X is more of an evolution of their previous self-titled album than it is a revolutionary album, which is fine because it builds on the strengths of that album - which was, at the time, their best second-generation effort - and removes the weaknesses that have appeared since Feel Euphoria, namely weak lyrics, uneven songwriting, poor track placement and occasional filler. There are no weak points on this entire album, which consists of two long-form epics, four lengthy stand-alone tracks ranging from 5 to 10 minutes in length (five on the limited-edition CD) and one instrumental. The band has thankfully abandoned the practice of splitting up the multi-movement pieces into separate CD tracks, which caused some confusion, especially when they put unrelated, stand-alone tracks after them. The album flows remarkably well from beginning to end as if a lot of thought was put into the track order. Well done.
One thing that has never been an issue is the musicianship of the group, and they don't disappoint on X. Nick D'Virgilio is a particular double threat - not only is he still one of the best drummers in rock music, but he also has one of the best voices in the progressive rock genre, and his delivery has never been better. The fact that he has better lyrics to sing, too, doesn't hurt. Keyboardist Ryo Okumoto has finally embraced his role as more than Neal Morse's backup and he is all over this record. From his instrumental, "Kamikaze," to the piano flourishes at the end of "From the Darkness" his playing has never been more confident and varied as it is on X. Alan Morse shows more varied chops and mature playing, with fewer whammy-bar-noise moments and more complex textures and solid solos. Spock's Beard is a heavier band without Neal Morse, and Alan Morse's guitar is up front, where it should be. He is one of the most underrated guitarists in the business and his playing on X shows why. Dave Meros is solid as ever on bass, as he and D'Virgilio combine to make one of the best rhythm sections in prog.
It's no coincidence that as Spock's Beard's albums have improved, Meros' name has appeared more often in the songwriting credits, and that's the case with X. Meros is credited as songwriter, along with longtime lyricist and collaborator John Boegehold, on four of the eight tracks, including the closing epic, "Jaws of Heaven." Boegehold's contributions have improved as well, as he was responsible for many of the weak lyrics that have been a sore spot on previous albums. D'Virgilio's songs also show a marked improvement. Perhaps now that Spock's Beard is a true collaborative effort and not the one-man Neal Morse show, each member can focus on only a few songs as they know they don't have to carry an entire album. Alan Morse contributes two strong tracks to the album, and his lyrics show a playfulness that adds a new dimension to the group. "The Emperor's Clothes," in particular, shows Alan's lyrical style as the words play on themselves and on common phrases in an almost Douglas Adams-esque way, especially in his use of double-negatives as in the line "You'll never not see clothes/Like you won't see those."
Some attention should be given to the bonus track, "Their Names Escape Me." This song was written as a thank-you to all the people who pre-ordered the CD without hearing a note in order for the band to self-finance the production of the album. In exchange for the faith put in the band by these people, the band wrote a song in which they would sing the names of all those who pre-ordered. Now while this may seem like a recipe for disaster, the song actually works quite well. The song itself is well written, with an eerie, minor-key melody penned by Meros and a lyrical theme about a person who is being questioned for information regarding names of people who were involved in a conspiracy against the state, and after bravely defying the attempts to procure the names, finally relents and rattles off the list of names. It's a clever and well thought out way to incorporate the names into the song and I'm sure the ones who pre-ordered the CD love to hear D'Virgilio sing out their names.
Spock's Beard have finally found their sound with X, and have set the stage for what to expect from the band in the future - nothing revolutionary, just a solid, well-written progressive rock album every few years when they have a chance to get together. The shame of it is, even if the band got one tenth of the A&R money spent on throw-away acts like Lady Gaga and Justin Bieber they would easily be able to make a living as just members of Spock's Beard and more people would be able to hear this excellent album. The album is so good that all of the fans who lament the exodus of Neal Morse should now be thankful, because if he had never left the band, this album would never have been made.
Spock's Beard - X gets a solid 5 out of 5 and is without a doubt one of the best albums of the year.
No comments:
Post a Comment