Neal Morse Appreciation Thread - A Guide for Beginners and Fans

This is a project I was focusing on for a long time and never got a chance to finish it, so due to obvious circumstances, now was the chance to make it happen.
A little back story first: I've been listening to prog almost exclusively for almost seven or eight years now, mostly classic stuff, and began to naturally wonder if there is any modern stuff that's worth a listen. I later came across three key bands that I owe enormous gratitude that made me rediscover the genre and gave me a new purpose for discovering music (not to mention opened a few other doors that lead me to discover other amazing bands) and some of the most beautiful musical moments I have ever experienced: The Flower Kings, Spock's Beard/Neal Morse and Pain of Salvation. Three bands which I think don't receive the accolades they deserve and whose musical output is unlike anything I've ever seen or heard of before.

Eventually all three will get their appreciation thread here, but I wanted to focus this time on Neal Morse and The Neal Morse Band body of work. That means that other bands such as Transatlantic, Flying Colors and maybe Yellow Matter Custard (Beatles tribute band) deserve a separate thread, in my opinion. I also believe another thread for Spock's Beard (both Neal and post-Neal eras) is a must at this point, so I'll try to get started on that one soon as well.

The reason I want to start with Neal Morse and not Spock's Beard, Flower Kings or Pain of Salvation is simply because the man's musical output is ridiculously extensive and by the time I try to rank songs or albums, he releases another album, weather it's live or studio. Even as I write this he has finished writing and recording keyboard parts for another solo album to be released soon (which means that very soon we'll have a new Transatlantic studio album, Neal Morse solo album, Flying Colors live album and possibly the next Morsefest installment released before you know it), so I decided to get this started with Neal. I can't wait to read your opinions on the man and his music and your favorite material released by him. How would you rank his songs, albums and live albums and what are your opinions on anything he has done?

Another reason I wanted to create this thread is that when I discovered Spock's Beard and wanted to get into Neal Morse there was really no available recommendations or guide to do this, so hopefully this is here for future beginners and people who just want to discover his music and wonder where to start and fellow forum members to check some songs of his which I find mostly compelling and powerful stuff.
My next post will be a brief and personal opinion on his music and how it impacted me and I will follow this with a personal list of my favorite songs and albums, as well as recommendations for beginners.

Cheers!

 

Arguably Genesis is the band that has moved me the most with the quality of the music and the power of their performances. They literally gave me goosebumps and a sense of awe when I heard Selling England by the Pound and The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway, I just couldn't believe my ears (In The Court of the Crimson King by King Crimson had done something similar a few months earlier). This was back in 2012, and five years later I was craving for some other bands to have a similar effect and I came across on youtube a song called "I Am The Sun, part 1" by The Flower Kings and I was very pleasantly surprised! I was immediately hooked and upon seeing what similar bands and associated artists existed I came across Spock's Beard and a song called "The Light" performed live and was captivated by their multi-instrumentalist and lead singer, Neal Morse. I could've really believe the quality of the song composition, encompassing many styles and quirky lyrics and epic synths, but the clincher was that everything was neatly wrapped around a very pleasant and melodic pop coating that made me immediately want to hear more.

I read more about Neal Morse and it turned out he left the band after six albums to pursue a solo career and becoming a newborn christian and made christian rock/prog. Spock's Beard lead singing duties was overtaken by their drummer (Nick D'Virgilio), their last album with original lead singer was a double concept album, Spock's Beard live concerts featured two drummers and plenty of other coincidences with my favorite band Genesis were evident and compelling to me, so dove deeper.
It took me a while to actually check out his solo material, to be honest the Christianity-themed angle didn't help (being a Catholic myself, I rather my music is free of any religious overtones if possible). So I started out with his third solo album "One", and listened to the first song, a live rendition of The Creation. To say that I was impressed is an understatement. I felt chills once again with the band performance, the song lasts 16 minutes but the song never looses momentum or becomes boring. I was addicted to it so much, that I really took it easy and digested everything before exhausting the catalog. I bought all the CDs I could and dove deep into them. I must admit, the spiritual, religious and sometimes even preachy lyrics has never been my cup of tea but never really detracted me from listening further and even immensely enjoy the rest of the album and catalog.

