? [AKA: QUESTION MARK]

Good rock a la the bubble gum/stadium rockers of the late 1970s and early 1980s: REO SPEEDWAGON, STYX, KANSAS, FOREIGNER, BOSTON--maybe even THE EAGLES and PINK FLOYD. But really there is nothing here without a pop/commercial feel to it, nothing new or innovative. Just nice, somewhat memorable songs that at times sound like they're meant to be proggy or sophisticated but usually end up tripping over their own cliché-ness. I guess it doesn't help that I really find Neal's voice rather annoying and twangy. The overtly religious lyrics and intentions of this album have little bearing on my enjoyment of this album as I don't really tune in to lyrics and there are a lot of Christian and religious music that I adore. (No pun intended.) Like SPOCK'S BEARD, TRANSATLANTIC, THE TANGENT and a lot of THE FLOWER KINGS, I just find nothing new--or rather, I find too much repetition of old themes, sounds, and constructs in this music. It's not even 'neo-'prog to me; it's pseudo-prog. I do like the send off of "The Temple of the Living God," though. Very YES/TFK.