Official Neal Morse Appreciation Thread

[Zydar]

I really like Smoke And Mirrors - Freak too.

[Stadler]

I really like Momentum, too. I think it has a lot of songs that don't get enough love. Weathering Sky is an awesome short track, and Smoke and Mirrors and Freak have distinct personality among the ballads.

Weathering Sky is for me a top ten Neal Morse track. I LOVE that song.

[Mladen]

Momentum was the first solo album of Neal's I heard after years of being a SB and Transatlantic fan. I fell in love with World without end immediately, as well as Thoughts Part V. The rest of the album grew on me over the years. It's pretty great. 

[darkshade]

Nice to see some support for Momentum.

After Momentum came out, I started to distance myself from Neal's work and most other prog rock, modern or classic. I got into a big Frank Zappa kick that went on for months, but once that ended, I wasn't in the mood for prog rock. I still kept up with what was going on, still bought an album on occasion, but my head was not there for a few years or so.

To me, Kaleidoscope seemed like a prog by numbers album when it first came out. It sounded generic/standard, but listening to it recently I'm more impressed with it. Into The Blue is fun, it isn't the best epic ever conceived, but it's got a great vibe. I like the riffs and the section with Daniel singing is great. Shine is fine. Black As The Sky is cool, and a song I've always liked. Has great energy. TA need a few more "shorter" songs that are still great tunes that aren't 25-79 minute epics or ballads.

The title epic is still an epic that hasn't clicked with me, I can't say too much about it because I can never recall anything about it, it's one of those dense Neal Morse epics like The Great Nothing, which took a long time to click with me as well.

[Fritzinger]

Nice to see some support for Momentum.

After Momentum came out, I started to distance myself from Neal's work and most other prog rock, modern or classic. I got into a big Frank Zappa kick that went on for months, but once that ended, I wasn't in the mood for prog rock. I still kept up with what was going on, still bought an album on occasion, but my head was not there for a few years or so.

To me, Kaleidoscope seemed like a prog by numbers album when it first came out. It sounded generic/standard, but listening to it recently I'm more impressed with it. Into The Blue is fun, it isn't the best epic ever conceived, but it's got a great vibe. I like the riffs and the section with Daniel singing is great. Shine is fine. Black As The Sky is cool, and a song I've always liked. Has great energy. TA need a few more "shorter" songs that are still great tunes that aren't 25-79 minute epics or ballads.

The title epic is still an epic that hasn't clicked with me, I can't say too much about it because I can never recall anything about it, it's one of those dense Neal Morse epics like The Great Nothing, which took a long time to click with me as well.

Interesting take. I always liked Kaleidoscope, it's more or less on one level with SMPTe for me (with Whirlwind probably being my favorite TA album and Bridge being my second favorite).
Into The Blue is amazing in my opinion, and when I think about it, I like it better than So Many Roads, Seeds Of Gold and Alive Again. Not sure about World Without End, because that track is phenomenal.

The song Kaleidoscope has to be listened together with Beyond The Sun as an "intro" in my opinion, since they are connected musically. Kinda like Wait For Sleep/Learning To Live or Far From Heaven/Breaking All Illusions. Kaleidoscope is not as well structured as The Great Nothing, it's actually quite the mess  but I like it anyway. It's just great fun, with loads of cool stuff, like the vocals by Pete and the drum solo by Mike, just to name a few.

[Zydar]

I'm kicking back with Songs From November, a chill "Sunday album". Lots of great tracks here, my favourite song being Flowers In A Vase (with nice vocals from Eric Gillette).

[darkshade]

I'm kicking back with Songs From November, a chill "Sunday album". Lots of great tracks here, my favourite song being Flowers In A Vase (with nice vocals from Eric Gillette).

Same here. One of the few "non-prog" Neal Morse solo albums I have. It's got that singer-songwriter feel akin to some of Bruce Hornsby's work.

[DTA]

I'm kicking back with Songs From November, a chill "Sunday album". Lots of great tracks here, my favourite song being Flowers In A Vase (with nice vocals from Eric Gillette).

Great album. Life & Times is similar and is an album I'd probably rank above quite a few of his prog releases.

[HOF]

I'm kicking back with Songs From November, a chill "Sunday album". Lots of great tracks here, my favourite song being Flowers In A Vase (with nice vocals from Eric Gillette).

This is the best thing Neal has done since he left Spock’s Beard IMO.

