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Released on February 16, 2015 via InsideOut Music
Neal Morse is a prolific figure in modern prog. His prominent role in both Transatlantic and Flying Colors as well as some of his solo albums have caused his fingerprints to be all over some of the biggest prog releases in the past few years. The Grand Experiment, the first album credited to a conglomeration of musicians who have toured with Neal Morse dubbed The Neal Morse Band, stands toe to toe with some of the best of those releases. While it is by no means a big departure from his aforementioned other projects it has some defining features that make it undoubtedly its own beast.
The first track, ‘The Call’ sounds like Morse and Co. are drawing a lot of influence from The Eagles. In fact ‘The Call’ begins with a melody line very similar to the one that begins The Eagles song ‘Seven Bridges Road’. The Eagles influence continues into the song, but it becomes a much proggier affair from there with great guitar playing.
Track two is the title track and it’s a more straightforward rock song than the previous. In some ways it sounds like a cut from a Flying Colors album. It features a Gentle Giantesque vocal part, which Morse previously used to great effect when he was in Spock’s Beard, but seems ever so slightly out of place here.
The third track is a short and sweet ballad called ‘Waterfall’. Like the song ‘Shine’ on Transatlantic’s Kaleidoscope, ‘Waterfall’ works well as a sort of respite in the middle of the album. A change of pace ending with some smooth saxaphone.
The fourth track on the album, ‘Agenda’, from the beginning sounds like a straightforward rocker. Its chorus has one of the prettiest melodies of any of Neal Morse’s works.
The last track ‘Alive Again’ is the only song as powerful as ‘The Call’. Those two tracks are definitely the best tracks on the album to these ears. Like ‘The Call’, this song features some very nice proggy playing, notably including a slinky lick played with what sounds like a marimba, keyboards and guitar that is repeated and elaborated upon. The only major flaw with ‘Alive Again’ is that it lacks enough interesting material to justify its length. It could certainly have done with some editing.
The Grand Experiment is not a perfect album. Despite the album’s flaws, however, I find it to be very enjoyable. This is the perfect album for the Neal Morse fan who wants a change of pace from Morse’s recent solo releases and doesn’t mind a bit of nostalgia. It certainly makes me hope that this experiment is repeated with some fine tuning.