Below is the video I saw that got me hooked on Neal. Taken from a 2007 concert, featuring his European band. I hope you enjoy it!

 

A very recent and pleasing discovery for me.
I love the Transatlantic albums, and particularly the Whirlwind album and concert dvd ... The Transatlantic Live In Europe is excellent too.
I love the Flying Colors Second Flight bluray concert too.

 

Been a fan of Neal's since the first Spocks Beard album. An amazing songwriter and all round musician.
My favourite album is one of his more recent one's; The Grand Experiment
Transatlantic's The Bridge Across Forever & Whirlwind are both masterpieces.

 

This'll be a fascinating thread. Don't have all Neal's records. Some of then can be hard to come by over here.

Solo-wise, Sola Scriptura, Lifeline and Momentum are probably my favourites with Songs From November being a nice change of pace.

Struggled a bit with the first Neal Morse band album, bought the second one but only listened to it once and haven't got the third. Be interesting to re-visit them within the context of this thread.

I don't know any of the worship records. Got no objection to them just never seen any.

 

I think The Grand Experiment is the best NMB album personally. only 50 minutes long, but it's so tight and to the point that it's extremely pleasant to listen to it from start to finish. Alive Again is one of Neal's best epics and The Call is almost perfect! I agree with both Transatlantic albums, The Whirlwind is my preferred album, but I think Bridge is their most representative album as a band, it is so wonderfully produced as well.

I'm saving this for my personal top albums and songs list I'll post in the next few days, but Sola Scriptura is perhaps the most epic thing Neal's done in his whole career, that album did really blow my mind apart and reassemble it by the conclusion.
Great point you're making with the second NMB album, most people think it's Neal's magnum opus, the best of his career. Furthermore, Mike Portnoy has stated many times that along with Scenes From A Memory and The Whirlwind, it's the best album of his career. I personally am not too inclined towards that album, but I'll post a personal mini review soon as well. I'm glad you like it and would love to read your take on it, maybe I'll be able to listen to something I've previously missed! Cheers.

 

I could talk for days about Neal Morse's music, and I just might if you all let me.

I don't even know where to start, but I will just say for now that my favorite albums of his from any project are The Similitude of a Dream (Neal Morse Band), SMPTe (Transatlantic), Testimony 2 (solo) and ? (solo).

 

Cheers!

This thread looks like it's going to be fun!

 

To get a little more in depth...

I am a big Spock's fan. All six albums he did with them are really, really good, and I go back and forth as to which is my favorite. Favorite songs are The Light, The Doorway, Harm's Way, Flow, Wind at My Back, At the End of the Day, Thoughts, Crack the Big Sky, the entire Healing Colors of Sound suite, Solitary Soul, Waste Away, Open Wide the Flood Gates and The Water.

Regarding his solo career, I love his first solo album that he did in the late 90's, the self-titled one. Emma is one of my favorite Neal songs ever, and I adore Everything Is Wrong as well. And the rest is very good. And while he lays it on a bit too thick at times with the christian lyrics (it's not worship music, but I like when he is more general and spiritual with his lyrics rather than overtly wordy), his run of solo albums in the 00's and early 10's was magnificent. One, ? (the Question Mark album), Sola Scriptura and Testimony 2 in particular are all freaking great. Lifeline is probably the only one I consider average by his standards, as probably half the songs are ones I am not wild about, but even that record has the wonderful epic So Many Roads that alone is worth the cost. Seeing Testimony 2 performed mostly in full (minus Absolute Beginner) at Morsefest 2017 was beyond incredible.

