V

Well I guess you can say "they did it again". For those who are "Beard heads" will drool over "V" with their 27 minute opus extravagenza track "The Great Nothing"... a highlight for this prog lover. I continue to be amazed at Morse's ability to write such compelling and different music time after time. "V" delivers that pattented BEARD rapid time signature and mood altering music with great lustre and sophistication. They even revisit their song "Thoughts" with another wonderful GENTLE GIANT'ish allusion and have been clever in naming it Thoughts 2! Clearly one of my personal big loves has been their fine use of instrumentation which continues with "V" featuring loads of fine analog keyboard work and mellotron. Overall this is just a great album dripping with that musical prowness that can only be SPOCK'S BEARD. Go Get This Album!

Where the heaviest influences on "The Light" (the only other SB album I've heard) are GG, Floyd, Supertramp and Kansas (with bits of Yes and Genesis), the overwhelming influence on "V" is Yes, mostly circa "Drama" and "90125" - though I'm happy to note that the "Yes-influenced" stuff here is as good as (and sometimes better than) anything on those albums. / "V" begins with "At the End of the Day," an extended composition with enormous Yes influence in the writing, arrangement, harmonies and even recording. Indeed, except for Morse singing about an octave below where Anderson would be, it almost sounds like something Yes might have done, with A. Morse channeling Howe (sometimes to amazing effect), Meros channeling Squire (especially in the last three minutes - wow!), and D'Virgilio strongly channeling White. And although the composition is not as compelling as anything on "The Light," it is still excellent, with plenty of unique "Beard" touches. The second composition - "Revelation" - is a beautifully constructed piece, with verses that sound a little like XTC (in their "guise" as The Dukes of Stratosphear), and a chorus and break that have an interesting Lennon-esque quality (circa Walls and Bridges). The third composition, "Thoughts (Part II)," is the band's answer to GG's "Knots." After a brief, misleadingly "mellow" intro, the band jumps unabashedly feet first into GG territory, combining "rock"-y sections of interwoven contrapuntal lines, with complex acappela vocals, and even a couple of "classical" breaks using cello, violin, etc. And although it is not nearly as original or complex as "Knots," it is an exceptionally well-crafted piece of music. The fourth composition, "All on a Sunday," is a good, straightforward rock song. "Goodbye to Yesterday" is a nicely constructed ballad, with "Dear Prudence"-like guitar work. The final piece, "The Great Nothing," is an extened composition showing the band at its original best, with touches of (mostly) Yes, GG, and even a nice CSNY-like section. I particularly like the jam at 8:00-9:15, with a wonderfully tasteful organ solo by Okumoto. And, again, although the composition is not nearly as interesting or well-realized as "The Light" or "The Water," it is nevertheless a finely crafted piece of music, with lots of excellent musicianship. / As a minister, I like the fact that Morse's lyrics on this album seem to be nicely inflected with his faith: "At the End of the Day" is almost wholly about faith, as is "Goodbye to Yesterday" ("You're a believer who's found they lied...It's not too late to lay your burden down and walk through heaven's gate"), and "The Great Nothing," which seems to compare Creation with music ("One note timeless came out of nowhere...it sought no glory...no need to say something, no message to sell..."). / I continue to be impressed by Spock's Beard, who I only recently got into via "The Light." And I continue to look forward to hearing more of their music.

I knew the band after they released their third album. Based on recommendation from my prog-mate in Bandung I then purchased all the first three albums. At that time I was not really "into" prog intensely cause I thought that the genre was bit stagnant. When all the three CDs arrived I was bit disappointed with the band music as it was too derivative with bits of "Yes", "Gentle Giant" and oh no . "Gypsy King". So I decided not to spin their music but I still continued buying their CDs. I don't know why. It's probably the band's reputation on the webs as so many people praising them or probably many of my prog mates talked about the band. I just did not want myself to be left behind. Pretentious? Might be. But actually I rarely spin the CDs of the band until I got my Transtlantic SMPTe CD which triggered me to spin some albums of the band.

Well, that's history. Sometime we can only appreciate prog music progressively through a passage of time. When my prog mate, Koni, who lives in Malang (approx 1000 miles away from Jakarta - to the east) urged me to have another try for this album, I accepted. On first couple of spins I still did feel "into" SB music especially on the part which sounds like The Gypsy King (the pop outfit that could flow nicely into my ears - sorry ). For me personally, the music of SB sounds like "being forced" to the way like the music sounds - so it does not seem natural for me. But OK OK . this time I want to see the band's music in totally different perspectives, using different spectacles. And I found the Gentle Giant's choir at "Thoughts (Part II)" is excellent. So I pushed myself to enjoy the music and this is my view .

At The End of The Days

This album opener is definitely an excellent track and I'm happy that this is positioned at the beginning of the album. It starts very nicely in an ambient mood with soft keyboard / mellotron sounds. This opening piece that ends approx 1 minute is really melodic and has successfully set an uplifting mood for the album. The drum sound enters gradually followed later with full music in funky style led by the beats from a combination of great bass guitar by Dave and drums by Nick. When Neal voice enters the music at first time the rhythm section is dominated by the combination of dynamic bass line, drums and organ at the background. The music turns complex with some great variations on drumming - really great, Nick! The music then flows with a variety of styles: keyboard solo in neo prog vein and slower tempo, jazz fusion style and some transitions with acoustic guitar and percussion (that luckily does not "exactly" sound like The Gypsy King .). The mellotron work by Ryo has enriched the textures of the track and reminds me to the 70s prog packaged in a much more modern sound. The organ solo is stunning! The guitar work by Alan is much indicated as filler but it has augmented the song really well. Oh by the way, I forget to mention - the harmony vocals is excellent! I am really satisfied with this track.

Revelation

It starts spacey and flows in a mellow style exploring the keyboard sounds and effects. The voice line enters with slow beat drumming. The music then flows in crescendo with higher register singing style. It turns quieter again and returns to mellow style. The music turns a bit complex with organ providing a great rhythm sound and solo. There is a strong influence of jazz especially when I observe the organ / keyboard works. Alan contributes his short guitar solo nicely.

Thoughts(Part II)

It opens with a nice acoustic guitar rhythm followed with low register notes vocals. "I thought I'd come to you and say / All the things I had on my mind / I thought it might be really great / To show you how I feel inside / Then I think ... MAYBE NOT ..." - it's a great and atmospheric opening, I think. The music then turns into full sounds nicely with keyboard takes the lead melody. And .. oh man . when the part enters this passage: "You wouldn't speak to me / I would be left behind / We'd be through if you knew / All the things in my mind .." and the music that follows is really SUPERB! It does remind me to the music of Gentle Giant at its best! Quite honest, this track was the one that made me willing to have another spin of this CD. The drumming is marvelous! There is some exploration of orchestra in some transitions. Really wonderful!!! I think all Gentle Giant freaks would be amazed by this track. I think and I am sure! This is a wonderful composition!

All on a Sunday

I consider this is a ballad rock tune with nice organ / keyboard work that sometimes remind me to Procol Harum style of organ. The music flows straight forwardly with a very minimum variation in style and mood. It's a good track but not essential.

Goodbye To Yesterdays

It's another ballad and nice song opened with acoustic guitar. I think Neal is better singing in this low register note. It reminds me to "The Distance to The Sun" track of the bands "Day for Night" album.

The Great Nothing

Considering the long duration (27:18) of this epic, I expect a lot before enjoying it. It comprises 6 parts. It opens with an ambient sounds followed with an acoustic guitar fills. Nice opening. The music then enters in medium tempo with bass guitar take the lead for the beats and drum as keeper of the bars. When organ starts soaring, Dave performs his dynamic bass guitar work. The vocal enters in quieter passage with only piano (and bit of bass guitar) accompany it. The music turns slowly into faster tempo. I do enjoy when it reaches approx. min 8 when the keyboard / organ takes its solo (and effects!) combined with great bass line. Great work, Ryo and Neal! I really enjoy it. The smooth music then turns into an intermittent one during transition. It's a very good exploration. This epic offers a variety of styles and sounds / effects exploring all the talents the band has. A bit note here is that the guitar work of Alan has been fully explored with this track and in general. The whole album does not explore as much of Alan's fullest. It's probably the figure of Neal (who happens to be a keyboard player as well) is so central and selfish (?) that he does not allow much guitar sound in the middle of this epic. Indeed, Alan's solo concludes this epic nicely (augmented with piano).

OVERALL

I think it is embarrassing if you like prog but do not have this excellent album. Not all tracks are excellent, I think, especially those with ballad styles. But I have to admit that overall, the composition is tight and the musicianship is great. Most people said that the band's existence was highly due to the central role of Neal Morse. I don't think so. Even with the departure of Neal, they still have great sounds and composition in two albums (post Neal):"Feel Euphoria" and "Octane". Even, the band has pushed more in melodic spectrum of their composition under their latest album "Octane". Overall, I put the rating of this "V" album with 4 ½ out of 5 rating. I would give full five star if there were no ballads and Alan's guitar work was given more. Keep on progging!

Progressively yours,

GW - Indonesia.

My overall feeling with the SB records I've heard is deception.So it goes with this one : the tracks start all in a nice way, good production, good musicians..., but after a few minutes I miss interesting melodic and harmonic material . They are to cautious, you hear the influence of Gentle Giant, Beatles, Yes and others but they don't create something different out of it, they don't overcome their influences.You have groups with a single strong songwriter like Ian Anderson or groups with good collective writing skills like Yes and Genesis.SB belongs neither to the first nor the second group. There is not one track on this record, that stuck to my ears.The openings are mostly very promissing, especially on "revelation" and "all on a sunday" but I miss the spark of crazyness, that creates outstanding tracks.The long epic track is often the most difficult Prog"exercise","The great Nothing" is for me the weekest track, the one where the lack of material and the lack of tention is too obvious, additioning different athmospheres doesn't make a good song."Supper's ready" was a collection of interesting songs that existed before and were presented like a suite. SB doesn't have that talent yet.

