Feel Euphoria

When it was announced earlier this year that singer, songwriter Neal Morse was leaving Spock's Beard, many wondered how the band could carry on. The band themselves had doubts at first but decided to carry on based on their desire to continue and fueled by encouraging words from Neal himself stating that the band would survive without him. In a move seen once before in 1976 when Phil Collins came out from behind the drum kit to become the new front man for Genesis, drummer Nick D'Virgilio has followed in Phil Collins' footsteps and stepped up to the microphone to become the new front man for Spock's Beard. Nick has sung backup vocals for most of the band's albums and has even done a few lead vocals before. Alan Morse, Neal's brother, who is also in the band, also provides some lead vocals. With a band that has more than one member providing lead vocals, the absence of Neal Morse might be easier to swallow for die-hard fans of the band.

This band is truly a gem in the progressive rock genre and they are one of the few that have a very distinctive style. Blending wild and frenzied progressive rock with rich melodic and almost pop-like tunes, the band has such a varied yet consistent style with their music. Like classic bands such as Yes, Genesis and Pink Floyd, Spock's Beard has a style and sound that is instantly recognizable and is testament to the hard work, determination and solid musicianship that makes up this band. So, the burning question.....can the band survive without Neal Morse? The answer is a tentative yes. This album has all the up tempo, quirky and heavy typical Spock's Beard elements and even manages to rock a bit harder than they are used to. What is missing from the sound is the rich melodic Beatles, E.L.O. and Klaatu like melodies that Neal Morse contributed to this band. Besides his amazing voice, he was a great songwriter and although some may have not liked the flowery pop style direction he was taking with his Spock's Beard contributions, he gave this band something that most progressive rock bands don't have; solid songwriting and great soaring melodies. A couple of tracks on this new album namely The Bottom Line, Shining Star and Carry On see the band revisiting the Neal Morse style but for the most part, this album contains songs that have wild instrumental frenzies, lots of abrupt stops and tempo changes and lots of instrumental jamming. The title track Feel Euphoria is one example of a very chaotic and frenzied track. With it's electronically altered vocals and wild stops and instrumental sections, it is one strange song indeed!! A cool highlight of this album is the track A Guy Named Sid. This track is in 6 parts and I think is a spoof (in a nice way) of the Shine On You Crazy Diamond track by Pink Floyd which was written about Syd Barrett, a former band member who succumbed to heroin addiction and had to leave the band. That song too is in many parts ( 9 in fact). A rousing epic, this song gets the full "Beard" treatment and has everything from great fast progressive rock to reflective ballad styles and even ventures into gospel territory with the acapella section, Part V, Sid's Boys Choir.

I love the varied use of keyboards on this album as well. You'll hear everything from beautiful piano melodies to wild synthesizer leads and even some great 70's style Hammond organ and mellotron. These types of keyboard sounds may be dated and not used much anymore, but don't tell these guys that! They continue to use them and manage to create fresh new sounds with them.

Included in the special edition of this album are 2 bonus tracks. Moth Of Many Flames sounds very much like Skating Away (On The Thin Ice Of A New Day) by Jethro Tull from the Warchild album and From The Messenger is nothing more than a trance-like ambient mix of keyboard sounds. Overall, a very upbeat and positive album from the guys and one that's sure to please the fans of the band. I still feel though that Neal Morse's contributions to this band will be sadly missed. There's lots of the solid progressive rock that's been a staple of this band for so many years but the melodies and overall songwriting are not as strong as they once were. I thought that the Snow album, released last year, was simply the best thing the band has ever done and there's big differences between the sound of that album and this one. I was pleasantly surprised by this album and I'm happy that they decided to continue, it's just that I feel the band is still licking their wounds and struggling to get over Neal's departure. The fact that they carried on and delivered a solid album shows the depth of talent that this band has. Not one of the best Spock's Beard albums but considering the circumstances, a solid one at that.