SOLA GRATIA

This isolation of the pandemic offered an opportunity for Neal to focus on his progressive rock solo concept work. Long time musical partners Mike Portnoy and Randy George bring their talents, as well as some guitar and keyboard work from Eric Gillette and Bill Hubauer. This album was also entirely recorded 'remotely' due to the travel restrictions of COVID 19.

The music inspiration to Sola Gratia can be heard right from the beginning as Neal's melody during the Preface brings back one of the most memorable melodies from the original Sola Scriptura masterpiece. Sola Gratia (latin: grace alone) is based upon the life of the Apostle Paul, from his aggressive persecution of Christians and the early church to his conversion to Christ on the road to Damascus. The Overture is 6 minutes of terrific music which quickly reveals the deep com-positional skills of Morse and the usual chops of Portnoy and George. Melodies and musical passages are exciting and fresh. This fades to the first release and video In The Name Of The Lord. This is as intense and straight forward rock song. The story continues from Paul's perspective as Ballyhoo (The Chosen Ones) leads the listener through his thought process of why he must persecute the Christians. March Of The Pharisees is a short instrumental which leads to the arena-rock-style anthem Building A Wall. This will surely bring on a loud audience interaction during a live performance. Sola Intermezzo is another short instrumental offering with a great vibe and bringing back the opening riff of Sola Scriptura. The high energy ending contrasts with the following song Overflow. This is the song which lets the listener relax and catch their breath from the first half of the story. A beautiful melody accompanied by piano and strings, is backed by a chorus of voices, flutes, and a great groove from Portnoy and George. Warmer Than Sunshine is a mostly instrumental piece. It's a great combination of the heavy and melodic character of the album. At this point of the story, it is building up to the final conflict. Never Change is a terrific song bringing almost eight minutes of Neal's vocals at their best in showcasing a very soulful and emotional delivery. This leads to the second release and video, Seemingly Sincere. As the longest song of the album, at 9 1/2 minutes, this is a highlight of the album as is describes the stoning of Stephen at the hands of Paul. The rest of the album changes it's tonality as Paul's persecuting days are done and is forever changed. The Glory Of The Lord is an uplifting song which features an epic Eric Gillette solo. The choir closes the song in epic fashion and leads to the finale Now I Can See/The Great Commission. As expected, this is your usual Morse epic ending with the feel good ending with a terrific calm conclusion with a solo piano. In conclusion, aside from a couple of new sonic explorations, most all of this album is straight from the Neal Morse playbook. Ultimately this album will side comfortably alongside '?' and Sola Scriptura, but its up to the listener whether Sola Gratia matches the heights of those albums.

Rating-85%

Recommended Tracks: March Of The Pharisees, Overflow, Never Change & Seemingly Sincere.