There goes any chance of me ever liking post-Morse SB! LOL!Originally Posted by 3LockBox
There goes any chance of me ever liking post-Morse SB! LOL!
The perfect PE thread.....no one agrees, we only disagree.....isn't it great! I am pleased that SB has been able to sustain a loyal fan base as Neal's seems to increase and thrive. I do agree that Neal's latest is one of his best. Lifeline and Momentum were a little to poppy and samey for me at times, but the Grand Experiment is really strong-maybe his best vocal work yet, the harmonis are just stellar. I haven't really cared for what I've heard of the Oblivion Particle so far.
Last edited by YESHEAD777; 01-02-2016 at 09:23 PM.
Interesting... yesterday night I was listening the first 2 that you have mentioned and The Light & Snow.. So now listening Kindness of Strangers. Lot of SB with Neal here.
If I'm completely honest, I need to relisten to some of the earlier SB albums and give some of the more recent SB a chance. I sometimes gloss over both eras of SB.
I think the new release (The Oblivion Particle) is as good as most anything else the Beard has done.
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i only have the Best Of.. and i have to say that the two discs are like night & day when it comes to writing and sound.
SB isn't the first band to go through changes, but they made it work. but i'm bias more towards Neal Morse's SB.
but now if you wonder what SB would have been like if Neal never left... just check out his solo prog albums.
Last edited by BravadoNJ; 01-03-2016 at 09:16 PM.
I like most of the Morse era material, and really like a lot of post Morse. Octane , X , and Brief Nocturnes are very good. Morse was getting repetitive musically, and the Jesus fixation resulted in monotone subject matter and inferior lyrics. Contrasted by what was to me anyway , interesting ,powerful music from the Morseless Beard.
Check out The Grand Experiment if you haven't. It has more of a shared band feel, and the vocals are incredible. Also has more of a 70's classic rock feel and more thoughtful lyrics. His best in years.
To me, it comes down to the songs/songwriting, and I just don't think SB is as good as when Neal was in the band. I bought Feel Euphoria and Octane, and nothing really connected. I became a fan around 96/97 and the first album I bought was Beware of Darkness.
I have most of Neal's solo material, and love it.
It would suck if we all had the same opinion....and yet, it's amazing the diversity of opinions here, lol.
If I had to choose I could easily pick all the Neal Morse era material over any/all post-Neal SB. I cannot get into the latest SB album at all. Seems like the gas tank has run dry. Haven't kept up with recent Neal Morse solo albums, but I have no doubt I'd enjoy them more than Morse-less Beard.
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When someone in a band so controls the sound of a band as Neal did, his absence will fundamentally change how the band sounds. To be honest, it has been a long road for the band to emerge with what now feels like their own sound. Not that there haven't been worthwhile songs along the way, but often they felt like the backing band for either Neal or Nick's writing. Now, all of that can be washed away and the band can stand on their own.
I agree. The band now has a different sound. The problem is I just don't like it. SB grew on the strength of Neal's writing and control of the band's sound. Since Neal's departure most of the writing has been done by Boegehold and Meros with Alan, Nick and Ryo contributing here and there. I don't know about Oblivion Particle but Ted has also been contributing. Though I liked the music on X and it was a progressive hit, since then the songwriting quality just hasn't been there IMO unless it's one Neal has contributed. I suppose they can keep going back to that well for another but they still don't sound like SB to me.
For me, Spock's continues to be an incredible band, one of the best out there. They are SO good live! Brief Nocturnes is a triumph, and the new album is very solid too, so I think they're in a very good place.
Neal's solo albums have had two excellent recent releases (Momentum and Grand Experiment) and they're writing a new one for hopeful release at the end of this year. For those who complain about Neal's sound not breaking new ground, you'll be happy to know that now the whole band writes together (which they started with the Grand Experiment), which brings fresh sounds and twists and turns. Neal's being very generous with sharing the writing and performing (I'm going to miss his own guitar playing because of this, kind of like with the Steven Wilson band!) so it's becoming more diverse.
But as to the original theme of this thread: one really only needs to look at "Waiting for Me" and "Afterthoughts" from the Brief Nocturnes album to see Neal's songwriting impact on the band. Those two songs were co-written by him and are some of the best on that or any recent Spock's album, although that particular album had some other big winners like Something Very Strange, written by one of the Beard's other songwriting friends. So, I would say Spock's has definitely suffered from Neal's departure in the songwriting category...but that's only RELATIVELY so...Nick and Ted and Alan and others also write great songs, but we're comparing them to Neal's *masterpieces*, so that's kind of unfair comparison. (yeah, I'm a fan boy, so they are masterpieces to me) Aside from that comparison, much of Spock's material is still great or at least very solid.
How ironic that I just saw this thread. I was out by the fire just this past weekend pondering this very subject. I totally agree that the Morse years were the best. I tried very hard to stay on board with these guys, but the music didn't grab me the same way as the Morse penned songs. Spocks was the first band I heard from the third wave & they immediately captured my attention back in the mid 90s. This led me to gravitate towards The Flower Kings & Porcupine Tree, etc. Then I found all kinds of new prog music thanks to these guys, but today it's just not the same. Still love the band & the fact that they are still around, but the music... not as much.
Although I've seen them live three times since NM left(and only one time with him)I much prefer the NM era. In fact I've never heard a whole album after "snow."
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