SPOCK'S BEARD: Spock's Beard

Cover	Release	Style
	2006-11-17	progressive rock
	Label
	InsideOut Records
	Website
	http://www.spocksbeard.com/
	Contact
	-
	Playing Time	Cat. N°
	77:12	IOMCD 260 - SPV 087-79222 CD
	Review by	Rating
	Claude	9/10
nederlands	Review
This is probably the last time I will ever mention the name of Neal Morse in a review of Spock’s Beard, because there is no single moment that I miss the genius participation of the musical divine messenger, even the biggest die hard fans of the band of the first hour will have to admit that this is really a magnificent album. After the more alternative ‘Feel Euphoria’ and the somewhat harder ‘Octane’ this ninth album is definitely more progressive than its predecessors, despite the fact that a lot of musical styles have been used throughout this effort. But this time the big examples of the top years of progressive rock have not been forgotten: Yes, Kansas, Gentle Giant to mention just a couple of them. And yet the guys seem to consider this release as a turning point in their career, the title of the album to prove it. ‘On a perfect day’ illustrates immediately the return to the old patterns of Spock’s Beard, traditional symphonic rock with a lot of keyboards and especially mellotron, threatening but also dreamy guitars, a virtuosic rhythm section, tempo changes, acoustic cello and guitar with pumping bass lines, in a nutshell everything a progger would ask for. And what to tell about the beautiful instrumental ‘Skeletons At The Feast’, where references to the seventies like Emerson, Lake and Palmer are very present. The song starts with a non common 11/8 rhythm, contains some Canterbury influences in the middle part to end in some nervous but great musical outburst. And yet the band still lends a hand to mainstream rock, like for example in the short but powerful rock song ‘Is this love’ or the quieter ‘All that’s left’, songs that are less progressive, but clearly more oriented towards the American poprock of the eighties. ‘With your kiss’ is undoubtedly one of the highlights of the album, not because it is the longest track, but by its enormous variety and the catchy refrain. With an introduction à la Pink Floyd it contains rest points as well as hard rock fragments in the style of Uriah Heep, the African percussion sounds a bit strange in the overall picture. ‘Sometimes They Stay, Sometimes They Go’ is inspired by the blues-rock of the seventies, represented in the early days mainly by Cream. All ingredients are there, the drum patterns and guitar solos are proving that Spock’s Beard also control this music style. This is also perfectly clear in ‘Slow Crash Landing Man’ with a perfect mix of piano, violins and guitars. I was already impressed by the quality of Nick’s voice on ‘Octane’, in the ballad ‘Hereafter’ he even seems to have improved his abilities in this matter. The rest of the album has been regrouped in ‘As far as the mind can see’, the guys have not intended this to be a concept, at the most there are some repeating patterns, not more than that. But again, the band is showing their technical capabilities: a bit jazzy, than a bit bombastic, beautiful vocal harmonies and some magnificent solos, by Ryo Okumoto on keyboards and Alan Morse on guitar. And to illustrate the integration of different music styles in the new sound of Spock’s Beard, I quote Dave Meros: ‘Well, we are a bunch of old jerks who have played a great deal of stuff since our youth. With ‘our’ style of prog there must be an approach now and then to other genres as long as the songs still sound like Spock’s Beard. Whatever we are doing, we make sure that it will sound ‘proggy’. For example there is a part on the new album with a real ‘Tower Of Power’ groove but we play it in 5/4 and the vocals have this Peter Gabriel kind of feel, so the whole thing is still interesting for prog fans even if it’s rhythm ‘n’ blues’. And indeed, the addition of brass instruments (trombone and trumpet) are making this music a lot richer than in the past. Still I am convinced, that the real symphonic rocker will show some reserves at first listening, but with some efforts this will become for many music lovers one of the best of 2006.
Musicians
Nick D’Virgillio: vocals, drums, guitar Dave Meros: bass Alan Morse: guitar Ryo Okumoto: keyboards
Tracklist
01. On A Perfect Day 07:47 02. Skeletons At The Feast 06:33 03. Is This Love 02:51 04. All That's Left 04:45 05. With Your Kiss 11:46 06. Sometimes They Stay, Sometimes They Go 04:31 07. The Slow Crash Landing Man 05:47 08. Wherever You Stand 05:09 09. Hereafter 05:01 As Far As The Mind Can See 10. Part 1: Dreaming In The Age Of Answers 04:49 11. Part 2: Here's A Man 03:28 12. Part 3: They Know We Know 03:18 13. Part 4: Stream Of Unconsciousness 05:23 14. Rearranged 06:07
Discography
Spock’s Beard (2006) Octane (2005) Feel Euphoria (2003) Snow (2002) V (2000) Day For Night (1999) The Kindness Of Strangers (1997) Beware Of Darkness (1996) The Light (1995)


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