Artist: Morse, Neal
Label: Inside Out Records
Release: 2006
Rating: 2.5/5
While recording multi-instrumentalist Neal Morse’s last three solo releases, the members of his regular studio backing band killed time by jamming their favorite cover versions of all sorts of songs. Besides Neal Morse himself, the main culprits behind this jam album, Cover to Cover, are the indispensable and hyperproductive drummer Mike Portnoy and bassist Randy George. The songs in question, on the other hand, shaped these guys in a big way, into who they are today and what they mean in the music industry. If you’re a Neal Morse fan, you’ll probably recognize right away that these tracks have already shown up as bonus material on Morse’s last two albums, Testimony and One.
Up to this point it all makes sense to me, but what I don’t get is why you’d put out already-released material again as a standalone album. Die-hard Neal Morse followers (note: I definitely count myself among them) probably already have that bonus material sitting on the shelf at home. And it’s even less likely that any Morse fan, on top of his prog and religious excursions, would want to add a bunch of classic rock covers to their collection.
There are a few ways to read this move. On the one hand, it’s an obvious “cash-in” release, but on the other, the album isn’t labeled as one of Neal’s side projects and is simply credited to Morse, Portnoy and George. Even weirder, the liner intro was written by Portnoy, and on top of everything, Morse’s official site doesn’t mention this album at all. So there are two ways to explain it: either it’s simply Mike Portnoy’s idea, or it’s a marketing move by the label, InsideOut. Personally, I find the latter the most likely.
But let’s leave the small stuff aside and focus on the music. Let it speak for itself, and if nothing else, the album proves these guys can play just about anything. And that’s something too!
Special praise goes to Neal Morse, whose vocal chops are good enough to pull off Bowie, McCartney or even Bono. Hyperproductive Mike Portnoy, meanwhile, shamelessly shows off his own vocal abilities here and there. What bugs me most about Morse’s solo releases since he left his home band Spock`s Beard is that they all sound very much alike when it comes to vocals, but I can’t say that about Cover to Cover, the album in front of us now.
All the covers sound roughly like, and very close to, the originals. The only exception is U2’s Where The Streets Have No Name, which has a slightly delayed intro. It’s perfectly natural that some songs turned out better and others a little less so. And of course, personal taste plays the biggest role in judging any individual track. Since I’d call myself a bit of an eclectic when it comes to music, I can’t pick a “favorite one” here. So for me, the album is more of an alternative I’d want to hear coming out of the radio I listen to every day at work than something I’d spin regularly at home. Just like Fish’s Songs from the Mirror from a good 13 years ago, I basically like it. There’s a lot of variety in the song selection alone, for instance Morse giving real weight to McCartney’s Maybe I’m Amazed and George Harrison’s What Is Life. Both are magical and have nothing in common with the two cover versions Neal already recorded and released years ago with his old band Spock`s Beard, on the album Beware Of Darkness.
Of course, like any dessert, the best comes last, this time with a take on The Moody Blues’ Tuesday Afternoon, which flows logically into a sentimental fade out with the Blind Faith number Find My Way Back Home. It’s no surprise either, if you look at the running order and release years, that those two songs were among the very first covers released, back at the start in 2003.
Like I said, the Cover to Cover collection has its share of interesting moments. The one thing that still baffles me is: “Who actually wanted and was waiting for an album like this?” Good thing it’s sold under the “Special price” label, otherwise you’d really have to conclude it’s just a marketing move. Thanks.
Lineup
Neal Morse – vocals and everything else
Randy George – bass
Mike Portnoy – drums
Track list
2005 Sessions:
1. Pleasant Valley Sunday (4:44),
2. Badge (2:51),
3. Maybe I’m Amazed (4:03),
4. Where Do The Children Play (4:40),
5. I’m The Man (4:05),
6. Feeling Stronger Everyday (5:39),
7. Rock And Roll Suicide (3:28),
2004 One Sessions:
8. Where The Streets Have No Name (5:47),
9. Day After Day (3:26),
10. What Is Life? (4:28),
11. I’m Free/Sparks (6:36),
2003 Testimony Sessions:
12. Tuesday Afternoon (6:32),
13. Find My Way Back Home (6:49)
Album length: 63:08
