Author: Peter Podbrežnik
Artist: Morse, Neal
Label: Inside Out Records
Release: 2011
Running time: 112:14
Rating: 4.5/5
Neal Morse is a funny guy. He usually tries to be deadly serious, both in his sermons soaked in religious fervor and in the music itself, which, in his case at least, isn’t a bad thing. This hugely gifted, do-it-all progressive rock composer, multi-instrumentalist and singer, who threw himself into Christian progressive rock and religious zeal after leaving Spock’s Beard, is a colorful musical personality in every respect, and he often stirs up pretty mixed feelings among prog rock fans.
On one hand, he puts out more or less excellent albums that could be a model for plenty of modern prog rock acts (as long as you leave out the ones made purely for preaching, which have little to do with prog rock). On the other hand, he walked away from the band that made him world-famous just so he could find his Lord more easily, even though he now makes pretty much the same music on his own as he did back when he was still a member. Torn like that between his dual role as a professional musician and a potential preaching career as a God-fearing prelate in the middle of his hometown San Francisco, Neal records complex progressive rock albums laced with religiously tinged lyrics in which he sings God’s praises and tells of his personal experiences since converting to Christianity.
“Testimony 2” is yet another in his string of progressive rock concept albums, and it’s the sequel to the double album of the same name from 2003, which he recorded not long after leaving Spock’s Beard and on which he first announced his “return to the Lord’s embrace”. The double album has three different sections in which he lays his life bare further and gets into the finer details of his conversion to Christianity. Whether that concept still feels appealing after Neal’s tireless presentation of it over the last eight years, you can judge for yourselves, according to your (non-)belief.
Of course, the music is what counts most in all of Neal’s projects, whether it’s his solo brainchildren or his work with Transatlantic, and this time too it’s more or less a real feast for the ears of all prog rock gourmets. After a noticeable dip in quality on the previous album, “Lifeline” (2008), he has successfully repeated the songwriting formula that earned the first “Testimony” its reputation as one of the most highly regarded albums by any prog rock solo artist in the last decade. Neal has once again joined forces with his old buddies, drummer Mike Portnoy (ex-Dream Theater) and bassist Randy George (Ajalon). He also invited a whole string of interesting guests to the project, led by Deep Purple guitarist Steve Morse (no relation), plus his former Spock’s Beard pals, including Neal’s brother and guitarist Alan, drummer/singer Nick D’Virgilio and bassist Dave Meros, with whom he has stayed on good terms despite everything.
The opening “Mercy Street” isn’t a cover of the Peter Gabriel classic of the same name but a completely original piece, marked by a serene piano intro and mighty orchestral arrangements in the best tradition of symphonic prog rock. Neal’s trademark voice, slightly spiced with a Lennon flavor, which he uses to spread positivity all around him, is backed up by his melodic passages on guitar and keyboards. The end result is an exceptionally juicy melody with a catchy chorus. The fusion instrumental “Overture No. 4” features a crazy guitar solo from Paul Bielatowicz, a young British guitarist who first made a name for himself as a member of the Carl Palmer Band. Since 2007 he has also been part of Neal’s touring band whenever he heads out on a new tour. The lively “Time Changer” is a vocal reunion of the original 1995 Spock’s Beard lineup (that is, without keyboardist Ryo Okumoto). The lyrics tell of Neal’s past with Spock’s Beard and bring back the multi-part vocal harmonies they became most famous for. Those were always heavily influenced by the legendary Gentle Giant, by the way. The rich rhythmic variety between Portnoy and George and the juicy layered harmonies deliver a symphonic grandeur that all prog rock gourmets will love. You could easily call it a new Spock’s Beard classic.
“Jayda” is a ballad-leaning track dedicated to Neal’s little daughter, who, besides God, the rest of his family and his mom’s apple pie, is surely the most sacred thing in the world to him. Fittingly, the lyrics are serene and deeply personal, and the melody is a gentle acoustic-symphonic one that feels like a children’s lullaby. “Nighttime Collectors” is a fun experiment, a hard rock number with fiery Hammond organ runs, bluesy guitar phrases and a typical hard rock stadium chorus. Neal has always loved adventures like this outside the usual symphonic prog rock world, using them to explore extra dimensions of his songwriting, instrumental and vocal potential. “Time Has Come Today” is in a similar, slightly harder-rocking vein, with its fun funky chorus, passionate keyboard passages and Beatles-style harmonies.
