DAY FOR NIGHT

SPOCK'S BEARD music is a mix between everything you love with progressive rock. Some are saying that they are just plagiarism, while some are saying that SPOCK'S BEARD is the future promise of progressive rock. My opinion is that I don't care whether they are clones or not because I simply love SPOCK'S BEARD's music. Their music is a melting pot of a numerous of progressive and symphonic bands that you can't resist to love: EMERSON, LAKE & PALMER, GENESIS, GENTLE GIANT, KANSAS, KING CRIMSON, MARILLION, PINK FLOYD, RUSH and YES together with a big amount of BEATLES, EAGLES and ELECTRIC LIGHT ORCHESTRA. SPOCK'S BEARD's songs often contains very catchy melodies and choruses, but also complex compositions. Dave Mero's bass playing is reminiscent to Geddy Lee (RUSH) and Chris Squire (YES). NEAL MORSE's voice is reminiscent to Jeff Lynne (ELECTRIC LIGHT ORCHESTRA) and Paul McCARTNEY. - "Day for Night" contains a great Hammond intro, and it also has some great Mellotron in it. A great opener with a catchy chorus! - "Gibberish" are showing just how great voices SPOCK'S BEARD has. This song is reminiscent to "Thoughts" from their 1996 release "Beware of Darkness", and the GENTLE GIANT's song "Knots" from the "Octopus" album from 1973. You can also hear some YES influences. There's also some beautiful Mellotron present. One of the highlights on this CD. - "Skin" is a catchy Pop tune with BEATLES and ELECTRIC LIGHT ORCHESTRA reminiscences. - "The Distance to the Sun" is a rather average slow ballad with some reminiscences to EAGLES and SIMON & GARFUNKEL regarding the vocals. It's almost all acoustic. - "Crack in the Sky" starts off with a tricky drum intro. It is a typical SPOCK'S BEARD track with some Jazz-Rock and YES influences, and it contains great Rickenbacker bass together with some nice Hammond, Mellotron and Organ. The song has a catchy chorus too, and there's also a sax solo done by a man named John Garr. This song is one of the highlights. - "Gypsy" has got a very seventies sound that reminds of BEATLES, ELECTRIC LIGHT ORCHESTRA and GENESIS with lots of Mellotron. This song is very complex with intricate chord progressions. One of the album's highlights. - "Can't Get It Wrong" has got a nice piano and cello opening with a clear BEATLES influence as well as ELECTRIC LIGHT ORCHESTRA. A nice pop ballad with great vocals!. Once you've heard it, it's hard to get it out of you head. - "The Healing Colours of Sound (Part 1)" is an instrumental track with GENESIS influences and Mellotron. One of the album's highlights. - "My Shoes" is a quiet song with some beautiful piano and Hammond, but it's one of the albums weakest tracks although it has a catchy chorus. - "Mommy comes back" is a rather average track even though it's typical SPOCK'S BEARD track with great guitar playing and a catchy chorus. Sometimes it reminds a little of "Thoughts" or PINK FLOYD. - "Lay it down" is a mellow and beautiful slow ballad that has a nice melody and some Peter GABRIEL and MARILLION reminiscences. - "The Healing Colours of Sound" has some nice piano playing as well as some GENTLE GIANT reminiscences. This is one of the highlights on this album. - "My Shoes (Revisited)" has got the theme from "My Shoes" as the title reveals. It also has Mellotron mayhem at the ending. Lovely! - "Hurt" is a bonus track on the European release, written by Dean Chamberlain. It's a real good straight rocker with heavy guitar riffs, but it doesn't fit in with the rest of the album. The cover artwork could have been taken from a new RUSH album as it's reminiscent to Hugh Syme's works. All in all this is a very interesting and varied album that is very typical SPOCK'S BEARD, and surely will attract every true SPOCK'S BEARD fan. And as usual there's loads of Mellotron. This is one of the top releases this year. Recommended!