No Hill For a Climber
So how is this not The Neal Morse Band? Good question - let’s look at that a bit…
No Hill For a Climber
Artist: Neal Morse and The Resonance
INSIDEOUT Music
https://nealmorse.com/product/neal-morse-the-resonance-no-hill-for-a-climber/
5 tracks / 67:12
Regardless of how you feel about Neal Morse, this is one thing that’s obvious: this is a busy guy! You might have discovered Neal as part of Spock’s Beard and then followed his musical and spiritual evolution into his solo career. The Neal Morse Band (aka NMB) emerged from touring the massive solo projects, quickly becoming the hub of the yearly ‘Morsefest’ musical gatherings which also featured Morse-related guests like Flying Colors and Transatlantic. Oh, did I mention that meanwhile, Neal produced a Christian-themed rock opera or two? Or three? I lost count… So now the newest incarnation of the prolific artist emerges as (drumroll) Neal Morse and The Resonance! So how is this not The Neal Morse Band? Good question - let’s look at that a bit.
For one thing, despite being the big name of the masthead, Neal is sharing the writing and the vocals more on this, the band’s premier release, No Hill For a Climber. In addition to that, there are none of the ‘usual suspects’ here – no Portnoy, no George, no Gillette, no Hubauer – the band members are fresh young faces recruited from ‘local’ talent, reportedly at the suggestion of Neal’s wife. Johnny Bisaha sings lead vocals, Chris Riley plays bass, Andre Madatian is on guitar and Philip Martin plays drums (with Joe Ganzelli) - of course Neal does his thing on keyboards, vocals, and some guitar. I’m reviewing this without the benefit of detailed liner notes so there’s a little guesswork about who does what and when, but like they say: it’s all good. So, can you expect the usual big, dramatic, powerful prog-infused music? Sure. Absolutely. The band delivers the goods, and any fan of Neal’s music will be happy with what they hear.
With five tracks clocking in at a little over an hour, No Hill For a Climber starts and ends with epic prog compositions that each exceed twenty minutes (the title track ends the album and is just a couple of minutes shy of half an hour)! The three fine songs sandwiched in between are each five minutes plus and range stylistically from the ominous, theatrical “Thief” to the more accessible rock of “All the Rage” to the Yes/Kansas vibe of the powerful “Ever Interceding.”
So, what’s new here? A couple of things… When you’re as prolific as Neal Morse is there’s always the danger of overkill, so it’s refreshing to hear Johnny Bisaha delivering airy and textured vocals. Where the amazing Eric Gillette (of the NMB) is somewhat of a vocal chameleon Bisaha gives a completely new and different vocal texture and a range closer to Yes’s Jon Anderson. Of course, different musicians bring their own flavor to the musical table and everyone here delivers strong, if not distinctive, performances – perhaps on this first outing the compositions shine brighter than individual chops. One notable exception is a real burner of a guitar solo in the opening track, “Eternity in Your Eyes” – this is a bluesy two-minute ugly-face stunner of a solo (yes, that’s exactly transcribed from my listening notes)!
Also new is the more transparent Christian spirituality in the lyrics. From “Eternity in Your Eyes” we hear, ‘Daylight Comes / to break on through the dark night / Ground shakes As the veil is torn and the earth quakes…’ Biblically literate listeners will recognize who “Thief” is talking about, as well as the paraphrase from the Book of James: ‘And I’m gonna resist your will and you’re gonna leave me, Thief / I am a child of God and He will protect me from you…’ “All the Rage” is a more straight-forward message about the dangers of fame and excess, and references the ‘God shaped hole’ that persists even in success. The wonderful “Ever Interceding” is perhaps the most musically and spiritually satisfying song on the album. At a trim six and a-half minutes, this track has a great hook and some powerful, unambiguously spiritual lyrics: ‘For I was the one Like the prodigal son / Who had lost all sense and meaning - For one such as I / My Lord laid down His life / Now He’s ever interceding - Yes, He’s ever interceding for us all.’ Less obvious but just as potent is the ultimate message of the title track found in the words, ‘walk in His grace and you’ll walk through the door.’ I get the feeling that Neal has put together a group where he feels at ease creating Christian Prog, if there is such a genre. Certainly, you could argue that he’s already been doing that – and you’d be right – but with No Hill For a Climber it seems to offer Neal Morse and The Resonance as an ideal outlet to create this kind of music without any guardrails.
Although some might look at this project with a ‘show me’ attitude, I’d say that the fan of Neal’s music will not go away disappointed. This is big, proggy stuff – and if you’re looking for a massive piece of music with a signature Neal Morse multi-part ending (Neal never met a crescendo he didn’t like) you’ll get about four minutes of wailing guitar, choir-like synth, horns, and percussion to get you there. And (spoiler alert) even a little extra surprise at the end.
Lots of good music here – enjoy the climb.
4 1/2 tocks
- Bert Saraco - To see Bert’s concert photography (including pictures of NMB in action in NYC) please visit:
www.facebook.com/express.image
