Official Neal Morse Appreciation Thread

[DoctorAction]

I reads to me like his emergence from a state of being lost, looking at himself and comparing unfavourably to his previous self and potential. But that's no great insight on my part, right?  No idea on the specifics. Sounds like his family might be referenced there. Not sure about the wounded soldier part...

[Stadler]

I reads to me like his emergence from a state of being lost, looking at himself and comparing unfavourably to his previous self and potential. But that's no great insight on my part, right?  No idea on the specifics. Sounds like his family might be referenced there. Not sure about the wounded soldier part...

I thought the "wounded soldier" WAS the "new self", or at least the self that was battling the demons and losing (at first).   Then of course the King of angel armies is God, but the tenses of that verse don't make sense.   I was also wondering about this verse:

Daughters of angst and wretched rage
Pulled a sword from the stone
Like Al Capone
As the king of pain goes insane
Where the pope of Rome
Meets the pope at home
And the nicotine stain goes unexplained

WTF does Al Capone have to do with the legend of King Arthur, and why are they smoking?

[hefdaddy42]

I reads to me like his emergence from a state of being lost, looking at himself and comparing unfavourably to his previous self and potential. But that's no great insight on my part, right?  No idea on the specifics. Sounds like his family might be referenced there. Not sure about the wounded soldier part...

I thought the "wounded soldier" WAS the "new self", or at least the self that was battling the demons and losing (at first).   Then of course the King of angel armies is God, but the tenses of that verse don't make sense.   I was also wondering about this verse:

Daughters of angst and wretched rage
Pulled a sword from the stone
Like Al Capone
As the king of pain goes insane
Where the pope of Rome
Meets the pope at home
And the nicotine stain goes unexplained

WTF does Al Capone have to do with the legend of King Arthur, and why are they smoking?

And why is Sting part of this wild menagerie?

[Stadler]

Hahaha, I didn't catch that at first!   

[MinistroRaven]

In the last DVD commentary neal says that sometime he adds phrases that "sounds good" but dont have a real or significant meaning.

[hefdaddy42]

In the last DVD commentary neal says that sometime he adds phrases that "sounds good" but dont have a real or significant meaning.

Oh.  So, he's a songwriter.

[Fritzinger]

I reads to me like his emergence from a state of being lost, looking at himself and comparing unfavourably to his previous self and potential. But that's no great insight on my part, right?  No idea on the specifics. Sounds like his family might be referenced there. Not sure about the wounded soldier part...

I thought the "wounded soldier" WAS the "new self", or at least the self that was battling the demons and losing (at first).   Then of course the King of angel armies is God, but the tenses of that verse don't make sense.   I was also wondering about this verse:

Daughters of angst and wretched rage
Pulled a sword from the stone
Like Al Capone
As the king of pain goes insane
Where the pope of Rome
Meets the pope at home
And the nicotine stain goes unexplained

WTF does Al Capone have to do with the legend of King Arthur, and why are they smoking?

And why is Sting part of this wild menagerie?

I was just about to go insane and ask you guys if I'm stupid, but then I saw it 
Is King of Pain an expression that is from Sting originally though?

May I remind you guys that Morse has also written songs with lyrics about riding the lightning, puppets AND justice - and all appear on the same album. And he is not even a Metallica fan, in fact, he doesn't even really know those albums and didn't know about the parallels until MP told him about them 

[hefdaddy42]

I reads to me like his emergence from a state of being lost, looking at himself and comparing unfavourably to his previous self and potential. But that's no great insight on my part, right?  No idea on the specifics. Sounds like his family might be referenced there. Not sure about the wounded soldier part...

I thought the "wounded soldier" WAS the "new self", or at least the self that was battling the demons and losing (at first).   Then of course the King of angel armies is God, but the tenses of that verse don't make sense.   I was also wondering about this verse:

Daughters of angst and wretched rage
Pulled a sword from the stone
Like Al Capone
As the king of pain goes insane
Where the pope of Rome
Meets the pope at home
And the nicotine stain goes unexplained

WTF does Al Capone have to do with the legend of King Arthur, and why are they smoking?

And why is Sting part of this wild menagerie?

I was just about to go insane and ask you guys if I'm stupid, but then I saw it 
Is King of Pain an expression that is from Sting originally though?

May I remind you guys that Morse has also written songs with lyrics about riding the lightning, puppets AND justice - and all appear on the same album. And he is not even a Metallica fan, in fact, he doesn't even really know those albums and didn't know about the parallels until MP told him about them 

That Police song is the only time I remember hearing that phrase.

[kirksnosehair]

Neal’s faith is clearly something which brings joy and comfort to him and that joy radiates through his music and lifts my spirits sometimes to the point of tears even though I am not even a believer.  Who am I to doubt that belief especially when his daughter’s life was saved in circumstances that can’t be fully explained.  Long may he continue to bring us his incredible music.

