It had been on everyone's tongue within the progressive circle. Without having heard one single note of music, rumours had it that SPOCK'S BEARD were the next big thing ! The American power trio had seen the possibility to mix the complexity of the seventies with the intensity of the nineties ! The result is 'The Light', an album which you simply can't afford to miss !
Rumours have (had ?) it that Spock's Beard have (had ?) signed a deal with Sony in Japan. If this is true then it means that major record companies are getting in on the act again which is about time. Some are even saying that Spock's Beard drummer Nick d'Virgilio has joined the ranks of Genesis which would be great for the entire 'underground' scene the genre is currently occupying !
If you're into Gentle Giant, Yes, Van der Graaf Generator, long tracks and a perfect control of their instruments then you're sitting in the front row with this band ! Neal Morse's voice (also keyboards) has the same timbre which I found so interesting and accessible with Chris Thompson from Manfred Mann's Earthband. In fact if they ever start writing shorter songs (although I luuuuuv the long ones !), then I guess they could become as succesful as Supertramp and Styx during the halcyon days of the genre !
In 'The light' they even integrate some salsa which illustrates the huge amount of irony within the band. It's exactly that humor which is so necessary to reach a bigger audience. Then again, the 23 minute long 'The Water' is an amalgamation of every influence from the big golden book of progrock in order to release a damn good track. Without any doubt the band of the moment.
That's what Greg Walker and David Overstreet thought too; so they invited the band over to play during Progfest in November '95. On Musea's Progfest '95 highlights 2CD set you can hear 'The Light' in all it's live glory but like Anglagard and Solaris before them, Spock's Beard decided they had to release their entire live concert in full. So they did, on their own Radiant records. The album 'The Official Live Bootleg' is a statement of their great concert that particular night.
To do live what they did on record would probably be impossible (although with the use of samples you never know !) hence the fact that the trio of SPOCK'S BEARD suddenly becomes a five piece (seven if you include both female backing singers). Next to brothers Neal and Alan Morse and drummer Nick d'Virgilio the band is augmented with bass player Dave Meros and the great keyboard player Ryo Okumoto (using mellotron, hammond and arp odyssey here, wow !)
During Progfest they played all four tracks from their debut album plus a couple of new songs. Although the songs from 'The Light' are played with more panache they mainly remain very loyal to their studio equivalent. So we have to focus on the brand new tracks. The band performed 'The Doorway', excerpt from 'Time Has Come' and 'Thoughts', the latter to be featured on the live album. Neal Morse tells us: 'it's about a guy who's thoughts are on the frizz, he can't stop his thoughts'. It begins with some weird keyboard noises before it evolves in a children's theme which brings different voices together. A fierce rhythm suddenly halts whilst Neal sings in a Beatles-like fashion on top of some outstanding mellotron. It again contains some great guitarparts as well and has the SPOCK'S BEARD hallmark all over it. I just wonder if it'll be on the new album ? As I just called Dave Mulloy who runs the Spock's Beard fanclub, I know it does together with the entire version of 'Time Has Come' as opposed to the excerpt which was performed at Progfest.
The band's new album 'Beware Of Darkness' has already been released in the States and is selling like hotcakes. Meanwhile the band have signed a deal with Giant Electric Pea (the IQ label run by Martin Orford) who will distribute all three Spock's Beard albums in Europe. Meanwhile 'The Light' on GEP sports a new sleeve and the appropriate catalogue number GEPCDl 017 whilst GEPCD 1018 is reserved for the new ' Beware Of Darkness' released in March !
For up to date news & info contact:
The Official Spock's Beard Appreciation Society, 2805 Jane Street, Riverside, CA 92506Or better still have a look at their website: http://www.altura.com/jordanz/spocks_beard
