Timeblog.net

Spock’s Beard almost took a fall when their leader Neal Morse left to wander the enlightened paths of Jesus, God or whatever illusion sprang out of the dark corners of his brain. But the band had a strong will to continue and so they did. They have released their third post-Morse album some weeks ago (well, they have one Morse left, Neal’s brother Alan Morse). While the first one and the tour following it were a bit indifferent, the second one was a strong and beautfiul album, but wore off a bit in the long run; probably because the songs weren’t that progressive any more. The third album now is rather a mixed bag. Selftitled albums later in a band’s career often mean a new beginning or a new sound, but the Beard still have not decided which way to go.
We start with “On A Perfect Day”, and oh boy, is that a Neal Morse song. And, boy, did I feel let down when the rest of the album sounded completely different. The second track, Skeletons at the Feast is an instrumental, which is a rather strange decision. But the gap in musical style between the first and second song is not that big, so it’s more of the instrumental continuation of the first song. Then we hit the new sound of Spock’s Beard, with the straight rocker, Is This Love.
When Neal left, Spock’s Beard pulled a Phil Collins (Their drummer became their singer). While Nick d’Virgilio is a lacking a bit of the Neal morse charisma, he’s a great and versatile singer nontheless. And he has lots of fun singing, and you can hear that. That’s probably why I still like this band: You can really hear the fun they have playing!
Then we move into the ballad department. We basically have 6 ballads in a row. Well, the second one starts as a ballad and then moves into a great rocking part that reminds me of faster Peter Gabriel songs. But then, 4 more ballads. While they certainly all are beautiful, there definitely should be one less slow song and one more rocker/fun song. This way, I usually skip one or two of them, especially the not entirely convincing Sometimes They Stay, Sometimes They Go or The Slow Crash landing Man. Hereafter (that’s the song’s name), however, is so beautiful that you shouldn’t miss it! And then, it’s time for the big end-of-album prog opus. This one is divided into last.fm-friendly four tracks and As Far As The Mind Can See. Another highlight of this album! Diversified, lots of moods, that’s Prog at its best (But: Not as good as the Neal Morse-era long tracks. Sorry for repeating, but I definitely miss the craziness of that time).
The final track, Rearranged is nice but not necessary.

All in all, some real highlights, but some mildly superfluous songs. Down to 10 tracks, some more rock, lots more craziness, and this album would be a contender for album of the year. This way, just enjoyable and of course essential for Prog Rock fans! Still, it’s the Beard, it’s Prog, it’s fun! It’s 8/10 points!