The Goddam' Peak of their career. The musicianship in this album is impressive and there is no low point in the epics. IF you want only one album from this band, I recommend this one. It has all the elements explored in the first 4 albums mixed together.

1. At The end Of The Days 9.5/10 Starts the album with the band's best song. It is so hard to believe that they will mix pop with prog so well, but they pulled it off! This song is a very accessible long song that grows on you on the same time. Containing very memorable sections of music, great instrumental breaks, and overly beautiful melodies (when Morse sings the lyrics 'At the end of the day' is golden).

2. Revelation 6.5/10 : This is a strong song that combines the mellow and the hard rock sides of the band.

3. Thoughts(Part II) 8/10 : This song sounds like (but is much better) than 'knots' from Gentle Giant. It is ultra heavy and complex.

4. All on a Sunday 3.5/10 : This song is a normal pop song that seems like something Coldplay would write. Bad.

5. Goodbye To Yesterdays 6/10 : A very mellow track that sounds similar and inferior to many other songs of Neal.

6. The Great Nothing 8.5/10 : OHHH YEAHHHH! A 27 minute long epic that doesn't feel long, this reminds me of Transatlantic's Longest tracks which are full of good ideas. This is the hardest song to get into from the band I think.

Get this album, at least for the 2 epics, you will not be disappointed!.

My Grade : B

Spock's Beard's V meets all expectations as another excellent release from one of modern symphonic prog's most revered bands.

V is one of Spock's Beard most spectacular releases. It was with this album that Morse's future of making epics in projects like Transatlanic and his solo project really shows. The thirty minute finale The Great Nothing is an amazing track. The track shows excellent musicality on part of all the musicians. Bassist Dave Meros and keyboardist Ryo Okumoto may not get all the credit they deserve next to the Morses , but they lack of popularity does not equate to their excellent musical skill. The opener At the End of the Day is another classic work from Spock's Beard with a magnificient cello intro giving way to jazzy overtones and catchy choruses coming later in the song.

The vocal work from Neal Morse and Nick d Virgillo is outstanding. The shorter track Thoughts (Part II) is proof of this. The vocals do lack range, but make up for it with great chordal tones and rythymic diversity not found in many bands. This album is another masterpiece of progressive music from Spock's Beard.

At the end of the day, supper's not ready

The rather unimaginative title of "V" disguises what for me is one of the better Spock's Beard albums. With six tracks in all, the four shorter pieces are book-ended by two magnum opuses (or is that opi?).

The opening track, "At the end of the day" is 16½ minutes of magnificent prog. The track is quite commercially orientated, with a rather catchy chorus. Structurally, it resembles "Close to the edge", especially in respect of the use of the title as the main hook throughout. The brief symphonic opening belies the upbeat nature of the song, which moves through various themes including Chicago like brass, and some Beach Boys multi part harmonies. The softer section followed later by an organ solo further extends the "CTTE" comparison.

The four shorter tracks are adequate, but hardly memorable. "Thoughts" is a rather naïve composition, with soft verses preceding the harsher contradictory punch line. The multi a-cappella vocal section is striking, although the limited vocal capabilities of the band are perhaps better concealed behind their instrumental prowess. This is emphasised further on the rather off-key pop-prog of "All on a Sunday". Likewise "Goodbye to Yesterdays", an older song of Neal Morse's, is not developed to its full potential.

The final track "The great nothing" is a sprawling, multi-sectioned piece, lasting for over 27 minutes. If "At the end of the day" is "Close to the edge", Neal Morse describes "The great nothing" as "Spock's Beard's very own Supper's Ready". That I'm afraid is wishful thinking, as this rambling monstrosity is nowhere near strong enough to justify its extraordinary length. Lyrically it is poor, with children's rhyming such as "Fatter" with "Matter", Musically, the track plods along, the sections being incoherent and disjointed. There is some good guitar and organ work, but it is lost in the sprawling enormity of the piece.

The digipak version comes with a fine booklet which includes an interview with the band, and detailed sleeve notes. Also included is a brief multi-media section with low quality home movie footage of the band rehearsing the album in various studios.

In all, something of a one track album, but that track, the lengthy "At the end of the day" is one of Spock's Beard's finest pieces.

Two words: Neal Morse. Why isn't this guy a household name? Spock's Beard was one of those bands that I wished I'd discovered earlier. Speaking with a fellow prog friend of mine, every time he mentioned SB I would think to myself, "Man, that's the dumbest name for a band that I've ever heard!" He was pretty persistent in introducing them to me because he was 100% confident that I'd latch on to Spock's, given my music tastes.

I bought this together with Snow about 2 1/2 years ago and both are probably my favorite Beard discs. V not only has prog influences, but you can also hear some of Neal's punk years with songs like "Thoughts (Part II)" and "Revelation". Both have less a prog feel to these ears, and more a harder edged sound; whereas, "All On A Sunday" is a bit more poppish like a Styx tune, with some fine organ and drumming by Nick D'Virgilio. As much as I like Spock's Beard, however, the more I wish there was a different guitarist. I've just never been a fan of Alan Morse's effects and little sounds. I think he relies more on them than just being a good, sound guitarist. He's quite capable, too. The solo on "She Is Everything" from Octane is amazing and the best solo I've ever heard him execute. Unfortunately, a drop-your-jaw solo by Morse is few and far between. Not like Marillion's Steve Rothery who relies less on trying to be flashy, and more on actually making an impact with a solo (refer to "The Great Escape", "Easter", or "This Strange Engine").

The songs that bookend V are nothing short of amazing, though. The album kicks off with "At The End Of The Day", which is jump started by Dave Meros and Nick D'Virgilio doing a nice little intro before the band just explodes and Neal comes in with his amazing vocals. "The Great Nothing" could be SB's masterpiece, though. So many different moods and time changes powered through with such aggression, and then pulled back in with a little tenderness. The ending never ceases to make the hairs stand on end. And if you've ever seen The Making Of V, you know that Morse had a tough time making it through the triumphant ending without breaking down. One of the best endings to a song I've ever heard.

I am still following Spock's Beard and have enjoyed the post-Neal Morse efforts of Feel Euphoria and Octane. That said, however, a piece of their heart and soul left when Neal left. The music is still very good, but there's a void. To me, Neal Morse was Spock's Beard.

For me, this is the best Spock Beard's album from the Neal Morse era... But unfortunately, not a masterpiece!

After the very poppy and commercial "Day For Night", Spock's Beard offered us the best two songs of their career... The End of The Day, and the outstanding masterpiece The Great Nothing. Only The Doorway is comparable to this two great tracks, true lessons of progressive rock. The End of The Day opens in a great and strong way, to end in a typical Spock's chorus... The acoustic parts are great, like the jazzy interlude. But the best of the song are the choirs in the middle section, a lot in the 70's style.

The Time has Come: for me, the best Spock's Beard song. Comparable in style and quality to Supper's Rady from Genesis in my opinion. Incredible bass, magnificent vocal work (the choirs from D'Virginlio are really nice!), outstanding keyboards work... This song has all that a progfan could dream!

So... What's my problem with this album? Of course, the short tracks. Not as good as the long ones in general. Reflections make nothing to me. A soulness song, pretty forgettable... Thoughts (Part II) is not as good as the first one, but the choirs in the style of Gentle Giant are great too. All on a Sunday is the typical Spock's rocking short song, catchy and commercial, but not specially remarkable (nevertheless, the opening keyboard is very addictive). Goodbye to Yesterdays is a very good melancholic ballad, diffrent in style from other Spock's ballads like June, more gloomy and serious. Pretty nice song, my favourite short track from the album, but nothing if you compare with the two epics...

For all that, although this is maybe my favourite Spock's Beard offering, I have to recognize that this is not a perfect album because some short tracks lack interest for me. I would prefered the two long songs alone, because the low quality of these short tracks spoils a little the overall impression of this album... A lot of times, when I hear this album, I only choose the first and last tracks... And It doesn't says very much from the general quality of any album!

Conclusion: two first-class epics (The End of The Day and The Great Nothing), obligated listening for every prog lover... The rest of the album, nothing special in my opinion.

My rating: ****

Spock's Beard's almost final album with Neal Morse finds them in the new century with an album stronger than anything they had done before. They were long gone from the days of The Light, and now they were delving into newer, heavier territory. The album, bookended by two extended pieces, is the culmination of all elements that they had created at the time and then tweaked to give it a newer and harder edge, harder than before. Morse is as always the chief songwriter and tunesmith for the album, and his flare and style come full circle with this one.The rest of the band is also top notch, them being at their strongest during their time with Neil. All the pieces on this album are strong, even the poppier middle tracks, but that's because they are strong pop songs with solid melodies and solid lyrics.

At the End of the Day opens the album, and what a way to open it. A whopping 16 minute epic that utilizes all the tricks in the Beard's book. Neal Morse has a strong vocal performance on this track, with the choruses being noteworthy throughout (as Bob put it, similar to Close to the Edge because of the repetition of the title of the song). The mellotron and organ work on this track are sublime, and Alan Morse is incredibly heavy in parts of the song, (especially towards the end during one of the final organ solos). Revelation follows, this mellow track is a refreshing breather from At the End of the Day, but the choruses are sneering and heavy, and the guitar solo in this song is among the best on the album. Thoughts Part II is a continuation of the same song off of Beware of Darkness. The Gentle Giant inspired vocals and the strong instrumental sections top off this song, which rounds out the first half of the album.

All on a Sunday is the poppiest track on the album, with rather simple lyrics and a catchy chorus that hooks the listener in. It is the only weak link in the album, but even this track isn't that bad. Goodbye to Yesterday features some strong harmonies and acoustic performances. It has this feeling of the Beatles from Abbey Road on it, and being that Abbey Road is my favorite Beatles album, there is nothing to dislike about the track. The Great Nothing concludes the album, and it is an epic to end all epics. Throughout the 27 minutes of the track, the mood changes from dissonant acoustic guitars to triumphant synth fills and stabbing bass lines similar to those of Chris Squire. The acoustic theme to the song is among the best Morse has come up with today, and the lyrics are nothing short of amazing, thoughtful, thought provoking and arguably the best he's written.

