Cosmic Cathedral - Deep Water

PV003

Does Neal Morse Ever Stop, Sl;ow down or pause to draw breath, Hardly Would seem to be the case, OK I understand that as an independent artist these days, That you have to network, With considering involvement in projects that not only, Poise a challenge to you musically. All this in order to have an income stream.

Yet this release is the latest release in a string of recent releases from Transatlantic and his own Neal Morse Band brand. the last of which was his Neal Morse and The Resomance from last year, With whom he recently undertook a European tour including shows in london and Manchester.

So what does Cosmic Cathedral bring to the table that is new would seem to be a fair question to ask.

Good question Well this represents a different version of afamiliar theme for Neal, However for this album Deep Water Neal hasSurrounded Himself with some legends of the Prog Scene, These being, Chester Thompson (Genesis and Unitopia)

Along with Phil Keaggy, much respected guitarist of bands like Glass Harp and several high Profile Contempary Christian Music groups, they joined by Byron House avery highly sought after session bassist for the likes of Robert Plant and Dolly Parton amongst others, Unsurprisingly all four musicians share a common Christian faith, Now this in itsellf can be a major stumbling block for some folks who oppose Religious beliefs interfering with or affecting the music.

Me I’m less Concerned by that and more concerned that the music is good and worth listening to, In this instance the music is good in the main and outstanding some parts, Like the Opening Track The heart of Life.

It’s also worth mentioning that this a band of seasoned musician with neal being the youngest at 64, Byron is 65, Phil is 76 and Chester the oldest at 76.

The opening track The Heart Of Life which sets out their stall pretty comprehensively, In that it’a a typical Neal Morse type overture to starts things off, Lots of organ parts from Neal, Guitar flurries from Phil and a strong rhythm section in Byron and Chester. At the 2;15 mark Phil lets rip, Showing just why he is so highly regarded amongst fellow guitarists, Even Jimi Hendrix was a fan! in this track both Neal and Phil share vocals. This is a very Faith aware of focussed track, With lots happening during it 13;34 duration, Good words, intelligent use of Similies and metaphors throughout. Great Instrumental sections abound, With good use of Dynamucs certainly add much to this track. If you are familiar with Neal’s other epic Overture type tracks, You will hear Familiar passItages or sections and textures throughout, Although Phils’s guitar does change the sound somewhat.

I really like this track, I Think it is a spectactular distillation of the art and character of Neal Morse.His faith is obviously fairly central to his life, Firmly connected to his character and his own identity.So that he sings about the essential strand of his DNA at every opportunity he gets or makes use of is not surprising.I never feel that he is preaching pr proseltysing though, Its just part of who he is.

You have to respect him forthat really, In these days when so many are swayed by current trends or opinions, Neal is not afraid to speak out about his beliefs, Rather admirable in many respects.

Next track, Time To Fly is very different in that it has an almost Steely Dan jazz lite swing feel to it, The use of female backing singers gives the song a Prog/R&B type scrossover sound, A guitar solo from Phil sparkles in this track as does the guest saxaphone of Mark Leniger, A tasty track that sounds really different and cetainly makes a strong impression.

The album’s shortest track I Won’t Make It is next This is a piano led track, Aided by the strings of Chris Carmichael, That addmuch depth to proceedings, A powerfu track thats builds in intensity, A brief guitar solo helps elevate the song. l really like this song. It’s well written and developed and delivered with style.

Next is a longer track, Walking In Daylight, that has another overrture type feel to it, Vocal are mainly by Phil with Neal in the choruses, lots of sweet guitar fillls and great piano from Neal, A lengthy guitar solo from Phil and a strong rhythm section playing great parts and some strong organ flurishes from Neal mae this track another winner with it’s funky piano and rhythmic comping throught, This song sounds awsome.

The next track is for me at least, Problematic, in that it is very long over 35 minutes and has 9 parts to it, the problem i have isthat it isn’t easy to follow what is going on at times, it seems to lose its way in places, I believe this track was pulled together from a series of jams they band improvised, This song being the result of the jams hence why it seems disjointed to me, Yes there are some good musical parts and a great organ throughout, better i feel it is not really that good or strong.

It becomes a bit of a task to Listen to it all,Appreciating and understandi it fully is just not easy or straightforward. Maybe if it were shorter and in say 5 sections it would be better, I was actually disappointed after the strong start of the first four tracks, I’d not be wanting to play this last track anytime in the near future,Again maybe it would fayre better in a live setting, I believe plans are afoot in that direction.

You of course might feel completely differently to me, Have a listen for yourself and see what you think .

I info here: www.nealmorse.com