Neal Morse Band has crushed it so far. Three albums, three winners. The Grand Experiment has three of Neal's best songs ever - The Call, Waterfall, Alive Again - and the rest of the album and the bonus tracks were all good as well. The Similitude of a Dream, IMO, is the best album of Neal's career, and is one of my 10 favorite albums ever by anyone; yes, I think it is that great. The Great Adventure was a worthy sequel, and was mostly really good, but wasn't quite as consistently great as Similitude, but still has some majorly high highs.

I am also a big Flying Colors fan, particularly of the first and third albums. The second is also good, but they really hit it out of the park on the debut and then on last year's Third Degree. Can't wait for a fourth.

Also, not sure if everyone is aware, but while stuck at home recently, Neal wrote a whole new hour-long prog solo album that he plans on releasing this fall. He said he has already sent it to Mike Portnoy and Randy George for their input and contributions. I can't wait to hear that! And the Neal Morse Band as a whole is supposed to be getting together soon as well to start work on their fourth album.

 

The man is a machine. What a work ethic!

 

To call him prolific would be an understatement. And he never makes a bad album. His run of albums, when looking at his different bands and projects, from 1995-2019 is pretty jaw-dropping.

 

I'll chime in as well, in part to confirm what else is being written here -- Neal is a monster composer, performer, etc. The songs are really well constructed, and epics like Alive Again (or any of other half-hour songs ) make you wonder how he keeps putting things together.

I'm also writing to invite anyone who isn't familiar with Neal's work, and is looking for something new, to try (say) The Grand Experiment as a teaser. His other works won't always be as tight as that album (that is not a criticism); the others can be more sprawling in their musical adventures. You're sheltering in place -- what have you got to lose?

 

My fear with someone starting with The Grand Experiment would be that the proggy nature of it would be too much and become kind of a blur and all they'd remember is Agenda (which even a lot of Neal fans dislike). At least with the more sprawling albums, you have tons of short, catchy songs that are easier to grab on to right away. That said, getting back to The Grand Experiment, Waterfall is a song I could see grabbing people right away.

 

I agree with everything you said about Spock's Beard. I love that band and all their albums up until the final album with Nick D'Virgilio on lead vocals. The last three Ted Leonard albums were very average in my opinion.
I can't believe you were at a Morsefest, those are the best events of the year musically and the releases are unbelievable and sound incredible. You gotta share pics and stories.

 

Transatlantic was also making an album pre-virus. Not sure if they got to finish it.

 

I discovered Neal via the first Transatlantic album, and kept up with his solo stuff thereafter. I then reversed into the Spocks era. I had heard some Spocks tracks, but "out of context" so never really appreciated them until I heard the full albums. I am a Christian, so the lyrical aspect doesn't bother me as it does with some folk, but I feel musically he is immensely talented.

 

I was late to Spock's Beard and I've only ever found two of the Neal Morse led albums - Beware Of Darkness and The Kindness Of Strangers. I have everything from Feel Euphoria onwards though. The two most recent albums are actually mu favourites along with Octane but I like them all well enough.

Last year's Pattern Seeking Animals album, featuring half of SB (No Alan or Ryo ) with Jimmy Keegan coming back on drums and SB contributor John Boegehold on keys was one of my highlights of 2019. Really brilliant. Ted takes on all the guitar work as well as singing and does a fantastic job. Well worth checking out. Their new album Prehensile Tales was due for release in May. Fingers crossed it'll still happen.

 

Big NM fan here. My favorites are the first 4 prog albums, Testimony, One, ? and Sola Scriptura.

I feel that since he made those 4, he’s kind of recreated them music wise in one way or another.

Neal is prolific. Neal is amazingly consistent. But Neal is also solidly in his box and to me it kind of takes the luster off. I wish he would do something “different “ or break out of the box.

I am aware of the singer songwriter albums but I’m not talking about that.
Maybe it’s just me. I see NM any time I can in whatever form, FC, Transatlantic. Yellow Matter Custard, NMB and the shows are always great.

maybe I should just appreciate the great artist he is instead of wishing he was a chameleon.

