Member:
Constable Hogweed
(Profile)
(All Album Reviews by Constable Hogweed)
Date:
9/7/2002
Format:
CD (Album)
Sadly Neal’s last with the band but what a way to bow out. I’m going to have to condense this otherwise I will be here for years. Again I make no apologies for bringing up the Lennon-ish sound of Neal’s vocals which are eerily identical on such tracks like 4th July and I’m the guy...but for a moment lets flip back to disc one. Brilliance at its most brilliant. "Long Time Suffering" doesn’t need a prog label or indeed any label it’s just a bloody great song. " Love Beyond Words" is short but oh so sweet...beautifully sung...tender and emotive. My particular favorite on disc one is "Devils Got My throat " with Ryo’s aggressive chunky Hammond playing and Neal’s teeth spitting out vocals.... a great moment. Disc 2 is more of the same with some great songs and even a funky brass sounding section on "Snows Night Out" leading seamlessly into Ryo’s solo piece. Things then calm down for a while before getting back into full swing with the excellent "Made alive again/Wind at my back...I defy anyone with emotion not to be moistened eyed at the climax when Neal utters "Your beautiful, your beautiful, your beautiful”, with the band then bringing the house down with a truly brilliant ending.....simply awesome.
Member:
Chuck AzEee!
(Profile)
(All Album Reviews by Chuck AzEee!)
Date:
9/7/2002
Format:
CD (Album)
All of the greats before have done them, but rarely do such things work. Some are revered as classics, others are doomsayers, But Spock's Beard on the double CD concept album Snow are the next band to try their luck on such a task.
From the mind of leader/lead vocalist/keyboardist/acoustic guitarist and main songwriter Neal Morse, comes the concept album based on The life of the main character named Snow.
Snow is an album, based on a character named Snow, that after coming of age wants to find his niche in the world, but along the way, finds the pitfalls of life are not all they are cracked up to be.
On disc one, songs like "Stranger In A Strange Land", "Long Time Suffering", "Love Beyond Words" "Open Wide The Flood Gates/Open The Gates Part 2" and my personal favorite, "Solitary Soul" are prime for classics.
The second disc is just as great, with the highlights being "4th Of July", "Reflection", the Nick D'Virgilio sung "Carie", "Freak Boy", "All Is Vanity" and the adventurous "Snow's Night Out" smoke on this disc.
Like all of the great concept albums that came before it, took many years before they were considered "Classics", Snow has the making of being a "hit".
Album Rating: Four and a Half stars, bordering on Five stars.
A word of note, Spock's Beard, like many of the bands that followed in the wake of the great progressive rock groups of the seventies, are often maligned for sounding like a particular seventies era group, but with today's technology and all of the influences that are effecting such artist like Spock's Beard, for those who are in the mood for a more commercial side to what we brand as progressive rock, Snow is as close to harking the spirits of the great art-rock bands of seventies, as for the band is in top form both lyrically and musical wise.
Enjoy
Charles
Member:
RumbleFishTwist
(Profile)
(All Album Reviews by RumbleFishTwist)
Date:
6/11/2003
Format:
CD (Album)
The best they have done so far!
Just get out there & get it!
You won't be sorry!
If you can't find the Limited Edition 3 disc set get the regular 2 set version.
Well?!?!?!?!,
What are you waiting for? Get you ass out there & get this disc!!!!!!!
Member:
kid_runningfox
(Profile)
(All Album Reviews by kid_runningfox)
Date:
6/12/2003
Format:
CD (Album)
This is the review I wrote for Amazon in the UK, thought you all might like to see it:
I have to say that when I first heard about this album I groaned inwardly. Does, I asked myself, the world REALLY need another lengthy prog concept album? Similarly, as a big fan of the Beard, I had reservations about the band's ability to balance narrative considerations with their exhilarating music- a fault that has blighted many a wonderful band's magnum opus (think Quadrophenia or The Lamb..)
First listens were not encouraging: "Nah, bland and Boring!" I thought. The snappiness of V had been replaced by a more low-key (i.e. less overtly "prog") approach that just didn't grab me at all. None of this was helped by my suspicions concerning the novelty of the storyline- "Tommy" reincarnate.
BUT....well, it's grown on me- to the point where I think this could be the best album SB have done. Repeated listenings have revealed the intricacies contained within the music, together with the sheer accessibility of much many of the songs. "Long Time Suffering", "Looking For Answers", "All is Vanity"...there are SO many great moments on this album that it's difficult to remember them all. "Wind At My Back" bears a distinct similarity to the "Listening to You..." section from Tommy, however (have I mentioned that album before somewhere...?)
Therefore, despite my initial concerns, this one gets the max. What a shame Neal Morse has decided to quit. Best of luck for the future lads...I'll be looking forward to the next one.
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