The fact that Neal Morse has now found his way into my music consciousness is an accident of browsing Last.fm. Neal was never really on my radar but I took the opportunity to listen to Lifeline recently and all I can say is WOW! A quick look into Neal’s history shows that he started playing music at a young age and was one of four children. After growing tired of the LA music scene he travelled Europe for a number of years and upon his return he founded Spock's Beard who became one of the more successful progressive rock bands in the 90s.
In 2002 Neal Morse embraced Christianity and he left Spock's Beard and also left his other band Transatlantic. He then started to record Christian Progressive Rock and Christian Rock albums. 6 years later we arrive at Lifelines.
Well I guess I must confess that growing up with Cliff Richard on Sunday afternoons had put me off the idea that I could get my rock music from the Christian music scene. I have to say here and now that this was wrong as this album rocks hard when it needs to (Leviathan) and embraces the traditional rock landscapes without dipping into its toes into the soppy pop arena so beloved by Cliff.
What you are going to get with this album is a whole bunch of varied styles that are crafted into the 7 masterpieces that you will find on the album. If this album was a fine wine you would find connoisseurs waxing lyrical about all of the differing flavours they could detect from the marriage of grapes and barrel. In this case your taste buds are likely to detect hints and sometimes strong flavours of the Beatles, Billy Joel, Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel, Queen Pink Floyd, Van Halen, Yes, The Who, Ayreon, Dream Theater, Porcupine Tree and with music this rich you could find many more snippets that resonate with other bands styles.
The album starts with Lifeline which is a 13 minute 28 second epic which has less than half of the running time of the longest track on the album. It starts off with a Billy Joel style piano style that then introduces the drums, guitars and keyboards that make up the 4 minute introduction. Once the vocals kick in they take you along for an uplifting ride with some intermittent solos being employed at just the right times.
The Way Home is a nice rock ballad which doesn't really prepare you for the kicking you are going to get in the near metal track Leviathan. We then have two more ballads featuring the acoustic guitar - God's Love and Children of the Chosen are a perfect way to wind down after Leviathan and get you ready for the near 30 minute marathon which is So Many Roads. In truth this track can be split into its six component parts
* I. So Many Roads
* II. "Star for a Day"
* III. "The Humdrum Life"
* IV. "All the Way to the Grave"
* V. "The Eyes of the Saviour"
* VI. "So Many Roads Reprise"
Thankfully the 6 parts intertwine magnificently and during the song Neal uses many of the musical styles of artists mentioned above. The song is an autobiography and traces Neal’s faith. This could have been a bit too deep and heading for disaster but it is pulled off brilliantly. You can say only that this song is truly EPIC.
The final song is Fly High and is another rock ballad which is a nice ending to the album which brings you down after the previous track. It sort of reminds me of the track Once by Van Halen.
Ultimately for me Neal Morse is a great new discovery and I will try and listen to more of his back catalogue, Some of the lyrics are a bit in your face from the Religious angle but if you can overlook that or in fact if you embrace that then you will find this album totally satisfying as it ticks all of the boxes from a rock perspective. Mike Portney of Dream Theater takes the seat on the drums on this album and does a fantastic job and you also have to highlight some of the guitar on the album which is up there with the virtuoso's.
Length: 69.35
Rating: 4.5 / 5
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Style: Progressive Rock, Christian Rock, Christian Progressive Rock
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