 

So, for those looking for a starting point on how to discover Neal's music and what's a good place to start, I have compiled my favorite 25 songs, I will post them in two or three parts, otherwise I don't want an extremely long post. I would love to hear your opinions and your own personal ranking. Here we go...

25 - So Many Roads, from “Lifeline”

Kicking off the list with a long epic which I personally admire. Neal really finds an ambitious concept to develop on this one, taking risks and exploring uncharted musical territory by creating a song where the main character faces some options and paths to take during his life, each path is a different song onto itself, this one truly deserves a spot along with some of his best works at least just based on creativity.
Granted, the song is not perfect particularly the lyrics seem to falter here and there (“the stadium cheers for Britney Spears” from the “Star for a Day” section is an odd verse to be featured in a prog rock epic), but the execution is remarkable and the sections that hold this piece together are very strong individually as well.

Many fans may disagree here, but I have a weak spot for this song as it reminds me of some of the tongue-in-cheek musical approach he once brought to the table with Spock’s Beard and the concept of the song is a goldmine of opportunity for experimentation which I personally feel they achieved (“The Humdrum Life”). Without spoiling the song too much, it’s basically about the many choices and paths you take in life that make you who you are, fulfilling fantasies and dreams, the paradox of accepting responsibilities through sacrifice and the cost of shallow living; the music is as ambitious as the lyrics and themes explored throughout. Ultimately Neal finds a way to end the piece as the whole story turning out to be divine intervention and it’s God’s will and Jesus will help find a way, but the journey of the song itself is the part that really stuck with me and sometimes can’t help but tune out a little towards the end or ignore some of the lyrics which I think are the weaker aspect of the song.
The live version from the “So Many Roads” live album is certainly worth checking out, the performance is as inspiring as everything else in that live document and the song often packs more punch with Neal’s European band. Another live version with his current band is available on the Morsefest 2017 release and is more closely similar to the studio version, really great version.

* A little sidenote, I actually wanted to include “The Conclusion”, the closing song from Sola Scriptura, instead of this one because I find it to be a vastly superior song with a bigger sound. However, I felt it relied heavily on themes and reprises from other parts of the album that I included on this list that I felt it would be more fair to include another song and thought of this to take its place, I find “The Conclusion” a better song though.

24 - Makes No Sense, from “The Similitude of a Dream”

I consider this to be one of the quintessential moments from NMB. Not only a great song, but I feel it actually bridges the first and second part of disc one rather nicely. The strength of the song lies in the vocal duties the band tackles and take turns, it actually embellishes the sound and melodies in such a simple song like this one. Without a doubt one of the best moments from the band and terrific effort that made the album that much more interesting. The live version from the Morsefest 2017 release is even more exciting in my opinion, my go-to version.

23 - Heaven in My Heart, from “Sola Scriptura”

In the midst of an apocalyptic showdown of epic music and heavy atmosphere that Neal decided to write in the sixth solo album that was Sola Scriptura, the shortest song in the album by far is a huge breath of fresh air from the bombastic and mind blowing music that was presented in the first 50 minutes of the album. Even then, this song is charged with fear, despair and hope that fits perfectly amidst the chaos of the storyline, preparing you for the final showdown of “The Conclusion”. This is an excellent ballad where the band decides to tone it a bit down without straying from the story, the lyrics are of a personal nature between Martin Luther and God and deciding what is the right thing to do and recognizing false church and religion based on one’s integrity, very powerful stuff.
The only live version is from Morsefest 2015 which is excellent like its studio counterpart. The song is even bigger when put in the context of its parent album, but individually it also stands strong as an effective ballad that touches you to the core like it did for me.

