Neal Morse - Neal Morse

"Neal Morse knows what it takes to make good pop music."

There are times when I think pop is synonymous with CRAP. But that's usually only the "popular" pop -- pop is not inherently bad. Neal Morse, the GODLY master behind Spock's Beard, does pop-rock very well. The "poppier" songs from Spock's Beard's own albums are an indication of what this disc is like, except with musicianship that is toned-down (yet elegant nonetheless) -- it's worth noting that Morse plays almost all of the instruments on here himself. This disc is replete with infectious hooks that you'll be humming for days. Fun songs like "Nowhere Fast" and "Lost Cause" are balanced out by the stuff like the pretty ballad "Emma" and "Landslide." There's considerable variety here.

Oh, you're obstinate and you hate pop? You like Neal Morse for his PROG and ONLY his prog. Then get this for the final track, "A Whole Nother Trip," the twenty minute epic. It's not up to par with the dazzling epics produced by the Beard, but that's part of its charm. It's different...not bad at all, just different. It's like a Beard epic "lite" version.

As long as you don't expect Spock's Beard epics and virtuosity with this album, you should enjoy it.