Author Topic: Official Neal Morse Appreciation Thread  (Read 539614 times)

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Offline bosk1

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Re: Official Neal Morse Appreciation Thread
« Reply #350 on: May 11, 2011, 05:38:09 PM »
So far, T2 isn't really clicking with me much.  :(  

Thus far, it is a VERY distant #2 in my new album rankings for 2011.  And that's disappointing because I have only bought 3 albums, and one is a covers album.
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Offline Perpetual Change

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Re: Official Neal Morse Appreciation Thread
« Reply #351 on: May 11, 2011, 07:56:33 PM »
Have you listened to Seeds of Gold yet?

Offline unklejman

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Re: Official Neal Morse Appreciation Thread
« Reply #352 on: May 11, 2011, 08:01:30 PM »
"It's for You"? More like "It's for Muse" amirite?

Seriously though, I wonder how much influence MP had on that track, seeing as how much he likes Muse. It is one of my favorites on the album.  And I can say that I like Neal doing Muse better than I like DT doing Muse.

I still don't have Lifeline, so I can't say for sure, but, this is probably Neal's most modern sounding track in all of his solo work. (I only have 2 SB albums.)

Thoughts?

Offline KevShmev

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Re: Official Neal Morse Appreciation Thread
« Reply #353 on: May 11, 2011, 11:48:37 PM »
So far, T2 isn't really clicking with me much.  :(  

Hmmmm, let me get this straight:

-Almost everyone who has heard Testimony 2 seems to be really liking it a lot.  You do not.

-Most Neal fans seem to rave like crazy over ?.  Meanwhile, you don't care for it.

I am now pretty confident that I am gonna like this a lot. :biggrin: :biggrin: :biggrin:

Offline darkshade

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Re: Official Neal Morse Appreciation Thread
« Reply #354 on: May 12, 2011, 02:12:53 AM »
As of this moment...

? > One > T2 > Lifeline > T1 > Sola

 :tdwn

Offline bosk1

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Re: Official Neal Morse Appreciation Thread
« Reply #355 on: May 12, 2011, 08:18:50 AM »
Have you listened to Seeds of Gold yet?

Nope.  Even though it's cheap, I spent so much on the full package that I refuse to spend any more money on this album, especially for songs that I will eventually have when it ships.  Looking forward to it though.


So far, T2 isn't really clicking with me much.  :(  

Hmmmm, let me get this straight:

-Almost everyone who has heard Testimony 2 seems to be really liking it a lot.  You do not.

-Most Neal fans seem to rave like crazy over ?.  Meanwhile, you don't care for it.

I am now pretty confident that I am gonna like this a lot. :biggrin: :biggrin: :biggrin:


:lol  Yeah, well I also think Leviathan is FAR AND AWAY the worst track on Lifeline, so there you have it.  My fail is now complete.  :bosky:

But seriously, I don't dislike T2.  I'm just not connecting with it so far.  Not sure why.  Neal is just kind of hit or miss with me, I guess, for whatever reason.  One and Sola Scriptura are top 10 albums for me, and Testimony is not far behind.  I don't hate ?, Lifeline, or T2, but I just don't really connect with them either. 
"The Supreme Court of the United States has descended from the disciplined legal reasoning of John Marshall and Joseph Story to the mystical aphorisms of the fortune cookie."

Offline Ħ

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Re: Official Neal Morse Appreciation Thread
« Reply #356 on: May 12, 2011, 08:35:36 AM »
I also think Leviathan is FAR AND AWAY the worst track on Lifeline
whoa, we agree on something
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Offline bosk1

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Re: Official Neal Morse Appreciation Thread
« Reply #357 on: May 12, 2011, 08:43:31 AM »
Odd.  I must be doin' it wrong.
"The Supreme Court of the United States has descended from the disciplined legal reasoning of John Marshall and Joseph Story to the mystical aphorisms of the fortune cookie."

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Re: Official Neal Morse Appreciation Thread
« Reply #358 on: May 12, 2011, 08:47:07 AM »
So far, T2 isn't really clicking with me much.  :(  

Hmmmm, let me get this straight:

-Almost everyone who has heard Testimony 2 seems to be really liking it a lot.  You do not.

-Most Neal fans seem to rave like crazy over ?.  Meanwhile, you don't care for it.

I am now pretty confident that I am gonna like this a lot. :biggrin: :biggrin: :biggrin:


Haha same here. And Leviathan is awesome and fun.

Offline unklejman

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Re: Official Neal Morse Appreciation Thread
« Reply #359 on: May 12, 2011, 09:11:51 AM »
No comments on the Muse influence? I thought it was interesting... but men.

