Customer Reviews

V

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

 

 

This is Spock Beard's masterpiece. Also, one of the best prog rock albums ever. Consider it their "Close to the Edge" if you will. A must in anyone's collection.

Spock's Beard is incredible. Take your favorite progressive rock bands from the 70's and 80's (mine are Moody Blues, Yes, Mike Oldfield, Jethro Tull, Genesis, Alan Parsons, Pink Floyd. . .), roll them into one, and you'll get Spock's Beard. These guys are what progressive rock was meant to be.

This was, in my opinion, the best of the Neal Morse years. "At The End Of The Day" is a prog classic, that I rank right up with Utopia's "Communion With The Sun." It's accessible to non-prog fans with it's hooks and melodies, but has all the elements that a prog-snob craves, like a running time of sixteen and a half minutes.

"The Great Nothing" is nothing short of epic, at at whopping twenty-seven minutes. And "All On A Sunday" was a nice little gem that in another world would have been a radio single.

V is their fifth studio album (go figure)and the lyrics offer a bit of a peek into Neal's future plans to embark on a solo career, seeming to have more of a spiritual context than prior releases.

If you own the original release, I still felt the reissue was worth buying for the demo track (and I prefer a CD in a jewel case for travel).

The album is really that good. A must-own for prog fans.

I am a total sucker for SPECIAL EDITION or REMASTERED CDs. And I am a huge Spocks Beard fan. I got the other remastered "Special Editions" of their discs and was delighted. Each one had great liner notes, new pics, inside info on each song and its making of, demos, etc. This really doesn't have that. Its the same artwork as the standard version, only you get one of those cardboard sleeves over the CD case, that is annoying anyway. The only extra you get besides a sleeve is a demo of "AT THE END OF THE DAY," which if you know the song well, pretty much sounds the same as what it would eventually be re-recorded as by the whole band.

I preferred the other Beard "Special Editions" because of the expanded artwork, new pics, commentary by Neal Morse and more. This doesn't have any of that. All you get thats new is a sleeve and the demo, which isn't super necessary. So if you already have this CD, don't bother upgrading like I did. Stick with your regular release. (Unless you are a super hardcore completest about such things BEARD) But this dissapointing thing has scared me away from getting the Special Edition of SNOW, my favorite BEARD album.

IF you don't have this CD at all, I'd recommend the CD itself very highly. But for those who have it, and are considering the upgrade, I'd say it isn't worth it. But its your money, up to you.

Spock's Beard is hands down the best prog band in the US. The playing is great, the songs are tuneful, the recording spot on. Real players!

What makes Spock's Beard distinguishable from other prog music, especially stuff from the 70's, is that there is a stress on the songcraft and melody rather than endless and self indulgent noodling (think ELP, Yes, Utopia). There are long opuses yet the songs flow quickly because of the use of time to build emotion and drama within the song.

What's amazing with this album is that if it would have been recorded in the 70's, it would have cost a portion to produce. With the advent of today's technology, these guys probably developed a lot of this off of a portable computer

This is hardly a single's album or something to click, from the ipod on, when in the mood. This is something to listen to from start to finish and is very rewarding.

One of the BEST progressive rock bands and one of the BEST CDs from them! After Snow this is my favorite!

If you like progressive rock, you must have this CD. Good band and songs, however one piece of music stands out: The Great Nothing - epic and a masterpiece.