FEEL EUPHORIA

I have to hand it to the guys in SB for surviving Neal Morse's departure. There have been plenty of disastrous attempts by bands to forge ahead when a pivotal member has departed (Genesis minus Phil Collins AND Peter Gabriel comes to mind). Fortunately, the four remaining Beard members are talented enough that they can make this work. Having now heard NDV's singing, I find myself wondering why he didn't get more of an opportunity to do so before. This may seem like blasphemy, but I think Nick's voice is just as strong as Neal's, only different. Musically, this is a bit more streamlined progressive with a healthy dose of straight forward rock ('Day For Night' comes to mind). There's more musical diversity on this album than any previous SB release. Case in point: the hard-rocking opener "Onomatopoeia." I love Alan's crunchy guitar riffs with Ryo's keyboards adding a unique texture. Without a doubt, the best song on this album is "The Bottom Line" which runs the gamut from hard rock to traditional prog and ends with a great acoustic bit. There are a few more pop-oriented tracks, such as "Shining Star" and "Carry On" but these songs still maintain the amazing SB sound. That album's multi-part epic, "A Guy Named Sid," is not one of the band's best, but it has some great parts and is similar in scope to "The Healing Colors of Sound" from 'Day For Night.' To people who have been having trouble deciding whether or not they want to buy this album due to the fact that Neal Morse is no longer with the band, I really suggest that you give this a try. If you are looking for another 'Kindness of Strangers' or 'V' you may not like what you hear. On the other hand, if you keep an open mind and just go in expecting great music you won't be disappointed.