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Re: Official Neal Morse Appreciation Thread
« Reply #360 on: May 12, 2011, 09:13:59 AM »
I haven't heard it yet...

Offline Ħ

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Re: Official Neal Morse Appreciation Thread
« Reply #361 on: May 12, 2011, 09:40:42 AM »
I just listened to the teaser sample.  And nothing clicked with me.......is there anything as strong as Somber Days, Colder in the Sun, California Nights, or All I Can Do?
"All great works are prepared in the desert, including the redemption of the world. The precursors, the followers, the Master Himself, all obeyed or have to obey one and the same law. Prophets, apostles, preachers, martyrs, pioneers of knowledge, inspired artists in every art, ordinary men and the Man-God, all pay tribute to loneliness, to the life of silence, to the night." - A. G. Sertillanges

Offline Nihil-Morari

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Re: Official Neal Morse Appreciation Thread
« Reply #362 on: May 12, 2011, 09:42:22 AM »
Starting with disc one now! I'm psyched!
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Offline ronnibran

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Re: Official Neal Morse Appreciation Thread
« Reply #363 on: May 12, 2011, 10:15:21 AM »
I just listened to the teaser sample.  And nothing clicked with me.......is there anything as strong as Somber Days, Colder in the Sun, California Nights, or All I Can Do?

I think so.  Jesus Bring Me Home and Crossing Over are both as powerful, at least to me.

Offline Ħ

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Re: Official Neal Morse Appreciation Thread
« Reply #364 on: May 12, 2011, 10:51:46 AM »
Bosk, you should do a Neal Morse top 50 thread, just like everyone else.  Or maybe a top 25 or something since he doesn't have that much solo material.  But yeah you should do this.

Nick, are you gonna play any of T2 on your radio show next week?
"All great works are prepared in the desert, including the redemption of the world. The precursors, the followers, the Master Himself, all obeyed or have to obey one and the same law. Prophets, apostles, preachers, martyrs, pioneers of knowledge, inspired artists in every art, ordinary men and the Man-God, all pay tribute to loneliness, to the life of silence, to the night." - A. G. Sertillanges

Offline bosk1

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Re: Official Neal Morse Appreciation Thread
« Reply #365 on: May 12, 2011, 10:57:21 AM »
Nah.  Too much of his material that I haven't heard.  I couldn't do it justice.
"The Supreme Court of the United States has descended from the disciplined legal reasoning of John Marshall and Joseph Story to the mystical aphorisms of the fortune cookie."

Offline Ħ

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Re: Official Neal Morse Appreciation Thread
« Reply #366 on: May 12, 2011, 10:59:31 AM »
Nah.  Too much of his material that I haven't heard.  I couldn't do it justice.
Awww I thought you were the Neal Morse master.  Unless you are counting the material from all those Worship CD's....honestly I have no idea where to find those.
"All great works are prepared in the desert, including the redemption of the world. The precursors, the followers, the Master Himself, all obeyed or have to obey one and the same law. Prophets, apostles, preachers, martyrs, pioneers of knowledge, inspired artists in every art, ordinary men and the Man-God, all pay tribute to loneliness, to the life of silence, to the night." - A. G. Sertillanges

Offline bosk1

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Re: Official Neal Morse Appreciation Thread
« Reply #367 on: May 12, 2011, 11:03:03 AM »
Aside from that, he had either 1 or 2 obscure solo albums before Testimony.  And then there are the bonus tracks for One that I don't have.  And that's just if we limit it to his solo stuff.  If we expand, I have none of the Spock's albums, and I think there were some bonus tracks on the first two TA albums, weren't there?
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Offline Ħ

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Re: Official Neal Morse Appreciation Thread
« Reply #368 on: May 12, 2011, 11:06:20 AM »
Yeah, according to Wikipedia, he has 2 solo albums before Testimony.  And with the TA albums, it looks like the bonus tracks are either demos, jams, or alternate versions.
"All great works are prepared in the desert, including the redemption of the world. The precursors, the followers, the Master Himself, all obeyed or have to obey one and the same law. Prophets, apostles, preachers, martyrs, pioneers of knowledge, inspired artists in every art, ordinary men and the Man-God, all pay tribute to loneliness, to the life of silence, to the night." - A. G. Sertillanges

Offline Perpetual Change

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Re: Official Neal Morse Appreciation Thread
« Reply #369 on: May 12, 2011, 11:08:02 AM »
Aside from that, he had either 1 or 2 obscure solo albums before Testimony.  And then there are the bonus tracks for One that I don't have.  And that's just if we limit it to his solo stuff.  If we expand, I have none of the Spock's albums, and I think there were some bonus tracks on the first two TA albums, weren't there?