Uh, actually, what happened to his daughter is a rather common condition that almost always clears itself up.  She was born with a ventricular septal defect.  It's literally the most common heart defect in newborns and most who have it live normal lives.  Of course it shouldn't be a surprise that a religious man would attribute this to a deity, but the fact is thousands of children around the world are born with ventricular septum (i.e. "a hole in the heart") and they suffer no consequences whatsoever.




Here's an article on the condition:
https://www.webmd.com/heart-disease/ventricular-septal-defect#1

[emtee]

Love Mike & NM to pieces but I've had two spins of the new album and, so far, it moves me less than all the other albums.

That's fine. Testimony and One will always be classics and when I get the NM urge, I will pull them off the shelf.

[gzarruk]

Seemingly Sincere might be my favorite song of the year (did I mention this already? well, it is).

[kaos2900]

Love Mike & NM to pieces but I've had two spins of the new album and, so far, it moves me less than all the other albums.

That's fine. Testimony and One will always be classics and when I get the NM urge, I will pull them off the shelf.

This. Honestly, I've been really disappointed in this year's big releases.

[hefdaddy42]

I'm glad it wasn't just me!

[The Letter M]

Sola Gratia has kind of come and gone for me, and to be honest, despite there being FIVE releases from Neal this year (Great Adventour, Cover To Cover Anthology/Cov3r To Cov3r, Flying Colors Third Stage, and JCTE Live At Morsefest 2018 being the other four), and SG being the only one of original studio content, I just haven't given it its due.

There have been a SWARM of other new albums since July that I have been digging a bit more. That isn't to say I didn't enjoy SG for the few times I spun it at the beginning of September, but I've been listening to the new Tangent, Gungly, Ayreon, and others a bit more, even though I consider Neal to be one of my favorite artists of all time. I guess in 2020, I am kind of Neal'd out, but I'm sure I'll get back to it in the coming months before TA5 gets released, as I try to get Neal's music back into my listening rotation.

-Marc.

[Fritzinger]

Love Mike & NM to pieces but I've had two spins of the new album and, so far, it moves me less than all the other albums.

That's fine. Testimony and One will always be classics and when I get the NM urge, I will pull them off the shelf.

This. Honestly, I've been really disappointed in this year's big releases.

For me it's exactly the opposite. There have been such awesome releases this year, it's insane.

[MinistroRaven]

In case you need further convincing...
Pre-order it at: https://buff.ly/3nCYwff
Watch the video for "Love Has Called My Name" (Live): https://buff.ly/2IsabgD

[Peter Mc]

Love Mike & NM to pieces but I've had two spins of the new album and, so far, it moves me less than all the other albums.

That's fine. Testimony and One will always be classics and when I get the NM urge, I will pull them off the shelf.

I had a similar initial reaction and it took a lot more than 2 spins for it to grow on me. Not saying you should persevere with it though. I can’t remember if you’re the one who said you haven’t loved anything since One, if so, this will not change your mind. I like it but it’s not amongst his very best.

[Kram]

Love Mike & NM to pieces but I've had two spins of the new album and, so far, it moves me less than all the other albums.

That's fine. Testimony and One will always be classics and when I get the NM urge, I will pull them off the shelf.

I had a similar initial reaction and it took a lot more than 2 spins for it to grow on me. Not saying you should persevere with it though. I can’t remember if you’re the one who said you haven’t loved anything since One, if so, this will not change your mind. I like it but it’s not amongst his very best.

Agreed.  Took several spins before it "clicked" with me.  Not his best but solid release nonetheless.

[bluefox4000]

Sola gratia is top 5 neal for me.

After 2 disappointing prior releases from him  i love this one to pieces.

i'm in the minority i see, lol

[darkshade]

I'm going to get around to Sola Gratia sooner or later. I'm on a big Neal kick and been going through all his albums from The Light forward, but usually no more than one album per day or so. Too much other music to listen to. I'm up to Testimony and listened early this morning after listening to the first Codona album (check it out, it's weird.) First time listening in years, I recall it was too long for its own good, and that opinion remains; however, I really enjoyed the experience overall, so many wonderful moments, and I really think this is overall his best work up to this point in his career. I think the first handful of times I listened to this album, it was overwhelming because of its length. With time away and having many moments of "oh I remember this part" throughout the whole thing, I wasn't checking my watch as often as I thought I would be. So many great melodies and those moments of glory that are ever so present in Neal's music, especially from this point onward, are like a guilty pleasure of mine, I pay little attention to the lyrics in Neal's solo albums, but this one isn't so bad even with the J-bomb drops. No matter what, though, it's still leagues better than The Astonishing.

