By 2008, Neal Morse had been away from Spock’s Beard for the better part of the decade.
But here, he returns, full force, to perform “The Light,” his first Spock’s Beard song, with his former bandmates.
So great, so celebratory. And the piano interlude at 9:30 is Morse at his beautiful best.
A full concert from Spock’s Beard’s Day For Night tour. Their next album would be the Beard at the height of their power, but this one shows them off pretty well.
And it’s not like they just come out and play their 10+ minute songs. They’re entertainers. Just check out when Nick the drummer comes out for a trio guitar attack. That’s what a good concert does: it gives the audience a little something extra, a view of the personality of the band that you don’t find on an album.
Spock’s Beard was the pop prog band. Intricate and catchy, with a great knack for a melodic hook. That’s what made them so fun.
“Stare chaos in the face,
Some things only can be made,
In the Storm.”
That line gets me every time. Not bad pop song writing from a bunch of prog guys and a handsome, talented lead singer.
I’ve been really digging the new stuff from Flying Colors, the supergroup pop band made of prog virtuosos – and it doesn’t get much better than the group doing Spock’s Beard’s “June.”
The second Flying Colors album is great, but the first album hits some emotional high points for me, like “Blue Ocean.” Just stellar work from a group of fantastic musicians.
Some backstory: Neal Morse left Spock’s Beard in the early 2000s to pursue a Christ-centered musical career. He returned for a progressive rock cruise and performed “June” with the band.
Amazing. Like Roger Waters coming back to Pink Floyd to perform (only Neal left on decent terms).
Happy Easter.
Sure, prog rock was kind of dorky back in the early 2000s (or 1970s, or…). But no one had more fun on stage than Spock’s Beard back in the day.
Skip to 0:55:00 for the best version of “Waste Away” I’ve seen. So fun.
I saw them live, opening up for Dream Theater, at the Phoenix Plaza in Pontiac, MI, the summer of 2000. And from there, I went on to buy V and it changed my life.