Track Listing

1. Door/Introduction/In Name Of God/All I Ask For/Mercy For Sale/Keep Silent/Upo...
2. Conflict/Do You Know My Name/Party To Lie/Underground/Two Down One To Go/V...
3. Heaven in My Heart
4. Conclusion/Randy's Jam/Long Night's Journey/Re-Introduction/Come Out Of Her/Clothed...

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #120421 in Music
• Released on: 2007-02-26
• Number of discs: 1

CD Description
Neal Morse unites his Christian faith and his love of prog rock with this concept album about the German theologian Martin Luther's 16th-century schism with the Catholic Church. Blending odd time signatures, soaring keyboard and guitar arpeggios, and pyrotechnical drumming, Morse's songs portray the complexities of a man struggling to remain true to his faith and to himself while exploring unknown and dangerous religious territory. It's to Morse's credit that with the aid ofhis cohorts, the drummer Mike Portnoy and the bassist RandyGeorge, he keeps this tricky subject matter both accessibleand highly listenable.

Customer Reviews

Progressive religion
Neal Morse for those who don't know: former failed singer/songwriter who suddenly found a career in prog rock (Spock's Beard), then got religion, left, and now has a solo "Christian prog rock" career with Mike Portnoy (Dream Theater) on drums.
This, his latest, is as religious as ever, but also perhaps more musical than ever before.
Four songs, 29:14, 25:00, 5:10 and 16:34.
The theme: Martin Luther (not the civil rights guy, the other one) and his 95 theses.
Less guests than the last release, but what a guest: Paul Gilbert himself adds some spectacular solos to the first two songs, plus some flamenco-ish magic to one.

The music - well, people familiar with Neal's work will recognise familiar single note riffs for the heavier sections (the first part of track 2 is as heavy as he's ever been, and a nasty vocal!), interspaced with vocal lines backed by relatively little instrumentation, slower vocal passages with keys, and big harmony sections. He tends to write fairly straightforward melodies, but link them via complex instrumentals, often with a keyboard melody. Expect loads of tempo changes, and orchestral interludes.

One thing apparent: Neal's got even better at playing. His keyboards are more complex than ever, almost matching some of the stuff Jordan Rudess played on his last album (?). His guitar has improved too, and he's using the wah well (especially in track 1). A nice bluesy feel. In fact, his guitar sound is far better than on past albums, a weakness he's admitted to previously.

Track 3 is kind of a "power ballad" (think "Alone" progged up and sung by a Bryan Adams sound-alike), which I guess didn't quite fit into the other 3 tracks so he separated it.

Track 4 gives the bass player (Randy George - not heard of him outside Neal's stuff but he's good) a bit of a work-out, goes through some more prog hystrionics, before ending with a big climax my wife calls "Jurassic Park music". Not quite as good as the other two epics, more proclamatory stuff (the big "tadaa!!" at the end), similar to the finale on ?.

So overall, a good prog album for people who like early Genesis, Floyd, Yes, ELP, perhaps Gentle Giant, with a modern touch (ie. heavier in places) - and a good dose of ol' time religion.
Although you don't have to listen to the words.

Classic Rock Magazine gave it 8/10, which says something.

A masterful, brilliant record!
This was my introduction to Neal Morse, following some recommendations from friends. I love this, it is pure prog rock that alternates between hard rock and gorgeous melody. Great guitar, great piano and keyboards, great vocals and music you'll find difficult to forget! The only warning is: if you don't like religious lyrics, don't get it, it's a religious concept album. But, if you're not offended by that, don't let it put you off, it's terrific.

heavier and just as good.
This is heavier than previous efforts and has longer tracks, three long epics and one short one. Mr Morse is a very good song writer and if you can get past the many religous lyrics, some may like this, then you are onto a winner. This new cd is more like Spocks Beards output and guest drummer Mr Portney is on top form. I strongly reccomend this cd if you like Spocks Beard, Dream Theater and Transatlantic. Ian Picken.London.