[ErHaO]

I like Sola Gratia, but a thing that make me enjoy the three preceding Neal Morse Band albums more is the variety in vocals (same applies to the Jesus musical). It fits his music very well and adds to the variety. Which, given his amount of material, is welcome.

[gzarruk]

I like Sola Gratia, but a thing that make me enjoy the three preceding Neal Morse Band albums more is the variety in vocals (same applies to the Jesus musical). It fits his music very well and adds to the variety. Which, given his amount of material, is welcome.

To me it's the opposite, I like that we got an album with Neal's vocals only, specially since I'm not the biggest fan of Bill's vocals (Eric's are good, but I'd prefer 100% Neal, honestly).

[ytserush]

I reads to me like his emergence from a state of being lost, looking at himself and comparing unfavourably to his previous self and potential. But that's no great insight on my part, right?  No idea on the specifics. Sounds like his family might be referenced there. Not sure about the wounded soldier part...

I thought the "wounded soldier" WAS the "new self", or at least the self that was battling the demons and losing (at first).   Then of course the King of angel armies is God, but the tenses of that verse don't make sense.   I was also wondering about this verse:

Daughters of angst and wretched rage
Pulled a sword from the stone
Like Al Capone
As the king of pain goes insane
Where the pope of Rome
Meets the pope at home
And the nicotine stain goes unexplained

WTF does Al Capone have to do with the legend of King Arthur, and why are they smoking?

Total uneducated guess, But Al Capone became "king" of the underworld at one time and the smoking line is autobiographical in some way. Neal is trying to live up to this ideal that the Pope represents and being human Neal realizes that isn't all that easy.

[ytserush]

I like Sola Gratia, but a thing that make me enjoy the three preceding Neal Morse Band albums more is the variety in vocals (same applies to the Jesus musical). It fits his music very well and adds to the variety. Which, given his amount of material, is welcome.

To me it's the opposite, I like that we got an album with Neal's vocals only, specially since I'm not the biggest fan of Bill's vocals (Eric's are good, but I'd prefer 100% Neal, honestly).

Haven't opened the plastic on it yet, but I think I appreciate the varied approach more to the vocals.

It's more dynamic that way. I also wonder if they play around with who sings what so they can order it in a way that might have more of an impact.

[Peter Mc]

I like Sola Gratia, but a thing that make me enjoy the three preceding Neal Morse Band albums more is the variety in vocals (same applies to the Jesus musical). It fits his music very well and adds to the variety. Which, given his amount of material, is welcome.

To me it's the opposite, I like that we got an album with Neal's vocals only, specially since I'm not the biggest fan of Bill's vocals (Eric's are good, but I'd prefer 100% Neal, honestly).

I’m somewhere in between. There’s times when a song will particularly suit Bill’s voice for example. He has an unusual voice but it can sound great in certain moments like Ways Of a Fool which I love. Other times however (like his section in Alive Again) I just find myself wishing Neal was singing as he drains the life out of the song imo.  I liked the novelty of Eric singing the epic moments in Alive Again but don’t like that it seems to now be a thing that he sings all the big epic album ending moments. I miss Neal in those moments at times.  All in all I do like the occasional mixing up of the lead vocals where it works and I do like the harmonies when they sing together. For me though Neal remains the best singer in the band and should not be giving all the big moments to Eric.  Mike Portnoy should not be allowed to do anything but backing vocals!

[darkshade]

Finally got around to Sola Gratia, and "we are the champions" is a little too obvious.

My initial feelings are a little mixed right now, so I'm gonna see where this goes.

[ErHaO]

I like Sola Gratia, but a thing that make me enjoy the three preceding Neal Morse Band albums more is the variety in vocals (same applies to the Jesus musical). It fits his music very well and adds to the variety. Which, given his amount of material, is welcome.

To me it's the opposite, I like that we got an album with Neal's vocals only, specially since I'm not the biggest fan of Bill's vocals (Eric's are good, but I'd prefer 100% Neal, honestly).

While I do have my preference, I think his timing for the more solo oriented Sola Gratia is great. If you take the three Neal Morse Band albums and the Jesus musical and Sola Gratia, I think there is a good amount of variety between them and something for every type of fan. So it wasn't really a complaint from me that Sola is focused on Neal's vocals.

[Stadler]

I like Sola Gratia, but a thing that make me enjoy the three preceding Neal Morse Band albums more is the variety in vocals (same applies to the Jesus musical). It fits his music very well and adds to the variety. Which, given his amount of material, is welcome.

To me it's the opposite, I like that we got an album with Neal's vocals only, specially since I'm not the biggest fan of Bill's vocals (Eric's are good, but I'd prefer 100% Neal, honestly).

