Author: Peter Podbrežnik
Artist: Morse, Neal
Label: Metal Blade Records
Release: 2016
Duration: 106:35
Rating: 3.5/5
Neal Morse, one of the key musicians of modern progressive rock, is simply tireless. He cuts albums like Judgment Day is coming tomorrow and he’ll soon find himself at the right hand of his savior in heaven, whom he has faithfully served ever since leaving Spock’s Beard. The smoke had barely cleared after the first The Neal Morse Band album, »The Grand Experiment« (2015), and the live album, »Alive Again« (2016), and here’s already a new studio project called »The Similitude of a Dream«. That means there wasn’t even a year’s break since the previous studio effort, which is a real rarity in prog rock these days, especially among veterans like Neal, and it can bring both positive and negative consequences. As expected, the positives outweigh the negatives this time too, and the album will thrill all of Neal’s loyal followers, but a fair few reservations remain, which is why it would be overkill to sing excessive praises of »The Similitude of a Dream« or even call it a masterpiece.
In true pompous Neal style, this is a double concept album, partly inspired by John Bunyan’s novel, the well-known Christian allegory ‘The Pilgrim’s Progress’, which means it packs almost two hours of stylistically very varied music. So we’re dealing with ‘old-school’ symphonic prog, hard rock, classic rock and, to a much lesser extent, soul, funk, pop, jazz rock fusion, gospel and country. The musicianship and tightness of the players is at an outstanding level the whole way through, which is not in the least surprising from a lineup that, besides multi-instrumentalist and excellent singer Neal, includes his longtime collaborators, former Dream Theater drummer Mike Portnoy (The Winery Dogs) and bassist Randy George (Ajalon). Guitarist Eric Gillette and keyboardist Bill Hubauer are also masters of their instruments and have prog down pat, which the two virtuosos prove time and again with plenty of ‘unplugged’ solos. Portnoy’s presence once again means some of the compositions, especially when it comes to rhythmic elements, have a slight Dream Theater aftertaste.
Of course, most of the lyrics on »The Similitude of a Dream« have a Christian stamp, though most of them are pretty well camouflaged with assorted metaphors, so they don’t come off as pathetic as on Neal’s ‘devotional’ solo albums, which he sells after gigs in American churches. The main problem with this ambitious concept undertaking is that there’s simply too much music on it, so among the excellent creations there are also a few utterly forgettable compositions, while the conceptual thread is barely perceptible. Neal once again doesn’t shy away from various prog revivalist ventures, which is making him a bit too predictable. »The Ways of a Fool« sounds like listening to »A Trick of the Tail« by Genesis, with an almost identical chorus and rhythmic touches, while the instrumental section recalls the golden days of Emerson, Lake & Palmer, only with a slight Queen aftertaste. On the fairly entertaining »Draw the Line«, Neal’s virtuosos experiment with funk and soul too, while on »The Slough« they successfully cross symphonic prog with jazz rock fusion, delivering one of the most interesting moments on the album.
On »Breath of Angels«, which features gospel elements thanks to female choir harmonies, Neal once again shows up in a somewhat more pathetic, holier-than-thou light, the very thing that has cost him at least as many followers as he gained after discovering ‘God’s truth’. The second disc opens with the cheerful, revivalist »Shortcut to Salvation«, which features a playful sax solo. »The Man in the Iron Cage« is mostly a hard rocker that Deep Purple could have adopted as their own, while the instrumental »The Road Called Home«, which at times sounds like a mix of Spock’s Beard and Dream Theater, is once again a more old-school symphonic prog approach. The most bizarre piece on the album is undoubtedly the country experiment »Freedom Song«, which would fit better at one of Neal’s church gigs in the traditionally ‘well-trodden’ American Midwest than on such an ambitious album.
The negative surprise is somewhat redeemed by the hard-rock-leaning »I’m Running« and the piano-driven ballad »The Mask«, whose romantic, neoclassical arrangements are a bit reminiscent of something Genesis keyboardist Tony Banks could have come up with. »Confrontation« is as close as Neal and the gang get to progressive metal this time, so the similarities with Dream Theater are obvious again, while the fiery instrumental »The Battle« recalls early Spock’s Beard. »Broken Sky/Long Day (Reprise)« is more or less the expected epic, pompous closer. If you set aside the thoroughly cliché lyrics about a suffering individual who had to ‘endure all the crap of this world’ before he could rise to a ‘higher level’, it’s a very solid piece with a distinctly solemn mood. With it, Neal nicely proves once again why he’s one of the most respected modern prog musicians.
Most of Neal’s loyal followers will, like they do with every new Neal prog-rock studio effort, hammer »The Similitude of a Dream« into the stars all over again and declare it the peak of Morse’s career once more. The album is very good, but not brilliant, at least not as a whole, since some ideas already sound rather worn out, while we’ve kind of gotten used to the occasional pathetic vocal outpourings of holier-than-thou fervor where Neal’s solo career is concerned. The exceptional virtuosity and excellent vocal performances of the best musician among religious preachers almost make up for these problems, but the album, which is undoubtedly one of the better prog rock efforts of 2016, as a whole still sounds a bit exhausting at times, even after repeated listens.
Portnoy even declared that »The Similitude of a Dream« is nothing less than ‘the album of his career’, adding yet another entry to his very extensive list of silly statements. On the one hand, you have to give Neal full credit for his zeal, since so far, as far as his numerous prog rock projects go, which besides his solo career include Transatlantic and The Flying Colors, he hasn’t put out a bad album. Still, the guy could take a year or two off, since at times he’s getting a bit wearing and, like his ‘Lord’, increasingly ‘omnipresent’. Of course, a studio and a live album in one year were nowhere near enough for Neal, so for his devout followers he also released a Christian album called »To God Be the Glory«; goodbye, brain.
Lineup
Neal Morse – lead vocals, guitar, keyboards
Eric Gillette – guitar, backing vocals
Bill Hubauer – keyboards, backing vocals
Randy George – bass guitar
Mike Portnoy – drums, backing vocals
Production
Neal Morse
Tracklist
CD1 (51:59)
1. Long Day (1:42)
2. Overture (5:51)
3. The Dream (2:28)
4. City Of Destruction (5:11)
5. We Have Got To Go (2:29)
6. Makes No Sense (4:10)
7. Draw The Line (4:06)
8. The Slough (3:03)
9. Back To The City (4:19)
10. The Ways Of A Fool (6:48)
11. So Far Gone (5:21)
12. Breath Of Angels (6:32)
CD2 (54:36)
13. Slave To Your Mind (6:27)
14. Shortcut To Salvation (4:36)
15. The Man In The Iron Cage (5:16)
16. The Road Called Home (3:24)
17. Sloth (5:48)
18. Freedom Song (3:59)
19. I’m Running (3:44)
20. The Mask (4:28)
21. Confrontation (3:59)
22. The Battle (2:57)
23. Broken Sky / Long Day (Reprise) (9:58)