There's some alternate versions floating around, particular Roine Stolte's mixes, but I don't think there's actually any other material, though I could be wrong.

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Re: Official Neal Morse Appreciation Thread
« Reply #370 on: May 12, 2011, 11:09:47 AM »
Nah.  Too much of his material that I haven't heard.  I couldn't do it justice.
Awww I thought you were the Neal Morse master.  Unless you are counting the material from all those Worship CD's....honestly I have no idea where to find those.

I had bought all his worship CD's (whatever he had up the point of a 2 years ago). They didn't really stick besides his covers and a song called Cloudburst.

His non-prog stuff is nowhere near as good as his prog stuff, save for Songs from the Highway, which is an awesome acoustic record he made a few years ago.

Offline j

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Re: Official Neal Morse Appreciation Thread
« Reply #371 on: May 12, 2011, 11:11:27 AM »
I didn't really care for Testimony, still debating whether or not to get this.

As of this moment...

? > One > T2 > Lifeline > T1 > Sola

 :tdwn

Sola Scriptura is probably his second worst album thanks to inconsistency and bad lyrics, but the guitar solo in The Door is one of the best I've ever heard.

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Re: Official Neal Morse Appreciation Thread
« Reply #372 on: May 12, 2011, 11:14:51 AM »
I heard SS once and I didn't really like it, but I remember really liking the Door.

My ranking:

T1 > One > ? = SS > Lifeline
"All great works are prepared in the desert, including the redemption of the world. The precursors, the followers, the Master Himself, all obeyed or have to obey one and the same law. Prophets, apostles, preachers, martyrs, pioneers of knowledge, inspired artists in every art, ordinary men and the Man-God, all pay tribute to loneliness, to the life of silence, to the night." - A. G. Sertillanges

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Re: Official Neal Morse Appreciation Thread
« Reply #373 on: May 12, 2011, 11:17:44 AM »
So far, without hearing T2

One (restored tracklisting)
?
One (standard tracklisting)
Lifeline
Testimony
SS


But I love SS still, so they are all great albums.

Offline unklejman

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Re: Official Neal Morse Appreciation Thread
« Reply #374 on: May 12, 2011, 11:47:38 AM »
I just listened to the teaser sample.  And nothing clicked with me.......is there anything as strong as Somber Days, Colder in the Sun, California Nights, or All I Can Do?

Not really, at least in the same way.   Some of the more notable stuff to me is the more Spock's Beard sounding tracks.  Although "The Truth Will Set You Free" is pretty strong, as well as "It's for You"

My ranking:

?

One/Testimony tie



Testimony 2





Sola Scriptura


I've only heard the title track to Lifeline so I can't rank it yet.

Oh and Bosk1, do yourself a favor and go out and buy "Snow" right away.

« Last Edit: May 12, 2011, 11:54:36 AM by unklejman »

Offline KevShmev

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Re: Official Neal Morse Appreciation Thread
« Reply #375 on: May 12, 2011, 11:54:07 AM »
Nah.  Too much of his material that I haven't heard.  I couldn't do it justice.
Awww I thought you were the Neal Morse master.  

With all due respect, around these parts, I'd say The Letter M/Marc is undoubtedly the Neal Morse master. ;)
« Last Edit: May 12, 2011, 12:06:57 PM by KevShmev »

Offline Ħ

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Re: Official Neal Morse Appreciation Thread
« Reply #376 on: May 12, 2011, 11:59:48 AM »
Nah.  Too much of his material that I haven't heard.  I couldn't do it justice.
Awww I thought you were the Neal Morse master.  

With all due respect, around these parts, I'd say The Letter M/Marc is undoubtedly the Neal Morse matter. ;)
Actually, yeah.

MARC.  DO A TOP 50.

Actually I think M does a great job at making music sound interesting by just describing it.  He's perfect for the job.
"All great works are prepared in the desert, including the redemption of the world. The precursors, the followers, the Master Himself, all obeyed or have to obey one and the same law. Prophets, apostles, preachers, martyrs, pioneers of knowledge, inspired artists in every art, ordinary men and the Man-God, all pay tribute to loneliness, to the life of silence, to the night." - A. G. Sertillanges

Offline bosk1

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Re: Official Neal Morse Appreciation Thread
« Reply #377 on: May 12, 2011, 12:06:37 PM »
Yeah, I've certainly never claimed that title.
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Offline The Letter M

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Re: Official Neal Morse Appreciation Thread
« Reply #378 on: May 12, 2011, 12:08:28 PM »
Nah.  Too much of his material that I haven't heard.  I couldn't do it justice.
Awww I thought you were the Neal Morse master.  

