Prog rock man Neal Morse releases new CD and book
THE LATEST concept album by progressive rock's Neal Morse was released on 23rd May. 'Testimony 2' is a continuation of his first solo Christian prog album, 'Testimony', and contains three sections detailing the composer's life and conversion to Christianity. Neal returns with his normal solo album bandmates Mike Portnoy and Randy George, but he also features many guests, including a vocal reunion of Spock's Beard in the song "Time Changer", which focuses on Neal's past with Spock's Beard and features a return of their multi-vocal parts that the band was known for. The album comes with a second disc of unrelated original songs, one of which is the epic "Seeds Of Gold", featuring a guitar solo by Steve Morse. The Special Edition of the album includes a third disc, a 'Making Of' DVD which runs over 60 minutes and chronicles the writing and recording of this project. Also published is Neal's first book, Testimony: The inspirational and spiritual journey of a prog rock musician.
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Neal Morse is by far one of the most talented musicians/composers of our time, and it's a tragedy that he isn't a household name. I would encourage everyone reading this to pick up a copy of both the Testimony 2 CD and the Testimony book. I also had the enormous privilege of seeing Neal on the first date of the Testimony 2 tour in Nashville (with Mike Portnoy), and it was nothing short of breathtaking.