Overall, V is in my mind the best album Spock's Beard has come out with today. A bit of a note, this album has almost exactly the same artwork as Symphony X's (who are signed to the same label as Spock's Beard) album V (which came out the same year). Coincidence? I do not know, but what I do know is that V is a strong album that no person should go without. Who said modern day prog was derivative and unoriginal? They obviously haven't listened to this album. 4.5/5.

This was actually the first album I bought from this great band, and I have to say, it was a very good start. While not superb like The Light or Snow, it's an excellent effort and probably the best doorway for people who still haven't listened to anything by The Beard.

What I like a lot about Spock's Beard is that, like their american-prog ancestors Kansas, they manage to create complex, progressive music but without getting so extremely technical that the songs lose the "rock" part of the genre's name. But that being said, Spock's Beard's music is more complex and even more in the prog realm that the legendary american band I just talked about. But, as I said, they share with them the notion that rock's songs have to be always ROCK songs, so they never indulge themselves in the extreme technical and musical experimentation that other symphonic legends such as Yes used to. So, in a way, this is more of a "people's prog" than the usual symphonic works of the british 70's legends, off course, keeping in mind that those "people" in the definition I just gave are still usually musicians and progmusic lovers...it's just that even among proggers, there are some that like only the really ultra-complex side of things....for those, The Beard may be too simple, too full of choruses and regular harmonies....

This album is such a great start to dwelfe into Beard's territory because it has a little bit of everything:

At the end of the day (10/10), the absolute highlight of the record, is an epic, fantastic multi-sectional song that is a real showcase of all The Beard's members abilities: it has great melodies, good singing by Neal Morse, it has a symphonic, cyclic structure where there's an intro, a development and a return; it has a jazzy-bluesy part (much like The Light had that spanishdance-flamenco section), which features excellent drumming by great musician (and future SB's frontman) Nick D'Virgilio, jazzy bass lines by master Dave Meros, outstanding piano, mellotron work by Morse himself and Okumoto, and well crafted guitars by Alan Morse. A great song, a long one that never gets boring...a great track

Revelation, (8/10), a good rock-pop song with some prog elements like the great guitars by A.morse and the jazzy influenced keyboards.

Thoughts (9/10), the second best track: a great, short song (too short, that's why I don't give it a 10) that has multi-layered harmonic vocals in a sort of fugue much influenced by the music by prog legends Gentle Giant (a band Morse recognizes as one of his fountains for inspiration). It's the second part of the first Thoughts that was released in the Beware of darkness Cd. But if that Thoughts was playful, even joyful (though with ambiguity), this one reeks of dissapointment, of a kind of apathic sadness... great, great song...I insist: too short.

All on a sunday (7/10), a funny, enjoyable track with allmost no progressive elements....a rock-pop song, sounds like a mix between The Beard, some of the poppy-era-Beatles, and even some of Stone temple pilots in their Tiny Music era. A song you can hear in order to be happy, not in order to be amazed.

Goodbye to yesterdays, (7/10), another rock-pop attempt, much in the vein of the classic Spock Beard song from Kindness of Strangers or Day at Night (not their best albums)...forgettable

The Great Nothing (6/10), this song should have been great as is the longer of the pack but sadly it kind of gets pummeled halfway down....After a terrific introduction, the first warning about the song's quality level is the lack of a good, memorable vocal melody and chorus...but the problem rally is....this song is too long...I love 20+ minute tracks, but those that flow with ease, that pass by like if they lasted only 5 minutes...this one gest boring at some point and from there on...it never recovers.... mediocre track

So, I think V is a good album, but could have been better with some tweaks to the last track...after this record SB released their second best album ever (SNOW) and after that one, Neal Morse left the bnd for religious reasons and D'Virgilio assumed the role of singer and frontman....More on that later....for now....a very good album, if somewhat flawed...

Recommended

In the Morse era of Spock's Beard, as they progressed I think they improved their sound culminating in their best album in "Snow". This particular album is bookended with two of their best epics, the very catchy "At The End Of The Day" and what I think is their best epic ever, "The Great Nothing". At over 27 minutes, it's never boring or meandering. It has a melody theme that pops up throughout the song, played softly or loud. It's ultra catchy in that good ole' US prog style way. The one thing about the Beard's, they're never overtly complicated prog-wise. The play their instruments well, they have catchy choruses and melodies, and they are super professional. The only thing about them that gets under my skin is that they must always have one or two songs that are flat out boring, (other then their first album which has a 'trying to hard to be prog' sound to it). "All On A Sunday" is their attempt at a single, and "Goodbye To Yesterday" is the ballad. Each somewhat drags down the enthusiastic nature of the album whole. I mean come on, when you can pull Gentle Giant-like harmonies and beats in basic prog songs, (see "Thoughts Part II") why must you throw in clunkers. But hey, I'm not the artists. To each their own, right? If your a fan of the band, this one is probably way up there. For those who would like to start out, this is the place. And for those who like their prog more complex, stay away. In fact, stay away from any Spock's Beard album if you're looking for complexity. They have a simple style, kinda polished, kinda mainstraem at times, but always professionally played. And damned if that's not such a bad thing.

I cannot usually stand Spock's Beard's records for very long, mainly because of Neil Morse's over-insistent vocals (very few prog singers sound SO dreadfully pleased with themselves), but the last time I played this album, it still carried me away, especially the epic "The Great Nothing". Such music may be nothing new, but at least the band display some admirable energy!

V is Spock's Beard's fifth release (duh), and it's also one of their finest. Lyrically, Neal Morse isn't at the peak he would reach on Snow, but he comes close. As a vocalist he is talented but not a standout. He, along the other members of SB, are talented players but do not let showboating interfere with the music. Thus, no musician stands out; rather they blend as a cohesive whole, relying on one another to move the songs forward.

The albums highlights are, of course, the opening and closing epics At the End of the Day and The Great Nothing. At the End of The Day features some of Neal's best vocals. It's pretty rocking for an epic, with bass lines that wouldn't sound out of place on a Mahavishnu Orchestra album, superb drumming, and Alan's unique take on Steve Howe. The Great Nothing also give Neal vocals a rare spotlight; his lyrics are also top form, dealing with the (d)evolution of music from creativity and experimentation into commercial success. The problem with the Great Nothing is that it meanders towards the end and the band could have forged a masterpiece if it had been only a few minutes shorter.

The epics bookend 4 shorter songs. Revelation is fairly heavy and it's a good segue from At the End of the Day. Thoughts Pt 2 gives Meros his time to shine with a bass solo. The song is also complex and approaching metal.

All On A Sunday is a bit too quick a transtion from the heavy rock of the first half. It's poppy and it wears on you. This is the filler track. Goodbye to Yesterday continues the mid tempo soft emotion of the previous track, though it's an improvement over AOaS. These two songs are woefully out of place on this album, but they are still good.

This was the first Spock's Beard album I heard, and I took them to be prog metal. This is SB's heaviest album at least of the Neal era (I haven't listened to post Neal yet). It's very strong, but the too long outro of the Great Nothing and the mediocre pop of All on a Sunday keep it from being a masterpiece.

Grade: B

I know now why it's got the most reviews.

With the first albums, I thought Spock's was like a blind man with a machine gun, firing a thousand rounds per minute in all directions, but still many bullseyes though.

This time, I hear a 'click' almost all the time. The songs are catchier and 'goes down smoothly' in the majority of the time. Woo-hoo indeed. The recipe is the same, but the cake is baked at perfect temperature: Morse's voice is melodic, the acoustic guitar is good, the bass is loud, the keyboards are tastier than ever!

Everything is the same...but better!

Start here for your Beard collection. It's a wise investment.

Gentle Giantesque.

Led once again by positive reviews on this site I decided to give Spock's Beard a go with this album. My only personal reference point was the fact that I really liked Neal Morse's "?" and figured that the work he did with his former band would definitely have his prints all over it. I wasn't disappointed. I find "V" to be an excellent example of 21st century symphonic progressive rock. A few things really separate this group from their modern-day European counterparts: The occasionally surfacing jazz influences and the liberal use of the good old B-3 Hammond organ. It's such a versatile and expressive instrument and I love the sound. Plus I must add that Morse is one of the most brutally honest lyricists I've heard in a long while and that, too, is refreshing.

Starting with a beautiful bagpipe-type organ sound on "At the end of the day" the group introduces the listeners to one of the musical themes that will recur throughout the album. We are then treated to a verse and chorus that reminds me of early Yes. Then we are surprised with a Spanish flamenco-influenced progression that is mixed with full, strong vocal harmonies. The Hammond takes a great lead and the drums (which are admirable from beginning to end) provide an energetic drive underneath. If there is a weak link here it is the inconsistency of the lead guitarist. Sometimes his tone is a little unnerving. But, for a song that's over 16 minutes long, the music never gets boring. The message of this song seems to be a calling out of hypocrites with "at the end of the day it's what you do, not what you say" and I suspect he may be talking about himself. "Revelation" is a song of contrasts that can be starkly jolting. There's a very nice lead from the Rhodes piano mid-way through that really stands out. It's about a man battling a spiritual beckoning that he can't get away from and, in the end, goes "underground" to escape it. "Thoughts" is one of the album's most unique songs. It starts peacefully with an acoustic guitar underneath the verse but then startles us again with a jarring chorus. We then slip into a jazzy vocal passage that is reminiscent of a Manhattan Transfer sound followed by a Chris Squire-like bass lead buffered by a string quartet. Yeah, strange but it works. These guys don't suffer from a lack of imagination, that's for sure. The lyrics suggest that perhaps total honesty with your significant other is not always the best of policies. "All on a Sunday" is a fine song with a Hammond-fueled melody about wanting to be someone else. "Goodbye to Yesterday" is a welcome change of pace and the only laid back song on the album. The acoustic guitar and piano are very effective as the words describe someone trying to make that first step in a new, more positive direction. "The Great Nothing" is divided into 6 sections and over 27 minutes long but it is the highlight of the album. It seems to be a tale of how the purity of musical inspiration and talent can be thoroughly corrupted by the cold and calculating music business. "From Nowhere" starts with electronic voices and an orchestral feel with an acoustic guitar coming in to introduce us to the main musical theme of the piece. Heavy Cellos reminiscent of ELO take over before the Hammond bursts in to finish it off. "One Note" gives us another musical theme and sets us up for "Come up Breathing" with its acoustic guitar and organ lead. "Submerged" features the piano and more very strong bass guitar work. "Missed your Calling" has a fantastic chorus hook and the best electric guitar lead on the album. "The Great Nothing" starts with the original theme played on acoustic guitar before the heavy Cellos return to lead us to another section of some inspired instrumental performances by the band members. A return to the "One Note" melody leads to a big, big ending befitting the total work and then features a fadeout of glistening notes that rise and fall around each other like spray at the base of a waterfall. I love those kinds of endings. (Kinda like the tail end of "Close to the Edge").

