Selling England by the Pound (Genesis)

Year: 1973

The Good, Bad and the Average

The Good: Firth of Fifth and The Cinema Show

While these two songs are very solid, they do not make this album a masterpiece.  "Firth of Fifth" is the third song and showcases some nice instrumentation in the way of keyboards early and guitar late.  Banks and Hackett showcase their skills rather nicely in this song and the overall effect is impressive.  "The Cinema Show" is an epic which weaves a nice story with a melody that never bores or gets old.  The whole band contributes nicely with Gabriel doing some emotive singing which adds some texture to the work.

The Average: Dancing with the Moonlit Knight, I Know What I Like, More Fool Me, After the Ordeal

"Dancing with the Moonlit Knight" starts off well but seems to drag about midway through the song.  In my humble opinion, it is long only for the sake of being long.  Good progressive rock songs should capture your attention and not let go.  This song just doesn't do that for me.  After about three minutes, I am ready for the next song, which is..."I Know What I Like" has a catchy melody and is fun to sing along with, but it does not grab my imagination.  So while I am glad that the day has broken on the "Moonlit Knight" with this song, I am already looking ahead to the aforementioned "Firth of Fifth".  "More Fool Me" showcases Collins' vocals nicely.  But other than that, it is a pretty forgettable love (pop?) song which really slows the pace coming in right after "Firth of Fifth."  "After the Ordeal" is basically an intermission piece stuffed between the two eleven-minute epics on this disc.  It is so forgettable in this position that I can't even think of anything to say about it.

The Bad: The Battle of Epping Forest, Aisle of Plenty

My primary gripe with this album comes in the form of "The Battle of Epping Forest."  This is a goofy song that is almost painful for me to listen to.  Gabriel seems to have fun with the various vocal jokes that he pulls off when performing this song.  But I would much prefer to hear him do the Slippermen than this mess.  The song begins with a march beat and flutes and turns into a musical brawl of epic (pun most certainly intended) proportions.  Hackett does insert a few fun little guitar riffs, but this song could just as easily be mistaken for a disco tune (in certain parts) as it could for progressive rock.  "Aisle of Plenty" is basically a 90 second reprise of the opening of the album with Gabriel adding some non-sensical utterances as the album closes.  I'm not sure why the band felt the need to end the album this way, but there it is.  A disappointing closure to an otherwise decent album.

Overall

I like Genesis and I like this album.  So while I would recommend it, I feel I should point out its flaws with this review.  The good songs are good enough to carry this album, but I can't for the life of me say that this is a masterpiece of progressive music.  I much prefer Genesis' next effort in The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway.

The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway (Genesis)

Year: 1974


Like all good prog, the first time I listened to this album, I scratched my head and thought "What the heck is this crap?!?"  And though I still haven't figured out what all the crap on this album is, I have grown to really appreciate this culmination of music.

It seems that most hardcore Genesis fans have a hard time liking The Lamb compared to Foxtrot, Selling England, etc.  However, I much prefer this album.  I am a sucker for concept albums (even if I don't always understand exactly what the concept is).  There are so many unforgettable passages in this two-disc experience beginning with the opening piano solo.

While I do recognize that the album isn't perfect due to some "less than musical" moments ("The Waiting Room" and "Silent Sorrow in Empty Boats"), there are so many great tunes packaged in The Lamb that it would be wrong to think of this as being anything less than excellent as far as a musical album is concerned.  Songs such as "The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway", "In the Cage", "The Carpet Crawlers", "Lilywhite Lilith", "Anyway", "The Lamia", "The Colony of Slippermen" and "It" are all great songs.  Some of them are haunting in their solemn melodies and some are thought-provoking with their anguished lyrics, but all are great
music, in my opinion.

I highly recommend this album.

