| | Spock's Beard Light CD Spock's Beard Discography of CDs
 (2 Customer Reviews)
This 2003 Special Edition of THE LIGHT includes bonus tracks and expanded packaging.
The Light is the debut album from Spock's Beard, the Culver City, CA neo-prog rock band whose sprawling exercises in technical proficiency and suite-like compositions made them an underground legend almost immediately. One has to understand that The Light is nothing at all akin to anything being done in the mid-'90s. Yes hadn't yet made their full comeback, and the memories of Genesis with Peter Gabriel faded ever more pervasively form view with each subsequent Phil Collins solo release. Here are four sprawling, knotty, syncopated tunes, two of them, the title track and "The Water," are multiple-part suites that encompass no less than 48 minutes of the album's 67 minutes. In addition, this album was self-financed. (What "responsible" multi-national recording conglomerate during Nirvana-mania would give them a record deal after all?). There are wonderfully referenced elements here in these massive and yes, overblown constructions -- but that's what prog's delight is -- it's overblown and confoundingly complex. There's the great King Crimson "21st Century Schizoid Man" reference in "One Man," and the flamenco-cum-near-gothic metal of the "Return of the Catfish Man," near the end of The Light. The layered keyboards and backing chorus in "Go the Way You Go" reminds one of Yes at their knottiest, before slipping expertly into an altered universe dynamically and becoming a poetic and romantic elegy. And "The Water"'s labyrinthine, apocalyptic, maze-like compositional journey that may not sound like punk, but certainly reflects many of its sentiments, is an anomaly in any kind of music that espouses this M.O. The dodgy (but not substandard) recording makes it sound like classic- '70s vintage, and the music is out of time and space. Fans of this genre have long regarded it as a classic. ~ Thom Jurek
Additional Tracks; Special Edition
Recorded at Moving Hands Studios, Sherman Oaks, California.
Spock's Beard: Neal Morse (vocals, acoustic & electric guitars, Hammond organ, Mellotron, keyboards); Alan Morse (electric guitar, cello, Mellotron, background vocals); Dave Meros (French horn, bass); Nick D'Virgilio (drums, percussion, background vocals).
Additional personnel: Molly Pasutti, Wanda Houston.
Light Music | List Price | $17.98 (You save $2.79) | | Category | Rock/Pop Albums, Rock CDs, Heavy Metal, Progressive | | Label | Metal Blade | | Orig Year | 1994 | | All Time Sales Rank |  5795  | | CD Universe Part number | 6710014 | | Catalog number | 14494 | | Discs | 1 | | Release Date | Apr 20, 2004 | | Studio/Live | Studio | | Mono/Stereo | Stereo | | Personnel | Neal Morse - vocals, acoustic & electric guitars, Hammond organ, Mellotron, keyboards
Nick D'Virgilio - drums, percussion, background vocals
Alan Morse - electric guitar, cello, Mellotron, background vocals
Dave Meros - French horn, bass
Also: Sherman Oaks, Light, Molly Pasutti, Wanda Houston, Culver City | | Additional Info | Bonus Tracks; Special Edition |
Spock's Beard Light Songs | 1. | The Medley: Light: The Dream / One Man / Garden People / Looking Straight Into The Light / The Man In the Mountain / Senor Valasco's Mystic Voodoo Love Dance / The Return Of The Horrible Catfish Man / The Dream |
| 2. | Go the Way You Go  |
| 3. | The Medley: Water: Introduction / When It Goes To Hell / A Thief In The Night / FU / I'm Sorry / The Water / Runnin' The Race / Reach For The Sky - (revisited) |
| 4. | On the Edge |
| 5. | Light, The - (home demo) |
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Purchase Light CD To buy, Click on price to add to cart | Transatlantic Smpte CD (2000)
Light album
 $12.65   
The obvious label to put on this band is "supergroup," because it consists Roine Stolt of The Flower Kings, Neal Morse of Spock's Beard, Mike Portnoy of Dream Theater, and Pete Trewavas of Marillion, but that would imply that this is just another jam session. Despite the fact that these gifted musicians put this session together rather quickly, there is a natural cohesiveness and maturity that would suggest that they have been playing together for years. In fact, it could be argued that as a collective work this is as good, if not better, than any of the aforementioned bands previous output. The influence of early progressive rock bands such as Yes and Genesis are obvious, as are the references to each member's "regular" band, but it is the influence of the Beatles, which is felt both musically and lyrically, that shines through the strongest. The opener "All of the Above" is a 30-minute epic that stands as some of the best progressive rock music ever written. The only two compositions under seven minutes are the uplifting "We All Need Some Light" and the whimsical "Mystery Train," which in an ideal world would both receive significant airplay (they didn't). "My ...
| | Transatlantic Bridge Across Forever CD (2001)
Light CD music
$12.59
Principally recorded at Dark Horse, Nashville, Tennessee and Racket Club Studios, Buckinghamshire, England.
Transatlantic drummer and founder Mike Portnoy has been bucking and setting trends since the early '90s by immersing himself in progressive rock at a time when grunge and teen bands ruled. His primary band, Dream Theater, raised the bar for musicianship and complexity while helping to establish the progressive metal genre. Portnoy showed his depth and diversity by forming the critically and commercially successful bands Liquid Tension Experiment and Transatlantic. The latter's SMPTe proved to be a groundbreaking release by reviving the progressive sound of the '70s, while injecting an updated '90s approach. With this release, bandmates Neal Morse of Spock's Beard, Roine Stolt of the Flower Kings, Pete Trewavas of Marillion, and Portnoy continue to push this forgotten genre into newfangled directions. As expected, there is a surfeit of technical wizardry, but there is also an increased focus on rich harmonies, memorable melodies, and recondite lyrics. The lead vocals are shared among the four members in order to avoid the session ...
| | Porcupine Tree In Absentia CD (2002)
Light music CDs
$8.59 
There's a breed of (post-1980s) bands with the same degree of grand rock experimentalism as Pink Floyd and Yes, who simultaneously adhere to the concept of concise songwriting. Porcupine Tree is one such band--their sound is a balance of lush ambient textures, charming vocal harmonies, rock & roll directness, and acoustically- and electronically-generated sounds. Their debut IN ABSENTIA shows all these elements in place, rich with the likely possibility of them becoming a contemporary counterpart to Pink Floyd.