This is a great example of premium quality North American symphonic rock and I would rank it right up there alongside Kansas and Rush as far as style and content goes. I can only apply that opinion to this particular album (since it's the only one I've been exposed to from this band) but I don't say that lightly. This is a very well thought out and professionally produced project from a group of outstanding musicians.

P.S. Since first reviewing this album I have collected most of the rest of the Spock's Beard catalogue. "V" still shines slightly brighter than the others in my eyes, mostly because it is more consistent. While not a true masterpiece per se, at 4.7 stars it's close enough to warrant rounding up to a five star rating.

I had a good laugh when I read Prog Reviewer "inpraiseoffolly's" review of this album because he was feeling like a man in the wilderness for being the only Prog Reviewer (besides Sean Trane's review-less low rating) to challenge the quality of this album. Well I'm here to tell you IPOF that you are NOT alone! I'll back you up big time.

My second and last attempt to get into Mr. Morse has crashed and burned. Just can't do it. I'm actually giving the album one more star than IPOF did for two reasons. First, I think they have a hell of a drummer which always goes a long way with me. Second, I did feel there were some nice musical moments here and there, a few truly beautiful. But alas, they were stuck in with tons of stuff that never arrived anywhere exhilarating, just kind of buying time until they emerged in the safety of the vocal choruses.

But my biggest complaints are those raised by IPOF who laid them out in great length. I'll just give the short reprise here. First, Morse. Taste is personal I realize but I just can't stomach the guy. His overly gushy, sappy vocals are like fingernails on a chalkboard to me. And his predictable lyrical clichés are so boring and tedious. Second, the lack of interesting (to me) musical development that Folly touched on. Last, the relentless torture of the syrupy sing-along chorus sections a la "the end of the day," "the rain of revelation just keeps comin down," "I wanna lay it down, all on a Sunday," and "say goodbye to yesterday." I'm really sorry, but this stuff makes me long to hear Dennis Deyoung sing "Babe" or "Best of Times." Those songs are gold compared to that "the end of the day" chorus. It's harsh I know but that's the way I feel listening to this album.

Recommended only to people who've heard Morse sing and can stomach it. Meanwhile, Folly and Sean can come to my place and we'll crank up some Paradise Theater instead.

One of those love/hate albums that I choose to love...just not enough for a masterpiece. From the cool cover art to the twin epics, this album has enough solid prog for a four star rating.

At the End of the Day. When the synths are tastefully selected, the dual keyboard sound of Morse and Okumoto is though to beat, and just about everything about this song is tasteful to my ears. Fabulous intro: well-paced, interesting arrangements, and lively. The majestic mellotron-ish section is obviously influenced by Yes' And You and I (but not a total rip-off), and the spanish section works for me as well. The mellow mid-section can get a bit boring, but the jam that follows is great: cool synth and organ flourishes, with the drums and bass being very distinguished. It all concludes with a nicely done refrain and fade-out. I love the production, though be warned: this song is VERY catchy, and like all catchy tunes can get old with overplay.

Revelation. Slow and kind of grungy--not my style, but listenable nonetheless.

Thoughts, Part II. There is a lot of creativity in these short five minutes: voilin harmonies, Neal's trademark vocal rounds, and a cool jam in the middle. I especially enjoy the bass in this tune.

All on a Sunday. Bubble gum pop. One listen is more than enough. The pop influences in Neal's style here are not enjoyable.

Goodbye to Yesterday. A mellow tune that attempts to be dreamy and reminiscent. Not bad, though no highlight.

The Great Nothing. Right from the beginning, you know the Beard is not holding back. No doubt the blaring synth vocal choirs at the start are tacky and rediculous, though it's different enough that I love it. The song then goes into a groove that reminds me of Yes' Heart of the Sunrise, though a bit more restrained. I'm not a huge fan of Alan's guitar, but I really like his contributions to this song--there are many instances of entertaining and creative keyboard/guitar interplay. This epic closes with a few refrains from earlier (though with cool additions), a quick chorus, and then an inspired guitar/keyboard final groove. This is one of my top ten epics--no really annoying parts, lots of nicely woven (but not overly extended) jams and instrumentals, great tunes and variations on themes, and a remarkable build for the finale.

Basically, the bookend epics are the highlights and worth the purchase. They convinced me to dig into Neal's solo works (something I'm quite glad I did). This is somewhat derivative and poppy (from a prog perspective), but there's enough creativity, musical talent, and structure to make this a solid four-star. A must for fans of well-produced, keyboard-heavy, symphonic prog.

This is, in my opinion, the second best spock album ever created. It features 4 of their greatest songs and 2 pretty average spock ballads. Now I am a massive spock's beard fan, but that will not stop me from making true critical notes on each piece. My criticism is as follows: -

1. At The End of the Day (9/10) - An excellent track with a great melodic keyboard intro, a good main theme, the traditional spock's beard adventurous middle section, some nice vocal interludes and a great finish. One thing that is desperately wrong with the song however would be the shear repetitiveness from 7:40 - 10:50. Sure, there are some great vocal lines and quite inventive harmonies, but would it really hurt the band to cut that bit down to 1 or 2 minutes? The whole idea of the song is to keep you on your toes (demonstrated by the massive twist from a melodic "Yes"esque theme to a latin american middle section), so why bore the audience with a huge ballad section? it doesn't work and without that part, the song has potential to be one of, if not one of, THE best prog song of decade.

2. Revelation (8/10) - Not exactly a prog song, more of a non-commercial hard rock tune, still I'm not going to because of genre. The tune is fine, the verse is fine, the bridge and guitar solo are both fine once again. Spock are now almost experts at the instrumental by this point, but an issue with the length need once again to be mentioned. The extended jamming at the end i have a massive problem with. I hate minute long choruses with any band, but this really takes the p***. About 30 seconds of a double chorus and 1 and a half minutes of solid "whoa-oh"s with repetitive drum fills just makes me want to switch over the song after the guitar solo to be honest. Otherwise, a top song once again.

3. Thoughts (Part 2) (10/10) - THE BEST SPOCK'S BEARD SONG EVER CREATED. Neal Morse has really brought some of his solo work home with him on this, and i absolutely think that this is their greatest song. No criticism whatsoever (apart from maybe a bit of sloppy keyboard playing), and i have listened to this song about a million time without getting bored. Nice little intro with good, cheesy lyrics, fantastic "Rush"esque riff for the main theme (including the traditional vocal rounds of Neal Morse), leading into a 7/8, 12/8 prog perfect jamming session that could even wipes the floor with some of the 70s prog rock classics, a good drum and bass jam with chamber fills complimenting Rio's keyboards, back to the main tune and finishing abruptly on the 7/8, 12/8, yes and even 5/8 jamming session this time and back to the acoustic ending.

4. All on a Sunday (5/10) - Average, mainstream, bubblegum pop tripe in my opinion, but it may appeal to some people. Simple verse, chorus, verse chorus, bridge, chorus arrangement, some catchy parts but nothing special, and completely disposable.

5. Goodbye to Yesterday (8/10) - Like "I Talk to the Wind" by KC and various classical pieces, this does take a few listens to for a prog rocker, and can be seen as empty, even boring. But if you appreciate melody like a true musician, you will find the joy in this song. It has some real heart-warming, melodic moments with a happy aura following it all the way through. Short and crisp, the way most songs should be, and is one of Spock's better ballads. Very nice.

6.The Great Nothing (10/10) - This song has almost everything a prog-rocker wants in a song: catchy classical guitar, heavy riffs, keyboard and guitar jazz solos, uplifting fanfare-like vocal parts, peculiar time signatures, drum fills, blah blah blah... I can't see anything wrong with this song. Other than the appalling length of the guitar solo at the end which doesn't seem to progress anywhere at all. Other than that, including the nice one-chorded piano finish at the end, this is a great musical adventure that can almost comete with the likes of Genesis' "Supper's Ready", Yes' "Gates of Delerium" and Jethro Tull's "Thick as a Brick". Masterpiece.

Altogether, this album just scrapes the surface of being a masterpiece. 8.1/10

Overlooking their career so far I think this has to be the best effort of Spock's Beard. Comparable to Marillion in the 80's (Fish) to me their career ended with Neal Morse leaving the band. It's like tearing out the heart of the band. Anyway this is their highlight as far as I'm concerned and that's mainly because of the two epics which are sensational. At the end of the day is my all time favourite of Spock's Beard, The Great Nothing is a good second. The last song is more of an epic in the vein of Transatlantic, so I wouldn't be surprised if Neal Morse wrote this. At the end of the day is more original, an energetic epic satisfying for the whole 16 minutes. The other 4 songs are much less, espacially the third song (Thoughts, pt.2) that sounds a bit like eclectic prog and that's not my cup of tea. The rest of the shorter songs are allright though not spectacular.

