THE LIGHT

The debut of Spock's Beard is usually criticized because the quality of the recording is not the best, as it is a cheap home studio recording, and it lacks the addition of Ryo Okumoto's keyboards, who would enter the band on the second album. These complains may be true, but they don't change the fact that this albums contain four awesome compositions, with great songwriting and amazing musicianship. Even if their influences are evident (Yes, Genesis, Gentle Giant, Adrian Belew's era King Crimson, Kansas, etc) the music in this album is still original and unique. No matter how long are the tracks, they never bore me in any moment. They include many different subsections wihich are nicely bridged with clever arrangements, so they really flow well. Neal Morse plays masterfullly Hammond, synths,mellotron and piano (even with jazz improvisations at certain moments) so Ryo Okumoto is not that necessary in this album.. The album is also the most guitar-driven of their discography. I love Alan Morse's guitar tone, and his use of the whammy bar effects, and I find his solo playing always entertaining. The bass is a little low in the mix and the drums don't sound as good as in the following albums by the Beard, but the playing is very good for both. I think this album deserves 5 stars. Yes, it could have sounded even better, but after all the most important aspect of an album is the quality of music. And The Light contains superb music.