Artist: Spock's Beard Album: S/T (2006) Label: InsideOut Music Website: http://www.spocksbeard.com Reviewer: Bill Knispel

Track List: 01. On A Perfect Day (7:47) 02. Skeletons At The Feast (6:33) 03. Is This Love (2:51) 04. All That's Left (4:45) 05. With Your Kiss (11:46) 06. Sometimes They Stay, Sometimes They Go (4:31) 07. The Slow Crash Landing Man (5:47) 08. Wherever You Stand (5:09) 09. Hereafter - 5:01 As Far As The Mind Can See 10. part 1 - Dreaming In The Age Of Answers - 4:49 11. part 2 - Here's A Man - 3:28 12. part 3 - They Know We Know - 3:18 13. part 4 - Stream Of Unconsciousness - 5:23 14. Rearranged - 6:07 Spock’s Beard needs no introduction, as they are one of the highest profile American prog bands of the past 15 years. Most everyone out there reading knows their story, and how eerily it mirrored that of Genesis; following an acclaimed double length concept album, vocalist Neal Morse leaves the band, and drummer Nick D’Virgilio takes his place at the microphone. The band’s first two post-Morse albums (Feel Euphoria and Octane) showcased a band in search of a new sound and identity. Despite some very strong material, the albums felt uneven and searching. Spock’s Beard, their ninth album, can be taken one of two ways. The cynic might say that it is final proof that the band has lost all creativity post-Neal, and by self-titling this release, the band has figuratively thrown in the towel. Conversely, it could be seen as a statement of purpose; by titling this album with their band name, the release could be seen as a statement of purpose, that this is Spock’s Beard today, having finally found themselves. Let’s take a look at where the album leads. The album opens with a powerful double shot: “On A Perfect Day” is an excellent lead track, with some of Nick D’Virgilio’s strongest singing and a decidedly classic Spock’s sound, while “Skeletons At The Feast” is an absolute stormer of an instrumental track. Instrumentals have been a welcome feature on the past few Neal-less Spock’s Beard albums, and it’s nice to see the band stretching out on these tracks. Even though the longer SB tracks from older albums offered just as much opportunity for instrumental fireworks, it’s nice to see a dedicated instrumental track. “Is This Love” is not a cover of the Whitesnake song, despite having the same title. Instead, this is a compact little stomper, rocking on all cylinders. It stands out from the tracks that surround it in this respect, and seems to be SB showing that they are a rock band as much as a progressive band. It succeeds in this respect, yet doesn’t truly fit into the rest of the album. “All That’s Left” and “With This Kiss” show the band back in more familiar territory; the former is a pretty mid-tempo track giving Ryo Okumoto ample opportunity to show off multiple keyboard parts, with D’Virgilio’s plaintive tenor vocals adding a fragility that fits the track comfortably. ‘With This Kiss” is a nearly 12-minute mini-epic ending with a great Alan Morse harmonized guitar solo. These two tracks flow into each other, creating a 16-minute suite that is every bit the equal of pact SB efforts. The “true” epic on Spock’s Beard is “As Far As The Mind Can See,” a 17-minute track broken into 4 sections. “Here’s A Man” sees the band in funky territory, with a deep bass groove, Latin percussion, and cool Fender Rhodes-like electric piano and effected synths, adding some interesting changes in tone and feel to the “traditional” SB sound. “They Know We Know” should be a great audience participation piece, with some meant-to-be-sung-along-to choruses and a simple beat that shows no contrivance. The final movement, “Stream Of Unconsciousness,” wraps up things nicely, reasserting some of the motifs previously explored musically and lyrically. Earlier in the review I posed that titling this album in an eponymous manner was either a statement of purpose or of surrender. Ultimately, Spock’s Beard is the strongest post-Morse album the band has created, showing more consistency and a stronger sense of continuity than either Feel Euphoria or Octane. Fans who “gave up” on the band following their two previous efforts would do well to give this album a serious listen, as it shows a band stronger than they have been in 5+ years. Nick D'Virgilio: Lead Vocals, Drums, Percussion, Guitar, Bass, programming Alan Morse: Guitar, Theremin, Saw, Cello, Vocals Dave Meros: Bass, Bass Pedals, French Horn, Sitar, Keyboards, Vocals Ryo Okumoto: Keyboards, Vocals