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Cover |
Musicians |
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Neal Morse: Almost
everything except
Mike Portnoy: Drums
Randy George: Bass |
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Release |
Label |
Cat. N° |
Playing Time |
Rating |
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2004/11/01 |
SPV /
InsideOut |
spv 085-40602 |
79:55 |
8,5/10 |
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Website |
Contact |
Style |
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Neal Morse |
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progressive rock |
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Review by |
Jany
Translated by Jennifer Summer |
The latest sermon
from ‘Father’ Morse has been delivered. You won’t be hearing it from
the church’s pulpit but rather on CD. What’s it about and what can
you expect? The story is about a troubled, lost son who leaves home
and then returns home after experiencing difficulties. Where else
have we heard this before? You’ve heard it from the priest’s pulpit
in every church, at least one time per year. On this CD, there are
three sides to the story that you could relate to…Firstly, you could
find yourself in the story, secondly, you could feel turned off by
the story or, thirdly, you could just concentrate on the most
important part, that being the music, and let the lyrics just speak
for themselves (this is the group that I belong to). One last
comment…I heard the word ‘God’ mentioned less often here than on the
‘Testimony’ CD.
I can assure you that (after having listened to this album several
times) there’s nothing new under the sun. Except for a few details,
this is nothing more than the next Spock’s Beard without the rest of
the band or the latest Neal Morse with his latest band consisting of
Mike Portnoy on drums and Randy George on bass. From a musical point
of view, it’s the same ol’ stuff just like before.
“The Creation” begins like a classical music piece with real violins
which sound like a song from a film. You immediately get this big
feeling of being accustomed to Morse. The first Spock’s Beard
nuances appear 1 ½ minutes into the song which then turns into an
instrumental prog metal piece like a typical Morse epic song. The
harmonies and melody fit the images in the minds of every fan of
Spock’s and Morse of how prog should sound. “Grand Piano” uses nice
interchanges between the cello and guitar (solos), as well as a
climactic build up of instruments. The clocks that are used about
half way through the song remind me of those typical American
Christmas family films from days gone by. This is not meant in a
negative way. On the contrary, it stirs up the ambiance and gives
that lasting film feeling which is absent from previous albums. It’s
a fantastic epic.
The much too short “The Man’s Gone” is a bit like a Phil Collin’s
song, except that Morse is more subtle in his instrumentation, which
attributes to many more fun sounds that one will discover here than
by uncle Phil. He who possesses a song like “Author of Confusion” (combination
prog metal with Gentle Giant) has got it made. It starts off as a
bigger than life prog metal song with super drumming from Portnoy.
After a transition, in the form of a duet between organ and guitar,
the song continues with typical trademark Neal chords, which are
even more elaborate and extensive. You can hear hints of Echolyn in
this song as well. The calming, jazzy part that Neal sings really
shines through. Look, you either love it or you’re fed up with it,
but you can’t deny that it’s a masterful composition.
The second epic song on the album, “The Separated Man”, is something
totally different. It reminds me of earlier songs from the first two
Spock’s Beard albums. It’s here that Neal returns to his roots. The
middle section reminds me of recent Genesis material. The melody has
a certain Oriental feel to it. The guitar plays a prominent role in
this song, with a long, extravagant, original and sublime acoustic
piece. However, I find this track to be less successful than the
others, but definitely not bad…far from it!
The ballad this time is called “Cradle to the Grave”. Many of
Morse’s ballads have hit potential and this one is no exception. The
beautiful second voice of Phil Keaggy enhances it even more. Phil
Keaggy is also responsible for a few beautiful guitar solos on the
album.
Without a doubt, “Help Me/The Spirit of the Flesh”, is the best song
on the album. This song has such a great beat starting from the
first note (from part one), that it makes it almost impossible to
stay seated in your chair. The Santana feel to this song helps make
it a very danceable one. All this, and without sacrificing the prog.
There’s great guitar playing, especially the classical solo. This
song really rocks!! Part two of the track is nothing more than a
typical Neal Morse one.
The intro of “Father of Forgiveness” could’ve appeared on a Kayak
album. But this changes the moment that the violins begin to play,
although the vocals still sound like Kayak. It’s a very beautiful
ballad with an overwhelming climax at the end. It’s a pity that the
guitar solo is mixed into the background.
The last song starts with a Beatles style melody. The trumpets and
saxophones are too prominent on this song and they give me that
ballroom orchestra feeling (that I hope he won’t do again). Sorry
Neal, but the first part of this song is really nothing to die for.
After the trumpets etc finish their part, the song just continues in
the same ol’ Morse style.
If you can just focus on the music itself, then you could say that
this album is just one of Morse’s many masterpieces. The question
actually is how long Neal can continue to convince the real prog
fans that the music is the most important part. I have the feeling
that many music lovers in this genre have cut him off because his
religious overtones have become too annoying. As for now, he’s
convinced me of his fine musical qualities and I’m prepared to stay
and support him!
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Tracklist |
01. The Creation
I) One Mind
II) In A Perfect Light
III) Where Are You?
IV) Reaching From The Heart
02. The Man´s Gone
03. Author Of Confusion
04. The Separated Man
I) I´m In A Cage
II) I Am The Man
III) The Man´s Gone (Reprise)
IV) Something Within Me Remembers
05. Cradle To The Grave
06. Help Me / The Spirit And The Flesh
07. Father Of Forgiveness
08. Reunion
I) No Separation
II) Grand Finale
III) Make Us One |
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