Foxtrot (Genesis)

Year: 1972

While there is some very good music on this album, I just don't see it as being amazing as most prog enthusiasts will tell you.  I refuse to agree with the majority that "Supper's Ready" is one of the best epics ever.  In my opinion, it's dull and offers very little substance both lyrically and musically.  I think that "Can-Utility and the Coastliners" is the highlight of the album, with "Time Table" and "Horizons" offering some good stuff in smaller packages.  "Watcher of the Skies" kicks things off and is the poster child for the mellotron, but otherwise doesn't do much for me.  It starts off slowly and never seems to go anywhere.  "Get 'em Out By Friday" is fun and is a nice change of pace on this album.  While I like this album, I cannot in good conscience say it is one of the best ever.  Ho-hum.

Testimony 2 (Neal Morse)

Year: 2011

Having already given masterpiece status to two of Morse's other albums (One and ?), I thought it unlikely that he would be able to put out another stellar album after his more recent albums (Sola Scriptura and Lifeline) left me a little disappointed.  I was wrong.  Testimony 2 is a beautiful work and a true masterpiece.

I have been critical of Morse in the past for self-plagiarizing; but with this album being a sequel, it made sense to do that very thing.  Interestingly enough, the reoccurring themes from the first Testimony album are brought to life in a fantastic way.  Testimony 2 is full of dizzying overtures, soaring melodies and catchy themes which can't help but please.  There are so many highlights, it's difficult to determine where to begin: "Overture No. 4" and "Time Changer" are brilliantly written and performed (with some nice contributions from guys named Nick D'Virgilio, Dave Meros and Alan Morse).  "Jayda" is emotionally moving.  "Jesus' Blood" and "The Truth Will Set You Free" are Neal Morse at his best with soulish singing and energetic playing on a wide assortment of instruments.  "It's For You" is a fantastic tune with some stunning guitar work performed by Paul Bielatowicz.

Disc 1 closes with "Crossing Over" which is a nice ending, but also is my one quibble with the whole album in that it goes a little longer than I think it should.  Morse likes having big drawn-out endings and for once I'd like to see something finish strong and abruptly.  It's a minor quibble, but one I thought worth mentioning.  I consider this a masterpiece without hesitation and I haven't even gotten to the best part...

Disc 2!

Three songs - all very strong - with "Seeds of Gold" being a 26-minute epic and an outstanding one at that.  I highly recommend this album to any lover of prog music.

Lifeline (Neal Morse)

Year: 2008

Let me preface this review by admitting to being a rather big fan of Neal Morse's music, whether it be his solo output or his work with Spock's Beard and Transatlantic.  I have enthusiastically given two of his solo albums 5-star ratings (One and ?) and been amazed at the volume of music he is able to write, record and produce in a short period of time.  However, I think there is perhaps a noticeable downside to being such a prolific songwriter: the similar musical nuances that inevitably get re-used in a short period of time before the overall music style has a chance to sufficiently evolve.  More than any artist I can think of, Morse gets blamed for self-plagiarizing and I believe this to be warranted.  Morse makes it fairly obvious in his music where his influences lie and lately, he seems to be most influenced by his own past work.

I say all this in my review of Morse's latest release, Lifeline, since on the first few listens it is fairly distracting how much this sounds like a mesh of Snow, V, Sola Scriptura and One.  I remember the first time I listened to Riverside's first album, Out of Myself.  In my first few listens to that album, I felt like I was listening to a Pink Floyd cover band that had switched some words around and thrown in some growls for good measure.  But after getting deeper into that album, that feeling went away and it sounded more like...Riverside.  Unfortunately, with Lifeline, I just can't shake that deja vu feeling as some of the passages are just too similar, if not exactly the same as previous Morse music.

The album starts off with a fairly good song in the title track, Lifeline.  It runs for over 13 minutes and moves at a great pace making it seem like a much shorter song.  As others have noted, it sounds much like the opening tune from the One album (The Creation).  This song has grown on me nicely since I first heard it and I pretty much enjoy it from start to finish.

