Published on Jul 19, 2003
For being someone who likes progressive rock, I don’t always
like progressive rock.
All right, now, put away the funny jacket whose sleeves tie in
the back and let me explain that one. I like progressive rock’s
complexity, its willingness to take risks and try new things, and
the use of classical instruments and motifs with rock tempos. What
I don’t like is the overblown pretentiousness of 24-minute long
songs with nine parts (usually subdivided with
i. those annoying little outline things that
ii. no one outside of an English term paper has
iii. ever used unless they were
iv. just neurotic). Fact is, prog rock rides a thin line
between self-indulgence and obfuscation, and most bands don’t do it
well. (For example, don’t get me started on Yes. We could be here
all night.)
Spock’s Beard, on the other hand, has gotten it right for a good
deal of their recording career. In fact, in my opinion,
The Kindness Of Strangers, their third CD, was the first
time they did get it exactly right. While it still has some
progressive rock cliches (long songs with subtitles, enthusiastic
use of the Hammond organ, and quirky lyrics), it’s also a tight,
well-performed, and intelligent piece of music.
As always, the musical performances are without peer. The lineup
of Neal Morse, Alan Morse, Dave Meros, Ryo Okumoto, and Nick
D’Virgilio are just plain great. The production is tight, the mix
is perfect…so it all really comes down to the songs, doesn’t
it? On
The Kindness Of Strangers, the songs are pretty damn fine.
“The Good Don’t Last” is a nice intro with a couple of funny lines,
but the real kick in the pants to get the album moving is the
intense groove of “In The Mouth Of Madness,” with its blistering
keyboard solos, jangly guitar, and intense distorted vocals
(somewhat reminiscent of ELP). From there, “Cakewalk On Easy
Street,””June” and “Strange World” continue the brilliance. The CD
wraps up with “Harm’s Way” — kind of the weak sister on this CD,
though still pretty tasty — and the brilliant, brilliant “Flow,”
where Spock’s Beard proves that yes, they can do a long multi-part
song and not fall off the tightrope.
This is also, interestingly enough, a pretty hard-rocking CD —
a tendency the Beard continued on further releases “Day From Night”
and “Snow”. On songs like “Cakewalk” and “Mouth”, Alan Morse really
kicks out the jams, straying very close to the progressive metal
territory of bands like Dream Theater and King’s X.
Out of six studio CDs (I haven’t heard the new Neal Morse-less
Feel Euphoria yet, but to all reports the Beard is a very
different band now), Spock’s Beard hit the progressive rock nail on
the head at least three times — with
Day From Night,
Snow, and
The Kindness Of Strangers.
Kindness is definitely worth checking out as one of the
Beard’s best.