22 - Colder in The Sun, from “Testimony”

With many songs on the “Testimony” album, the sum of its parts is stronger than their individual songs, this doesn’t necessarily seem to be the case with this one. Though no major plot content particularly relevant to the rest of the story, I think that’s one of the reasons this song works very well as an occasional listen. In my case, the occasional listen to this song was happening all too often and quickly became an album highlight. There are no bombastic passages, no huge guitar solos or overblown keyboards, but I think this is highly refreshing compared to most of Neal’s other songs (even though my favorite songs of his happen to also be the most dramatically charged musically) and that became a quality I really admire form the Testimony album, the story and the compositions speak for themselves rather than getting into a full band showdown; probably because by then it was only Neal and Mike Portnoy as official collaborators so I guess there was a natural tendency to keep things a bit simpler without sacrificing the orchestral and symphonic personality altogether.
The Morsefest 2014 live version is excellent as well as I consider it a general rule by now that any intricate multi-layered vocal passages in a Neal Morse song sound better live in concert than on the studio album for some reason.

21 - The Grand Experiment, from “The Grand Experiment”

A stone-cold, in-your-face rocker that puts a dent in any rock playlist. I love when Neal shows his rock star potential in his shorter compositions, absolutely nothing bad to say about this song. It’s one of the first short songs I heard by Neal and I wonder to this day why in the world doesn’t he release more of these shorter and effective songs that are not necessarily part of a story or concept and just do it out of plain and simple fun. I was always impressed with the pop sensibilities Neal injects into all of his songs and the shorter songs are admirable. I guess in the end they just walk on the shadow of the obligatory long epic that is most likely to appear somewhere in his albums (at least up until Similitude of a Dream and The Great Adventure, no long epic in sight). Again, the live versions of the song might trump the studio version, particularly the Morsefest 2015 live version.

20 - Leviathan, from “Lifeline”

Neal fans might argue the inclusion of this song on best-of list but, truthfully, I’m a sucker for quirky and humorous songs and this is a song the band themselves are known to have fun with during their live performances. It’s short, the bridge is excellent and the personification of the beast from the book of Revelations is quite creative when plastered into music like it’s done here and yet another glowing example of how Neal tackles heavy rock and somehow injects melody and attitude without taking himself too seriously.
I am particularly fond of the “So Many Roads” album live version and a close second is the version from “Alive Again” which features Portnoy on drums instead of Collin Leijenaar who also does a tremendous job behind the drums, the man is a beast.

19 - The Great Adventure, from “The Great Adventure”

The title track is an exciting rocker that comfortably stands as one of the band’s most fun and impressive songs. Works wonderfully well as an introduction for someone that wants to get into the band. Neal has a wonderful selection and spectrum of sound signatures he’d established well before NMB, but this is an example of yet another inclusion and a personal favorite.
Modern prog bands frequently have a hard time editing down songs down to digestible lengths, as we all know prog is well known for giving us twenty-minute songs we all love, but ironically I think the biggest challenge is to give us a clever short song that can speak just as much but in a much shorter time span. This is a perfect example of achieving this and what I consider the Neal Morse Band to do perfectly well vs solo Neal Morse, a much-needed balance and counterweight (made obvious in their debut album The Grand Experiment).
I love these short Neal songs because I find interesting what the band can do in little time, always full of surprises (yeah, I’m talking about the blessed whistle). Oh, and the live version from Brno rocks as well, so take your pick for best version, I go back to the studio version though mainly because of the distracting country take of the second chorus in the live version (though very entertaining)

18 - California Nights, from “Testimony”

Now this is another song I have a weak spot for. Technically the third song on the album, but the beginning of his inspiring story. I remember thinking how the profound honesty of the lyrics and mid-paced melody really carry the song proudly and immerse you in the emotionally charged autobiography for the next two hours.
There may be better songs in the album, more key moments than this one, but as an individual song this really holds up even when taken away from the context of the album, this really pulls you in and sets the mood for what’s a truly solid concept album. The previous track which is the overture is fantastic and goes very well when played before California Nights, I would easily recommend you listen to both back to back, you won’t regret it.
The Testimony album has been performed twice in its entirety, one in Tillburg in 2003 for which they released a concert DVD simply titled Testimony Live 2003 and another even more exquisite rendition in MorseFest 2014, but to be honest the live versions are personally as good as the studio counterparts, but I find myself going back to the studio album instead of the live performances, which are as good if not better than the studio tracks. Not to mention there are beautiful medleys, cleverly titled Testimedley, in various live albums and DVDs.