It's once again a tough choice between 4 or 5 stars so I will have to consult my rules which are: at least 3 outstanding songs or a great effort overall (entire album). Neither of these conditions is the case here. So 4 stars it is.

Spock's Beard entered the millennium with their fifth studio release, appropriately called "V." On this release, the band placed two remarkable long pieces at the beginning and end of the album, one timing in at over 16 minutes, the other at over 27 minutes. In between are four shorter tracks of varying moods. Sixteen-minute long songs are one thing, but 27-minute songs are often hard to pull off while maintaining the attention of the listener. Often songs of this length tend to have long jamming instrumentals that sometimes wander around in circles. Since this track was labeled "The Great Nothing," I had to wonder if this was going to have long moments of sparse minimalist noises. Fortunately, it was just a passing thought and when the music hit my ears, I was again admiring how amazing this band is. The two lengthy tracks on this album alone are worth the cost of buying. They may very well be the best extended pieces of the music Neal Morse has ever composed.

The four shorter tracks are nothing to skip over either. Revelation is a beautiful song with a powerful chorus section, Thoughts Part II is another obligatory nod to their Gentle Giant influences, Goodbye to Yesterdays is a beautiful ballad (which the band had been getting much better at making), and All On a Sunday, the band's answer to "what if the radio ever played our music." Indeed, I do recall seeing a single of All On a Sunday in a record store some years ago.

Five studio albums from 1995 to 2000, each one in their own right a well deserved masterpiece. That's a better run than most prog bands from the 1970s suggesting to me that Spock's Beard clearly deserves to take their place among the greats. For me, V is their second best album, behind The Kindness of Strangers. Easily five stars and a highly recommended must-have.

Prog's still kickin' into the new millennium!

Truly a marvel of modern music, V stands at the top of it's genre looking down and laughing at it's competitors. Often noted as Dream Theater's [DT] biggest rival by the press (why? I haven't the slightest, maybe because they're both prog bands?.), Spock's Beard [SB] definately delivers. Often bashed for being too pop, SB actually does a great job of mixing short form pop-rock songs and full out progressive-pomp-epics. With the powerful Morse brothers behind the guitar and keyboards this band is a force to be reckoned with.

On the topic of Morse, he's not be the best singer in the world, or lyric writer for that matter. He's also a little too over insistent on both fronts, choosing to put lyrics in everywhere where their contemporaries, such as the notorious DT, choose to over insist on the wanking solos. This is completely okay, though. What Morse sings he sings well, and his voice is actually quite soothing once you accept it's limits. As far as his lyrics go; yes, sometimes they're fairly simple, but that's okay, they're a lot easier to relate to personally. People may prefer to listen to AT THE END OF THE DAY to relax rather than try to dissect every section of Neil Peart's Hemispheres and wind up going into a coma over it. Exaggerated, yes, but the point remains.

Moving onto the music, shall we?

The music itself sports a nice bookend of epics containing a number of shorter numbers in the middle. This structure in itself should be familiar to prog-heads, as most Masterpieces are structured this way. Maybe they were simply copying the masters, but hey, it works.

The opening track AT THE END OF THE DAY is quite a work. Opening with some interesting keyboards we're eventually brought into a lush soundscape that is truly soothing on the ears. Shortly in the drum cymbals start and the keys start to pick up. A couple pounding bass chords later and the song explodes into motion. Moving all the way along this song is more or less carried by the drums, keys and bass as it pound along, Morse's voice in tow. Definitely a strong start to the album.

That one aside here comes the short tracks!

Definitely some variety here, the short tracks range from 'great!' to 'meh...'. REVELATIONS is the first short track to be heard and is fairly good. A slowish song with some good Morse screaming moments. Not the best song on the album, but definitely worth listening to. THOUGHTS (part II) sounds like something Gentle Giant could have recorded any day of the week, but it's a very fresh thought on such a 'modern' album. Great song, the harmonizing vocals are used superbly well.

High points? Low points?

In the short tracks there's one of each, actually. ALL ON A SUNDAY is the definitive high point of the shorter tracks ('Gasp! Blasphemy!' cries the crowd). Is it poppy? Certainly! Is it an incredibly uplifting, catchy song? Yes! So poppy as it may be, it's still a great song, and maybe even the best of the short tracks. GOODBYE TO YESTERDAY is the obligatory slow song on the album, clearly put there by some higher power who pointed down from the clouds and said, 'This album is too perfect, it needs a flaw!'. Not a bad track but not a great track by any means, GOODBYE TO YESTERDAY just drags along and fills some time until the next masterwork.

And then the ever controversial...

THE GREAT NOTHING, SB's big epic journey. Compared to previous 20+ minute prog masterworks does this one compare? Well, it's certainly in a different style yet clearly influenced by the old works. The song opens wonderfully with some guitar and soon the song begins. Defined by some great guitar and keyboard solos that go on long enough for one to get the point without bashing it into your skull (looking at you DT), this track just works. There's some recurring riffs and motifs int here, and they're so wonderfully used that any prog fan might just bob their head along to it. It also features a nice breakdown near the middle not dissimilar to some kind of modern 'Willow Farm' with it's fitting quirkiness. Yeah, sure it can get poppy at times, but this is a truly refreshing epic that fits nicely between DT's instrumental-show-off-look-at-me-I'm-excellent epics and The Flower King's [TFK] look-at-us-we're-Swedish-and-can-play-long-long-long-songs epics. Then, at the end of it all it simply fades out with the piano still ringing.

Erm, ending this now.

4.5 stars. Just short of a masterpiece. Being a bit too poppy in parts and one weak track are all that's keeping this one down. Recommended for DT fans, DT haters, TFK fans, TFK haters and prog fans in general. Like the two band SB is always compared too they're somewhat of an acquired taste, but what prog isn't? Excellent prog album, one of the best from this side of the millennium. Recommended!

While many consider V to be the one when it comes to the Beard's early works, I have to disagree.

At the End of the Day starts things out great; well composed and exciting with a good mix of sounds and tones; however, successive songs simply don't do it for me. Revelation is a noisy mess that comes from, and goes no where, its only effect leaving the listener bored of Morse's bland shouts. Thoughts 2 is better, since it actually demonstrates the band's creative playing unfortunately juxtaposed with horrible lyrics from Morse. All On a Sunday isn't even worth discussing, but Goodbye to Yesterday has a nice, mellow vibe and textures.

The big track, Into the Great Nothing is often lauded as one of the band's finest works which did very little for me. After re-listening, I found it to be somewhat repetitive and bland; there are few melodies and vocal moments worth salvaging, and Morse's guitar only occasionally impresses, but what few lush moments there are (provided by the keyboard players mostly) are welcome as is D'Virgilio's always proficient drumming. All in all, a big, heavy-handed exercise in bombast which wears its inspiration on its sleeve and doesn't give the listener credit enough to enjoy anything other than shout chorus after shout chorus.

In the end, V is only an occasional listen for me-- and not just because Neal Morse bothers me... it simply isn't as creative or dynamic as most of the band's other albums, it's simply loud and operatic for the sake of it.

Songwriting: 4 Instrumental Performances: 4 Lyrics/Vocals: 2 Style/Emotion/Replay: 2

This is probably the hardest Spock's Beard album to get into because of the two longer tracks but if you're up to the challenge then these two great pieces of Neo-Prog are well worth your time!

Neal Morse has a way of making long compositions work pretty much every time and this time it's unfortunately the shorter songs that feel very out of place between the two epic tracks. I would have preferred to have an album consisting only of the two long tracks, that add up to a whooping running time of 43+ minutes, than this current version of the release. In most case I end up skipping through these four middle tracks since they really don't add much to this album.

In fact when I copied over the CD to my portable player I skipped those tracks entirely and instead added the title-track off the band's debut album - The Light. Although it can't match the sound quality of this release this bonus track creates a much better flow for me and it would have easily made and essential Neo-Prog album.

This is of course not the case with the album as it stands today and it doesn't constitute for anything more than a very good, but non-essential release.

***** star songs: At The End Of The Day (16:30)

**** star songs: The Great Nothing (27:18)

*** star songs: Revelation (6:04) Thoughts (Part II) (4:41) All On A Sunday (4:12) Goodbye To Yesterday (4:40)

Total Rating: 3,95

This was my first contact with this band. I bought this album imported and it cost me quite some money. Well, after many repeated spins, it still sounds like something is missing. Please, don´t get me wrong: the musicians are all very skilled, the band is tight, the arrangements are well done and the influences are all of bands I like (specially Yes and Gentle Giant). But clearly Steve Morse, as talented as he is, has some kind of style th is not everyone´s cup.

I can´t find any real flaw on this album, other than I do not appreciate much of the songwriting. Production is also top notch and the artwork is beauful. A good album indeed, but nothing that really moves me. I like to listen once in a while. Not a bad song, nor a highlight either. Savory, but for special tastes.

And the band comes back into the appropriate focus. This album sits up quite high on my list, probably my second favorite release from the Beard, next to Beware of Darkness. By this point, most of the prog ideals of complicated time signatures and odd keys are mostly thrown out the door, leaving a sort of symphonic art rock sound. If you're looking for that kind of prog, you probably will be a good bit disappointed. However, if you are looking for quality music that can hold your attention for an hour, this is a wise place to look.

The opener, At the End of the Day, has a driving and fast drum rhythm and a unique sound to it. In fact, this sound will stick around for a lot of the album, and is in my mind the true sound of Spock's Beard. I don't know what it is, but it's a certain combination of a keyboard sound and the bass and the guitar and then Neal singing over the top of all of it. Either way, the song slows down in the middle, but then reappears with such ferocity that I have trouble calling it straight rock. Amazing drum fills and a very crunchy guitar mark the latter half of this piece. The chorus happens to be very catchy as well.

