Customer Reviews

Snow

5 star:		(87)
4 star:		(25)
3 star:		(19)
2 star:		(15)
1 star:		(7)

 

 

I love a controversial album. Any time the comments for an album are strongly polarized you realize there must be something about the album. I had to listen to this CD for weeks to grasp the music, and listen to and read the lyrics many times. Because it took so long for me to grasp the concept of the lyrics and the art of the music, I consider this CD accessible only to those willing to invest time into it. This music is definitely progressive, even though that hallmark of progressive music, the very long track, is not in evidence. No one will confuse this music with pop or top 40 radio.

The concept of "Snow" may have some similarities to "Tommy" and "Powder", but whatever those similarities may be, there are also many differences too. Tommy was a victim of circumstances and his parents. He did not select his path, nor could he be aware of what was happening, giving that he was "...deaf, blind and dumb." Powder had the potential to be Snow, but the story there was more about prejudice and understanding (or the lack thereof), than Snow's story.

Snow exits the world at an early age (mentally), refusing to deal with the torment to which he is subjected. Eventually he wakes up and leaves home, going to New York City. There he witnesses the downside of life, the homeless, prostitutes, and drug addicts. Snow senses these people need something or someone to help them, and believes he can help them. Apparently Snow is able to provide people help, and though perhaps not quite messianic, he does get a big head. However, a girl pops his balloon and he realizes that it was his vanity that has made him believe he was any different than that boy he once was being tormented by other children. The only difference now is that people were impressed by what he could do for them, and not by whom he really was. Snow then begins "dying", though that death is the death of ego and not a physical death. Though others have said that Snow then seeks redemption, in truth he does not. Snow merely comes to realize that the answers he sought were not in the artificial reality he had created. He realized he had to go back home and face himself and find the truths within.

While the construction of the album is such that it is not at first accessible, from a different angle Snow's story is the story of us all. We each want to believe that we can change the world. We each want to be admired by others. We each want that special girl (or guy) to fall for us. If our dreams are realistic, if we have chosen a path that mirrors the essential us, then we have chosen well and we will be comfortable with ourselves throughout our lives. However, many others will continually seek and never find, never realizing that the answer was always within. This is the story of "Snow".

The concept is so complex and yet simple, and yet I believe this is the first time anyone has tried to cover this concept musically. It has been done many times in books. Many movies have been made about the journey of a specific individual, but Snow's journey is really the journey of us all, exaggerated so that each of us might more readily grasp the journey's essence. Listen to this album and listen to the story of your life.

A word about the music: Clearly modern, flavored by Spock's Beard's retro-70s styling, and yet, less reliant on 70s styling. At various points you can find short musical themes that will remind you of Jethro Tull, King Crimson, Yes, perhaps Genesis and The Moody Blues. However, while I thought "V" was more strongly influenced by progressive groups of the late 60s and 70s, I believe this album shows a further maturing of Spock's Beard's sound. While much of the music is still melodic in the vein of "V", just as much if not more owes influences to newer metal and alternative, and the melodic portions are often rudely and appropriately interrupted by nearly an-harmonic crashes of discordant guitars and drums, awaking you from the lull of the melodic music.

While much of the music deserves comment, track 13 on disk two is a pleasant interruption in the heavy story. "Ladies and Gentlemen, Mister Ryo Okumoto on the Keyboards" does give you a pause to not take this music, as serious as it is, too seriously. In a way, perhaps it also exaggerates the excesses of progressive rock, and tells the listener that the artists realize this typical criticism of progressive rock, and rather than avoid it, revels in it.

There is so much breadth to this music that to fully dissect it and explain it takes much more space than is available here. Perhaps there is an occasional weakness in the music or the lyrics. Perhaps not. It is easy to be critical while you do not have the ability to create a concept such as "Snow". I am not familiar with the "The Lamb" quoted so many times in other reviews. I am very familiar with The Who's "Tommy". The concepts are different. The execution is extremely different. Both works have their strengths and weaknesses. I am glad there are now two (or three if you count "The Lamb"). I do not think "Tommy" was surpassed, but perhaps equaled in a way. I hope that one day another adventurous artist will feel compelled to assail a concept album about the human condition. If that work is anywhere close to "Tommy" or "Snow", it will be a great addition to the genre, and will be something to applaud, as is "Snow". Five stars for attempting an incredible concept and mostly succeeding.