With all due respect, around these parts, I'd say The Letter M/Marc is undoubtedly the Neal Morse matter. ;)
Actually, yeah.

MARC.  DO A TOP 50.

Actually I think M does a great job at making music sound interesting by just describing it.  He's perfect for the job.

Oh man, you guys are putting me on a pedestal that's way too high right now  :rollin

I'll think about it! I have to absorb Testimony 2 for a few weeks or so. Would I just include the 6 Post-SB/TA Solo albums (Testimony-Testimony 2) or perhaps also include his debut self-titled album and It's Not Too Late? The former has some great stuff on it, particularly the 4-part epic "A Whole Nother Trip", while the latter is a great singer-songwriter kind of album.

I will have to think about it and give all his albums PLENTY of listens, but I don't think I'd include any SB or TA albums because Neal does have a TON of material outside of the bands he has been in.

I have been (re-)listening to a lot of Neal's albums lately, so I might be coaxed into doing a Top 50...we'll see  ;)

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Offline Ħ

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Re: Official Neal Morse Appreciation Thread
« Reply #379 on: May 12, 2011, 12:10:20 PM »
:caffeine:
"All great works are prepared in the desert, including the redemption of the world. The precursors, the followers, the Master Himself, all obeyed or have to obey one and the same law. Prophets, apostles, preachers, martyrs, pioneers of knowledge, inspired artists in every art, ordinary men and the Man-God, all pay tribute to loneliness, to the life of silence, to the night." - A. G. Sertillanges

Offline KevShmev

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Re: Official Neal Morse Appreciation Thread
« Reply #380 on: May 12, 2011, 12:11:09 PM »
I think it'd be interesting to see a top 50 that covered SB, TA and solo stuff, but if you stick with just his solo stuff, you can't not consider stuff from the first two records, unless you want to call in the Neal Morse Top 50 Jesus songs. ;) :lol

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Re: Official Neal Morse Appreciation Thread
« Reply #381 on: May 12, 2011, 12:15:02 PM »
Yeah, I've certainly never claimed that title.

I tried to the that thread where we claim to be the biggest fan....but yeah, Marc is definitely the most knowledgeable of the span of SB, TA, and the aftermath of those.

Offline Nick

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Re: Official Neal Morse Appreciation Thread
« Reply #382 on: May 12, 2011, 12:24:02 PM »
Hey now, I will fight anyone claiming to be #1 TA fan.
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Offline ich bin besser

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Re: Official Neal Morse Appreciation Thread
« Reply #383 on: May 12, 2011, 02:51:06 PM »
"It's for You"? More like "It's for Muse" amirite?

Seriously though, I wonder how much influence MP had on that track, seeing as how much he likes Muse. It is one of my favorites on the album.  And I can say that I like Neal doing Muse better than I like DT doing Muse.

This is what Randy George (bass) says on Neal's forum:

Quote
    "Randy, when working on "It's for You" did the band Muse ever come up in discussion? And did Mike Portnoy have anything to do with it? "

No sir. The song was written as is by Neal. We simply played on it. That was one of the more cut and dry songs that didn't need any changes. I did however suggest to Neal that the end of that song would be the perfect place for Steve Morse to play a solo. But Paul Bielatowicz ended up doing it and shredding it just as well! I was just happy to something by Steve Morse somewhere!

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Offline unklejman

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Re: Official Neal Morse Appreciation Thread
« Reply #384 on: May 12, 2011, 03:02:46 PM »

This is what Randy George (bass) says on Neal's forum:

Quote
   "Randy, when working on "It's for You" did the band Muse ever come up in discussion? And did Mike Portnoy have anything to do with it? "

No sir. The song was written as is by Neal. We simply played on it. That was one of the more cut and dry songs that didn't need any changes. I did however suggest to Neal that the end of that song would be the perfect place for Steve Morse to play a solo. But Paul Bielatowicz ended up doing it and shredding it just as well! I was just happy to something by Steve Morse somewhere!

Randy



I know I asked him.  ;)  I still think MP probably had some say in his drum parts which is what gives it that Muse feel imo.  He probably heard the arpeggios at the end and was like, wow that reminds me of Muse, let's try some Muse drumming. Or maybe Neal has been listening to Muse too. Or maybe it's just a coincidence.