[Peter Mc]

Got to admit, I wasn’t a fan at all.  I always listened to his prog stuff and they had really great pop song moments in them so I thought he would be a great pop writer. When I actually bought the album though, I didn’t really enjoy any of the tunes on it. It was really disappointing for me.

[The Letter M]

I'm kicking back with Songs From November, a chill "Sunday album". Lots of great tracks here, my favourite song being Flowers In A Vase (with nice vocals from Eric Gillette).

This is the best thing Neal has done since he left Spock’s Beard IMO.

If we're counting *all* of Neal's projects and bands, I'd say the best thing Neal has done since leaving SB is probably Transatlantic's The Whirlwind. If we're talking Neal solo/NMB stuff, it might be Similitude, though I also really enjoy The Grand Experiment and One. It's just hard to say, but then again, I have a heavy bias towards Neal's works in general, at least his proggy stuff.

I actually own Songs From November, but I've probably only listened to it a couple of times. He's a great singer-songwriter but it just doesn't appeal to me as much as his prog rock stuff. I think the closest I get to enjoying that kind of material is what he contributes towards Flying Colors, but even that stuff is a bit more prog and rock than Songs From November.

-Marc.

[425]

To me, Kaleidoscope seemed like a prog by numbers album when it first came out. It sounded generic/standard, but listening to it recently I'm more impressed with it. Into The Blue is fun, it isn't the best epic ever conceived, but it's got a great vibe. I like the riffs and the section with Daniel singing is great. Shine is fine. Black As The Sky is cool, and a song I've always liked. Has great energy. TA need a few more "shorter" songs that are still great tunes that aren't 25-79 minute epics or ballads.

The title epic is still an epic that hasn't clicked with me, I can't say too much about it because I can never recall anything about it, it's one of those dense Neal Morse epics like The Great Nothing, which took a long time to click with me as well.

I adore Kaleidoscope the album and especially its title track. It took some time to click with me as well, but it's now probably my third favorite TA song, behind The Whirlwind and All of the Above. There's a lot going on there, and there are some unexpected elements to the structure, but I think it's ultimately all wonderful. The "Desolation Days" section ("High on a hill, there sits a man who is watching himself...") is one of my favorite sections in the entire Morse catalogue.

[Fritzinger]

To me, Kaleidoscope seemed like a prog by numbers album when it first came out. It sounded generic/standard, but listening to it recently I'm more impressed with it. Into The Blue is fun, it isn't the best epic ever conceived, but it's got a great vibe. I like the riffs and the section with Daniel singing is great. Shine is fine. Black As The Sky is cool, and a song I've always liked. Has great energy. TA need a few more "shorter" songs that are still great tunes that aren't 25-79 minute epics or ballads.

The title epic is still an epic that hasn't clicked with me, I can't say too much about it because I can never recall anything about it, it's one of those dense Neal Morse epics like The Great Nothing, which took a long time to click with me as well.

I adore Kaleidoscope the album and especially its title track. It took some time to click with me as well, but it's now probably my third favorite TA song, behind The Whirlwind and All of the Above. There's a lot going on there, and there are some unexpected elements to the structure, but I think it's ultimately all wonderful. The "Desolation Days" section ("High on a hill, there sits a man who is watching himself...") is one of my favorite sections in the entire Morse catalogue.

Oh yes. Neal always knows how to bring it with with only an acoustic guitar, a 6/8 and a beautiful melody.

[Zydar]

So far I've delved into these albums by NM (as a solo artist):

One
?
Sola Scriptura
Momentum
Songs From November
Life & Times
Sola Gratia

Next up is Testimony. What are your thoughts on that album? Apparently it tells about his departure from SB and how he found Christianity?

[Fritzinger]

So far I've delved into these albums by NM (as a solo artist):

One
?
Sola Scriptura
Momentum
Songs From November
Life & Times
Sola Gratia

Next up is Testimony. What are your thoughts on that album? Apparently it tells about his departure from SB and how he found Christianity.

Testimony is very gospel-like, he sings a lot about how he found God etc. It's also very uplifting at times. If you're not a fan of that, you might have a problem with this album 
I think it's beautifully orchestrated. And it has some of Morse's most touching ballads. Some of them have that positive "thank you God"-spirit, but some are also quite somber (It's All I Can Do), which is something we don't hear often from Neal. But there all also some awesome proggy stuff, like the first two Overtures or The Storm Before The Calm.
It's probably Neal's most personal album (along with Testimony II). While I like Morse's darker, heavier side more, I still think that Testimony is a great album.

