Spock's Beard - Spock's Beard (CD)

Spock's Bear Well Trimmed On 9th Studio Release

By Yahoo! Shopping User  Nov 29, 2006

Pros: The band doesa good job going back and forth beteen the different styles of music throughout the album.

Cons: The band's sound is kind of retro prog, which is an cquired taste.

No man is an island unto himself. Perhaps this is true, but Spock's Beard is a band unto itself. It has always been a and unto itself. Fourteen years and nine albums into its existence and sans former vocalist and founding member Neal Morse, Spoc...k's Beard is even more a band unto itself. The band evolved in a way after Morse's departure. Drummer Nick D'Virgilio has proven his chops as a singer ever since he took over vocal duties for the band. That change helped the band's sound to change, as well. The change was evident from the time that the band released "Feel Euphoria" (their first as a four-piece). And now, on their thrd album as a four-member band, Spock's Beard sounds as good as ever. Longtime fans will be impressed by this release in that they have taken the retro-prog sound that they began to develop after Morse's deaprture and grown with it. There are hints troughout the record of Pink Floyd in songs such as "The Slow Crash Landing Man" and in the third movement of "With your Kiss" (which is an opus in an of itself). The band doesn't only show influences from classic prog, though. There are hints of influences like King's X in, "Is This Love?", and "Wherever You Stand". That sound is also there in the second movement of "With Your Kiss". That one song is interesting in that students of music can hear the obvious trasitions between the "A", "B" and "C" sections of the piece. For those who might enjoy the softer side of Spock's Beard, there is a softer side even on this album in "Hereafter" and "All That's Left". And, of course, what prog rock record is complete without the standard multi-movement "epic" track? With that track and "As Far As the Mind Can See", Spock's Beard more than covers that base. This album is proof that a band doesn't have to be a big-time MTV band to be sucessful. The members have been together for fourteen years. And if this record is any indication, fans definitely have more years of musc to come. Read more Less