Alan's Playing Hysteria!
Russ Bellinger | Bradenton, Florida USA | 05/01/2007
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Wow! I almost could not believe what I was hearing. I didn't know that he had it in him to do a record like this. His playing in Spocks Beard is great, but I had no idea he could play rock-fusion like this! This CD instantly reminded me of a cross between Jeff Beck and Steve Vai! What an interesting piece of work. It was great to also hear Jerry Goodman on violin on the track "Return to Whatever". It is a very Mahavishnu/Return To Forever sounding piece played with real excitement here. The opening track is killer too. Great to also hear Neal Morse rock out once again without getting all preachy and spiritual. This is the best thing he's played on since Transatlantic. Who knew his brother was such an amazing artist in his own right. Very Highly recommended!"
The right way for a guitarist to do a debut solo album
Squire Jaco | Buffalo, NY USA | 06/04/2007
(4 out of 5 stars)
"There's no question that all the members of Spock's Beard have displayed mastery of their respective instruments over the years, so it shouldn't be any surprise that guitarist Alan Morse might attempt a solo album, right? But what IS a big surprise (for those of us who know him only from his playing with the Beard) is the kind of music he's chosen to play here. First of all, it's all instrumental - pretty radical when you think of some of the complex vocal tunes (e.g. "Thoughts" and "Gibberish") that SB is known for. And secondly, it's a guitar fusion album - nothing like the symphonic prog-pop of SB1 or the prog-metal of SB2. This is a very enjoyable album with 63 minutes of creative melodies and energy, a little funk thrown in on some tunes, and even some Spanish guitar stylings. Morse wrote all of the compositions, with assistance from his brother Neal in places. (I think I know that guy from somewhere too!) Reminiscent at various times of the rock fusion of guitar virtuosos Joe Satriani, Steve Vai and Jeff Beck, this album is a real pleasant surprise for me, and a great showcase for the talents of one Alan Morse. Well done!
I value interesting music that is played and recorded well. This cd's rating was based on:
Music quality = 8.8/10; Performance = 9/10; Production = 9/10; CD length = 10/10.
Overall score weighted on my proprietary scale = 9.0 ("4-1/2 stars")
"
Track Listings (12) - Disc #1