Now, when have been listening to it for a year, I can finally give my full review.



This album doesn't just stay there in your CD player - I couldn't listen to it for more than an hour through a few days. I didn't actually like any single song in whole, they seemed too 'christian' or even 'Kelly family' (to say the worst) to me. I'd been listening to much heavier hard-rock and metal before I got this, so I was a bit disappointed with the album, and all people on the web kept on singing heavenly anthems for it. I just didn't get it. But, I paused listening to it for a few days, and melodies started to come back to my head. I couldn't stop singing Long Time Suffering. And that was it. I suddenly started to like it, song by song.



At first it sounds like some average rock playing, with some gospel or christian influences, and some prog-likeness as well. Not very attractive at all. Don't throw it away! Leave it in your CD player for a few days more.



This album has a texture that shows after a month of listening to, or so. Its simplicity is mischieving, there is a whole lot of enregetic, fun and spontanous rock playing there, as well as sheer musicianship. It's incredibly deep, coherent and thought-over. Spock's Beard, and especially Neal Morse are very intelligent people and excellent musicians. All the melodies are introduced almost unnoticed, to come back later and give you that nostalgy chill over your body. All the songs are excellent, either by themselves or as a part of the whole. The arrangements are genial. This is musicianship that is only achieved by true geniuses, and I have heard only a few of them. Neal Morse one of them. Too bad he left the band and gave up rock.



Why do I call it an "album for life"? It saved me, I can say something like that. I've had some hard time during the last year, just plain growing up, but you all know how it goes... breaking up with my girlfriend, studying hard, with no time, nor friends at hand. This album gives me so much energy and joy. I can just feel how these guys love to play. Every single listening is a life-giving experience. Try it. Try it hard :) It will work, I promise.

There seems to be a lot of mixed feeling about this album, and it's easy to see why. This is very diferent from the usual Spock's Beard fare. Gone are the sprawling 20-minute epics, giving way to shorter tracks that all flow into each other, ala Pink Floyd's "The Wall", and just the general feel of the album is different. It's darker, less playful, and the lyrics aren't as abstract and off the wall. But do any of these things mean this album isn't great? Well, perhaps to some, but I don't think so.

While I am disappointed to see that no song on here tops 10 minutes (IMO, no one can write a long song like Neal), there is certainly no less music here. At nearly two hours in length, we have here a full-fledged double concept album reminiscent of the glory days of "The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway" and the aforementioned "Wall". And, although my opinion is not shared by everyone, I personally think it is every bit as good as those albums, in fact, I think it's even better. Despite the many criticisms, I think this is a stellar album. There's plenty of diversity, the musicianship is tight, and the melodies are just beautiful. Neal really does have an incredible ear for melody.

The album starts out soft and peaceful with "Made Alive", and launches into an awesome uptempo overture. The story is of an albino man (nicknamed Snow) who moves to New York, and struggles with life, love, and his newly discovered healing powers. It sounds a bit like a ripoff of the movie "Powder", but the story is completely different, and I think, just as good. There are fun, rocking parts ("Freak Boy", "Welcome to NYC", "Devil's Got My Throat"), and softer, more emotional parts ("Love Beyond Words", "Wind At My Back"), and everything fits together perfectly.

The guitar and keyboard melodies that weave about the songs are just beautiful, and expertly done. Neal is a master of acoustic guitar, and Alan's emotional solos really add something special to the songs. But, if there's one person that truly stands out here, it's Nick. As usual, he cranks out a firy performance on the kit, playing fast and complex beats, while always managing to keep it remarkably tasteful, but he surprised us all when he stepped up for lead vocals on two tracks. The first of them, "Carie", is an incredible ballad, which more than shows off his stunning vocal prowess (great acoustic solo from Neal as well). The second track, "Looking for Answers", is more upbeat, and also excellent. I heard they released it as a single, but I haven't been fortunate enough to hear it get any airplay.

A few other noteworthy tracks include "I'm Dying" (great hard rock song with an emotional chorus), the soft but cathcy "Open Wide the Flood Gates", and Ryo Okumoto's uplifting solo spot. But, for the almost overwhelming abundance of music here, there is nary a dull moment to be found. This was surely uncharted territory for Neal, but I'd say he has accomplished this feat. I'm really not sure yet if it's their best album (although it may very well be), but it's definitely a solid album, as to be expected from the Beard, and undoubtedly one of the best of the year (tied with Dream Theater's "Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence"). If you're a SB fan, you owe it to yourself to check this out.