[darkshade]

Testimony is a long album and took some time for me, but I think it's one of his strongest albums, along with the sequel.

[bluefox4000]

i enjoy the first Testimony BUT.....it took forever and it has to be the Morsefest 2014 version.  that's what made it come alive for me and having the then emerging NMB play it is a bonus.  the studio version seems flat as a pancake by comparison.

it's still not a fav for me.  but i enjoy it more than i did.

Testimony 2 however is in my top 5 neal albums.

[gzarruk]

I enjoy T1, but find it very hard/tiring to listen to it in one go, that's why I don't revisit it too often, and I definitely agree that T2 is better.

[Kwyjibo]

Both Testimony records are okay but I like a lot of Neal's other records better. Especially T1 is too long imo.

[bluefox4000]

Re Testimony

it SHOULD have just ended with God's Theme instrumental.

that whole 5th part just drags it way down and is really overkill to the max.

[The Letter M]

With regards to Testimony, yes, it is pretty dang long, even after Snow (which many think was pretty long as long). Could it have been shorter? Sure, most definitely, but I think every song has its place in Neal's story, and because it's a pretty auto-biographical album, I think it would do the album a disservice if anything was cut out. Thankfully, Neal divided it up into 5 parts that are a bit more digestible if you cannot take it all in one go, and then continued that idea with Testimony 2 (in its three parts).

I think Neal just had a lot to say and a lot of music to say it with, so he just went for it. It's a brave record, for sure, but definitely not for everyone. Testimony 2 does things a bit better, and takes what makes Neal's music great and amplifies it a bit, cuts out a lot of the fluff and presents 13 tracks that are all fairly solid and memorable. The 2nd disc also features some prime cuts, and so I'll always prefer T2 over T1, but that isn't to say T1 is awful IMO.

After Testimony, i think Neal knew that he could scale things back, which is probably why One had bonus tracks cut out of the main concept so it could fit onto 1 CD because it would've been his third double album in a row if he didn't. Then things got even shorter with ?, which I think is some of his best writing and playing.

-Marc.

[Kram]

Both of the Testimony albums are great and must have Neal Morse material IMO.  As others have pointed out, T1 is a bit long, and could probably have been trimmed a bit.  There's some absolutely awesome music in both albums, so enjoy the ride!

[darkshade]

In case you didn't know, I'm going through Neal's albums, and now I'm up to the Neal Morse Band, these albums came out when I wasn't listening to Neal or related projects. This is area of his discography I don't know well, if at all. In the case of "The Grand Experiment" I checked this out when it was released, maybe 2-3 times, but never went back to it, and now I'm listening to it for the first time since, so I remember very little of this music. I'm very impressed so far, I do remember this chorus for the title track. This sounds like a step up from the usual Neal Morse fare. Eric Gillette and Bill Hubauer must have something to do with it, plus this being more of a band than Neal's other albums. Particularly Gillette's sound has got that fusion sound, and not to knock Neal's own guitar skills, he's great, but it's nice to have a full time guitarist in Neal's band, like he has Mike and Randy as his usual rhythm section. Who's the one singing the most besides Neal?

[DTA]

Eric and Bill probably extended Neal’s career by another 20 years. I think he would’ve run out of steam without their input and Eric’s voice. They’re great players and add a ton to the NMB albums.

[Stadler]

In case you didn't know, I'm going through Neal's albums, and now I'm up to the Neal Morse Band, these albums came out when I wasn't listening to Neal or related projects. This is area of his discography I don't know well, if at all. In the case of "The Grand Experiment" I checked this out when it was released, maybe 2-3 times, but never went back to it, and now I'm listening to it for the first time since, so I remember very little of this music. I'm very impressed so far, I do remember this chorus for the title track. This sounds like a step up from the usual Neal Morse fare. Eric Gillette and Bill Hubauer must have something to do with it, plus this being more of a band than Neal's other albums. Particularly Gillette's sound has got that fusion sound, and not to knock Neal's own guitar skills, he's great, but it's nice to have a full time guitarist in Neal's band, like he has Mike and Randy as his usual rhythm section. Who's the one singing the most besides Neal?

