Customer Reviews

Kindness of Strangers

5 star:		(32)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I must admit I am a complete Spock's Beard sycophant. I love everything they have done. The Kindness of Strangers was the first album I bought by the Beard, and it honestly changed my life. I wondered, "Can music really be so perfect?" I love the way this band brings together Beatles-like pop sensibilities with epic compositions and stunning musicianship.

While some criticize Spock's Beard for a supposed lack of originality, I think there is nothing like them. Obviously, they are strongly influenced by the progressive greats of the past, but they achieve a remarkably effective synthesis of 70s prog rock and modern sensibilities. The result is a sound that is appealingly familiar and excitingly fresh all at once.

This being my first Beard album, the opening track, "The Good Don't Last", was the first Beard song I'd ever heard. I was shocked. The musicianship is quirky and melodic and classic, but what really got to me was how catchy the song was. Neal Morse, the main songwriter, has unmatched ears for melody. I was singing along before the song had ended. No doubt the most hook-laden 10-minute song ever. (Or so I say!)

There's other highlights too. "June" is a mellow acoustic song with beautiful vocals; "Harms Way" is dynamic, somewhat jazzy, and charged with some emotional parts; "Flow" is epic, stately, intensely performed, and catchy. It's all outstanding, really. Perfect, even.

I hope you enjoy it.

What an incredible album! If you are an old Genesis, Yes, Gentle Giant, or ELP fan, you owe it to yourself to pick up their entire catalog. Majestic compositions awash in Mellotron and Hammond B-3 orchestrations, with angelic vocal harmonies, searing guitar, and an awesome rhythm section led by Genesis's current touring drummer Nick D'Virgilio. Unlike other neo-prog bands, SB knows how to compose a great piece of melodic, catchy music that is also intricate and challenging. Those of you who like music that is more than 3 chords or cookie-cutter pop will be delighted with Spock's Beard.

I was cruisin' Amazon looking for some YES albums when I came across a recommendation for Spock's Beard. Being a baby boomer fan of YES, ASIA, King Crimson, and Genesis I lament most of the new bands out there. Green Day and Nirvana never really did it for me. The Kindness of Strangers is my first Spock's Beard CD purchase. This is a great album and very reminiscent of YES during the Bruford Period with a tinge of Genesis (before Phil Collins thought himself a crooner.) I highly recommend the following cuts "The Good Don't Last," "Strange World," and "Harm's Way." The Kindness of Strangers is a good introduction to Spock's Beard.

Just stumbled onto this group. Always looking for melodic art-rock/prog-rock like they just don't make much anymore (e.g., Gabriel-era Genesis, ELP, Gentle Giant, Kansas, Yes). The few you find tend to miss the boat most of the time (i.e., too much of a speed metal/head banger flavor, disappointing high-strung vocals, predictable time signatures, guitars overwhelming keyboards, etc.). I don't find such common pitfalls in SB's output.

Most appealing are the vocals and harmony arrangements - Beatles/Eagles/Gentle Giant/CSNY influence is both evident (but not overly derivative) and extremely well-done.

Those who like SB will also like: Liquid Tension Experiment; Jordan Rudess-Rod Morganstein Project; It Bites (now defunct); Brazil's 14 Bis; and most (but not all) of the Magna Carta artist stable.

I'd love to see a Midwest tour, but it's probably not likely since there are so few of us around who still appreciate this musical style.

The Kindness of Strangers is one of my favorite Spock's Beard albums. If you're a new fan to the band you are in for a real treat and this would be a fine place to start. Fans of YES, RUSH, KANSAS, ELP, GENESIS, CAMEL, or any other 70's progressive acts will love this. Also, fans of progressive metal bands like Dream Theater, Pain of Salvation, or Symphony X should buy a Spock's Beard album to see if they like it, because there is so much to love about this band.

This is Spock's third studio album and like ALL (I really mean it) of their albums, The Kindness of Strangers does not have a weak track on it. This album really is THAT amazing.

This is the most consistent thing I've yet heard from Spock's Beard (having heard first _Beware of Darkness_ and _V_). There is not one wasted track, not one wasted minute, not one wasted moment on the album. It's comprised of three epics of ten minutes or more which surround four short (four to five minute) songs. It is, in my opinion, a perfect and natural follow-up to _Beware of Darkness_. If any of that album's progressiveness has been toned down for this release, it was all for the better ... creating a beautifully coherent prog sound. Yet don't be fooled, although this album may feature four short, "simple" songs at its center, it still contains two ten minute tracks and one fifteen minute piece -- and each of these songs are of the highest caliber, both from a progressive standpoint and from just a general song-writing perspective. Every track on this album is excellent ... even the lyrics and vocals seem to have improved a little from their previous album. If you're looking for some beautifully harmonious, catchy, progressive rock, look no further than this album.