The next four songs are all between 4 and 6 minutes and aren't especially noteworthy, with the exception of Leviathan which is just quirky enough to raise your eyebrows.  While the tempo of Leviathan is reminiscent of Author of Confusion from One, this is the most unique song on the album and is another big grower.  As I said, the other three are "lost in the shuffle" as they are typical Morse ballads in that they have nice tunes, uplifting lyrics and the usual acoustic guitar solo similar to the one in "We All Need Some Light".

"So Many Roads" is the big epic.  For whatever reason, I'm just not that crazy about it.  As a Morse fan, I usually absolutely love his long epics, but this one just doesn't quite measure up.  It doesn't seem to have those bone-chilling moments that I have come to expect and get in good supply in All of the Above, The Great Nothing, The Creation, The Separated Man, The Door, ?, etc. etc. etc.

"Fly High" finishes the album off and is perhaps the catchiest tune on the whole album.  Weighing in at six minutes and change, it leaves a great taste in my mouth at the conclusion and does not seem to have all the sameness that plagues much of this album.

While I think there is lots of great music on this album, it falls a bit flat on my ears.  I actually think this album will be better received by people not familiar with Morse's other music, as they won't be distracted by the similarities to his previous work.

Cover to Cover (Neal Morse)

Year: 2006

This is a surprisingly enjoyable album, with outstanding performances put in by Neal Morse, Mike Portnoy and Randy George.  If you like classic rock, then I would say that this album is an excellent addition to your collection.

The highlights from this album (in my opinion) are Morse's renditions of "I'm Free/Sparks", "I'm the Man" and "Find My Way Back Home."  Portnoy appears to have a field day on the kit pretending to be Keith Moon as he really delivers some excellent work covering The Who's "Sparks."

I normally do not care much for albums such as this, but this compilation of songs was so good, and Morse & Company's delivery is so strong, I have no problem recommending this album.

Sola Scriptura (Neal Morse)

Year: 2007

Overall, I think Sola Scriptura is an outstanding album.  It has great music which is performed amazingly well by Mike Portnoy, Randy George, Paul Gilbert and Mr. Morse himself.  It also has stunning cover art which provides a wonderful backdrop for the album's concept.  Fans of Spock's Beard, Dream Theater, Transatlantic and Morse's other albums will enjoy this release.

I have listened to this album over 40 times now.  As much as I like it, I don't think it's quite up to the level of Neal's last two albums (One and ?, which I both gave 5 stars without reservation).  My main criticism with this new album is that it borrows too much from what Neal has already recorded.  This has been pointed out in many of the previous reviews and is very obvious, in my opinion.  There are sections which sound just like Snow, V, One and Testimony.  Even though I like the music in all of these places, I have heard it before.

Even though I've never had a problem with Morse's lyrics, I know there are those who do not appreciate the Christian message that is typically at the forefront of his music.  This album actually has a fairly dark atmosphere and the words are more cryptic than what you will normally find from Morse.

The opening track is The Door and is certainly one of the finest tunes that Morse has ever written.  It is a 29-minute epic which has all sorts of moods, twisting and turning to the final climax highlighted by a wonderful guitar solo by Paul Gilbert.

Another epic (The Conflict) follows and is a very dark song with a strong metal vibe to it.  Morse's vocals are surprisingly good throughout this song and another catchy guitar solo by Gilbert steals the show (this one is acoustic).

This album is structured identically to that of Transatlantic's Bridge Across Forever with four songs, three of them being epics with a more poppish tune inserted into the third position on the album.  Heaven in my Heart is the third song and while many prog fans seem to be bored by it, I actually like it quite a bit even though it is the least progressive music on the album.

The fourth and final song is The Conclusion.  This song seems to lack the firepower that was so evident in the first two tracks.  I find that it has some very good parts, but also has what I would consider to be a bit of aimless fluff.  I do think the climax is very nice though with choir-like voices coming in to accentuate what Morse is singing.

This is a very strong effort and I would gladly recommend it to all progressive music fans.