Official Neal Morse Appreciation Thread

[the_silent_man]

First listen through. LOVE Do It All Again, great melodies in that.
The others didn't grab me much on first listen, but that may change.

The 31 min epic seemed overlong/stretched out and I was getting a bit disinterested at points. What is up with that ending as well 

[The Letter M]

First listen through. LOVE Do It All Again, great melodies in that.
The others didn't grab me much on first listen, but that may change.

The 31 min epic seemed overlong/stretched out and I was getting a bit disinterested at points. What is up with that ending as well 

It kind of pulls you under, doesn't it? 

-Marc.

[Willthescout7]

I would love to listen to it today, but seeing how it hasn't even shipped from Radiant yet...at Amazon is getting the new Leprous album to me today.

[the_silent_man]

I don't understand why so many here still support Radiant. I get that it more directly supports Neal (which is of course a good thing), but almost everything I ever read about them is negative.
At that point, I would respond by taking my money elsewhere...

Here in the UK, pretty much everyone I know purchases in store or through Amazon. Never had any issues.

[ronnibran]

I don't understand why so many here still support Radiant. I get that it more directly supports Neal (which is of course a good thing), but almost everything I ever read about them is negative.
At that point, I would respond by taking my money elsewhere...

Here in the UK, pretty much everyone I know purchases in store or through Amazon. Never had any issues.

The ONLY reason I sometimes use Radiant is to get exclusive stuff - like the edition with the bonus DVD of the new album.  If it's just a standard album that I can get at amazon for 60% of the price and free shipping, no way I'd go through Radiant. 

[kaos2900]

Love the album! I've been waiting a long time for the 2019 Morsefest Blu ray so that is a must buy even if it's through racient.

[goo-goo]

I'm liking this one more than the last two efforts. Weakest link for me is the last track. Maybe it should have been released as an EP. Also, there's a lot of big church/epic choruses which is something that I personally dislike from Neal since a lot of the songs include it. A bit burnt out by them to be honest. And damn, I think Eric is the star of this album. Superb playing, soloing and singing.

There was also a string/keyboard section that I absolutely loved. Need to hunt down which track and timestamp but sounded very originally and nothing like they have done before.

[gzarruk]

Not Afraid pt. 2 is much better than Beyond The Years. By far.

[ronnibran]

Finally finished my first run-through of the album....  Wow....  My first impression is that I REALLY appreciate how different it sounds from other NMB albums.  First highlights for me are Another Story to Tell and The Way it Had To Be.  I have no idea how to even comment on the epics.  There is simply too much to digest.  But if I had to guess I think I'll probably like Beyond the Years best of the two epics.  Time will tell how it holds up to other NMB or Neal epics.

[gzarruk]

Another Story To Tell is definitely a highlight of disc 1 for me as well. Love that it's Neal's lead vocals through the whole thing.

[Cocopjojo]

Another Story to Tell sounds straight up like Genesis. And then The Way it Had to Be sounds like Pink Floyd. It's a pretty interesting combination.

[ronnibran]

After a second spin of the album I can say that currently my favorite thing on the album is Beyond the Years.  Man, at around the 18 minute mark there is a few minutes there of pure goosebumps.  And even some damp eyes...  "and now I am just drifting through the years...." <enter amazing keyboard and guitar solos>

[The Letter M]

This may become my favorite of the four NMB albums so far. There's a lot to digest and the varying sounds and styles involved really give the album a unique flow. I cannot wait to watch the documentary DVD, but hearing some of Mike's commentary on the album from the InsideOut Music YouTube page really whets the appetite for hearing how things formed on this album.

-Marc.

[faizoff]

Just got an email from Radiant that my order shipped!

[Metro]

I’ve listened to it twice today and I’m loving it. Gotta say that Not Afraid Pt.2 is my favorite of the 2 epics so far. Beyond the Years has some cool moments but the whole piece hasn’t clicked with me yet.

[bluefox4000]

Grr i've been busy prepping for company.  can't get to this till tomorrow

but......have my copy.

happy to hear the positive reviews though.

[darkshade]

My copy came in the mail, but I may wait until tomorrow to listen with my morning cup of coffee and fresh ears.

[bluefox4000]

My copy came in the mail, but I may wait until tomorrow to listen with my morning cup of coffee and fresh ears.

and i'm dying because for once i loved both singles.  but there's company in the next room and......you know manners and and all.

maybe i'll just do a late night listen.

