Neal Morse is putting the finishing touches on two new albums set for release in 2012 through Radiant, a prog-rock project and a long-awaited sequel called Cover to Cover Vol. 2.
No word yet for the track listing for either record, though 2006’s Cover to Cover had as one of its focuses Morse’s early heroes the Beatles — having included Paul McCartney’s “Maybe I’m Amazed,” George Harrison’s “What Is Life” and Badfinger’s “Day After Day,” which was produced by Harrison and featured his slide guitar.
Morse, in a sweeping interview last year, reminisced about the first tribute album.
“I was a Beatles manic; they would be one of my primary musical influences,” Morse told us. “For years, I would listen to old tapes of me — and I sound like I was doing a John Lennon impression. Still to this day, even when I try not to, I sing with little bit of musical accent. The Beatles are sort of my musical parents. You know how you find yourself sounding like your father when you least expect it? It was like that. I listen to Cover to Cover more than any of my prog albums, though. To me, that’s a great feel-good album.”
Here’s a preview video focusing on the forthcoming Morse projects …
Morse is again working with regular collaborators Randy George and Mike Portnoy on both 2012 albums.
“What people probably don’t realize is that Mike and Randy have great musical minds,” Morse told us. “They are way more than good players. Mike is an amazing gleaner; he’s amazing at picking up the best parts of things. I think because he’s a fan of not just of mine but all kinds of music, he has the mind of a listener in a way that I don’t. I just kind of do whatever I’m feeling. He can pick out the best sections and put things together with other ideas. That’s what he does in Transatlantic, help us pick out the best things from our demos and put them all together. And it all works. As for Randy, there are many times when we are creating these albums, and you are on a journey. We don’t know where we are going. You come to a crossing, and you know you need to go somewhere else — but you’re not sure how to get there. We’ll venture off and want to get back to where the demo was. Many times, Randy has had the key idea that led us back. As far as personal things, there’s a real bond between us all. A lot of love and appreciation.”
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Here’s a look back at our recent thoughts on Neal Morse. Click through the titles for complete reviews …
NEAL MORSE – TESTIMONY 2 (2011): Morse confronted the triumphs and pain of his tenure and ultimate departure in 2002 from Spock’s Beard. In so doing, he ensured that this wasn’t simply an epic sequel to his initial solo release; in many ways, its grace and striking honesty make Testimony 2 the better record. As it unfolded, the album became a moving meditation on acceptance, on managing change, on embracing the past even as you move on. And Morse did it without sacrificing anything musically: For all of its underlying messages on faith — a conversion to Christianity precipitated Morse’s decision to go solo — 2 remained firmly rooted in the prog-rock tradition, from soaring keyboards to thrilling calculus-equation guitars to classically inspired compositional excursions.
TRANSATLANTIC – MORE NEVER IS ENOUGH (2011): The modern-day prog supergroup Transatlantic is revealed — through antics both during sound check and on stage (Portnoy stage dives!) — to be complete and utter fans of their chosen throwback format. Over the course of this gala release, they revel in all of progressive rock’s dizzying musical intrigues, but also all its fundamental (and, heck, still sometimes fun) excesses. The band has already done much to update a genre sometimes badly in need of a middle-aged facelift. More Never Is Enough shows they came into this with a deep understanding, and an even deeper appreciation, of its outlandishly imaginative, charmingly eccentric history. And they’re not afraid to celebrate that, too.
SPOCK’S BEARD – TESTIMONY 2: LIVE IN LOS ANGELES (2011): Morse joined his former band for three cuts found on early releases by Spock’s Beard. Midway through the current band’s reading of “The Light,” Morse bounds out on stage — just in time for “Return of the Catfish Man,” which charges forward with a gothic menace. Spock’s Beard then makes a crystalline transition into “The Dream,” the delicately moving closing segment of Morse’s very first prog composition. (I can’t help but hear, as Morse sings about a dream that can “stand up in the light,” the first inklings of his eventual turn toward praise rock.) “June,” meanwhile, is a gorgeous intertwining of vocal harmonies and guitars — perhaps the most approachable and emotionally available song he ever wrote for the band.
- Ernesto Cervini’s Turboprop, “When I Fall” (2024): Video premiere - March 15, 2024
- Disaster Pony,“Dead Neon & The Noon Sun” from ‘Disaster Pony’ (2024): Video premiere - February 27, 2024
- Christopher Hoffman, “Farewell Forever” from ‘Vision Is The Identity’ (2024): Streaming premiere - February 19, 2024
