Neal Morse - ? CD

? CD music Recorded live at Radio City Music Hall on April 1, 2006, this concert is the culmination of the band's 20th Anniversary Tour, featuring two full sets and over 30 tracks. To mark their 20th anniversary, Dream Theater embarked on a 20th Anniversary Tour - this DVD features the grand finale concert of that tour, recorded live at Radio City Music Hall on April 1, 2006. The 2-disc DVD titled SCORE includes the entire show, nearly 3 hours of music - over 90 minutes performed with a full orchestra. It shows highlight performances like I Walk Beside You and The Answer Lies Within along with previously unreleased songs "Another Won and Raise The Knife and much more. The DVD also contains a one-hour documentary ...

? album for sale Progressive rock masters Dream Theater's newest album, produced by Mike Portnoy and John Petrucci, the album features the latest new songs by the band, along with some top hits. The Special DVD features a 5.1 mix of the album and a 90 minute "Making-Of" documentary of the album.

? songs As the sole major-label progressive-metal act, Dream Theater invariably set the standard as the flagship band of the genre. With the numerically themed OCTAVARIUM (including eight tracks signifying the band's eighth release) the shred-rock quintet continues to challenge themselves creatively. Opening track "The Root Of All Evil" picks up the thread that began with "The Glass Prison" (SIX DEGREES OF INNER TURBULENCE) and carried forward to "This Dying Soul" (TRAIN OF THOUGHT). Drummer Mike Portnoy's lyrics for these songs read like a set of deeply personal journal entries documenting his painful recovery experience, further disclosed by a footnote nod to Alcoholics Anonymous co-founder Bill Wilson. OCTAVARIUM chiefly finds Dream Theater stepping back from elaborate fretboard acrobatics, focusing on vocal-based, song-oriented material ("I Walk Beside You," "The Answer Lies Within"); much in the spirit of AWAKE and their breakthrough album IMAGES AND WORDS. "Sacrificed Sons" captures the heartbreak of the 9/11 tragedy, while the grandiose title track showcases a melodic, Styx-inspired keyboard solo by Jordan Rudess (better known for a blisteringly frenetic style). Twenty years since their inception, Dream Theater prevails as the benchmark of modern prog metal. Audio Mixer: Michael Brauer. Recording information: Hit Factory, New York, NY (11/2004-02/2005). Illustrator: Hugh Syme. Photographer: Colin Lane. Dream Theater: John Myung (bass instrument); James LaBrie, John Petrucci, Jordan Rudess, Mike Portnoy . Personnel: John Petrucci (vocals, guitar); Mike Portnoy (vocals, drums, percussion); James LaBrie (vocals); Jordan Rudess (lap steel guitar, keyboards); Anne Lehmann, Laura McGinnis, Catherine Ro, Elena Barere, Carol Webb, Katherine LiVolsi Stern, Katherine Fong, Yuri Vodovoz (violin); Karen Dreyfus, Vince Lionti (viola); Richard Locker (cello); Pamela Sklar (flute); Joe Anderer, Stewart Rose (French horn).