17 - Cradle to the Grave, from “One”

Another one of the first songs by Neal I listened to. This song is basically a back and forth conversation between a conflicted, angry man and God (whose part is beautifully sung by Phil Keaggy). The raw emotion, the simplicity and power of the song is enough to place this one as one of Neal’s most inspired songs of his career. Granted, the theme is very heavy with Christian and religious topics, but this is an intensely personal love song that should be given a chance. I certainly did and uninterested in Christian music altogether I found this little gem to be quite inspiring and a tear jerker.
I strictly listen to the studio version because of the chemistry and vocal performances by Neal and Phil as it hasn’t been matched in any live performance I’ve listened to so far. Neal even sings it with his son Wil on different occasions and although moving, the definitive version is the one from the studio album (one of the few exceptions where studio beats live rendition). Give both versions a listen and judge for yourself, the studio rendition is sublime and majestic.

16 - A Love That Never Dies, from “The Great Adventure”

When Neal announced that the band would follow Similitude with its direct sequel, a double album that continues the story where it left off, I didn’t know what to think. I wasn’t a fan of Similitude so I admit I wasn’t too excited for its sequel. After many listens I can safely say I prefer the sequel by a considerable margin due to many reasons which I will discuss in my ranking of Neal’s albums in the following days, but this is what I believe to be the best part of the journey and it even had the power to make me go back and listen to the whole four-disc story once again.

This song is the one that closes the double album and it couldn’t have been a better choice. It’s been a considerable long time since a Neal song had made me feel so much emotion like this one and I think it’s probably the centerpiece of the two albums. I don’t want to give too much away, but expect some goosebumps and a sense of realization for the whole story, weather you enjoyed it a lot or not so much and that’s why I think this song is particularly well accomplished. The live album version is also excellent, I can’t wait to listen to the Morsefest 2019 version when it’s released, hopefully in the not-so-distant future.

15 - A Whole Nother Trip, from “Neal Morse”

Neal’s first solo album is from 1999 and this is of course the first epic of his solo career, clocking in at 24 minutes spread through four different sections, this inclusion was tricky for a couple of reasons, one of which is the album isn’t exactly a prog album, (in fact it’s mostly alternative pop/rock) but it's very progressive in the fact that it explores many different genres, instruments and sounds, and this is mostly evident on this epic. The album itself is quite different in structure and complexity than what came from Testimony and onwards, however I think it’s very overlooked for some reason. Besides, it’s Neal on every instrument except drums, where Nick D’Virgilio steps in, it kinda feels like half a Spock’s Beard album and those albums are amazing.

The song is a true gem and as enjoyable as any other epic Neal has written. I’m particularly drawn to the simple idiosyncrasy of “Mr. Upside Down" and the percussive-laden “The Man Who Would Be King”, they are both a first in the solo Neal catalog and not a strategy he would often tackle on future albums. I also love the “It’s Alright” section, it reminds me a bit of Abbey Road-era Beatles and a fine album closer, this is supremely underrated though understandably why (the shadow cast by the ambitious “Testimony” and “One” albums is no joke!)
Amazingly, the song has live rendition on the Morsefest 2015 album with the NMB and it completely rocks, however I feel attached to the studio version because of its 90’s alternative production, sound and feel to it, kind of like a time capsule that is lost when taken to the stage nowadays.

14 - The Temple of the Living God / Another World, from “?”

I could have no problem to include the whole “?” album in a single spot. The whole piece flows masterfully as a continuous and masterful band effort with terrific songwriting and arrangements, and I know this is cheating a little bit, but the two opening tracks really set the mood for the rest of the album and many recurring themes are presented in these two key songs. If I could have my way, I would also attach the third track “The Outsider” as well but I’m trying to keep it fair. The album starts off passionately and the band is in full throttle, but nothing prepares you for the finale (though these first ten minutes of the album certainly paints a clear picture).