Hailed by Billboard as 'cinematic...simple gorgeous', Porcupine Tree are unquestionably one of the UK's most inspired and inventive rock groups. In Absentia is their eagerly anticipated Lava Records debut. Digipak. 2002.
Recorded at Avatar Studio, New York, New York between March & April 2002.
Porcupine Tree: Richard Barbieri, Colin Edwin, Gavin Harrison, Steven Wilson.
Personnel: John ...
| | Spock's Beard Beware Of Darkness CD (1996) Bonus Tracks; Special Edition
Light songs
$13.75 
Principally recorded at Woodcliff Studios, Sherman Oaks, California in January 1996.
This 2004 Special Edition of BEWARE OF DARKNESS includes bonus tracks and expanded packaging.
Beware of Darkness, the follow-up to California prog unit Spock's Beard's underground hit debut, The Light, is a complete exercise in MORE. Using George Harrison's beautiful song (but Leon Russell's version of it) as a take-off point, the band uses a full-blown choir, thundering guitars, and Neal Morse's growling vocal to create another valid and moving version of the tune. Beware of Darkness as an album is more "song-oriented" than its predecessor. It contains eight tunes instead of four and the longest, the closing "Time Has Come," is a mere 16 minutes, while the shortest, "Chatauqua," is a mere 2:49! In addition, the band's scope widened here; aside from references to Yes, King Crimson, and early Genesis, listeners can also hear elements of Gentle Giant, Emerson, Lake & Palmer, and Pat Metheny in the mix, too. However, all of them are subservient to Spock's Beard's tough, aggressively driven rock & roll approach. In many ways it goes beyond The Light, particularly because of its construction-like songwriting approach ...
| | Spock's Beard Kindness Of Strangers CD (1998) Bonus Tracks; Special Edition
Light album
$14.19 
1998's The Kindness of Strangers sees Spock's Beard returning to the more "suite" oriented format of their debut The Light, issued back in 1995. There, the set kicks off with "The Good Don't Last," a three-part ride that serves as Neal Morse's indictment of popular culture --though his lyrics are pure pop culture tripe. His screed belittles his wonderfully accessible and labyrinthine music; too bad. Things look up on "In the Mouth of Madness," with its Mellotron and heavy guitars complemented beautifully by Nick ...
| | Neal Morse One Demos CD (2004)
Light CD music
$13.79
| | Fiddlin John Carson Complete Recorded Works, Vol. 5 CD (1998) Import
Light music CDs
$13.75
| | Metalunas Swingin' Planet CD (2001)
Light songs
$12.99
| | Ian Gillan Rockfield Mixes Plus CD (1997) (Import) Bonus Tracks; United Kingdom
Light album
$16.19
The unmixed version of ...
| | Tiles Window Dressing CDs (2004) Limited Edition; Special Edition
Light CD music
$17.49
On their fourth album, Tiles continue to demonstrate that progressive rock doesn't have to mean either goofy pseudo-mysticism or wanky bloviation. That's not to say that these guys are exactly concise -- the album's title track runs over 17 minutes -- but they generally avoid the standard prog rock trap of trying to impress through empty grandiosity. Even when their songs are on the long side, they're skillfully and tightly crafted and the playing is disciplined and interesting. That's especially true on the instrumentals; "Stop Gap" and "Unicornicopia," both of which feature guest violinist Matthew Parmenter, offer spikily complex rock and nicely unsentimental neoclassicism, respectively, and are among the album's more impressive and enjoyable moments, and "A.02" is a lovely little new acoustic miniature. As for the songs, the metal-flavored "Paintings" and "Capture the Flag" are both enjoyably dense and crunchy and feature fine, clear singing by Paul Rarick. Overall, this is an album that will likely appeal equally to aging Jethro Tull fans and thirtysomething King's X fans alike. Recommended. ~ Rick Anderson
On their fourth album, Tiles continue to demonstrate that progressive rock doesn't have to mean either goofy pseudo-mysticism or wanky bloviation. That's not to say that these guys are exactly concise -- the album's title track runs over 17 minutes -- but they generally avoid the standard prog rock trap of trying to impress through empty grandiosity. Even when their songs are on the long side, they're skillfully and tightly crafted and the playing is disciplined and interesting. That's especially true on the instrumentals; "Stop Gap" and "Unicornicopia," both of which feature guest violinist Matthew Parmenter, offer spikily complex rock and nicely unsentimental neo-classicism, respectively, and are among the album's more impressive and enjoyable moments, and "A.02" is a lovely little new acoustic miniature. As for the songs, the metal-flavored "Paintings" and "Capture the Flag" are both enjoyably dense and crunchy and feature fine, clear singing by Paul Rarick. Overall, this is an album that will likely appeal equally to aging Jethro Tull fans and thirtysomething King's X fans alike. [The album was also available with a bonus live ...
| | Sibling Rivalry Love Song CD (2005)
Light music CDs
$16.45
| | Inner Fire My Lycan Me CD (2006)
Light songs
$12.79
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