I've been listening to disk 1 of the new Neal Morse CD, Testimony, for a few days now. It's a pretty good disk, overall, although references to Jesus may put some people off. It sounds just like Spock's Beard. It has the same flow and texture, and is certainly a progressive rock album, not a soft accoustic disk.

Essentially, the album is composed of five parts, which each are composed of sub-parts that make up those five parts. The story tells of Neal Morses conversion to Christianity. As hokey as that is, it isn't half as hokey and stupid as the concept for Snow, and the album is much more cohesive and interesting musically as well.

Part One is 41 minutes long, and is very remeniscent of The Light from the first SB album. It ranks up there as a pretty decent offering, although no new ground is being broken. He does make good use of additional string and horn players to add texture overall.

Given that for the most part, Morse is a prolific, but not very good writer of lyrics, the banal quality of the lyrics here should come as no surprise. Overall, the concept is extremely juvenile and niaive, which is reflected in the lyrics. Here's a sample from the first song:

I wish there was
a way to start again
just blink and count to ten
in the land of beginning again

where no one knows
the bad things that you've done
the past is truly gone
in the land of beginning again.

The lyrics are overly self-pitying and euphoric about "the prince of the power of the air."

I haven't really paid attention to disk 2 yet, which contains song titles like: "Sing it High," "Moving in my Heart," "Oh, to feel Him," "God's Theme," and "Oh Lord My God."

If they lyrics were slightly different, or less direct, I'm sure this fine effort would find a much bigger audience. It's a quality outing if you can get past hearing the name of Jesus in a song lyric.

Hopefully he can put this behind him now. I don't really need Neal Morse preaching to me about how Jesus can deliver me from suffering. I've done a good job of living a rational life free from any suffering without the help of Morse or Jesus, and I expect that to continue.