As is with the rest of the album, there are two live albums that dedicate whole discs to include live performances of the whole album and there is also one breathtaking medley in the “So Many Roads” live album, and I always have a hard time to choose which is my preferred version of the album (even the Roine Stolt’s Love mix CD version is terrific), so if you really like the studio version or the live medley, I would give the MorseFest 2015 a spin as it is incredibly well recorded and performed complete with backing vocals, choir and wind instruments, absolutely killer stuff.

13 - The Way Home, from “Lifeline”

“Lifeline” is not exactly a short album at 70 minutes long, but Neal definitely has longer albums. The advantage this album has is that it has one long epic, a short epic and five very strong short compositions which give the illusion of being longer than it is (as opposed to the 76-minute-long “Sola Scriptura” featuring only four songs, or the 80-minute-long “One” with just eight songs).
I love when pop is incorporated into rock music, hard rock and ballads because it can cause an unexpected shift in mood and emotion as such that you are left a little confused on what to feel or how to digest the tone of the music and lyrics. This song is a perfect example of this because it can be a sad ballad or a happy and hopeful acoustic serenade begging for guidance and answers, religion aside, and who can’t relate to that? An equally beautiful rendition is featured in “So Many Roads”, the passion of the vocals and the instrumentation is worthy of a couple of listens on both versions.

12 - Supernatural, from “Testimony 2”

Not too much of a fan of the sequel to “Testimony”, disc 2 is the strength of the whole double album in my opinion. Though not part of the core Testimony story, Supernatural is a splendidly gorgeous song with a catchy-as-hell chorus that makes this one of the best Neal Morse moments ever, in my opinion. This makes for a brilliant sing-along and the joy it conveys is almost like a celebration of music, friends and people you love. (Reminiscent of Spock Beard’s “June”)
I highly suggest checking out the version from Morsefest 2017, with the mandolin and featuring the whole band on vocals (including the sweet vocal passage from Eric Gillette), it truly is a different beast, more ballad-like than the counterpart rocker from the studio album, both versions are essential. If I’m not mistaking, this was a song meant for Flying Colors, but was not recorded by the band because they felt didn’t fit in with the rest of the debut album (which is brilliant in its own right).

11 - In the Fire, from “?”

Talk about a song that starts and ends on a high note, this huge rocker is absolutely essential. Fortunately, this band dynamic is revisited on latter songs and albums and even often topped in a live concert setting, the brutality of its delivery is exemplary work of hard rock and keyboard-driven prog. (Try checking out the live version from Alive Again, though there’s a special charm in the studio version that I find particularly exciting). This is one I would recommend beginners to check out because it reveals much of what the band is all about and Neal is a really good songwriter, not just a virtuoso musician and an undeniable multi-talented individual.
This song echoes Kansas pretty heavily and the vocal performances are excellent and the band is just in full on chemistry on this one, Dream Theater, ELP and Kansas would be very proud of this one, for sure. Something that impressed me when listening to it in the context of the rest of the album is how well it stands on its own as an individual song, especially since its parent album “?” relies heavily on all the songs for a cohesive story.

That's it for now, I'll post my top ten most likely tomorrow. I would love to see some other lists by you guys or what you would change from the list. Cheers!

 

I thought the first album Spock's did with Ted Leonard, Brief Nocturnes and Dreamless Sleep, was awesome, but would agree that the next two were nothing special, although both had a few songs I really liked.

I will forever kick myself for not going to Morsefest the first few years, but I was able to go in both 2017 and 2018, and they were some of my favorite shows ever, especially the two in 2017, which had Night 1 with almost all of Testimony 2 and the two best songs from Lifeline (title track and So Many Roads), and the Night 2 with all of Similitude with an encore of Author of Confusion, Agenda and The Call. 2018 was really good, too, with the Voices of the Beard show Night 1 and then The Exorcist Night 2, but 2017 will be impossible to top.