? buy CD music Clichés have a way of being overused, but some of them are so darn accurate that it's hard not to come back to them again and again. One such cliché is, "The more things change, the more they stay the same." That cliché applies to politics and economics, and it most certainly applies to music; James LaBrie's third solo project, Elements of Persuasion, is a perfect example. This 2005 release worships, cherishes and adores rock's past without being totally enslaved by it, and like a lot of the neo-soulsters who have managed to link the '60s and '70s with the '90s and 2000s (Alicia Keys, Erykah Badu and Jill Scott, among others), LaBrie has no problem drawing on different eras for inspiration. But the Dream Theater vocalist has nothing to do with R&B; his turf is hard rock, metal and progressive rock, and Elements of Persuasion is an album with both pre-Nevermind and post-Nevermind components. There is no getting around the abundance of '70s and '80s influences that assert themselves on this disc -- influences ranging from Ronnie James Dio, Judas Priest and Queensr˙che to the elaborate progressive rock of Yes, Kansas and Rush. But instead of being totally retro, Elements of Persuasion also draws on the chug-chug riffs and downtuned guitars of alternative rock metal, grunge and post-grunge; this is a CD that can make you think of Geddy Lee or Rob Halford one minute, and Marilyn Manson, Rob Zombie, Incubus or Powerman 5000 the next (which isn't unlike R. Kelly showing us what the Isley Brothers and Marvin Gaye have in common with Snoop Dogg and the Notorious B.I.G.). This ambitious effort is slightly uneven; some of LaBrie's ideas work better than others. But overall, Elements of Persuasion is a pleasing, well-crafted demonstration of how a rocker can benefit creatively from the Baby Boomer generation as well as its Gen-X offspring. ~ Alex Henderson Solo release from the Dream Theater vocalist. Recording information: Cawaja Sound; Ear Kandy Studios, Hollywood, CA; Iguana Recording Studios, Toronto, CA. Photographer: Darko . Personnel: James LaBrie (vocals, background vocals); James LaBrie; Bryan Beller (bass instrument, bass guitar); Matt Guillory (guitar, piano, keyboards); Marco Sfogli (guitar); Mike Mangini (drums). Audio Mixer: Richard Chycki.

? songs Feat. Mike Portnoy, Phil Keaggy Personnel: Neal Morse (vocals); Phil Keaggy (guitar); Mike Portnoy (drums).

? album for sale This is where it all opens up and changes. Neal Morse is the former frontman of Spock's Beard, the California prog rock monolith. While not his first solo effort, Testimony it is easily his most compelling and provocative. Testimony is a concept album based around Morse's personal testimonial of his life before and after encountering his center, Jesus Christ. Before any of you reach for the mouse button to click off, it might be worth reading a little further to find out why this is musically one of the more engaging progressive rock records in particular and rock & roll albums in general this year. Morse's vision is still one that is sophisticated and sprawling. His attention to detail is even greater and he brings so many elements into his mix that it will make the punters' heads spin. Here, folk, prog, classical, and beautiful singing and arrangements entwine with a challenging, moving, and provocative story. Conceptually, Testimony is divided into five parts over two CDs. Disc one features a gorgeous overture and elements of Laurel Canyon rock that are contrasted with gargantuan tracks loaded with keyboards and strings as the story moves from looking over a life spent in innocence and then loneliness and darkness. Disc two concentrates on the time period after conversion, with themes of transformation, surrender, willingness, and beatitude as well as struggling with doubt -- only to persevere in the wealth and mystery that come with discovering meaning in life. Production-wise, Testimony is seamless, full of fantastic dynamics and dramatic layering of instruments, voices, and "ambiences." Really, if Brian Wilson were into the big rock & roll business, the textured nuances found here would suit him fine, even if the screaming guitars and progressive jazz horn charts wouldn't. There are many guests on Morse's album: Kerry Livgren, Mike Portnoy, Aaron Marshall, Pamela Ward, Terry White, and Rich Mouser just to name a few. The bottom line is this: Testimony is, as a modern rock & roll album, a solid and engaging work that wears its heart firmly on its sleeve and dwells not in clever ambiguities, but in passion and pathos. As a "Christian rock" record, it lays the land for the kind of aesthetic excellence that should go into a project that uses the gospel as its inspiration. There are no tired clichés, no dumbed-down messages, and no fake exuberance for the praise crowd. The CCM industry will have a hard time co-opting this one because it not only doesn't suck, it reveals just how artistically bankrupt some of their productions really are. This deserves to be heard by fans of Marillion, Yes, ELP, early Genesis, and yes, fans of Spock's Beard. Actually, it deserves to be heard by anyone interested in the power of great music. Sadly, our current critical and cultural climate -- in the media especially -- is too far gone in creating personality cults and endless narcissistic self-referencing to take a record like this very seriously as art. That's too bad; it's our loss. ~ Thom Jurek Contains ...