Also see Progfest '97 ~ NEARfest '99 ~ Progfest 2000
From: Michael S
Eisenberg <>
Spocks Beard is really cool too...i've seen them twice at Progfest in LA...and
both times I was blown away...they too are highly symphonic and seem to borrow
much from 70's Yes, 70's Pink Floyd and early Gabriel solo stuff circa 3rd. I
remember reading once the Neal Morse, the singer and principle songwriter used
to write large scale musicals...and I can see this in SB's music. We are talking
used productions here..some great musical ideas that, while are very
reminenscent of the bands that I've mentioned, the songs are so well conceived
and played that you cant help but smiling and enjoying them for what they are.
From: Bjorn Lynne <>
...as for Spock's Beard, they have released three albums - "The Light", "Beware
of Darkness" and "The Kindness of Strangers". The first two are simply awesome,
although the third ("Kindness of Strangers") is a bit of a let-down, despite the
two wonderful tracks "The Good Don't Last" and "June". Apart from these two
songs, the latest Spocks Beard isn't quite up to what we've come to expect from
them. If you don't have any Spocks Beard already, I'd recommend you start from
"The Light" and then get "Beware of Darkness" after that.
From: David Kuznick <>
I'd say most on this list would like The Light the best (certainly blew me away
when I first heard it), but Beware of Darkness has many strong moments also.
Their albums have gotten more poppy with each release, but they're still quite
good. Just rememebr SB is heavily rooted in pop, but there's PLENTY of
prog to get your teeth into. Think of a much proggier Beatles meets
Supertramp and you're almost there. Just one quick word of warning that I hope
is unecessary; if you're offended by a certain four-letter word starting with
"F", you will have it bashed into you repeatedly on one small part of one of the
songs on The Light. SB took a bit of heat for this, but I think it
perfectly captures the mood they were trying to create in that section of the
song.
From: Martin Kornick <>
The best Spock's Beard CD to start with would be: BEWARE OF DARKNESS
I also highly recommend THE LIGHT. I would say "Beware" is the
best to start though, as it is just a tad more polished with very strong
melodies and great songs. I just can't get enough of it, the songs stay in my
head for days. "The Light" is a bit more complex in song structure, probably
just as good but not as melodic. The thing that stikes me the most about
this band is the great vocals and lyrical content. I believe this is where they
surpass other new Prog bands which tend to be mediocre in that area. The
music is remincant of old Kansas, with a touch of the Beatles thrown in,
especially vocally. Neal Morse kind of sings like John Lennon. And yes, they
have Earth shattering organ, mellotron and even some haunting cello that just
gives you the chills. Check them Out! Even my wife LOVES them!!!!
From: "Chris Sigrist" <>
According to a Spock's Beard poll (results will be out this week, for those e-proggers
that are on 'Thoughts' (SB-Mailing List), too), "Beware Of Darkness" is the
favorite of about half the Bearded ones. It also contains the favorite song of
most Beard Heads: "The Doorway". But you might want to wait for the release of
the newest one, called "Day For Night", out due March 23, 1999. You can find
sound samples at:
http://www.spocksbeard.com And if you are interested in joining "Thoughts",
check out: http://www.spocksbeard.net
From: "Casey Van Tieghem" <>
I only have one Spock's Beard CD The Light. They don't seem to
be ashamed of their influences. Instrumentally they are not extremely
original sounding, but the vocal style is unique. I play Spock's
Beard when I can't decide which prog. rock CD I want to hear. I think Kansas,
Genesis, Pink Floyd, and possibly The Dregs are thier biggest influences on that
particular CD. I get a sense that the other albums are better
produced, and have more of thier own style of playing. Aside from
all that semi-criticism, it's really nice to hear some modern day prog. like
that.
From:
I am happy to have seen a lot of posts about SPOCK S BEARD cause I m a big fan
of that incredible band. For me, the work I love most is THE LIGHT. The band
shows more creativity and musicanship than in the other albums. I like beware of
Darkness a lot!, and this one have splendid moments too, but THE LIGHT is
overall more brilliant than the darkness.... The Kindness of Strangers is a very
nice CD, but for me It is too poppy.Harms Way and Flow are so evidently
influenced from YES FRAGILE that nearly become out of any progressive
value.Anyway I like the music very much!!!. BEARD is a Band influenced by YES,
THE BEATLES, GENTLE GIANT, GENESIS and KING CRIMSON (Islands period) I think
that the influences they manage better are GIANTs and CRIMSONs, which appear
less evident (with some exceptions of GIANTs sometimes) on the Music, but they
are extremely well inserted along their work.
From: Ghost <>
With all this recent discussion of Spock's Beard, I figured I'd chime in.