I’m somewhere in between. There’s times when a song will particularly suit Bill’s voice for example. He has an unusual voice but it can sound great in certain moments like Ways Of a Fool which I love. Other times however (like his section in Alive Again) I just find myself wishing Neal was singing as he drains the life out of the song imo.  I liked the novelty of Eric singing the epic moments in Alive Again but don’t like that it seems to now be a thing that he sings all the big epic album ending moments. I miss Neal in those moments at times.  All in all I do like the occasional mixing up of the lead vocals where it works and I do like the harmonies when they sing together. For me though Neal remains the best singer in the band and should not be giving all the big moments to Eric.  Mike Portnoy should not be allowed to do anything but backing vocals!

Again, simply for contrast, that section of Alive Again may be my favorite segment of any Neil Morse/The Neil Morse Band song ever.  (I can tell you it starts at 16:48 from memory, if that reinforces the point). 

[darkshade]

Man, I really enjoy One. The Creation is a classic Neal epic, so much air-keyboarding when I listen to this one. So many great melodies and riffs throughout. There is a heaviness to this album that is not really heard on any of Neal's other albums (SS's heaviness is different) This one took me a little longer to get into than some of his other albums for some reason, but I always liked the first 3 tunes especially Author Of Confusion. Portnoy just kills it throughout this album. This whole album is one of the best examples of Neal reprising themes and melodies in other songs. I've never listened to Neal's original track listing with the bonus tracks.

I've been listening to a bunch of Neal's music lately, so there is no Morse-burnout, but I wasn't thrilled with Sola Gratia.

I kind of thought the album was going to be heavier, but that's fine. I didn't think all the references to Sola Scriptura fit well, or were even necessary, and it really took me out of the music. There were some moments that I wasn't liking, but some that I really liked, so I obviously need to re-listen and see what's going on, but not a good first impression overall. I didn't notice George or Portnoy too much, either, seemed they played a more background role than usual, at least based on one listen. My opinions may change with more listens.

[Peter Mc]

Yes Stadler, that’s the bit I mean. I just find it seems to go on forever and drags the song down as his voice makes it sound quite depressing and a chore to listen to.  Just shows how subjective music can be that you love it and I wish it wasn’t there or that Neal was singing.  There is one really nice note he hits though when he goes really high on one of the “all I’ll ever be”’s.  That’s a great moment but doesn’t make up for the rest of it.

I don’t hate Bill’s voice in general, I quite enjoy it for the most part but that’s a long section for him to carry on his own and it just outstays it’s welcome for me.

[425]

Again, simply for contrast, that section of Alive Again may be my favorite segment of any Neil Morse/The Neil Morse Band song ever.  (I can tell you it starts at 16:48 from memory, if that reinforces the point).

I really like this section. Stadler, I think I've probably voiced this already in the last couple of weeks, but if not, I definitely share your affinity for Alive Again. I also went through a phase of listening it to a bunch, last year. As it stands right now, I'd say it's my favorite non-Transatlantic Neal epic.

[Stadler]

Yes Stadler, that’s the bit I mean. I just find it seems to go on forever and drags the song down as his voice makes it sound quite depressing and a chore to listen to.  Just shows how subjective music can be that you love it and I wish it wasn’t there or that Neal was singing.  There is one really nice note he hits though when he goes really high on one of the “all I’ll ever be”’s.  That’s a great moment but doesn’t make up for the rest of it.

I don’t hate Bill’s voice in general, I quite enjoy it for the most part but that’s a long section for him to carry on his own and it just outstays it’s welcome for me.

Again, TOTALLY not arguing because I understand people have tastes, but for me what makes it great is the contrast between the jammy section that comes before, and the wrap up at the end.   I love the tension and release of "in the corner... of my... life!", and the way that it feeds the buildup to the thematic resolution of the ending two sections (the "Now the wounded warrior" and "Now I feel like I'm alive again" sections).

I haven't said this yet, but that song so much reminds me of Genesis as well; that instrumental buildup between Bill's section and when Neal comes back in could be straight off Wind and Wuthering, in my opinion.   Dammit, now I have to go listen to it again!   

[gzarruk]

Yes Stadler, that’s the bit I mean. I just find it seems to go on forever and drags the song down as his voice makes it sound quite depressing and a chore to listen to.  Just shows how subjective music can be that you love it and I wish it wasn’t there or that Neal was singing.

I completely agree with you. They ruined that part (obviously IMO) by having Bill sing it.

[hefdaddy42]

FWIW, Stads, I'm with you completely on that.

[darkshade]

Wow, repeat listens to Sola Gratia sounds like a completely different album from my first impressions. It's not top 5 or anything, but it's solid just like pretty much all of Neal's output. If you're burnt out on his music, I could see how this would feel like too much, and there's still a couple of parts of the album I'm not that into, and I still don't think it's his strongest work by far, but it's got lots to enjoy as well. They can't all be Whirlwinds and Question Marks.