THE journey of Neal Morse has seen three decades
of musical accomplishments, the latest being the inception of The Neal
Morse Band. Morse has forged many relationships over the years with his other
bands, Spock’s Beard, Flying Colors, and Transatlantic.
However, the most compelling and fruitful efforts have been those with drummer Mike Portnoy (The Winery Dogs, Flying Colors, Transatlantic, ex-Dream Theater).
However, the most compelling and fruitful efforts have been those with drummer Mike Portnoy (The Winery Dogs, Flying Colors, Transatlantic, ex-Dream Theater).
Now the current line-up of “The Neal Morse Band”— Morse, Portnoy,
bassist Randy George, keyboardist Bill Hubauer and guitarist Eric
Gillette - brings forth ‘The Similitude of a Dream’, a concept album to be
released 11th November on Radiant Records via Metal
Blade Records/SONY.
This will be the eighth studio album with Morse, Portnoy and George, and the second as a true collaboration with this current line-up.
This will be the eighth studio album with Morse, Portnoy and George, and the second as a true collaboration with this current line-up.
Anyone who pre-orders the new album will automatically
receive two free MP3 tracks. Fans can pre-order ‘The Similitude of a Dream’ directly
from Radiant Records -
Clocking in at over 100 minutes, this amazing piece of PROG
storytelling will leave you breathless, exhilarated, amused and fulfilled in a
way that only inspired music can. It will be available in various formats: a
two CD package, a Special Edition with the two CDs and “The Making of a Dream”
DVD, or as three vinyl records along with two CD's.
Watch the official lyric video for the songs - "Long
Day" and "Overture" below.
Together, Morse and Portnoy have launched four bands, but
the one that has endured the longest and thus with the most musical output has
been The Neal Morse Band.
Over the years, Morse, along with Portnoy and George, always assembled musicians as needed to support Neal’s solo music. In 2012, they held auditions to find the musicians needed to fill out the band as a permanent line-up that would write music collectively. Hubauer and Gillette joined the band after three days of auditions. The fivesome went on to release The Grand Experiment in 2014, and the Alive Again live DVD/2 CD in 2015.
Over the years, Morse, along with Portnoy and George, always assembled musicians as needed to support Neal’s solo music. In 2012, they held auditions to find the musicians needed to fill out the band as a permanent line-up that would write music collectively. Hubauer and Gillette joined the band after three days of auditions. The fivesome went on to release The Grand Experiment in 2014, and the Alive Again live DVD/2 CD in 2015.
‘The Similitude of a Dream’ is loosely and sometimes
directly based on the book, Pilgrim’s Progress by John Bunyan,”
explains Neal Morse. “The book’s original title was The Pilgrim’s
Progress from this world to that which is to come, delivered under the
similitude of a dream, and was originally published in 1678. The book chronicles
the spiritual journey of a man from the City of Destruction to a place of
Deliverance. Someone had suggested to me that I do a concept album based on
this book, but I kind of forgot about it. Then when I began writing new
songs last December, the suggestion came to my mind. I had never read the book,
so I Googled the SparkNotes story outline and began to write some little song
bits and instrumentals based on what I had read. Those bits combined with the
ideas that the other guys brought to the table then miraculously exploded
into this double concept album. Funny thing is, this album only really covers
about the first 75 or 80 pages. Maybe we should've made a five disc collection!
Well, we'll save that for later. Ha.”
Album Track Listing:
Disc 1:
1. Long Day
2. Overture
3. The Dream
4. City Of Destruction
5. We Have Got To Go
6. Makes No Sense
7. Draw The Line
8. The Slough
9. Back To The City
10. The Ways Of A Fool
11. So Far Gone
12. Breath Of Angels
Disc 2:
1. Slave To Your Mind
2. Shortcut to Salvation
3. The Man in The Iron Cage
4. The Road Called Home
5. Sloth
6. Freedom Song
7. I'm Running
8. The Mask
9. Confrontation
10. The Battle
11. Broken Sky / Long Day (Reprise)
The Neal Morse Band tours worldwide almost yearly and
continues to grow in popularity, attracting new listeners everywhere they go.
The band has toured in North America, Central America, Europe, Israel, Mexico
and India. The shows are filled with excited and extremely loyal fans, some
which have regularly travelled very long distances to see the band. The band
has an extensive catalogue of live shows on Blu-Ray and DVD as well.
Their latest round of worldwide tour dates start January 15,
2017 in Morse’s current hometown of Nashville, TN. More dates will be announced
in the coming weeks on the band’s official website
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