The story of a band at the crossroads: The lead singer and widely regarded engine of the combo decides to pursue other avenues. The drummer of the band, and sometimes vocalist, steps up to the challenge and takes them in new directions. This is not the first time Spock’s Beard has been accused of playing from the rulebook of Genesis.

The fortunate thing is that, just as those similarities are striking, so is the fact that the band is as strong as ever and may be more so. As Peter Gabriel led Genesis in a very theatrical direction, former SB frontman Neal Morse obviously had a vision for the group. The evidence is all over their previous two-disc rock opera “Snow”. When Gabriel left Genesis, Phil Collins slowly but surely steered the band toward stand-alone songs and a rock band ethic. So too, drummer-vocalist Nick D’Virgilio seems to have infused SB with a sense of freedom and adventure. Inside and out, one can tell that a sense of fun and a desire to “just rock” has come back into the fold.

At first listen, one might believe “Feel Euphoria” to be all over the map, trying on new styles and colors, but you need to consider this more like a freshman effort. This is learning to walk all over again, but the influences used to help the patient get along are fascinating: a Scott Weiland-like warble in “Onomatopoeia”, stacked minor-key harmonies a’la Layne Staley on the title cut and an arrangement on the closing “Carry On” reminiscent of Kansas’ “The Wall”.

Where Neal Morse shared keyboard duties on previous outings, the position is filled completely by Ryo Okumoto who proceeds to tear it up. Alan Morse displays incredible chops in a handful of inspired solos and bassist Dave Meros would have you know that the bass on your sound system must be turned up a bit more than usual, just to catch the intricate interplay going on. As previously stated, Spock’s Beard is now a band given the freedom to do anything they want, so now they’re going to have some fun.

Just in case anyone thought the group had abandoned their prog rock status, they’ve also provided a six-part suite entitled “A Guy Named Sid”, a story of a man seemingly forsaken by the world, filled with regret and self-loathing who comes to his own crossroads, turns around, and realizes that so long as he lives, he can be redeemed… “It’s Alright…” While not as breathtaking as “Snow”’s praise and closing benediction, “Wind At My Back”, it comes pretty close.

For this reviewer, the best track is the ballad “Ghosts of Autumn”. D’Virgilio really shows off what he can and will bring to Spock’s Beard v2.0. The lyrics, pointing to a haunting of quite a different kind, perhaps a lost or unrequited love dispersed in the change of seasons, really stuck to me and drew me back to the disc again and again. It’s sung with a tenderness that is deeply felt and can only be pulled off by veterans. It is what all really good freshmen efforts need – an undeniable hook and a need for more, and what most freshmen don’t have, the experience to do it right.

Many people don’t know that Peter Gabriel was the original lead singer of Genesis. So indelible is Phil Collins’ contribution that a whole generation of people naturally assumed it was his idea all along. While I wouldn’t want to see Neal Morse’s efforts cast aside that easily, “Feel Euphoria” leads me to believe that there’s a lot of new possibilities opening up for the band. The last part of “A Guy Named Sid” is named “Change”, and like a Greek philosopher once mused, change is good. So is this release.

Search Tour Database by: Artist City Venue

Onomotopoeia
The Bottom Line
Feel Euphoria
Shining Star
East of Eden, West of Memphis
Ghosts of Autumn
A Guy Named Sid / Intro
A Guy Named Sid / Same Old Story
A Guy Named Sid / You Don't Know
A Guy Named Sid / Judge
A Guy Named Sid / Sid's Boy Choir
A Guy Named Sid / Change
Carry On