Artist: Morse, Neal
Label: Inside Out Records
Release: 2003
Rating: 3/5
Well, who would ever have imagined a final epilogue like this to the Neal Morse story? Where do all these ideas come from, pouring through a person onto the recording tape? Music is the language of the soul, and “Testimony” tells the story of Neal’s personal experience and his close encounter with the “miracle” called God. That’s also the foundation for the concept of this double album, which packs over two hours of music and a whopping 29 songs. The limited edition comes with a bonus CD featuring two interesting covers: Tuesday Afternoon by the Moody Blues and a fantastic thirteen-minute epic, Can’t Find My Way Home by Blind Faith. Al’s distorted guitar sounds, Ryo’s massive Hammonds and Dave’s thick Rickenbacker may be missing, but stylistically “Testimony” dutifully follows the legacy of the Spock’s Beard albums of the Neal Morse era. In other words, Neal keeps fusing his way forward unstoppably, just like he did with Spock’s Beard.
Given the concept, someone might think Neal decided to join a black gospel choir, but “Testimony” is anything but. It’s a brilliant jigsaw, a mosaic of tiny pieces living in perfect coexistence inside one body. So the main goal was achieved. The master of the modern way of fusing rock music serves up a fluid, multicolored album with a high-grade atmosphere that keeps rolling through all kinds of captured moods. You won’t escape the occasional bombastic burst, like The Storm Before The Calm. Crafty orchestral arrangements wrap smoothly around the skeletons of the basic musical motifs, widening the expression and filling out the entire sonic picture. The pieces of the mosaic slide into one another without pushing, with a full dose of unpredictability the whole way through.
Neal goes all in with his trademark dry, slightly burnt Lennon-esque vocals, adapting skillfully to the song structures and bringing the desired moods to life. Among the 29 compositions, many are instrumentals, tastefully mixed in with the rest. The concept is split into five parts. Across the first CD, i.e. the first two parts, Neal walks us through his life before the complete transformation, when God (the Lord) was present in his life more or less only on paper. Right from part three, the start of the second disc, we step into Neal’s moment of becoming aware of the hand of God, which puts the artist to the test. Follow the Lord’s path, or carry on with the settled way of life he’d lived up to that point? He picks the first option. Of course, the worship lyrics will put plenty of people off the record entirely, but you have to get past that. You simply admire Neal for expressing himself so uncompromisingly, honestly and without a shred of self-consciousness.
Neal offers a wide palette of everything. Proper “poppy” hooks built on classical piano, moments of symphonic prog rock from the seventies, emotional and tender ballads where he especially shines with his refined feel for adapting his voice, plus a few Celtic folk acoustic adventures and even, surprisingly, some Spanish flamenco (e.g. Somber Days) and slide guitar. Sing It High is done in a country folk style and tastefully woven into the whole puzzle. Of course Neal threw in some hefty organ moments and anchored them mostly in the more wound-up, bouncy passages. The drums were played by Mike Portnoy (Dream Theater). You don’t even need to read the booklet credits, because his style is recognizable from a mile away. Diverse, full, with a tasteful helping of percussion, in short Portnoy’s refined mastery, bringing an outstanding sonic contrast to the record. A breath of surprise comes from a special guest on guitar, former Kansas member Kerry Livgren, on the song Long Story. The record is also adorned and enriched throughout with layered choir vocals! The whole album really breathes deeply, with full lungs! For all the Spock’s Beard fans who love Neal Morse on vocals, “Testimony” will be a logical pick too.
Lineup
Neal Morse – guitar, synthesizer, piano, organ, vocals
Guest musicians:
Mike Portnoy – drums
Kerry Livgren – guitar solo on “Long Story”
Eric Brenton – violin, flute
Chris Carmichael – violin, cello
David Henry – cello
Jim Hoke – saxophone
Neil Rosengarden – trumpet
Katie Hagen – French horn
Mark Leginer – saxophone
Byron House – double bass
Glenn Caruba – percussion
Johnny Cox – pedal steel guitar
Jerry Guidrox – guitar
Pamela Ward – backing vocals
Aaron Marshall – backing vocals
Rick Altizer – backing vocals
Terry White – backing vocals
Gene Miller – backing vocals
Production
Neal Morse
Track list
CD 1:
Part 1 – 41:08
1. The land of beginning again (3:10)
2. Overture no. 1 (5:58)
3. California nights (5:46)
4. Colder in the sun (6:20)
5. Sleeping Jesus (5:32)
6. Interlude (1:56)
7. The prince of the power of the air (2:43)
8. The promise (2:52)
Part 2 – 31:38
9. Wasted life (6:50)
10. Overture no. 2 (2:31)
11. Break of day (6:55)
12. Power in the air (5:03)
13. Somber days (5:06)
14. long story (5:35)
15. It`s all I can do (6:25)
CD 2:
Part 3 – 12:06
1. Transformation (3:00)
2. Ready to cry (4:17)
3. Sing it high (4:48)
Part 4 – 28:19
4. Moving in my heart (3:06)
5. I am willing (6:28)
6. In the middle (2:27)
7. The storm before the calm (7:31)
8. Oh, to feel him (6:17)
9. God`s theme (2:31)
Part 5 – 10:33
10. Overture no. 3 (1:05)
11. Rejoice (2:28)
12. Oh lord my god (3:54)
13. God`s theme 2 (2:10)
14. The land of beginning again (0:54)
CD 3, INCLUDED IN THE SPECIAL EDITION, CONTAINS THESE TRACKS:
1. The fang … sings! (0:18)
2. Tuesday afternoon/find my way back home (13:21)
Total running time: 124:01