“Jesus’s Blood” is another introspective ballad of the kind Neal loves, since through them he can keep singing God’s praises and pointing to his religious zeal. This time he also shines with a great slide guitar solo, accompanied by female choral vocal harmonies, which is a little reminiscent of Pink Floyd at their best. The epic “The Truth Will Set You Free” is without a doubt the heaviest piece on the album, with metal-sounding guitar phrases, fiery Hammond runs and pronounced double bass pedal pounding, all topped off with an ultra-melodic chorus. You could say it’s a pretty successful experiment in crossing symphonic prog rock with progressive power metal. “Chance Of A Lifetime” is a fusion collage of the kind only Neal can pull off, with plenty of thrilling time changes and soloing flights.
“Jesus Bring Me Home” is another deeply emotional ballad with devout, penitent lyrics in which Neal worries that at certain moments he didn’t look after his family enough and asks Jesus for forgiveness. The mighty melody is built on acoustic guitar, backed by generous orchestral arrangements and violin. It all flows into “Road Dog Blues”, marked by witty horn arrangements and equally witty lyrics about a “road dog” coming home from a long tour to his wife and kids. The last part has a tender piano solo. “It’s For You” is a dramatic symphonic prog rock appetizer with yet another fiery guitar solo from Paul Bielatowicz. Neal’s all-round instrumental and vocal talent shines at full power here once again. The opening of “Crossing Over/Mercy Street Reprise” is marked by a triumphant melody and an all-around optimistic atmosphere with mighty orchestral arrangements, in which Neal once more finds affirmation for his life. The closing section brings back the central motif of the opening “Mercy Street”.
The second disc has three unconnected tracks that don’t flow into one another and aren’t part of the concept. The cheerful “Absolute Beginner” is a pretty fun hybrid of prog rock, pop and melodic rock. The Yes-flavored “Supernatural” is another interesting mosaic of symphonic prog, with playful harmonies and pompous keyboard textures, and it could fit on any Spock’s Beard album. Neal Morse wouldn’t be Neal Morse if he didn’t include at least one 20-plus-minute super epic on the album and so make sure of as grand a finale as possible. This time it’s the nearly 26-minute “Seeds Of Gold”, which features, among other things, a guitar solo by Steve Morse. Into this closing magnum opus Neal pours all his fusion genius, pulling it off with bombastic soloing flights, lively layered harmonies and constant rhythmic changes, while building generous melodic motifs led by pompous symphonic arrangements. Neal manages to make the ambitious composition fly by in the blink of an eye despite its huge running time, which is a trait only the best symphonic prog rock super epics have.
“Testimony 2” is a terrific follow-up to Neal’s self-titled debut from 2003, and taken as a whole it even comes out better than the key album of his solo career. The relatively lukewarm response to the previous album, “Lifeline”, clearly hit him right in the heart, so this time he decided to give it everything he had and create another top-notch piece of work, one that can even stand up to his best achievements with Spock’s Beard and Transatlantic. Whether or not you agree with his religious views and philosophy, the fact remains that Neal is one of the key figures of modern progressive rock, and without him the genre would undoubtedly be much poorer. As a curiosity, it’s worth mentioning that the special edition of the album includes Neal’s book titled ‘Revelation – an inspirational and spiritual journey of a progressive rock musician’.
Lineup
Neal Morse – vocals, piano, synthesizer
Randy George – bass guitar
Mike Portnoy – drums
GUEST MUSICIANS:
Steve Morse- guitar
Paul Bielatowicz – guitar
Alan Morse – backing vocals
Nick D’Virgilio – backing vocals
Dave Meros – backing vocals
Matthew Ward – backing vocals
Debbie Bressee – backing vocals
April Zachary – backing vocals
Mark Pogue – backing vocals
Mita Pogue – backing vocals
Jim Hoke – saxophone
Mark Leniger – solo saxophone
Kenny Barnd – violin
Chris Carmichael – violin, viola and cello
Eric Brenton – electric violin
Production
Neal Morse
Track list
CD 1
Part Six: (22:50)
1. Mercy Street
2. Overture No. 4
3. Time Changer
4. Jayda
Part Seven: (22:54)
5. Nighttime Collectors
6. Time has come Today
7. Jesus’ Blood
8. The Truth Will Set You Free
Part Eight: (32:36)
9. Chance of a Lifetime
10. Jesus Bring Me Home
11. Road Dog Blues
12. It’s For You
13. Crossing Over / Mercy Street Reprise
CD2
1. Absolute Beginner (4:39)
2. Supernatural (6:11)
3. Seeds of Gold (25:59)