Singing?  Probably Eric.  If you have the "The Grand Experiment", in Alive Again, Eric sings the part:

"Now I feel like I'm alive again
Spread my arms upon the open wind
Yeah, I feel like I'm alive again
Crashing waves like breath upon my skin"

Bill sings the part:
"Locks on a box
Holding inside
Face in a mirror
Seems to disguise
The boy at the door
Who I was before
Is more than I'll ever be"

He sings that whole section, starting around 16:30.  When that ends, it goes to Neal again:
"The wounded warrior
With no temporary shelter
Had lost the will to stand and fight
To the enemy that lives inside"

Then back to Eric:
"Now I feel like I'm alive again
Spread my arms upon the open wind
Yeah, I feel like I'm alive again
Never going back to where I've been"



Neal is probably my favorite musician right now; I've been listening to him almost exclusively (outside of the discography threads, and the CD/DVD ripping I've been doing) and it moves me, but to be honest, he's NOT my favorite singer.  There are just as many moments I don't love as I do love, and the infusion of the three voices really works for me (and by the way, I think Mike fits in PERFECTLY; the contrast of the four voices is my musical nirvana, since I love harmony singing).

[kirksnosehair]

This thread inspired me to give "The Great Adventure" a listen.  What a great record that is.   

[425]

Neal is probably my favorite musician right now; I've been listening to him almost exclusively (outside of the discography threads, and the CD/DVD ripping I've been doing) and it moves me, but to be honest, he's NOT my favorite singer.  There are just as many moments I don't love as I do love, and the infusion of the three voices really works for me (and by the way, I think Mike fits in PERFECTLY; the contrast of the four voices is my musical nirvana, since I love harmony singing).

I really like Neal's voice, but I love the combination of different voices. I think NMB has figured out how to play to Mike's strengths. In particular, I think it was a stroke of brilliance to have Bill and Mike combine to play the "evil" characters on The Great Adventure, on Fighting with Destiny and Welcome to the World 2.

[darkshade]

Today is the 4th anniversary of the release of Similitude of a Dream, and I'm listening for the first time since checking it out once soon after it was released. This is already a great album I can just tell, the band sounds great here. Guitarist sounds fantastic.

[Zydar]

Such an awesome album. And yeah, Eric Gillette is a beast on the guitar.

[darkshade]

Such an awesome album. And yeah, Eric Gillette is a beast on the guitar.

I recall bits and pieces, like the City of Destruction chorus, but this is basically all new to me, pretty much.
The flow is excellent. I need to buy this one on CD asap though, I'm listening on Neal's Waterfall app, and there is a super quick pause between tracks. Kind of annoying.

[Zydar]

My favourite track on that one is The Ways Of A Fool (which is mostly written by Bill Hubauer). The vocal harmonies and interplay is so nice, aside from being a catchy song.

[darkshade]

I like Eric providing harmony vocals, but I'm on the fence on whether I like his lead vocals. Something about his tonality makes him sound like he needs to clear his throat or sinuses.

[bosk1]

My favourite track on that one is The Ways Of A Fool (which is mostly written by Bill Hubauer). The vocal harmonies and interplay is so nice, aside from being a catchy song.

That could possibly be a top 10 NM song for me.

[HOF]

I don’t think I ever made it all the way through Similitude. It was kind of my last ditch “maybe I’ll finally like this Neal Morse prog album the way I used to like Spock’s Beard/Transatlantic” effort (MP’s hype probably got me to bite). I do like Ways of a Fool (which was what convinced me to buy the album but that’s Bill’s composition).  I just can’t get past the style Neal has adopted since he was in SB (not the religious aspect mind you, that doesn’t bother me).

I don’t know how to describe it really, but it’s just sort of tedious to me now to listen to his prog epics. I do like Flying Colors, but he’s minimized there, at least in the over the top prog aspect. TA has been ok as well (The Whirlwind at least, Kaleidoscope not so much), but again there’s lots of input from others there.

Like I said before, I thought Songs from November was great. More of a songwriter’s album and had more of the warmth and charm of Spock’s Beard. I’ll always have a high regard for Neal as a person and musician, I just don’t have much interest in his musical output these days. Holding out hopes for the next Transatlantic though.

[Stadler]

It's weird; the "purer" the Neal, the less I sort of like it.  He's one of those guys like Jagger, Richards, Waters, Lennon where I like what he brings, but I don't like it as much when its the only element there.   He's like a special sauce that makes everything else better.   I love TNMB, I love the Neal Morse with Randy and Mike, I LOVE LOVE LOVE Flying Colors, I love the Yellow Matter Custard stuff... I'm still warming to Transatlantic, because I'm not sold on Roine, but Neal knows how to collaborate and work as part of an ensemble, that's for DAMN sure.