(2018) Neal Morse - Life & Times


Review:
You wouldn’t guess from The Neal Morse Band’s most recent output that their leader was mellowing into soft middle age. 2016’s The Similitude of a Dream and 2015’s The Grand Experiment may have featured his now customary eulogies to the almighty, but they were still multi-faceted prog records. But as anyone who’s seen Neal Morse play solo live over the last few years knows, he can do the straightforward stuff well. This collection of easy-going soft rock numbers might prove too bland to connoisseurs of musical sophistication, but they are well-crafted. Livin’ Lightly and Good Love Is On the Way employ irresistible strokes of Eagles-y peaceful easy feelings, the latter a five-minute romance in which ‘She’s the beauty barista, he’s the corny cashier.’ But while most of these songs are blissed-out tales of the good life, as the slightly saccharine taste starts to cloy, the mood darkens with the tale of a traumatised veteran in He Died at Home. Later, the pedal steel-streaked, violin-laced flavourings of Old Alabama, and some sublime guest vocals from Julie Davidson, show Morse’s songs sound even better dressed in the battered denims of Americana. — teamrock.com





Track Listing:
1.Livin' Lightly 5:02
2.Good Love Is On The Way 3:52
3.JoAnna 4:34
4.Selfie In The Square 3:55
5.He Died At Home 4:58
6.She's Changed Her Mind 4:01
7.Wave On The Ocean 4:12
8.You + Me + Everything 4:35
9.Manchester 4:08
10.Lay Low 3:59
11.Old Alabama 4:47
12.If I Only Had A Day 3:42


Media Report:
Genre: soft rock
Country: USA
Format: FLAC
Format/Info: Free Lossless Audio Codec, 16-bit PCM
Bit rate mode: Variable
Channel(s): 2 channels
Sampling rate: 44.1 KHz
Bit depth: 16 bits