Revelation is a stunning vocal piece. Mellotron (I'm almost positive it's mellotron, but I'm not a keyboardist, so what do I know) tinkles throughout this song, shining in the quiet portions. The choruses, however, showcase such a power and strength in Neal's voice that every time I hear it, I get chills. Anyone who says Neal is not a great vocalist, or even is just an average vocalist, needs to listen to this song. I can't remember for sure, but years ago, this was the song that convinced me Spock's Beard was really worth listening to. Pretty sure it's this one. That or At the End of the Day. Either way, it didn't take long into the record for me decide this band might work for me.

Thoughts (Part II) is quite the worthy successor to the first. Though less interested in the vocal interplay that dominated the first, the instruments this time take the front stage (and the nod to Gentle Giant). The bass is grotesquely fat here, but in a beautiful way. Hard to explain, but it sounds amazing. The drums on the outro bit always inspire me as well. Another nice fun one.

All on a Sunday is rather straightforward, driven by some form of keyboard, but is still really nice. Cheerful, kind of goofy, and with a nice Neal Morse chorus, it's no prog classic, but it's an enjoyable little ditty. And an album with two massive bookends like V, a cheerful and uncomplicated ditty is always nice.

Of course, then comes Goodbye to Yesterday, a pretty but not terrifically amazing ballad. It's one of my favorite Neal ballads, but that still does not mean that it's that high up on the list. The low point of the album, but that also might be on account of the looming shadow of

The Great Nothing. This song is huge. The instruments are amazing. It flows so nicely and almost seamlessly. This is my favorite epic by Spock's Beard, and quite possibly my favorite epic from all of Neal's projects. From the opening ahhs to the concluding tinkle of a piano chord, this song blows my mind. It must be heard.

An essential album. Not all proggy in the 70s sense of the word, but certainly beautiful and amazing. These boys have so much talent and yet keep it restrained for the right moment. Not an album to miss.

In my opinion this is the perfect SPOCK'S BEARD album. It sounds to me like it's more mature than past records, maybe not as dynamic as "The Light" or "Beware Of Darkness" but overall better. I would even go as far to say that this is the best album I have heard that involves Neal Morse. Hey they even kept the time down to 63 1/2 minutes. They thank Greg Walker and Mike Portnoy in the liner notes.

"At The End Of The Day" is the 16 1/2 minute opening track. It's kind of mournful to start with but it kicks into an uptempo, upbeat melody 1 1/2 minutes in. Check out the thunderous bass ! Vocals 2 minutes in. Love Neal's voice. A change 5 minutes in as percussion comes in. Chunky bass after 6 minutes followed by a jazzy section. It settles down before 8 minutes with reserved vocals and piano. Mellotron 9 1/2 minutes in as guitar cries. It gets heavy 11 minutes in with some killer organ and incredible drumming. Mellow again 12 1/2 minutes with reserved vocals and piano leading the way. Kicks back in around 14 minutes with some deep bass lines and scorching guitar. Great opening track. "Revelation" is spacey to start with as a pleasant melody comes in with reserved vocals. A powerful sound after a minute.This contrast of light and heavy continues. Nice. I like the liquid keys during the mellow sections. Some ripping guitar after 4 minutes with mellotron that continues almost to the end of the song. "Thoughts (Part II)" is a sequel to "Thoughts" from "Beware Of Darkness". Strummed guitar and vocals before some heavy bass and a fuller sound comes in. Those GENTLE GIANT vocal arrangments follow. Themes are repeated. Killer bass before and after 3 minutes and later on. What a song ! Some cello in this one too.

"All On A Sunday" has been described by Neal as Prog- Pop. This is such an uplifting song. Like sunshine and a warm breeze. "Goodbye To Yesterday" is an older Neal Morse song that the band had been after him to record for sometime. This one is melancholic with fragile vocals and acoustic guitar. Mellotron comes in on the chorus. Drums before 2 minutes. Some french horn and piano make an appearance too as it comes to life 2 1/2 minutes in. I wished they had kept it restrained all the way through without these fuller sections.

"The Great Nothing" is the 27 minute closer. It's divided into six sections. It opens with what sounds like mellotron. Acoustic guitar after a minute and a full sound before 2 minutes as drums and bass lead the way. Mellotron and guitar joins in. I like the upbeat section that follows. A calm 3 1/2 minutes in as reserved vocals and piano take over. Nice. Meaningful lyrics. It picks up 7 1/2 minutes in. I like the guitar and bass. Nice organ play with drums follow. A calm 11 1/2 minutes in with piano and mellotron. Chunky bass 12 minutes in as it kicks back in. Catchy section before 15 minutes. A cool guitar / organ passage after 17 minutes. A calm 19 minutes in with a huge mellotron wave, acoustic guitar follows. Heavy again after 20 minutes with guitar and bass. An uplifting section 22 minutes in. The album ends in a spacey, mellow way.

In my opinion this is SPOCK'S BEARD's pinnacle.

Good but not outstanding

Don't know why, but I always been reluctant to listen SPOCK'S BEARD, maybe because I'm tired of the identification of Progheads with Sci Fi (What more related with Sci Fi than a band named for a parallel version of Mr. Spock?) and later for the dislike towards NEAL MORSE and his Evangelistic crusade. I know that this reasons have absolutely no relation with the music, but sometimes external factors affect the perception of the music, and I'm the first one to admit the loss was mine, because I was ignoring some good material.

Well now lets get a bit into the band, Spock's Beard is maligned as Retro Prog by many bit beloved by more loyal fans, others say it's light Prog, some believe they are some kind of Pop Prog (A natural contradiction IMO), but I believe it's a solid Symphonic band with some mainstream reminiscences that I learned to like and respect but not to love as I love bands like GENESIS or ANGLAGARD.

"V" begins with "At the End of the Day" and it's pompous organ intro that sounds ideal for an epic movie, but after a few seconds it morphs into more traditional Symphonic with excellent guitar and drums, the problem begins when Neal Morse adds the vocals, I simply don't like his range too much, makes the songs sound simpler than they are, what isn't bad necessarily, but I believe cuts the atmosphere that the band was creating.

This first epic (16:30 minutes) is very good, but there's something that doesn't convince me totally, as if they lacked of that "je ne sais quoi" that makes the difference between a good and an excellent band. Nice acoustic guitar solo, but the vocals are something that I can't resist.

The contrast between the clearly Symphonic opener and the eclectic "Revelation" is obvious, the second track starts soft and simple, morphs into a ballad that gains strength and turns into Hard Rock and then some sort of light fusion and back again into Hard Rock. Yes, it has radical changes, better vocals and blend of genres, but still there's something missing in the band, in this case some cheesy keyboard passages simply cut all my inspiration.

"Thoughts Part II" starts promising with an excellent acoustic guitar intro that turns into an acoustic power ballad, a very good instrumental break where the band offers their best criminally cut repeatedly by an horrendous choral section that ruins the song despite the outstanding instrumental sections..If they only had kept their mouth shut, other would had been the result.

"All on a Sunday" is a nice power ballad with no changes and/or surprises, too predictable, flows gently from start to end with few (if any) variations. The weakest song of the album.

The acoustic guitar intro of "Goodbye to Yesterday" made me believe this song could be the best of the album, but it was a mirage, sadly turns into anther ballad with little interest, which bores me from the moment the singing begun.

"The Great Nothing" is "la piece de resistance", the 27 minutes epic that is supposed to make worth what you paid the album, and really makes the difference, after a mysterious but sober organ intro, Neal delights us with an acoustic guitar passage of great beauty, and then they hit us with unexpected strength.

After a very hard section the band returns to Symphonic territory with an outstanding interplay of all the instruments during a long instrumental break, which ends as abrupt as it started when Neal begins to sing, I can't hide he fact that I hate the vocals, but not so bad to ruin the song.

Along this very good song, the band makes several changes and shows us how they have been influenced by bands like YES and GENESIS, but always managing to stay original. Excellent closer, the best song of the album.

Being that I don't believe "V" is a masterpiece or remotely essential, the rating is easy, 3 stars for an album that I believe is above the average but nothing more. Still The Light" is far beyond in quality.

This fifth album from "Spock's Beard" is not really different from its predecessors. Still, I far much prefer the harmonies featured throughout "V" that the poor stuff available on their previous recording.

This album is kind of back on the roots; which means more YesOriented, more bombastic, more symphonic. I guess that fans can only be enthusiast with such a return to the core of their sound. This being said, the same lack of originality is almost felt at every corner of this CD.

The opening epic offers some fine instrumental parts as well as tender vocal sections. Steve Howe's typical guitar play is often copied (but never matched) and there are truly gorgeous keys moments as well. In all, this epic is quite enjoyable and well performed. It could have been excellent if "Yes" wouldn't be responsible for half of it. Still, this is a highlight of the album.

This album sounds definitely better than 'Day For Night" (which is rather easy). Even if most songs feature strong links with wonderful bands of the greatest prog era, the album is quite OK to listen to. I particularly like the heavy organ available on "Thoughts". But I understand that these Gentle Giant and later Kansas oriented vocals might irritate more than one prog fan.

The closing number and second epic is also a quiet enjoyable track. Another "Yes" revisited long piece of music. You'll get the instrumental intro, the acoustic Howe oriented savours, the melodic vocal lines etc. Still, it is quite a journey (twenty-seven minutes!). One goes through many musical experiences: jazzy, bombastic, melodic, and symphonic. Did I say Flower Kings?

It is obvious that if you like TFK, you will love the Beards (and vice-versa of course). But "The Great Nothing" is more of a combination of several distinctive parts with little interaction with each other than a true epic (I guess that it is needless to tell the ones I am referring to). The whole sounds pleasant, diversified enough to avoid boredom, for sure.

"V" is a good album. Much more interesting than "The Kindness Of Strangers". It should please new prog fans. But in terms of pure inventiveness, I have to say that this album just falls short. Some good musical parts which brings us back into the early seventies. But the ones who were there (like myself) might not be fully satisfied with these "déjà entendu" type of music.