They are supposedly still working on finishing it. The common theory is that it would be finished and released this fall and then Morsefest 2020 would have Transatlantic, but it sounds like its completion has been delayed a bit, and I don't see any way there is a Morsefest this year now.

I feel that Neal's diversity is more song to song rather than album to album. Granted, he has a particular style that he revisits a lot, and hell I would too if I did it that well, but I do think his overall catalogue features a lot of different stuff, within the context of it all being pretty much in the rock genre.

 

A lot of great choices in your list so far!

Off the top of my head, if forced to pick 25 songs from any of Neal's albums (all projects), I would go with (in chronological order):

The Light
The Doorway
Flow
All of the Above
We All Need Some Light
My New World (although this is more of a Roine Stolt song)
At the End of the Day
Duel with the Devil
Stranger in Your Soul
Wind at My Back
The Separated Man
In the Fire
A Man Can Feel
Rose Covered Glasses
The Truth Will Set You Free
Crossing Over/Mercy Street (reprise)
The Call
Waterfall
Alive Again
Makes No Sense
So Far Gone
The Man in the Iron Cage
The Mask
Broken Day/Long Day (reprise)
To the River

 

I agree with this 100%, in fact that is my only main concern or itch with his career. I think he established his MO by the time Spock's Beard Snow was released in 2002. That concept album, along with Transatlantic's Bridge Across Forever a year before, laid the blueprint of Neal's albums for the rest of his career up until today. They are either concept albums with many reprises and themes re-emerging a little more often than I would like (in my opinion of course) with few really standout and truly memorable individual songs (meaning the whole album is much greater than the mere individual songs added up). Or they end up being more similar in style to Bridge, which uses a template of a very long epic and a shorter epic surrounded with great shorter songs. This sometimes works (e.g - The Grand Experiment) or don't (e.g - Momentum), but like George Co-Stanza wrote above, I also believe he can write amazing great songs that differ from each other rather than album to album. Being a huge album guy myself, I think I would enjoy different style of albums by an artist rather than a similar structure constantly and changing up the tunes.

This is all in my opinion only of course, and arrived to this conclusion after realizing that Transatlantic's albums are more fun in that sense, probably because you have way too many band leaders in that band trying to include their own material (I can clearly figure out what Neal contributed versus what Roine contributed in their songs) and this interplay is a great strength in that band. I'm glad Neal isn't the only driving force alone in that band, but that's a subject for another thread.

 

While I think there are many standouts, it is true that the whole is often greater than the sum. Heck, I think his solo run from 2003-2012 is incredible, yet only four songs made my list of 25 I just posted. And that is okay.

I agree that he goes a little overboard with the reprises on some albums - the original Testimony beat several of them to a slow death, and The Great Adventure had the "A Love That Never Dies" melody in like 399 different places, LOL - but when he does it just right and they all come together at the end of a long album, it is pretty special.

 

That's a hell of a list. I can't possibly include SB and TA songs without going mad, I'll definitely make a list of my favorite SB and TA songs though. I think "To The River" is one of the album's best moments. Last year I went to the band's show in St. Charles, IL, they played the album in full and they had technical issues just at the beginning of that one unfortunately. Neal started to buy some time for the band and explained it's probably his favorite moment of the album, such a beautiful church organ sound effect they tried to echo Close To The Edge. The audience was dead silent listening to his anecdote and Neal said "... what, no love for Close To The Edge?" and the crowd went wild. They later fixed everything and carried on flawlessly.
That song is a perfect example of a great song that adds much more to the album experience and in that conceptual context rather than an individual song. It's such a beautiful tune that reminds me of the highest points of the album.

 

That's a fascinating list!

Good to see The Way Home up there. It's my favourite Neal Morse song?

I'll work on one from my limited knowledge but I'll do well to make it as interesting as yours!

Out of curiosity, has anyone heard the recent Jesus Christ: The Exorcist project?