and I've come to appreciate his vocals and musicianship alot more.  Eric Gillette just kills it on this show, fantastic guitar player and singer! Mike Portnoy is amazing as always too.
I highly recommend this release. It is one of the best live productions I've seen for a concert dvd/blu-ray. Great camera angles and intense colors captured from the light show. The audiovisual is just a great experience all together. The band gives you your money's worth, the encore is a whole other set in itself..lol!    🍺

Posts like this really make me want to buy it, as I am waiting to get my Similitude live DVD/Blu-ray fix for when Morsefest '17 comes out.

-The Neal Morse Band will reconvene in July to work on the next album more, with the hopes of finishing it in the fall and releasing it in early 2019.
 

My concern over this is Portnoy's availability.  He has said that the other members of Sons of Apollo are already bugging him to get going on their next album. I know he prides himself on being able to juggle multiple projects at once, but it will suck if touring for the Neal Morse Band on this forthcoming album gets put on hold or ends up being a short tour because he wants to dedicate more time to this other band.  I have to think that the band would have finished it already this year if Portnoy wasn't so busy with SoA (I suspect Neal did the tour he did because he knew that was down time for the NMB due to Portnoy's tour schedule).

[King Postwhore]

Kev, I will run my Blu Ray in an evil fashion knowing you are waiting.

Yes, I will have an evil laugh.

[SwedishGoose]

Wow the new Blu-ray (live in Tilburg 2017) looks and sounds incredible!!  I really like the Similitude of a Dream album, but this electric performance really brings it to life. I think it sounds even better live and the whole band is pretty much flawless all night. I am really impressed with Neal Morse as a live performer, he just has a great time and I've come to appreciate his vocals and musicianship alot more.  Eric Gillette just kills it on this show, fantastic guitar player and singer! Mike Portnoy is amazing as always too.
I highly recommend this release. It is one of the best live productions I've seen for a concert dvd/blu-ray. Great camera angles and intense colors captured from the light show. The audiovisual is just a great experience all together. The band gives you your money's worth, the encore is a whole other set in itself..lol!    🍺

Posts like this really make me want to buy it, as I am waiting to get my Similitude live DVD/Blu-ray fix for when Morsefest '17 comes out.

Do get it... it is a great concert and very representative of the tour.
We don"t know when Morsefest 2017 will be released and it will be totally different.

-The Neal Morse Band will reconvene in July to work on the next album more, with the hopes of finishing it in the fall and releasing it in early 2019.
 

My concern over this is Portnoy's availability.  He has said that the other members of Sons of Apollo are already bugging him to get going on their next album. I know he prides himself on being able to juggle multiple projects at once, but it will suck if touring for the Neal Morse Band on this forthcoming album gets put on hold or ends up being a short tour because he wants to dedicate more time to this other band.  I have to think that the band would have finished it already this year if Portnoy wasn't so busy with SoA (I suspect Neal did the tour he did because he knew that was down time for the NMB due to Portnoy's tour schedule).

That would be a shame as I love NMB but am indifferent to SOA.

[KevShmev]

Kev, I will run my Blu Ray in an evil fashion knowing you are waiting.

Yes, I will have an evil laugh.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TeloDrSKZm8&t=26s

That would be a shame as I love NMB but am indifferent to SOA.

He would never admit it, but I think Portnoy would leave the NMB if he wasn't such good friends with Neal.  I think he thought Similitude would expand their fan base by a lot, but it didn't, and it was clear that he was disappointed. 

[King Postwhore]

 

I seriously called around to find what place had the DVD in stock and drove there to buy it.

Old school.

[KevShmev]

I would try that, but that might result in having to drive to another state.

Odds are, I will make the impulse purchase at Morsefest this year and get it then.  Ya know, Morsefest, where Neal's real fans show up.

[MinistroRaven]

I think the last one was their most successful tour they even played in countries they never toured before, IDK how that’s disappointing

[SwedishGoose]

I think the last one was their most successful tour they even played in countries they never toured before, IDK how that’s disappointing

Well if you had even bigger hopes, like filling arenas, then it might be dissapointing.

[Stadler]

He would never admit it, but I think Portnoy would leave the NMB if he wasn't such good friends with Neal.  I think he thought Similitude would expand their fan base by a lot, but it didn't, and it was clear that he was disappointed.

That's starting to be a theme, isn't it?

[gzarruk]

He would never admit it, but I think Portnoy would leave the NMB if he wasn't such good friends with Neal.  I think he thought Similitude would expand their fan base by a lot, but it didn't, and it was clear that he was disappointed.

That's starting to be a theme, isn't it?

He's disappointed because he expects DT level success with far less stablished/popular bands.