MOMENTUM

Momentum is one of Neal's better albums. Still, it's not flawless, but it's fairly consistent and not at all bad. The album kicks off with the title track, Momentum. The catchy chorus melody and guitar soloing make for a satisfying album opener. Thoughts Part 5 has some heavy riffing at the start, with some references to the earlier Spock's Beard songs, Thoughts and Thoughts Part 2. A melody begins to emerge through the multi-layered vocals that Neal has used in this song. The song changes about half way through, going from a catchy, heavy song to a more improvised and jazzy section. Smoke & Mirrors is a ballad, with a predictable but surprisingly strong chorus melody. This is probably the weakest moment of the album, but perhaps the next track, Weathering Sky is. Sure, the chorus is catchy, but the song doesn't give us anything that we haven't heard before. Track 5, Freak, is probably the most intriguing song on the album, with strings in the verses (think Eleanor Rigby), and a strong and catchy chorus. The song is quickly over, though, and so we start the massive epic World Without End. The melodies and themes in this song are fairly strong (especially in the parts Never Pass Away and The Mystery). The instrumental introduction is too long though, lasting about 6 minutes, when it probably should have lasted only 2. In fact, the whole song suffers from its massive length of 33 minutes and 39 seconds. However, it closes the album well and leaves the listener fairly satisfied. For a Neal Morse fan, this is a necessary purchase, but if you're new to Neal, start with something like ? or Sola Scriptura.