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Combining the elements of the masters such as Yes, King Crimson and the Beatles, prog-rock progenitors Spock's Beard has been highly regarded by the press and fans both here and abroad for their infectious melodies and first rate musicianship. So, as the keepers of the progressive rock flame, Spock’s Beard have to live up to some pretty high expectations. Fortunately, that has not been a problem thanks to word of mouth, countless fan websites, an amazing underground following, and what is a truly amazing album; “Snow”.
Formed in Los Angeles in the spring of 1992 by a who’s who of consummate and seasoned professionals, the members of Spock’s Beard have performed or recorded with such legendary performers as Eric Clapton, Phil Collins, Genesis and Tears for Fears. The band’s first two self promoted releases, “The Light” and “Beware of Darkness”, put Spock’s Beard in the proverbial spotlight and made them critics darlings, gaining praise from magazines as diverse as Keyboard Magazine, Metal Edge, Progression and Billboard. International label and distribution deals followed, with Metal Blade Records picking them up stateside and Inside Out Records taking the lead in Europe.
Neal Morse, Spock’s Beard’s chief songwriter/vocalist/frontman has been a busy man. Since the release of 1999’s critically acclaimed “Day For Night”, he has released a self titled solo album and teamed with Dream Theater drummer Mike Portnoy in Transatlantic, releasing “Bridge Across Forever” and toured the US and Europe. Neal is also a label mogul, heading up the Beard’s label Radiant Records and, completing the trifecta, he produced the bands 2000 release “V”, a collection of Spock’s Beard’s most accomplished and ambitious playing and songwriting to date. Until now…
“Snow” is a double disc release, which is the band’s first foray into the of world concept records. The story is based on a teenage albino referred to as Snow, whose life spins in and out of control, as he finds himself confronted with a higher calling that he can no sooner avoid than understand. As Snow reels from his existence as an outsider to a wonder-boy to a freak to a messiah and back, he wrestles to maintain his humanity, humility and sanity.
The writing process for “Snow” was “Much harder. Much, much harder.” explains Neal, “It seemed to take forever to write, not that writing for past albums had ever been swift and effortless, but there were a lot of changes being made to the lyrics and vocals while we were already in the mixing stage. Rich Mouser would be working on the final mix and then I would come up with a better way to sing something or come up with better lyrics and then I would have to send him a tape and tell him ‘this one is so much better, we should use this one instead’. Before the lyrics just had to feel good. This time around they not only had to feel good but they had to move the story forward.” Although telling the story took much longer then usual, Neal says it was definitely “worth it!” The band spent much more time as a whole while in the writing process. They would get together and feed off of each other’s input which clearly comes out in this remarkable release. The band working together as much as they could is what pushes this story to its fullest potential; it makes the story what it is.
After a very long year of recording and mixing, “Snow” was finally completed. Is Morse satisfied with the result? “I am very satisfied with it! I became rather close to this one, actually too close to it. I think the fans will like it, no… they will love it!”
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