[darkshade]

My copy came in the mail, but I may wait until tomorrow to listen with my morning cup of coffee and fresh ears.

and i'm dying because for once i loved both singles.  but there's company in the next room and......you know manners and and all.

maybe i'll just do a late night listen.

That would be the earliest for me. We'll see. I like listening to a new album on a day off after a good night's sleep with some coffee, the opportunity doesn't come up often these days.

[Bad Altitude]

I'm pleasantly surprised so far, loving the album. I've been slightly disappointed with both Similitude of a dream and The Great Adventure, I think they didn't really come close to The Grad Experiment. But this new one... not too bad, so far.

[Peter Mc]

Enjoying it so far but what’s up with the ending of Beyond The Years?  I actually thought I had a faulty disc but it’s the same on Apple Music.  Why would you end a song like that, especially a 30 min epic?

[kaos2900]

I had the same thought. I'm going to fade it out myself

[Mladen]

I also thought Spotify messed it up. 

[Zydar]

After two full listens, Your Place In The Sun is an early favourite so far. Oh and Another Story To Tell.

[Mladen]

I am getting a strong early Spock's Beard vibe from Another story to tell. It could have easily appeared on The Kindness of strangers. It's really cool.

[KevShmev]

Hilarious to see the apologists out in full force on the FB group page, trying to shout down any criticism of Radiant for their usual poor customer service.

Anyway...new album sounds really good after one listen!  Definitely a lot of different stuff, especially in both epics, both of which I will need to spend more time with to full grasp.  The Way It Had to Be was a nice surprise. Definitely did not see a song like that coming.  I didn't like the cover of Bridge over Troubled Water, but that to me is one of those sacred songs that is impossible for anyone to cover (I have never heard a cover of it that I liked).  Odds are I will skip that one going forward and listen to the album as a 9-song journey.  I expect this to get better and better with each listen. 

[darkshade]

I'm listening for the first time right now. I'm only up to Bird on a Wire but I'm already enjoying this one a lot.

[darkshade]

Wow, fantastic album. I think this might be NMB's best album. I'm also inclined to think this is a top 10 Neal-related album.

Everything I disliked from the first three NMB albums seems to have been fixed. Everyone sounds great.

[Metro]

Hilarious to see the apologists out in full force on the FB group page, trying to shout down any criticism of Radiant for their usual poor customer service.

The key is to not use Facebook 

[KevShmev]

Hilarious to see the apologists out in full force on the FB group page, trying to shout down any criticism of Radiant for their usual poor customer service.

The key is to not use Facebook 

Haha, I usually don't.  I am only still active to check out a handful of music pages (my last new post on my page was January 2020 and I rarely like or comment on stuff anymore).  I just wanted to see what reactions were to the new album on the Neal page.

[Metro]

Digging into the MF19 Blu Ray this morning. The Flying Colors set looks and sounds great, really impressive for a band that hadn't played live together for a long time. Wish there were some more songs from Third Degree.

Now watching The Great Adventure set.

My only big complaint about this release is the packaging itself, which is much larger than a standard Blu-Ray. It won't fit on my shelf 

[darkshade]

The two epics definitely need a few more listens but I can tell these are powerful pieces. First disc is also filled with high energy prog, I'm really impressed at how fresh it all sounds, considering the work Neal has already released. Gillette's playing definitely gives Neal the much needed edge his music has always needed, imo.

[devieira73]

This also caught my attention while listening to this album. Not so dramatically, but this may be the Neal Morse prog release which he went more "out of the box" in terms of what we expect from him. The album sounds really refreshing. Indeed it does sound like a much more band effort than all the previous NMB albums.

[The Letter M]

I love the variety on this album, probably greatly helped by the contributions of Eric and Bill. Considering Neal came to the sessions with no preconceived demos, but you can tell he put his stamp on a bunch of the material.

So far, I think I like this album a bit more than the previous two, and it's just as good as TGE, but it may even surpass that.

Of the two epics, I cannot decide which one I like more, but both are really good! Interesting that "Not Afraid Pt. 2" doesn't have movements within the epic, like "Seeds Of Gold", though given the differing lyrical sections, you could definitely make them into individual movements.

-Marc.

[gmillerdrake]

I have a solid four listens in and I'm digging this one a lot. The variety of sounds and different approaches to each individual songs is a big strong point on this album. I loved SOAD and TGA as concept albums but this return to a 'normal' album approach has proven to be a good idea. Each listen this one gets better and better. This effort and the fact I found out that King is going to Morsefest have me looking at picking up Morsefest tickets. This is probably going to be amazing to experience in a live setting.