"Beware of Darkness" is also my favorite of their albums. It just seems to
have a great balance between progressive rock and strong melodies. Yes,
"The Doorway" is my fave on the album. Geez, I'm starting to fit the mold.
I also can't go without mentioning "The Light." When I first got this CD
from Syn-Phonic back in 1995, I was blown away. It really had everything I
was looking for in a new progressive rock band. I got the CD just after I
heard from Chris Buzby that Echolyn has officially split, and "The Light" really
helped "fill the void" a bit. Well, it's four years later and SB is still
rolling along. For the last few months, I've been working with Jim
Pitulski and Radiant Records building their website. Because of
this, Neal Morse was nice enough to send me an advance copy of "Day for Night."
I think SB fans will be very pleased with this album. It reminds me a lot
of "The Kindness of Strangers" (I believe a lot of the material was written at
the same time), however it's probably a bit stronger. I've only gotten
through the entire CD twice, but so far so good. Key tracks would be "Day
for Night," "Skin," "Gibberish" and "The Healing Colors of Sound" Suite.
The official release of "Day for Night" is March 23, so get your checkbooks
ready! It's gonna be a real treat having these guys at NEARfest '99!
From: Jim Anderson <>
I was gifted the new Spock's Beard CD ("Day for Night") yesterday. After
giving it a couple spins, I'd say it has a slightly different feel than the
previous releases. The songwriting still has that definite Neal Morse feel
to it with some catchy hooks and a heavy emphasis on those beautiful vocal
harmonies, which always remind me of GG. Also, I think just about every
song features some tasty mellotron accompaniment. This CD has more tracks
than previous albums, but more songs means they are shorter. 13 songs in
all, the longest being 9:59, eight of the songs are under four and a half
minutes. In contrast, I think each of the previous three albums each had
at least two songs that were over ten minutes, and none had more than seven
songs. Somehow this CD did not jump out at me the way previous Beard CDs have on
the first listens, maybe just because I've become accustomed to their sound but
it's still a must for any hardcore fan. My only gripe is that the lyrics
are a smidgen trite for my ear. I'm not that much of a "lyrics guy" anyway
but if I had to provide a critique that would be it. The musicianship of
all members is outstanding, and there are a couple of spots that make me stop
whatever I'm doing to become immersed in the sound. My favorite tracks are
"My Shoes (Revisited)" and "Can't Get It Wrong". In short, I'd say it's like an
old saying: the worst Spock's Beard CD is better than the best Top 40 CD. :)
Also, I'd catch them live if you ever get the chance. I've seen them
perform three times and have always had the best time just watching them!
Hopefully I can make it to NEARfest to see them again...
From: Martin Kornick <>
Well, I give the New Spock's Beard CD "DAY FOR NIGHT" a big thumbs up! DFN
is much stronger than their last effort "The Kindness of Strangers." With an
even stronger emphasis on Guitar and vocal harmonies, DFN really rocks and holds
it's progressive standing. While the CD does have some shorter, radio excessive
songs, for the most part they stay true to their roots. Title track "Day for
Night" is an enjoyable upbeat opener with strong harmonies and great hooks
reminiscent of classic roundaboutish YES. "Skin" is obviously a stab at a radio
hit, clocking in at 3:58 with a 4/4 beat, it has all the elements MTV needs,
love, strong hooks, a bit of techno-pop, & a overall grungy 90's sound. It's
actually extremely good and proves the Beard have talent in other areas besides
prog. Speaking of prog, "The Gypsy" is another Beard classic, and perhaps one of
their best epics ever. Complex and quirky enough to even crack a smile on Robert
Fripp's face. The only song I don't like is a ballad called "Can't Get it
Right," it's defiantly a dud, much too sappy and I'm not hearing a "hit" factor
in it. The last 1/2 of the CD finishes off with a bunch of songs interconnected
together taking you on a whirlwind of moods, melodies, driving guitar & tempo
changes. Alan Morse's whaa-whaa playing during "Mommy Comes Back" spotlights his
eckletic guitar abilities and brings him to the forefront of the band. I
must admit, I'm a sucker for a bit of whaa-whaa. Also the Bass/Drum
interaction is right-on for this CD, I'm hearing more and more a YES influence
overall. It's clear they are highlighting Neal Morse's vocals & lyrics, and
Alan's guitar playing much stronger on this CD. Perhaps much in the way Kansas
streamlined their sound after their first 3 LPs. My only criticism of the CD is
the cover Art which is reminiscent of Pink Floyd's Division Bell, doesn't
reflect the band nor the music inside. Nor is it an eye grabber. I'll say the
same for "Kindness" as well as their web page (what's the deal there?). They
could use a cool logo of something! I might also add they need a bit more stage
presence, they seem to have no visual or theatrical image per say. Maybe Neal
should step aside from the keyboards now and then, or shave his head and color
it green. The music is great, but they need to play up the spectacle more and
get a good visual image. Some of the best prog has both great sight & sound
images. Maybe they need to watch some old Genesis videos and take notes. But,
one shouldn't dwell on such things I guess, it's a great CD no matter how it's
dressed.