O.K., here's the thing about Spock's Beard...they are one of "Those" bands that upon the first listen, very little may appeal to the listener(especially the listener with an "untrained" ear). So when I recieved my first SB album(V), I understood that I was probably not going to get immediate gratification from the first spin...I had long been a 'Prog-head' and was used to spending many hours(and days) with a release to finally get the rewards(without doing that, I would have probably thrown away some albums that I have come to enjoy---Gentle Giant, King Crimson, etc...). Well, this is one of those albums. By the third and fourth spin of KoS, I found myself remembering/humming musical passages,verses and choruses. For me, this is their most consistent and cohesive release...the songs all seem to 'Meld' together to make a very enjoyable 'Whole'(unlike some of their other releases which are all over the place). And although KoS does not contain my personal favorite song from the band(At the End of the Day), it does contain the most songs I like of all their albums. 'The Good Don't Last', 'Harm's Way', 'Flow', 'Mouth of Madness' and 'June' are all SB personal favorites. And the remaining tunes,'Strange World' and 'Cakewalk...', are not far behind. I really like this bands ability to weave technical music with very catchy vocals while still "paying tribute" to the bands that have influenced them. I dare say these guys would happily confess the use of musical elements/ideas in their songs that they borrowed from the various "Godfathers" of the genre---Genesis, Gentle Giant, Kansas, Etc... I won't go into individual song analysis(other reviewers are much better at that), I'll just say that when I listen to this album, I press play and let it go all the way to the end.So If you find yourself "wrapped up" in this album, I would recommend all six of the bands first albums(YES...including 'Day for Night')...you will find something on each album that will keep you coming back for more. I would also recommend Neil's solo material, most notably 'Testimony', 'One', and his self-titled debut...all very worthy stuff. In closing, I must admit that, as much as I like this band, I have held-off on buying post-neil releases from them---from reading the reviews, it sounds like the band has headed in a drastically different direction(even with a major component gone, why would they(Nick?) change a good thing?!? Anyway, if you are new to this band, don't let the "goofy" name stop you from digging into some very inspiring music that may become 'treasures' in your collection. 4.5 stars easily... Enjoy, Jeff

This is a very overlooked CD. Of all the Neal Morse-era Spock's Beard CDs, this one seems to get the least attention. I can't figure out why! This is one of the catchiest and best produced, focused albums the band has ever done. Now I'll explain why.

These songs are very well written. For Spock's Beard, they are short - The longest song on the album is Flow, at just over 15 minutes. Unlike a lot of the stuff the band went on to do, the songs on this CD are focused and quirky at the same time. The longer tracks have repeating themes, but don't get tiresome. They don't hit the other extreme Morse's epics tend to hit either - where they are more like a song cycle than an epic. This album's songs are in the perfect middle.

Let's take the first song, "The Good Don't Last." First listen - this song feels like three songs, the first being a Gentle Giant thing, the second being a pop song with a gentle giant reprise, and the third being a ballad. It seems disjointed! But keep listening... notice the intro contains the melody of the ballad (part 3), notice the chord progression for the ballad appears layered in with the last chorus from part two, and listen to how they keep reprising the gentle giant riff... this song is more focused and intelligent than you realise at first! All three parts of this song are amazing. The intro is quirky and fun, and the second two parts are beautiful. The guitar solo in "The Radiant Is..." is gorgeous!

Now for a string of short songs. The next song "In The Mouth Of Madness" is good, though it is better live. Its very odd, almost UGLY, but i love it. However the live version has less keyboards and more guitar, which is awesome. Then comes "Cakewalk on Easy Street", which RULES. the intro is fun and then it blasts into a kickass riff that strongly resembles "Marshmellow Fields" by King's X. The verse is creepy and the chorus is memorable, and the breakdown rules. "June" is a pretty ballad, though i think its overrated. When it kicks in at the end it rules. However, I think for SB ballads, "Distance to the Sun" and "Lay it Down" off the next album are far better. "Strange World" is actually radio-friendly, sort of. I love it! Fun lyrics, fun riff, fun song all around.

Now comes my favorite track on the album, "Harm's Way". It starts out with a very PROG intro... i love it! Then it goes into a pretty theme that we will hear many more times, in different styles. The second part of the song is almost funky or something, with a cool keyboard sound, an awesome guitar solo, and really cool, abstract lyrics. Then we go back to the theme after the intro, only this time just keyboards and vocals... and then BAM the song launches into a 7/8 keyboard thing... that is so incredibly haunting and beautiful that I get the chills every time I hear it, even having owned the CD for years. Then we hear that theme again, this time fully electric and the song comes to a dramatic close. It's brilliant.

The last track on the album, "Flow", took me some time to get into. Unlike the other two epics, this one is literally three five minute songs strung together with a little riff that they do between them. Regardless, its a great song. The first part is really cool. It's very slow and the singing is really haunting, some of Neal Morse's greatest vocal work (and I love his voice!) The second part has lots of guitar and is very catchy with a HUGE dramatic chorus. The last part is kind of boring but it has a cool guitar solo that ends the album well.

Many Spock's Beard fans seem to ignore this CD. I can see why. It doesnt stick out the way the others too. Like, every prog fan knows "THE DOORWAY" from _beware of darkness_, or "The Great Nothing" from _V_ or "The Water" from _The Light_, etc. But I think this album is possibly their greatest work. Check it out.

If your interested in modern/neo progressive rock and have heard of Spock's Beard, but don't have any of their CD's....buy this one first. It is their best. Next in line is 'V' then maybe 'Day for Night'. There are some modern classics on this release and overall there isn't bad song on the album.....perhaps 180 degrees from their release 'snow'. Two of the Beard's best songs are in this fine compilation: "Harm's Way" and "Flow". Hey you, Mister fancy pants, don't play it safe...come take a chance.

The first Beard album I bought was "Day For Night". Then I bought "V", and finally, "Snow." While I liked all these albums, they didn't really charge me up any, and Spock's Beard remained a mild favorite until I decided to spring for this one. Now I'm a die-hard fanatic.

This is an album I could listen to forever. Catchy melodies like "The Good Don't Last" and "June" are interspersed with driving melody-laced epics like "Harm's Way". Make no mistake; this is not your average progressive rock effort. Neal Morse has chosen his most hook-heavy material to accompany the chunky guitars, thumping Rickenbacker basses, and wailing Hammonds.

The only slightly down side to this album is that Morse's voice can get annoying at times, particularly his raspy Dennis-DeYoung-with-a-sore-throat delivery during the verses of "In the Mouth of Madness". But the harmonies and contrapuntal vocals during the chorus of "June" more than make up for that.