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I honestly thought that after hearing
the news in October 2002, that Neal Morse of Spock’s Beard had left,
that it was the end of the band or, at least, their music would be
much worse.
But after “Feel Euphoria” appeared in
June of this year, it gradually became obvious that Spock’s Beard
was capable of continuing to make good music without their former
front man.
I also thought that we wouldn’t be
able to expect any more prog-music from Morse until “God” had
converted. But nothing is less true. From a musical point of view,
“Testimony” is the best album ever (until now) that Neal has made.
Of course, the lyrics are mainly about Jesus, God and the discovery
of “the divine way”, but I’ll be happy to accept that as the only
“negative” point. One guy can sing about “The Love of Satan” and
another can sing about “God”, but what does it matter as long as the
music is good? And believe me, this is good!!!
It was obvious that there was a change
in the state of mind of Neal Morse on the “Snow” (8/2002) album. We
had thought that it was there that he had given the best of himself.
The split of Neal and Spock’s Beard was even suggested on the album
cover, like our reviewer (Piet), had also noticed long before it was
even common knowledge. How long had he been playing with the
thought? Did the figure on the cover of V (out in 2000) know in
which direction he was going (at least it did seem that he knew)
even though he was going through a desert? And who has ever found
himself in a desert? Maybe I’m stretching it a bit too far here, but
still it’s a brain teaser.
Weren’t you satisfied with “Feel
Euphoria”? The opinions over that album are divided. Did you miss
the contribution of Neal Morse, who lifted Spock’s Beard to that
higher level? Well, this is generously compensated on his solo
album. This is just Spock’s Beard, but without the name. Now we can
assume that we’re talking about two different bands, like at the
time that Fish left Marillion. The difference is that Fish really
couldn’t reach the same level of quality as before. Then, after a
few albums, Marillion ended up going in a completely different
direction. Neal just continues where “Snow” stopped. Again, this is
a double concept album.
It’s the known complex compositions,
orchestral parts and the harmonized singing that are so typical of
Spock’s Beard.
But there’s more. On “Testimony”, you
definitely hear a relaxed Neal Morse. This is noticeably obvious,
especially on CD 2, quieter songs with fabulous arrangements. The
grand piano sounds like it has never sounded before and the guitar
pieces on this album are so beautiful with even more divinely
sounding solos (like on the last part of the forgotten, and almost
never live-played, but oh so beautiful first album, “The Water”).
It’s all a lot less exciting, therefore calmer. I’m not saying that
there are no songs with balls. On the contrary, it’s just a
beautifully balanced CD. Even more, the drummer, Mike Portnoy (Dream
Theater) gives his own input. And together with guest musician Kerry
Livgren (Kansas) (“Interlude”, “Break of Day”), you can understand
why this CD was so carefully composed.
What I need to say about the promo
version isn’t going to be easy. Somewhere, in every song, there was
an interruption that lasted a few seconds (probably as a protection
against illegal copying). This makes it distressing and incredibly
bothersome. I really hope that this is a one time experiment that
won’t be repeated in the future. Besides, it doesn’t offer any
solution for the problem because any one who has a bit of technical
experience can easily solve this “defect”.
Starting with the first song, “The
Land of Beginning Again”, it seems that Neal’s voice has progressed
and that the instrumental “Overture No. 1” marks the start of
setting forth the Spock’s Beard tradition. It starts with orchestral
pieces and continue with the typical and unique Beard sound, a real
masterpiece. The big difference here with Spock’s Beard is that all
the violins, arranged and directed by Chris Carmichael, the trumpets
and the choir are real, replacing the use of synthesizers. And you
can hear that. On the whole, that gives a much bigger dimension. All
the songs are top quality, no exceptions. The everyday prog-lover is
just going to feel pampered. Some songs, with those Spanish guitars,
tend to lean towards the very first Spock’s Beard CD (“Sleeping
Jesus” and “The Promise”). There is no lack of those recognisable
harmonious or multiple vocals. The difference with the first albums
is that different themes now occur in separate songs whereas before
they were processed in larger songs. It’s easier to separate them,
but actually, it’s just one song because they all flow into each
other, just like on “Snow”.
In summary, it comes down to this: all
resources have been exhausted in order to surpass all the former
albums. In essence, Neal Morse has passed with flying colours.
Actually, the only question that remains is why he left Spock’s
Beard. And I don’t think that any other member of the band would
have objected to having made this album with him. Therefore it must
be something else… but what? I’ve already listened to several
different demos from Neal Morse with his so called basic ideas, and
have found that they were produced down to the very last detail. I
wonder what input the other musicians could possibly have had. Neal
is just an all-around pure bred musician who needs no one in order
to do his thing and he has proven it here to this “witness”! Most
people can, in the best of circumstances, repeat themselves, but
it’s the very few who are able to surpass themselves. Apparently,
this man has no problem with that. Super fantastic CD!!!
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