From: Martin Kornick <>
>Steve McAdams wrote: I could not disagree more with your assessment of them
live. I have seen them live twice and I think they are a much more
dynamic band live. I have felt that Neil's stage presence is
excellent, and the band is tight musically and make a strong connection with the
audience.
Steve, I'm sure you are right!!! I've only see them on video so far,
but will attend two live performances this fall and I can't wait.
Actually, all I meant by that is, if Spock's Beard want to get a wider audience
they might what to create some sort of look or image beyond just giving a
powerfull musical performance. I've seen Steve Morse (Dregs) live 9 times,
and he just simply comes out and plays with no show at all... and I love it!
But if you want to be more mainstream, I think you need to do a bit more. It was
just a thought actually... I want to see SB hit the big time! They are certainly
much better than Dream Theater, and they have a much wider audience.
From: "Robertson, Scott"
I went to see SB at a local bar in Cincinnati last night. It was a very
impressive show. Unfortunately, there were less than a hundred "prog-heads"
there, but that is to be expected for conservative Cincinnati. I was amazed at
the accuracy of their live performance in replicating the studio sound. I might
even go as far as to say that they sound better live (or at least as good)! The
size of the audience didn't seem to affect them at all. They gave a brilliant
performance to a captive audience. I did get to meet most of the band after the
show. I mentioned to them that I would be going to the NEARfest at the end of
June. Both Allen and Ryo were quite excited about this gig. They are definitely
looking forward to playing at the "Fest"...probably as excited as I am about
going! Oh yeah, did I mention a "wash of Mellotron"?? (What's a review without
that!)
From: Jeff Marx <>
There's are RealAudio Spock's Beard Concert from May 17th 1999 at;
http://www.studiomlive.com/spock.html Very nice indeed.
From: Timothy Roache <>
Date: Fri Aug 30, 2002 10:59 am Subject: Snow
To phrase it simply, it does not blow my dress up. (Martin and Frankie, please
do not request pictures of me with my dress blown up.) Not that it is not good,
it is certainly good. I am moved by parts of it. "Open wide the flood gates",
"Wind At My Back" are great songs!, there are other great moments, I dig the Ryo
bit. "Snow" just does not bring anything new to the table, they are not really
breaking any new ground here. They are not evolving or developing or building on
the achievement of the excellent "V". It is certainly their second best album
after "V", though. "V" is a third wave prog classic that will be very hard to
surpass. If you are a Beard fan you will dig "Snow". If you are lukewarm about
the Beard you will be lukewarm about "Snow". I guess I fall into the latter
category. I get the feeling that we have heard all we are going to hear from SB.
I think they have pretty much shot their load, frankly. They don't seem to be
able to evolve their sound in different ways with each album like the Flower
Kings do. Unless they take the music in some fresh direction for the next album,
which I don't think Neal is really capable of, I don't know if I'll buy it. As
Zappa would say, "Snow" lacks "Eyebrows on the music". I think one thing that
contributes to the lack of "eyebrows" on this album is that they keep it so
rhythmically basic so much of the time. There is a *lot* of straight 4/4,
2-and-4 on "Snow", too much, too simple to be really engaging for me, *real*
basic stuff rhythmically, not that NDV is not great. What rhythmically complex
or odd-time stuff there is seems to serve primarily as bridges and connective
tissue. I guess their style of music just does not really do that much for me,
in general, compared to some other stuff I've been exposed to in the last year
that just knocks my socks off, that is more unique and adventurous. There are
great moments on "Beware Of Darkness", there are great moments on "The Light",
but I'm not ga-ga over those albums either. If a newbie were to solicit my
personal opinion, I would tell him that the only SB album he really *needs* to
own is "V". Again, not that "Snow" is a bad album, it's not, it's good, for what
it is, which is, whatever you-all want to call it, *not* really very "proggy" on
*my* island of existential reality. I guess I just find stuff like Miriodor and
Isildur's Bane and Flying Food Circus to be more interesting and engaging. I
think that come this November, when the Karma Kanics project, Tomas Bodin's
"Pinup Guru", The Flower Kings "Unfold The Future", and the Tangent album are
out, "Snow" will be totally eclipsed. "Snow" will not be a contender for "Album
Of The Year" consideration, in my book anyway, by any means. The SB people were
swept away by over-zealousness when they chose to issue a press release putting
this album on a pedestal next to "Tommy" and "The Lamb". Uh... no.