Neal Morse – Morsefest 2014 Live

Neal Morse

Morsefest 2014 –Live (Featuring Mike Portnoy)

Radiant Records/Metal Blade Records

All Neal! 

A 4-disc set? All live? What on earth is going on here? …We’ll tell you

An ambitious idea perhaps, but determination seems to have got this project home. In mid-November 2014 down in Nashville, renowned Prog musician Neal Morse assembles a crew of musicians and technicians to play in a live setting the classic albums ‘Testimony’ and ‘ One’. He even secures the services of the guy who originally mixed the studio records Rich Mouser, to do the live sound at the venue.

Muso’s aboard include Bill Hubauer and Eric Gillette, as well as Mike Portnoy and Randy George. To this Morse adds a 4 piece horn section, 6 female singers, violin and cello AND a full orchestra with timpani and chimes. Oh and dancers. Seasick Steve this ain’t…

So for Morse followers, Christmas has arrived early – they have two audio CDs and two DVDs to enjoy. OK, beginners or newcomers will not start here, but as a project to please a fan following, this pile of goodies is hard to top. Portnoy has commented “ This music really deserves this..it’s great to hear all the music some to life on stage like this”. Over five hours including encores ( embracing ‘The Light’,the popular Spock’s Beard item) and including the usual behind-the-scenes documentary footage, the albums are brought to life, in 3-D, as it were. Followers will have fond memories of Morse’s Flying Colors lineup, with guitar man Steve Morse. This work is a little more solemn in overall tone. It has religious inspiration and isn’t everyone’s cup of communion wine.

Let’s move on now to the cuts that impressed us most…

The first audio disc features an introduction by Peter Gabriel’s ‘Sledgehammer’ and quotes the line ‘This will be my testimony!’ The reason for this is that this was the performance of Neal Morse’s album ‘Testimony’. Playing in his local church in his hometown of Nashville, Tennessee it was clear Morse wanted to (in his own words) ‘Go BIG or go home, and well, we were already home, so BIG we went!’  ‘The Land of Beginning Again’ was an emotional opener and interesting choice because a lot of performers choose one of their faster numbers to get the crowd into frenzy. Well done for challenging the norm Mr Morse!

The electric guitar on ‘Overture No 1’ intertwines with the violin and cello in fast-paced fashion and it sounds like a film soundtrack to me for a science-fiction piece.

‘California Nights’ seems quite autobiographical as he explains that ‘If I played that tired Eagles song one more time, I thought I was gonna die!’ The band then proceed to kick into the chorus of ‘Hotel California’ and you can tell that he has certainly done and seen a lot throughout his career but it also conveys his sense of humour.

The full orchestra percussion with timpani and chimes (Rick Altizer and Eric Darken) is stunning as they maintain that fusion sound that has echoes of Stanley Clarke.

‘Colder In the Sun’ showcases Morse’s strong songwriting and it has a heavy Alesis keyboard sound which I can appreciate is a key component to his material but it didn’t have as much light and shade balance for me as much as his other material has. ‘Sleeping Jesus’ was a perfect fit given the venue and received a huge cheer from the crowd. Mike Portnoy on the drums was on point for every track and ‘The Prince of the Power of the Air’ was no different. The six rich and textured female background vocalists (Debbie Bresee, April Zachary, Julie Harrison, Kelli Petrovic, Amy Pippin and Stacy Funk) really made this track for me.

‘Wasted Life’ was a sombre piece as the violin (Eric Brenton) and cello (Nathan Brenton) were subtle in their playing. Morse’s lead vocals really helped give the songs that original sound and the overtures sounded electronic and wiry in terms of delivery.

Audio disc three was the second night of Morsefest in the same venue only this time he treated the crowd to live offerings of his album ‘One’. The orchestral intro of ‘The Creation’ sounds a bit like The Wizard of Oz and the keyboard is well played but sounds quite brash at times. ‘The Man’s Gone’ has acoustic guitar being played along with the sound of rain and although the musicians are technically flawless the song is too repetitive. ‘Nothing To Believe’ is quite poppy and radio-friendly and my favourite track on this disc. Morse explains the idea behind ‘The Separated Man’ and I can hear in the song that Morse and his musicians like Frank Zappa because of their playing style and it makes me think of the time I met the legendary drummer Chad Wackerman. The jungle percussion creates a tense atmosphere with the keyboard and it really works well even if it does seem to go on a bit too long. One really emotional moment is ‘Cradle to the Grave’ sees Neal brings on his song Wil Morse to sing with him. Prog and heavy rock acts don’t really want to display heavy emotion if they avoid it as they don’t want to ruin the act/persona (for example, if Marilyn Manson started stroking kittens during his version of ‘Tainted Love’ it might affect his image).

However, I appreciate moments like this as it shows that they are humans as well and they are not one-dimensional individuals. One of the best examples of this is when I went to Shepherd’s Bush Empire to see the electronic hitmaker Gary Numan. He explained that due to his extensive touring schedule he was going to be working on his daughter’s birthday. As a gift he brought his daughter onstage and the 2,000 strong audience sang ‘Happy Birthday’ to her and it was just a magical moment for everyone there.

‘Help Me/Spirit and the Flesh’ has fantastic Hispanic acoustic guitar but sounds like ‘Garden of Gethsemane’ from the musical Jesus Christ Superstar. I just can’t get into this type of music but they are definitely passionate in their delivery. ‘King Jesus’ has quite an Irish jig about the intro as we are told ‘King Jesus has come to take you home!’  For some reason, this track has a Bryan Adams vibe about it as he gets the audience singing along.

In conclusion, three things are clear to me when listening to Morsefest 2014; firstly, a LOT of effort has gone into the creation of this event and making of this release with a lot of people working on it being volunteers, secondly, all of the people involved in this sound like they are enjoying themselves and if you look in the sleeve notes they look like they are enjoying themselves and thirdly anyone who is an established fan of Neal Morse’s material knows that this is an essential purchase to add to your collection.

However, I felt like I was being preached to at times with the religious side of the recording and if I’m honest it did make me feel a bit weird at times. Don’t get me wrong, I think churches make some of the best music venues with Union Chapel in London and Holy Trinity Church in Guildford, Surrey being just two examples. Also, it would have been in incredibly bad taste if he had opened with Arthur Brown’s ‘Fire’ or another song that could be blasphemous.  Not my cup of tea but this a marvelous treat for fans. However, unlikely to win any new converts to this artists’ music.

By Pete Sargeant and Glenn Sargeant

 

 

                   

Neal Morse’s Morsefest 2014 is out now on Radiant Records and released on 2 Blu-Ray and special edition 2 DVD/4CD Set. For more information visit: www.nealmorse.com

(Thanks to Peter Noble at Noble PR for help with this review and providing the images)