Author: Peter Podbrežnik
Artist: Spock's Beard
Label: Inside Out Records
Release: 2015
Running time: 65:50
Rating: 5/5
The American champions of third-wave progressive rock, Spock’s Beard, promised that their twelfth studio album, »The Oblivion Particle«, would be something special and completely different from its otherwise excellent predecessor »Brief Nocturnes and Dreamless Sleep« (2013), while, despite plenty of innovative experiments and leaps into the unknown, still keeping their trademark sonic finesse. There were quite a few skeptics after such gushing statements from bassist Dave Meros, since it so often turns out the other way around, but in the case of »The Oblivion Particle« his words turned to pure gold. This is one of the strongest achievements in the more than twenty-year history of the prog rock masters from Los Angeles, who, after the arrival of the excellent singer and guitarist Ted Leonard (Enchant) and handing the permanent drum seat to the outstanding Jimmy Keegan, are clearly still enjoying a ‘second spring’.
Spocks’ Beard have built an incredibly impressive discography so far, and it’s hard to believe the band can still shock us with a new masterpiece, one that’s without a doubt their most interesting album since the conceptual classic »Snow« (2002). It ‘grows’ with every new listen, and there’s always something new to hear. The ‘retro’ production of the album, which in many ways is a tribute, in both atmosphere and arrangements, to the golden era of progressive rock (the seventies), and which Spock’s Beard pull off without too many echoes of any of their famous role models, was once again handled, with assistance from Rich Mouser, by the long-time, hugely successful producer-songwriter pairing of guitar virtuoso Alan Morse and John Boegehold.
»Tides Of Time« is the epic album opener in full-blooded Spock’s Beard fashion. Alan’s guitar passages, greased by Okumoto’s organ wizardry and just the right amount of branching rhythmic seasoning from the brilliant Meros/Keegan duo, lay fertile ground for Leonard’s highly expressive vocal performance. The backing vocal harmonies, handled by all of Ted’s bandmates except Okumoto, who never had much of a singing talent worth mentioning, eventually make room for a colorful instrumental section built on jazz rock fusion. Even the opening track wows with a string of lucid moments, and there are plenty of those on »The Oblivion Particle«. You can also tell the album is a bit darker than the usual Spock’s Beard standards, and here again you can’t miss the influence of Ted’s other band, Enchant.
You can hear it on »Minion« too, a somewhat edgier composition with a great opening section full of Kansas-style vocal harmonies, where you simply can’t miss Ted’s vocal kinship with the original Kansas singer Steve Walsh, while maestro Ryo steers very deftly between mellotron, piano, organ and synthesizer. Maestro Alan delights with his signature guitar finesse, heavily influenced by jazz fusion, making frequent use of various effects to further enrich Spock’s Beard’s already richly layered symphonic arrangements. »Hell’s Not Enough« opens as a slightly shy folk rock ballad with Ryo’s colorful use of the clavinet, but soon moves into epic, optimistic territory, where mighty, branching keyboard-and-guitar passages rule under Ted’s passionate vocal baton.
The top prize for the most interesting and innovative composition on the album, unlike anything the Beardies have done so far, goes to the psychedelic merry-go-round »Bennett Built a Time Machine«, where Jimmy Keegan takes over lead vocals. The charismatic little guy with a big heart nails his new role, while the psychedelic-leaning arrangements, where you can’t miss the influence of early Pink Floyd and late Beatles, carry the listener atmospherically to somewhere in the second half of the sixties. The colorful swells of mellotron are a bit reminiscent of early King Crimson, while the complex and dramatic instrumental section, where Keegan’s drumming can’t be praised enough, sails successfully through various jazz fusion meanders. Listening to the music and lyrics, it’s easy to picture some mad, psychedelic artist-scientist building a time machine in the shape of a flying teapot.
Shot through with dark atmosphere, »Get Out While You Can«, where rich synthesizer multi-harmonies reign while Leonard confirms his vocal chameleon talents, is another composition that’s rather atypical, if not downright unique, for Spock’s Beard’s usual exploits, and it will surely join the inner circle of concert favorites before long. »A Better Way to Fly« is an opener that’s a notch darker still, where you can hear that the Beardies obviously keep an eye on the modern prog scene from time to time and aren’t as devoted to the sixties and seventies as it may often seem. Some sections, driven by mellotron, dramatic vocal harmonies and bristling guitar passages, would surely be approved by the great patron of modern prog, Steven Wilson (Porcupine Tree), and his friends from Opeth. In the closing section the Beardies use a Gentle Giant-style contrapuntal vocal technique, which they’ve tackled several times in the past and which, paired with the mellotron swells, takes on epic proportions.
The brilliant »The Center Line«, where Alan and Ryo especially shine, opens with a stormy piano solo, followed by a veritable atmospheric explosion and a shift into a complex instrumental section with mighty symphonic arrangements. Eventually Ted’s vocal joins in and the composition suddenly gains enviably melodic dimensions. Of course, that doesn’t last very long, and before long downright crazy improvisations take over the ‘foreground’, which are always welcome when played by such masters of their instruments.
»To Be Free Again«, another excellent composition with a thoroughly retro seventies sound, is at a little over ten minutes the longest piece on the album. This epic treat opens with a pompous intro, followed by a shift into a much more subtle section with brilliant vocal harmonies and a mighty symphonic backdrop. One of the best moments is the closing section with its refined piano soloing and sprightly guitar improvisation, while among the melodic arrangements a veritable vocal heaven takes over once again. On the closing, ambitious »Disappear«, which thanks to its melancholic vocal harmonies is even one of the most moving moments in Spock’s Beard history so far, special guest David Ragsdale (Kansas) shines on violin in great form.
Unbelievable but true: the masterpiece »The Oblivion Particle« proves that Spock’s Beard’s sonic evolution is far from over, despite their move into the ‘golden years’ and all that mileage, and that the band can still surprise us with achievements that rank among the very peak of their creative output. »The Oblivion Particle« is already one of the top contenders for best prog rock album of 2015. After the departure of original drummer and later lead singer Nick D’Virgilio (Big Big Train), many fans feared the same thing would happen as after the departure of the, for many, already legendary Neal Morse (Transatlantic, Flying Colors), when the band spent a few years after the ‘big shock’ still ‘hunting’ for its desired stylistic direction and not all of its output was exactly top-notch. But the Beardies today are better than ever since Neal’s farewell.
Lineup
Ted Leonard – lead vocals, guitar
Alan Morse – electric guitar, acoustic guitar, pedal steel guitar, lap steel guitar, mandolin, autoharp, backing vocals
Ryo Okumoto – organ, mellotron, piano, synthesizer, clavinet, vocoder
Dave Meros – bass guitar, backing vocals
Jimmy Keegan – drums, percussion, backing vocals, lead vocals on “Bennett Built a Time Machine”
GUEST MUSICIAN:
David Ragsdale (Kansas) – violin on “Disappear”
Production
Rich Mouser, Alan Morse and John Boegehold
Track list
1. Tides of Time (7:45)
2. Minion (6:53)
3. Hell’s Not Enough (6:23)
4. Bennett Built a Time Machine (6:52)
5. Get Out While You Can (4:55)
6. A Better Way to Fly (8:57)
7. The Center Line (7:05)
8. To Be Free Again (10:24)
9. Disappear (6:36)