Sadly, it appears that this is the last album we will ever get that was graced by Neal's godlike touch. He was truly a brilliant artist, and his departure from the music business is a sad thing to see. One of the last lines he ever spoke in his music career was "My soul has been kissed just because you exist". This line can indeed be applied to his incredible contributions to the prog scene, and music in general. Neal, we're really sorry to see you go, but we will be forever grateful for the incredible music you have given us. Good luck, in whatever you do.

If you like the other SB cd's, you will probably enjoy this one. The music, while not as progressive as earlier efforts,is very listenable. There are some very catchy tunes. The pseudo-religious lyrics get a bit more prominent on this effort, but not overtly-so. If you set your expectations at the right level, this is a very enjoyable CD.

Snow from Spock's Beard is truly a masterpiece. It takes two CDs to convey the "concept album" of the "albino priest with the psychic mind," but by the end you'll be wishing for more.

Most of what you'd expect from progressive rock is here: the sounds of the Mellotron, the B3, and the Minimoog; the vocal harmonies reminiscent of Yes and Gentle Giant; but most importantly the prog rocks epics. In this case, it's almost like one giant epic, with recurring melodic and lyrical themes that really tie the whole thing together musically. You really have to listen to this several times before this all starts to sink in, and when it does you'll want to buy all of Spock's other albums.

Unfortunately, while the other albums are quite good, in my opinion none of them qualifies as a masterpiece. Even more unfortunately, after making this album musical genius Neal Morse left Spock's Beard to pursue Christian music, so this album is probably the last we will hear of Morse and Spock's Beard together.

I highly recommend Snow to any progressive rock fan. As far as I know, there is really nothing else out there like it. I would also recommend you check out Transatlantic, a prog supergroup that includes Morse.

I had a review written out for _Snow_: it was long, sort of descriptive, and a bit verbose. But I erased it.

To live in a world where there are people who can write such amazing music is truly a great thing. This is the best album I have ever heard in my entire life. I don't really have anything else to say. One million stars.

It's heartening to see that artists are still willing to release double-CD concept albums such as Snow. It's a little less encouraging that the form hasn't really progressed much in 20 years.

Neal Morse isn't an extremely tight lyricist, and Snow unfortunately highlights some of his flaws: His wordplay is evocative and elegant, but there's a lot of redundancy or dancing around the central issues on Snow. "Stranger in a Strange Land" is as generic an introduction to a character as there is, and it takes six tracks on disc 2 to chronicle Snow's downfall. Morse clearly wants to get at the guts of what Snow thinks and feels rather than what he's actually doing, but it still feels like there are a lot of words to express some fairly simple concepts.

A few have rejected the notion that Snow is simply The Who's Tommy revisited. Alas, the comparison is apt: Peculiar youths who become messiah figures, then undergo downfall and redemption. The arc is not that different (some tracks even directly parallel each other, such as "The Acid Queen" and "I'm Sick"), just updated for the modern day.

Personally, though, I come to music for the MUSIC, and Snow is a much more cohesive and enjoyable concept album than most others. Oh, there are still some bridging tracks ("Love Beyond Words", "Reflection", "All is Vanity"), but even these have more interesting arrangements than I'd expected. Most tracks are enjoyable and accessible to most listeners; "Stranger in a Strange Land", "I'm Sick", "Open Wide the Flood Gates", "Wind at my Back", "Carie", and "Looking for Answers" are all single-quality material.

What's peculiar about Snow is that the arrangements have taken a step back from the quirky and unusual approaches on Day for Night and V; most of the tracks *are* fairly straightforward, single-material arrangements, which is not what one expects from a prog album. The album's best moments are when a particular approach reaches a crescendo (such as "Wind at My Back", which is moving but not really very challenging). Compare any slice of Snow to V's "The Great Nothing" or practically anything by Morse's side project Transatlantic and Snow feels a little less expansive. I think that's my biggest disappointment with the album.

(My second-biggest disappointment is the occasional grungy-sounding track like "Welcome to NYC" or "Freak Boy" which Spock's Beard occasionally likes to do; these are not my cup of tea at all.)

Still, the band deserves a lot of credit for making this album, having it all hang together so well, and for the true gems such as "Open Wide the Flood Gates", "Looking for Answers" and "I Will Go" which I've played repeatedly. It didn't quite turn out to be what I'd hoped for, but it's still a fine album.

