Spock's Beard
Snow

Release Date: 2002 | Tracklist

“Snow” is the sixth studio album of Spock’s Beard and was released in 2002. The lineup on the album is Neal Morse, Alan Morse, Ryo Okumoto, Dave Meros and Nick D’Virgilio. “Snow” also had the participation of Molly Pasutti, Chris Carmichael, Jim Hoke, Neil Rosengarden, all as guest artists.


Spock’s Beard is a USA prog rock group formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1992. The band’s name is a reference to the 1967 “Mirror, Mirror” episode of the original Star Trek TV series. The band was formed by brothers Neal and Alan Morse. Both had played together in the 80’s and, initially intended for their new project to be just the two of them, with Neal on vocals and keyboards and Alan on guitar. But both soon decided to form a full band and recruited drummer Nick D’Virgilio after meeting him at a blues jam in Los Angeles. John Ballard, a friend of Neal’s, was brought in to play bass, but was replaced by Dave Meros before they released “The Light” in 1995. It was followed in 1996 by “Beware Of Darkness”, in 1998 by “The Kindness Of Strangers”, in 1999 by “Day Of Night”, in 2000 by “V” and in 2002 by “Snow”.

“Snow” is a double album with twenty-six tracks. Lyrically, “Snow” is the first and so far the only conceptual album released by Spock’s Beard. For the first time too, an album by Neal Morse & Co. features clearly spiritual, sometimes religious lyrics. The album tells the story of a young albino man named John Snow, who possesses extraordinary spiritual and prophetic abilities. The story explores themes of redemption, self-acceptance and spiritual awakening, which became a hallmark of Neal Morse’s song writing. This story draws clear parallels to Neal’s Christian development and awakening. The double album thus paved the way for the departure of the band’s leader Neal Morse, shortly after its release and prepared the prog world for the later religious concept works of the former Spock’s Beard mastermind.

But musically, “Snow” is also an album that explores a new territory for Spock’s Beard. There are practically no long tracks anymore and the music is more song-oriented than ever, without being simplistic. The five members of the band should finally silence those who claim that Spock’s Beard essentially always records the same album. This two-hour rollercoaster ride contains, alongside all the old trademarks, a whole host of experiments, which one would expect from a progressive band. “Snow”, literally, since the material is spread over two well-filled discs, sounds quite different from their previous studio work “V, which mainly relied on long and complex prog colossuses. With “Snow”, the tracks are more central, although as part of a larger conceptual framework. It’s also the most ambitious album that Spock’s Beard has ever made, consisting of no less than 26 songs, in which a number of main musical themes also constantly return.

Side 1 is packed with rock and pop gems. Several beautiful theme melodies, some of which are introduced right at the beginning, hold the album together beautifully. Above all, however, the beautifully symphonic arrangements and Neal’s warm, soothing voice always reign supreme. The symphonic sound is achieved through the frequent use of classical instruments such as the saxophone, violin, harp, clarinet and horn. After the many hard rock and ballad hits on side 1, side 2 features longer instrumental passages and some tricky parts. Overall, side 2 is much more solemn and epic.

The two overtures, and “Welcome To NYC”, in particular are astonishingly heavy. And the off-kilter psychedelic “I’m The Guy” is also extremely unusual at a first listen. Furthermore, drummer Nick D’Virgilio shows in just two songs that he would also make an excellent frontman. “Carie” is a pure pop ballad and might easily put off some fans. In contrast, “Looking For Answers” is a pretty bombastic hard rocker with a great catchy chorus. “The 39th Street Blues” thrives on the lightning use of brass instruments, and “All Is Vanity” captivates with a fierce organ solo by Ryo, who delivers a powerful performance during his nearly three-minute solo too. Not to mention the live atmosphere this song exudes.


Conclusion: There are way too many parts to this album to go into a track by track analysis. But, apart from that, let's just say this is an essential listen for any fan of the symphonic prog rock music, or lovers of pop who want a little more than the norm. With a total length of two hours, “Snow” especially shows Spock’s Beard in a great shape, and that was a real and constant thing when Neal Morse was inside the band. Maybe there are no super tracks like “The Light”, “The Doorway”, or “The Healing Colors Of Sound” to marvel us at least, if we consider the 26 songs as individual pieces. But that isn’t really a true surprising thing, since we are in the presence of an album with relatively short tracks. But, as a whole, however, “Snow” can certainly be considered on a par with these magical compositions, which, considering the running time, is a masterpiece. In that respect, “Snow” goes down as the most exciting album in the Californian band’s history. I don’t dare to judge if this is the best album of the band. What I can say is this is my favourite work of theirs.


Music was my first love.
John Miles (Rebel)

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3.9 excellent

Rank: #176 for 2002