| The
Review |
Continuing his musical exploration
of spirituality former Spock’s Beard lead vocalist Neal Morse’s
“?” tunefully pulls references from the Bible and history
to create a captivating and dazzling display of his musical
abilities. Featuring members of Steve Hackett, Jordan Rudess
& Mike Portnoy of Dream Theater and his sibling (and fellow
Spock’s Beard member) guitar player Al Morse, “?” is complex,
riveting and tuneful.Morse bases his album around the Tabernacle
the place where God resides. Across the 12 tracks of “?” Morse
covers a lot of prog ground. The opening track “The Temple
of the Living God” sets the pace. If you are an atheist, then
this track with its complex musical interplay and a stunning
guitar solo could just make you reconsider.It also shows up
in a reprise at the very end of the album extending the original
song. These bookends provide the basic “philosophy” that drives
Morse’s beliefs. “Sweet Elation” is one of the shortest tracks
on the album but has a surprisingly commercial appeal with
one of the strongest melodic hooks on the album. “In the Fire”
is probably one of the most traditional prog tracks on the
album with a breathtaking guitar solo at the center of the
piece. “The Glory of the Lord” sounds like the soundtrack
to some long lost Biblical epic. “Inside His Presence” elegantly
revisits the theme of the opening track with a stately vocal
supported by piano and guitar. ***
Spock’s Beard fans won’t be surprised
with the spiritual approach on Morse’s album. Even on “Snow”
the last album that Morse made with the band used an allegorical
story of an albino teenager that might be the returned messiah
and fans that purchased Morse’s 2003 release “Testimony” clearly
had an idea what Morse’s muse had become. If you’re offended
by prog music that uses religious belief as its lyrical inspiration,
you’d best avoid “?”. For the rest of us, “?” is an incredible,
rich musical tapestry interweaving the personal with musical
threads that the expression of Morse’s musical beliefs compelling.
A terrific album with great musical support “?” will be of
interest to more than casual fans of Spock’s Beard and Morse’s
solo career. Recommended.
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