"Snow" was my first introduction to Spock's Beard. ...

The opening of the CD "Made Alive/Overture" made me stand up and pay attention right away. The music reminded me of Gabriel-era Genesis. Just when I got my "no-hook, fusion, progressive" head on - in rolls "Stranger in a Strange Land" and "Long Time Suffering" - two hook-ridden, emotional gems which immediately sent chills throughout my body. Then the almost-"funky" Welcome to NYC ("I LIKE IT !!")...and on and on and on....From the rockin' "Devil's Got My Throat" to the spiritual "...Flood Gates" and "Wind At My Back". ...and THAT WAS ONLY THE FIRST CD !

My hand was shaking as I put the second CD in the player. I couldn't believe the quality, production, and concept of ANYTHING put out nowadays could be that THOUGHT-OUT and GREAT. Yes, it did remind me a bit of "The Lamb..." - but the story-line wasn't as cryptic. I've read the inner liner notes on "The Lamb..." a zillion times - and I'm still confused by some things. Neal Morse made his plot crystal-clear from the very start.

The second CD didn't disappoint. The "whisper" in the vocals on "I'm The Guy" is haunting, and "All is Vanity", "I'm Dying", "Carie" (beautiful...just beautiful) and "Ryo's Solo" are all great tracks. (Is it Ryo, or Keith Emerson?)

"Looking For Answers" is my personal favorite track. I've replayed it as many as ten times in a row. It has the best "hook" chorus that I've ever heard - in any song. The fact that Nick does vocals on it is encouraging - taking in mind what's in store for future SB recordings, without the incredibly talented Neal Morse.

To wrap it up in a nutshell: I believe in great progressive music again, because of this CD. I feel it is one of the best pieces of art that was EVER produced by ANYONE. It didn't "change my life" - as stated by a few other reviewers - it just made me "enthused" and "excited" about progressive music again - for the first time in about 30 YEARS! ...and it all started with "Snow".

If you want to "believe" again - drop some cash for this CD. You won't be sorry.

Spock's Beard, and this album in particular, seems to divide listeners quite a bit for some reason. I'm not going to compare Snow to other concept albums; it's an amazing work on its own and one of my all time progressive rock favorites. This may be the band's best album, but The Kindness of Strangers and V are also very strong.

Parts of this album took a while to grow on me, especially some of the harder edged stuff ("The 39th Street Blues," "I'm the Guy," "Freak Boy"). The first disc is definitely more instantly satisfying than the second. But now I love the entire work as a whole. There is a great balance between rockers, ballads, proggy bits, pop/rock, serious parts, humorous parts, etc. The emotional storyline is quite enjoyable and every track deserves its place on the album to tell that story. Some reviewers have made fun of certain lyrics, but I love the uniquely zany lines that appear at times to add some levity to a serious story. And Spock's Beard may have moments that sound like other bands (for instance I occasionally detect a Beatles flavor) but to me they have a very unmistakable style of their own, moreso than many of the newer wave of prog bands.

Here are some highlights. "Stranger in a Strange Land" has some folk elements and one of the catchiest choruses ever conceived. The really fun "Devil's Got My Throat" is the closest thing to a headbanger SB did during the Neal Morse era, but it also has some Gentle Giant elements. The hauntingly beautiful "Solitary Soul" is one of the band's best songs, with great vocals, lyrics, and guitar. The uplifting "Wind at My Back," which closes out both discs in different forms, would probably have been a hit if there was any justice in the music world. "All is Vanity" is mostly instrumental with some very tasty prog passages and leads into the awesome groovy riff of "I'm Dying." And it's nice that drummer Nick D'Virgilio, who took over vocal duties from Neal after this album, got to sing lead on a few tracks.

When listened to as a whole, Snow has quite a dramatic impact, and feels like a good movie. Song after song has fantastic musicianship and melodies. It's really something special.

Well, let's just say that this concept CD just doesn't work. I fear that if someone were to purchase this CD as their first SB CD....they would not ever get to hear the likes of "kindness of Strangers" and "Day for Night" both of which are excellent. SB reached too far with this release and it was a dissapointment in this reviewer's ears....and absolutely one disc too long! I'll be the first to say that I'm glad Morse left if this was to be the future direction of SB.