Spock's Beard - Snow
Radiant Records
Progressive Rock
Disc 1: 11 songs (56'33) Disc 2: 15 songs (58'18)
Release year: 2002
Spock's Beard, Radiant
Reviewed by Marty
Album of the month
Every once in a while, an album comes along that touches you in such a way that you know it's truly something special and will be listened to for many years to come. This new album Snow, by Spock's Beard is one of those albums. This band in their fairly short 7 year career, have made quite a name for themselves and are considered to be one of the premier progressive rock acts in the business today. After a brief stint in the very successful Transatlantic project, Neal Morse and company have returned with the pinnacle album of their career, a 2 CD concept album that truly rivals some of the greats of all time. This album tells the story of an albino child (nicknamed "Snow") born with a special gift in which, just by touching someone, can not only read someone's thoughts, but can see into their future and even change the course of it. Along the way, temptations arise and the demand for him really puts a strain on his health. The whole concept evolves around his life experiences and the people he meets along the way, eventually finding spiritual enlightenment as a way to serve man and to use his God-given gift. His life is told as a musical journey in a stunning and very spirited way. Each track has a unique feel and atmosphere, all contributing to the story as it unfolds. The use of recurring themes in the music and a few reprises make this album flow seamlessly throughout it's almost 2 hours in length

Right from the opening track, Made Alive, with it's quiet wistful vocals and acoustic guitar (much like Live's Lightning Crashes), you sense that you are about to embark on an amazing musical journey. All the tracks are linked together and instrumentally this band are truly masters of their craft. Throughout the course of this album, they employ elements from the most classic progressive rock bands of all time in their music. Some of the guitar riffs and instrumental passages remind one of the classic Yes era with the Overture borrowing a lick or two from Heart Of The Sunrise. Some of the keyboard leads and riffs really sound like classic Tony Banks from Genesis and a few of the more wild organ and drum frenzies bring classic E.L.P. to mind. The use of quirky start-stop rhythms with some horn sections thrown in sound like something from the classic King Crimson era and some of the more laid back and dreamy passages on this album have a very Pink Floyd style to them. There's lots of very dramatic and very theme oriented guitar riffs and leads found throughout, and for the fans of harder music, there's some heavier chunky riffs as well. Although the band's primary influences seem to be 70's progressive rock, they take a fresh and more modern sounding approach to making their music. They have toured extensively with Dream Theater, who are very big fans of this band, and although not quite as hard edged, there are simlarities in sound between the two.

Although one could write a novel analyzing the rhythms and musical structures of the songs on this album, one of the true highlights to this album are the vocals. Neal Morse has the kind of pure, classic sounding voice that has a very familiar sound to it, but is very strong and versatile and rises to the demands that this band's music requires. With a raspy, almost John Lennon style of vocal delivery, many of the tracks have a very Beatle-like sound to them (1966 - 1970 era). Most of the backing vocals used throughout this album have a classic 70's sound and take the listener back to a time when bands like Yes, Crosby, Stills and Nash, America, and Badfinger used rich, textured and brilliant 2 and 3 part harmonies to create truly beautiful choruses, transforming them into something very memorable and even spiritual in their emotion and impact on the listener. This is very rarely heard anymore in today's modern music scene. There are times when the vocals take on a more sneering and sinister tone especially when the main character, Snow, encounters some "people of the streets" while travelling through New York City. This is very effective and gives this album a more of a true "rock opera" feel. The album ends in a reprise of the song Wind At My Back and really wraps up the story with some amazing vocal melodies. With it's slowly building and very memorable chorus, this song uses some of the best songwriting poetry I've ever heard. Phrases just leap out at you as the main character reflects on all the people that have made a difference in his life. A song that will give you chills and will stay with you for a long time.

If this album were released in the 70's or 80's, it would've spawned a few hit singles without question. Some of the tracks have a classic light rock feel that any radio station could add to their playlist and would fit the format perfectly. If it's technical prowess or a more jamming style of progressive rock that you like, you'll find lots of it here too. This album has everything, great songs, amazing vocal harmonies, great drums, guitar, bass and keyboards, a great story and above all, it has the ability to draw the listener into the story much like classic concept albums as The Who's Tommy, Genesis' The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway, and even the more recent classics, Queensryche's Operation Mindcrime and Marillion's Misplaced Childhood and Brave. If you're a progressive rock fan or even if you just love great, well made music that's just overflowing with wonderful melodies, this album fills a void that's been there for a long time in this genre of music. A truly stunning and amazing piece of work that I would highly recommend to anyone.

Killing Songs :
Everything but especially Made Alive - Overture, Long Time Suffering, Devil's Got My Throat, Second Overture and Wind At My Back
Marty quoted 92 / 100
Aleksie quoted 94 / 100
Other albums by Spock's Beard that we have reviewed:
Spock's Beard - The Kindness Of Strangers reviewed by Aleksie and quoted 91 / 100
Spock's Beard - Beware Of Darkness reviewed by Aleksie and quoted 82 / 100
Spock's Beard - X reviewed by Aleksie and quoted 90 / 100
Spock's Beard - The Light reviewed by Aleksie and quoted 95 / 100
Spock's Beard - Spock's Beard reviewed by Marty and quoted 83 / 100
To see all 10 reviews click here
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