A tough delivery it
seems, this new Spock’s Beard…will it be an absolute masterpiece or just
an average S.B. album ?… time will tell.
For once I will leave it up to the judgement of the listener, because
he’s always right. It’s as
simple as that. Allow me to be
subjective by saying that this concept-album (a double CD, what else) is The
Beard’s most extreme album, so far. The
band (or should I say Neal Morse) explores new grounds (with Alan Morse in a
leading role) and that’s a positive move.
But the fact that Morse has recently converted to Christianity (he
even started a Christian label) implies that “Snow” contains quite
religiously inspired music, perhaps not always appreciated by the fans (such
as: I until further notice…). It’s
not a fact that religious motives necessarily lead to artistic anaemia (or
reversed), but the playful character of The Beard (after all, one of their
strongest points) had to make space for a more serious exploration of their
musical spectrum. The
comparison with “The Lamb lies down on Broadway” is, in this respect,
too far-fetched. But again,
time will tell if this is the ultimate Beard album.
See for yourselves, dear friends. “Snow” is the
central character on this double CD. Who he (or she ?) is ???,
I will leave as an open question for now, since I don’t have the
lyrics at my disposal. Fact is, that the central figure has to fight a
distinctly internal conflict, religiously as well as spiritually, in order
to find inner peace. Musically the CD
starts promisingly…a sober intro followed by a musing flugelhorn or bugle,
threatening thunder on the background…and then, all hell breaks loose…
“Made alive/Overture” is a fact !..Here and there you can hear some
echoes of “All of the above”, the tearing sax, halfway through, adds a
new dimension to Spock’s music, but listen carefully to the ending…and
enjoy yourself thoroughly with the phenomenal drum playing of Nick
D’Virgilio. The, mainly acoustic
“Stranger in a strange land” has a slightly oriental tint … sounds
fine, but not very surprising. Also
the rocking “Long time suffering” hasn’t got a lot of new stuff in
reserve, but the part-singing pieces make that good and I even thought I
heard a touch of “Tommy”
from The Who (I think it was “Sparks”). “Welcome to NYC”
(no, certainly not “Back in NYC”) is a solid rocker which describes the
hellish city rhythm perfectly, but all seems to be said … except for the
ending, with Neal Morse on the piano. “Love
beyond words” is a peaceful track with a breathtaking refrain … and a
classical piece of piano by Morse as a dessert.
The up-tempo “The 39th street blues” has the right hooks (sax
included !) to lift the song to a higher level.
On the contrary, “Devil’s got my throat” is a very banal
knocker, but (again) with beautiful harmonies at the end, that is true.
The following quartet (“Open wide the flood gates”, “Open the
gates part 2”, “Solitary soul” and “Wind at my back”) could be
regarded as ‘epic’ because these songs seamlessly flow, one into the
other. Pure S.B. from the
highest carat, a feast for the ‘die hard’ Beard fans.
The second part, especially, will make their mouth water.
And it gets even
better: the bloodcurdlingly beautiful "Solitary soul" is probably
the best S.B. song ever: beautiful melodies interchanged with magnificent
solo's from Alan Morse (who, by the way, does not only play the cello on
this track) and, lastly, beautiful orchestrated passages, played by a
handful of string-players … we had to wait a long time for this. "Wind at my
back" resembles 'CSN&Y goes EO' (our Dutch friends probably know
what I mean) and will be a topper if played live.
It has a high "sing along" factor.
In spite of Neal's religious conviction, this will become a big hit,
you'll see. There is no time for a
break, because the second part of this double CD starts very adventurously
and we can hear a band entering Flower King's territory (crossing Flower
King's way). "Second
Overture" is a nice piece of sympho with (again) a surprising sax
intervention. "4th of
July" is the most Beatles - tinted track on "Snow", whereas
the next song "I'm the guy" seems to be adrift, but fades out
beautifully. "Reflections"
is, again, a melodious track, with delightful mellotron and a magnificent
out-tro played on piano and acoustic guitar… at the same time, the intro
is of a plainly brilliant "Carie", a stirring ballad with very
pretty Nick D'Virgilio vocals. Christopher
Cross once tried to write 'the ultimate ballad' with 'Sailing', but this one
is even prettier. As a songwriter, I
rate Nick D'Virgilio lower; you can witness that yourself with the moderate
"Looking for answers". Perhaps it’s a nice gesture of neighbourly love from Mr.
Morse, but according to me, there was no need for that.
The rather heavy "Freak boy" sort of stands up thanks to
the greasy guitar sounds of brother Alan and the pumping bass of Dave Meros.
In "All is vanity" I hear echoes from "Tommy"
again, but as soon as the synthesiser joins, the enjoyment starts. Morse's tribute to Keith Emmerson and Tony Banks is very
successful. "I'm
dying" distinguishes itself in the heavy guitar work of Alan Morse, the
catchy refrain and the ecstatic symphonic end. The next tracks are
reprises from "Freak Boy" and "Devil's got my throat" (
in that order ), both provided with extra keyboards.
"Snow's night out" is a nice and swinging track (with wind
instruments) but the stranger on the album is "Ladies and gentlemen,
mister Ryo Okumoto on the keyboards".
The title itself contrasts sharply with the rest of the material.
It will break pots, when played live (as Okumoto always does in
fact), but, musically, Morse's move is hard to understand.
Gear down with "I will go".
It's a more familiar S.B. song, clearly religiously inspired.
Moisten your chest and scrape your vocal cords because the time has
come to sing with your hands in the air : "Maybe alive again" is a
slight delay, but with the reprise of "Wind at my back", the good
Lord sets out for prog-land : Hallelujah !!! Well, I think,
"Snow" will soak off emotions.
Whoever thought that Morse saw the Light in 1994 will have a frown on
his forehead. But please don't
forget that this double album has so much to offer and is so enjoyable.
"Snow" contains the best songs ever made by the band and
they will invite you to explore further.
Even the interweaving of various themes in different tracks I find
exceedingly successful. But grant the album some time, the time to get used to it. Review by: Piet "Neal" Michem Translated by: Walter 'HaHa' Haentjens |
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