Anyone familiar with Morse and his former band Spock’s Beard know of his debt to the icons of seventies Prog Rock, specifically to Kansas, so I was taken aback by the parallels between Morse’s career and the career of former Kansas mastermind, songwriter, guitarist and keyboardist Kerry Livgren. Both came through the ranks of secular Progressive Rock, both experienced a Christian conversion during this time and started integrating they newfound spirituality into their respective bands. Both felt that going on their own was the better way and their bands continued without them. Although Testimony is Morse’s third solo, it recalls Livgren’s first solo Seeds of Change (not to mention that the font Morse used for his name on this release is exactly the same one used on Livgren’s Decade retrospective release). What Testimony doesn’t have is a guest appearance by Ronnie James Dio. What it does have is a guest appearance by, surprise, Kerry Livgren.

Surrounded by some of Nashville’s best orchestral session artists, CCM rocker Rick Altizer, Dream Theater’s Mike Portnoy on drums and Livgren (on the standout cut “Long Story”), Morse’s keyboards really shine, as does his knack for creating accomplished multi-part suites and longform compositions. “California Nights”, a section of ‘Part One’, goes into life of a struggling musician waiting for that break while paying the dues in the dumps and dives along the way. Apparently, his spiritual awakening was well underway even then, before Spock’s Beard started. So what you have here is the culmination of both influences; the burgeoning Christian mindset and the serious minded musician, striving to raise the bar on what a ‘rock song’ could be.

What you also have is the classic tension of my two-pools theory. Testimony has music that is filled with epic sweep, pomp and bombast. It has some of Morse’s trademark keyboards, recalling Keith Emerson’s percussive style of noodling, and it has strong and vibrant vocal parts. Essentially, it’s everything Prog could want and everything its detractors take potshots at. In pool two, Morse’s fervent Christ-centered lyrics recall the pleasure of hearing the Rich Mullins tribute album, The Jesus Record, where Mullins’ friends and musical partners saw to completion the massive project Mullins was working on up to his tragic death. Yes, one could say the lyrics are too “Jesus-y”, but I don’t mind that. Many would disagree, specifically former Beard fans who didn’t take to Morse’s rather undemocratic urgings.

Two pools, two conflicts.

I’m giving this disc high marks, but with obvious caveats. People who are introduced to Morse by way of Beard’s latest Feel Euphoria, wondering about ‘the guy who left the band’, won’t get it. People who are not remotely interested in “Gospel” music (and a testimony is a sort of a gospel, isn’t it?) may not warm to it, and the focus will alienate others of different faiths. Speaking from within the framework though, Testimony gets right what many recordings like this get wrong – it’s told down in the audience, not from the stage. Morse is more likely to accept the altar call than to issue it. You get the feeling he’s the guy next to you and not the pastor, preacher or reverend on the stage, and that everyman commonality, plus its focus on Jesus as spiritual leader and not someone going with you to the Prom, puts this release head and shoulders above a lot of the Christian Contemporary Music crowd. In this, it also recalls Livgren’s solo album as well as his subsequent releases with his band A.D. If you don’t like Prog and you don’t have any affinity for CCM, you probably won’t dig this.

So it comes down to you. If you’re into trying new things and don’t mind putting your feet into strange pools, this is a fine place to start, but it’s certainly not for everyone. Musically, it’s beautiful and bold. Lyrically, it is uncompromising and heartfelt, but those expecting a release that asks nothing of the listener but to listen will be disappointed.