Three stars.

Easily Spock's Beards' best single album. It it arguably the best overall album for me, but SNOW also is in the same position. V is probably the easiest album to jump into for people just getting into SB, however, for many reasons. The main influences here are probably YES, GENESIS, THE BEATLES, and RUSH.

The first song, AT THE END OF THE DAY, is a great epic with emotional and rocking themes. This is followed by many great shorter songs, the best being THOUGHTS PART II. The highlight of the album is easily THE GREAT NOTHING, which tells the emotional story of NEAL MORSE's life. It is easily the best on the album and maybe the best of SB.

So basically, this album is really amazing. The musicians are skilled, the music is written beautifully, and is easily a desert island album for me. For newbies and fans, this is a must-own.

Spock's Beard hit a home run with this powerful album. The short middle songs are tracks I would tend to pass over, but the lengthy pieces that bookend this record are not to be missed, and more than qualify this as a five star album. It is truly an amazing and inspiring work.

"At the End of the Day" If I only got one Spock's Beard song to enjoy for the rest of my life, this would be it. "At the End of the Day" features an inspiring introduction, amazing lyrics, and a funky little Latin section. The organ and guitar solos leave nothing to be desired, and the arrangement is nearly perfect, as each section is almost seamlessly woven together. The lyrics and accompanying vocal melodies are impeccably uplifting, and something stirs in my heart each time I hear them.

"Revelation" The second song is a soft pleasant one (the chorus is hard-rocking however), one that could've been fronted by the late Marvin Gaye (for the most part anyway). It's a song that drags on a bit, but overall it's enjoyable.

"Thoughts, Pt. 2" As the name hints at, this is a Gentle Giant-like romp through many vocals and strange music, but the lovely acoustic "first verse" betrays this.

"All On a Sunday" The best of the short songs, this has an upbeat rhythm with a pleasant organ and acoustic guitar leading the way. It's nothing more than a pop song, but it's well done and highly enjoyable. It could be the theme song for a hip new teen drama!

"Goodbye to Yesterday" A pleasant acoustic number with some good bass work, it reminds me of Lindsay Buckingham-era Fleetwood Mac, particularly in recent times. The vocals are a little grainy, but the Mellotron is a nice touch in the background. It's a good dance song, if anything.

"The Great Nothing" The epic track took a few listens to grow on me. The lack of flow between the sections was an initial obstacle, but now it runs together perfectly in my ears. The unsettling opening is a strange wall of noise, but it leads into the main theme, which is performed on acoustic guitar. After the three minute introduction, there's a beautiful piano and vocal theme. A brief acoustic interlude with two singers comes in just before the whole band explodes into action, led by lead guitar and synthesizer. What follows is one of the coolest moments on the album- strange sound effects immerse great and funky bass riffs, which continue under some amazing and soulful organ playing. Rapid-fire singing carries on over another musical theme, this one somewhat heavier. The fifth section is the catchiest part of all even though it has some quirky sound effects and words. As per the lyrics, eventually things "quiet down," and the introductory acoustic guitar theme is revisited, which builds back up into further powerful music. A guitar solo and then gentle piano conclude matters.

When I first got Transatlantic's Whirlwind, I wanted to hear all of Spock's Beard's stuff, because I loved Neal Morse. I got V , and damn was did I like it. If there was ever a possibility of progressive rock being pop-like catchy, but still has that awesome progression, this is the album. With the awesome starter, At the End of the Day, you get a first whiff of it. Even the weaker song on the album, Thoughts part 2, has good parts. And then the grand finale of The Great Nothing blows you out the water at 100 miles per hour. It is a spectacular track.

Very Good Modern Prog - Don't Forget the Bass!!!

Spock's Beard fifth album is often considered their best, and in fact the two epics that open and close this album were the only SB songs I knew for many years. (Courtesy of some Prog Mix CDs a friend of mine made for me long ago) I finally got the whole album, and while the meat is the epics, there are still some nice morsels among the rest of the work. I happen to find it interesting that while Neal Morse and Nick D'Virgilio get the most mentions in prog circles, I think was gives Spock's Beard their most distincitve aspect to their sound is the bass work of Dave Meros. It is up front, and a mix of a classic pop and modern thunder. Frankly, no other instrument makes my ears perk up and pay attention like the bass. Neal Morse's vocals are adequate with the interplay between vocal parts much better than the actual performance. The guitars move from tasty to textural and are occasional powerful, but never really stand out. (I must admit that Alan Morse's effects and tone are about as good as any guitarist doing this kind of modern prog, perfectly fitting the song.) The drumming is solid but again doesn't do anything to truly impress this non-drummer. But even though I don't play much bass, when Meros starts letting those strings thunder, I immediately pay attention.

As others have said, the highlight of the album is the opener "End of the Day." Despite its 16 minutes, I never lose interest. What's more, there are some instrumental moments that are simply prog heaven. Intense interwoven vocals, keys, guitar, a little bit of spacy fantasy, it's what I (and most of us) love about classic prog. The piece moves, yet has recurring themes that hold it together. Excellent. "Revelation" follows which is a nice swimmy mellow piece that is less ambitious but still remembers that it is prog. The Gentle Giant homage "Thoughts, Pt. 2" is a highlight for me, a GG fanboy. It's intricate, aggressive, right up my alley. "All on a Sunday" is pretty darn bad, with Morse actually missing pitch and the whole song reeking of cheese. "Goodbye to Yesterday" is a straightforward pop ballad, nothing wrong or remarkable about it. The final monster epic, "The Great Nothing," is a return to grand prog but probably would have been better at the 15 minutes instead of half an hour. Unlike the opener, it doesn't have the power to hold itself together or maintain my attention for its entirety. (Though it would take a monster of a composition to keep me going for 30 minutes without a break. Most classical pieces of that length don't pull it off either.) Don't take me the wrong way, there are still many tasty prog treats scattered in there. I much prefer it to Morse's straight up pop. I'd give it a "B" where the first three pieces were all in the A range.

Definitely a good pickup for fans of modern prog. Easy 4 star rating for me.

This 63-minute long "EP" is held in high regard by many in the prog world. I find it derivative. "Revelation" (8/10) starts beautifully but then goes over the top. The two epics "At the End of the Day" (7/10) and "The Great Nothing" (7/10), 16:27 and 27:03, respectively, are just showy and pointlessly long. "All on a Sunday" sounds as if it wants to be a pop song in the vein of BEACH BOYS (and foreshadowing the later arrival of MOON SAFARI). But it just doesn't have the hooks. "Thoughts, Pt. 2" (7/10) is a GENTLE GIANT ripoff--as if to say "Look: We can do Gentle Giant!" Even the best song on the album, "Goodbye to Yesterday" (8/10) is a bit too cliched and nothing to really write home about. Spock's Beard is technically talented, lyrically banal, and, unfortunately, playing music that is so familiar, so similar to "classic" groups and songs of the 70s as to be almost embarrassing. Spock's Beard, even with Neal Morse, has never produced an album that gets rotated into my play cycle. Not even one single song. And this, their most highly rated album, is nothing more than a 3 star album to me.

If Neal Morse wanted to leave Spock's Beard on a high note, it should have been after this album, not the derivative and poorly written "Snow". The album is easily the Beard's best, and contain's Morse's finest compositions, as well.

The album begins and end with excellent prog epics. Both At The End Of The Day and The Great Nothing hold the prog listener's interest from start to finish, flowing effortlessly through their multiple musical themes, and showcasing the talents of each band member.

Revelation is a strong ballad, where Morse manages to push a some religious lyrics without getting preachy or trite, the two easiest traps for Christian songwriters. Not only that, it's a strong composition as well.

Thoughts (Part 2) like it's first part, uses Gentle Giant-like counterpoint with perfect effectiveness. And All On A Sunday and Goodbye To Yesterday provide a bit of breathing room before the final outstanding epic.

While this album isn't quite perfect, it's close enough to rate five stars.

After their debut album, The Light, Spock's Beard spent three albums or so exploring different ways to balance their prog roots with a more accessible approach, as well as tightening up their songwriting.

That period of workshopping then gave way to V, in which the band were confident enough to unabashedly steer in a prog-oriented direction (right down to kicking off with a 16 minute epic, At the End of the Day, and ending with a nearly half-hour one, The Great Nothing) whilst retaining a willingness to incorporate modern influences and a few ideas from outside the usual prog wheelhouse. (Check out the Latin guitar section in At the End of the Day before it shifts into an almost prog metal-ish mode, for instance, which then leads into a jazz fusion detour.)

As is often the case with Spock's Beard, there's an extent to which the lyrics can get repetitive on the longer tracks; on that front, on At the End of the Day Neal Morse's basic compositional trick seems to be to see how many different ways he can come up with to deliver the same basic lines. Still, it really works there, largely because the musical backing shifts and transforms enough that each time Neal Morse delivers the refrain of the song it carries a subtly different emotional weight. (He repeats the trick magnificently on The Great Nothing.)

It's not all longer tracks here either - in between the two epics there's a tasteful clutch of songs which manage to take all sorts of twists and turns in much tighter confines. (Revelation, for instance, shifts between "Beatles jamming with a jazz fusion group" and "Pink Floyd at their doomiest" in terms of its musical approach.)

Such a diversity of sound risks becoming chaotic, of course - they got away with that chaos on The Light largely on the strength of their earnest delivery, but they're a bit tighter about their songwriting here. The musical safe harbour they seem to return to the most could be described as "Kansas meets Gentle Giant" - Gentle Giant for the complexity and the diversity of sounds, Kansas for the dose of sunny heartland rock which adds a certain broad appeal to proceedings, and with the vocal harmonies providing a point of crossover between the two. Most of the time the approach leans more towards "Kansas with a big dose of Gentle Giant flavour" rather than the other way, though on Thoughts Part II the proportions fiip.

It's the Kansas in Spock's Beard which was my stumbling block for a while, though I've found myself warming on Kansas recently and so perhaps am in a better place to appreciate this album. (Listening to the preceding albums to better understand the musical journey which took them to this point is a help.)

Still, it would be simplistic to reduce their sound to this, especially since on V they seem to go out of their way to deepen their approach. Along with the soft guitar alt-rock and metal-ish heavier moments they've habitually been working in, there's a greater inclusion of this time of nods to jazz fusion, the band trusting the audience to follow them even when they start incorporating more challenging elements into their music.

If one were inclined to write them off as by-the-numbers retro-prog - as I admit I did in the past - they need only listen to Thoughts Part II, which despite its liberal borrowings from the past also sounds cutting edge and highly experimental. At the more accessible end, there's All On a Sunday, which sounds like a fusion of modern indie rock and Beatles-esque sunshine pop, Spock's Beard sounding warm and appealing and catchy but with just enough of a twist to reassure you that they're not just pandering to the charts with it.

This album is another one of those which tends to divide prog fans the world over. You love it or you hate it. Actually, specifically, you either love Neal Morse or hate him, because I think it is universally accepted that the standard of musicianship here and on other albums by this band is nothing short of exceptional.

For myself, I believe that this work represents a highpoint of Morse's career, probably only eclipsed by the debut Transatlantic effort. It is also, in my opinion, the clear highpoint of this band's output, although I might stress that the two are not necessarily linked.

The album is bookended by two incredible, daring, and massive opus tracks, At The End Of The Day, and the twenty seven minute long Great Nothing.

The opener starts proceedings in magnificent, symphonic, fashion, and is, indeed, the type of track that many Yes fans were hoping the old boys would come out with in 2000. I love the chorus in this, amongst the grand mellotron and symphonic soundscapes. It is, in reality, about the perfect neo-prog track, because it is created with such a knowing and loving nod to the symphonic masters of yore.

In between, we have a series of shorter tracks. Revelation is an interesting, and enjoyable, mix of light and heavy moods, with a distinctive commercial edge to proceedings, particularly in the chorus. Thoughts Part II is more of a throwaway track to me, too frenetic in parts for its own good, but still with some delicate and enjoyable vocals.

All On A Sunday is basically an enjoyable pop/prog romp, with a lovely upbeat rhythm, swirling keyboards, and relentlessly upbeat guitar backing Morse clearly enjoying every second. As with albums such as 90125, to which this album has understandably been compared, there is nothing wrong with a deliberately commercial song, as long as it is as well performed and well meaning as this.

The final short track is Goodbye To Yesterday, and is the type of lush acoustic number which lifts my spirits every time I hear it, all of this underscored by a delicate and mournful mellotron. Morse, I feel, has very rarely sounded better as he sings his heart out on a piece of lost love.

And so to the magnum opus, Great Nothing. You really are asking for trouble when you name a track in such a fashion, but, thankfully such worries are quickly dissipated. The opening section is extremely dark and foreboding with a taste of Wagnerian opera to these ears, with a brief, and lovely, acoustic guitar interlude before a tremendous riff brings the track to life, when Okumoto shows his pure class on organ. The following piano and vocal introduction to the main track is wonderfully lovely, and oozes sheer class. As we move on into the "main section", there is, at first listen, a confusing mix of moods and signatures, and it really isn't until many listens that you learn to appreciate the fact that it does gel together very well. Many passages are extremely reminiscent of The Flower Kings more experimental instances, whilst others are deliberately designed to give the impression that this is Spock's Beard's very own Close To The Edge, or Tales From Topographic Oceans, i.e. a collection of movements creating one whole suite.

Throughout, the band are performing at the top of their game. Such a suite demands tight playing and strong production to bring us the contrasts between bombastic and delicate, and it wins here on every level. I think a special mention should go to Dave Meros, whose ferocious bass playing at the more bombastic phases is simply incredible, but, in reality, all players shine on what is a very ambitious track, which could so easily have fallen apart, but, instead, ranks as one of the finest symphonic pieces of modern times. It also passes that very difficult trick of keeping the listener's attention throughout, right up to the fantastically uplifting conclusion.

This is an extremely good album, and by far my favourite that the band released. For any readers of this review who might have come across Transatlantic late in that project's career, and are curious about exploring the bands that make up the supergroup in more detail, this is the perfect place to start with Spock's Beard, because, in truth, they really didn't come anywhere near the heights of this symphonic delight on other releases.

Four stars for this. An excellent addition to any prog rock collection, and a must for all lovers of symphonic rock. It only just falls short of the masterpiece rating to me.

Spock's Beard ended the last millennium with their most confident and accomplished album yet, and just in time, too. Afterward would come the double-disc beached whale of "Snow" (a transparent evangelical "Lamb Lies Down" saga), and the spiritual defection of singer- songwriter Neal Morse. Tough times indeed, but in retrospect their later struggles would only add luster to this already sterling effort.

As usual the album balanced catchy power-prog melodies with longer symphonic rock workouts. But this time around the band sounded rejuvenated, after injecting fresh blood into a formula grown stale in their previous release, "Day for Night". The difference was enough to make even the four new impeccably-played shorter songs resemble nothing more than place holders, marking time between the galvanized 16-plus minute opener "At the End of the Day" and the album's magnum opus "The Great Nothing", according to Morse the band's answer to "Supper's Ready".

Of course the same might be said for every multi-movement Neo-Prog Rock suite pushing the 30-minute mark. And there's a particular irony in the fact that the original Genesis epic dealt with biblical end times, while the version penned here by an embryonic born-again Christian was a more prosaic chronicle of disillusion and salvation set within an unforgiving music industry. Morse would later abandon his own quest for that one perfect, timeless note, and settle instead for a verbal onslaught of insecure proselytizing. But here his only savior was still the music itself, in careful accordance with one of Progressive Rock's first principles.

The six-part song, much like the entire album, is ambitious but often derivative: business as usual for The Beard. Fans who have somehow managed to keep pace with the tireless career of Neal Morse, beginning with Spock's Beard, through Transatlantic and into his own solo ministry, know from hard experience how to accept the good (pinpoint musicianship; dynamic arrangements; a fertile gift for melody) alongside the bad (shallow lyrics; emotional overkill; secondhand Prog vernacular). But "V" was one album that made the appreciation easier than usual: for better and/or worse, this was Spock's Beard at the apex of their game.

I may have mentioned before, once or twice, that in my humble opinion Spock's Beard are the best band to ever come from over the pond. Their latest release does nothing at all to make me change that opinion. It took me a little while to get into this album, but once I did then I found that I had real problems trying to listen to anything else. There are a few long numbers, but also some shorter ones. I think that if I had to play one song to try to entice a new fan that it would be one of these, "Thoughts (Part II)". It starts life as a gentle acoustic guitar ballad, but at the end of the introduction Neal puts an edge on his voice as he sings "I thought it might be really great, to show you how I feel inside, but I think, maybe not". This heralds the introduction of the rest of the band, who repeats and then plays around the musical motif. Gradually the pace picks up, and gets more complex then stops dead as the band produce harmony vocals a la Barber Shop form out of nowhere. The song moves from one extreme to another, with the initial phrase returned to twice. It may not be very long, but it is superb.

I am also a big fan of "All On A Sunday" which starts life as a Kansas soundalike, but yet again initial musical perceptions can be misleading and in the case of Spock's Beard downright wrong. Spock's Beard may be the huge fish in a pond that seems to be getting smaller every day, but if the rest of the musical world cannot see what they are missing then that is their loss. Yet another great album from the band that have managed to be prolific without losing quality.

Originally appeared in Feedback #60

That I really enjoy this album has come as somewhat of a surprise to me. Two years ago, when I first understood that I liked what is known as progressive rock and that there were so many bands I had never heard of out there producing exciting quality prog, I began listening to samples on Amazon, iTunes, and YouTube. I tried to get into Spock's Beard but no matter how interesting the music sounded I couldn't accept the vocals. After three attempts to find something that would grab me I gave up on Spock's Beard. Then I read a book by Stephen Lambe where he recommended 'V' and I thought, 'What the heck; I'll buy it,' because Mr. Lambe recommended many other albums which I already owned.

There are three things that I really appreciate about this album:

1. Song length variety. Although there is an epic long song and another over 16 minutes, there are four other songs between 4 and 6 minutes. Long epics can be fantastic but they require patience to get through and appreciate and at times they sound like little more than a medley of disparate songs thrown together for no other purpose than to say, 'We are prog. Check out our long songs.' After the second listen I liked "The Great Nothing" and after the first listen I liked "At the End of the Day".

2. Musical creativity without being overly diverse. The songs are basically rock music in its various modes including quiet acoustic guitar, hard electric guitar, organ, piano, jazzy frills, funky grooves, pop punkish tinges, pretty melodies, and so on. But there are surprises with orchestra and woodwinds, brass, a cappella, and even a Spanish section with some nice percussion. 'Thoughts (Part II)' actually reminds me of a more recent 'Can-Utility and the Coastliners' by Genesis because I once read that Genesis managed to record a classic example of prog rock in a normal length song and this song here by Spock's Beard includes many twists and modern prog turns but barely exceeds four minutes.

3. I like almost the whole album. There's no song that I would call a dud although one or two songs are almost regular radio fodder rock. For the most part this is a very enjoyable album and after the first two listens I was already adding 'At the End of the Day,' 'Thoughts (Part II)', and 'The Great Nothing' to my commute-time playlists. As for the vocals, I wonder what samples I had listened to that turned me off the band in the first place because I have no qualms with the vocals on this album. Though I got the CD only at the beginning of December last year (2013), two of the songs entered the list of 25 most played songs of the year according to my iTunes library (I bought a gross number of CDs last year so there was a lot of competition for listening time).

It's no surprise to know that Neal Morse of Spock's Beard went on to work with Roine Stolt of The Flower Kings in Transatlantic because I can see both bands share a similar musical styling. If you haven't heard Spock's Beard yet, I agree with Stephen Lambe that this album is worth checking out.