Feel Euphoria [Limited Edition] [Digipak]

Artist: Spock's Beard
Label: Inside Out U.S.
Category: Music

Average customer rating:

Format: Limited Edition
Media: Audio CD
Number Of Discs: 2

UPC: 693723004129
EAN: 0693723004129
ASIN: B00009RDE1

Release Date: 2004-09-09

Feel Euphoria [Limited Edition] [Digipak]

Related Categories:

General

| Alternative Rock | Styles | Music

General

| Rock | Styles | Music

Progressive Rock

| Progressive | Rock | Styles | Music

Progressive Metal

| Progressive | Rock | Styles | Music

General

| Hard Rock & Metal | Styles | Music

Hard Rock

| Hard Rock & Metal | Styles | Music

Pop Rock

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Tracks:

Onomatopoeia
Bottom Line
Feel Euphoria
Shining Star
East of Eden, West of Memphis
Ghosts of Autumn
Guy Named Sid, Pt. 1: Intro
Guy Named Sid, Pt. 2: Same Old Story
Guy Named Sid, Pt. 3: You Don't Know
Guy Named Sid, Pt. 4: Judge
Guy Named Sid, Pt. 5: Sid's Boys Choir
Guy Named Sid, Pt. 6: Change
Carry On
Moth of Many Flames [*]
From the Messenger [*]

Tracks:

Conspiracy - The Conspiracy
Brand New - Steve Hackett
Sinking Sand - Enchant
Melrose Avenue - California Guitar Trio
Head - O.S.I.
Some Things You Can't Return - Dead Soul Tribe
Starcycle - Derek Sherinian
I Never Noticed - Jadis
Change - Ray Wilson
Small Acts of Human Kindness - Steve Howe
Silent Inferno - The Flower Kings

Similar Items:

Octane
Snow
Spock's Beard
Day for Night
V

Album Description

Limited edition contains two bonus tracks and an expanded booklet with extra text and pictures. Also includes an InsideOut Music CD sampler.

Album Description

Special edition of the progressive rock act's 2003 album includes two bonus tracks, 'Moth Of Many Flames' & 'From The Messenger', plus a bonus Inside Out Music label sampler featuring eleven tracks in a paper sleeve, 'Conspiracy' - Conspiracy, 'Brand New' - Steve Hackett, 'Sinking Sand' - Enchant, 'Melrose Avenue' - California Guitar Trio, 'Head' - O.S.I., 'Some Things You Can't Return' - Dead Soul Tribe, 'Starcycle' - Derek Sherinian, 'I Never Noticed' - Jadis, 'Change' - Ray Wilson, 'Small Acts Of Human Kindness' - Steve Howe & 'Silent Inferno' - The Flower Kings. Packaged in a flip-top digibox. Inside Out.

Customer Reviews:

I don't know..........2005-12-01

Okay. This is a difficult album to review, because it's terrible progressive music, but it's good rock music. And being not a big fan of basic rock, I'll try to be objective.

So, the first album since Neal Morse left the band, and the follow-up to the masterpiece 'Snow'. The sound has changed greatly - changed enough that I question whether they should be named Spock's Beard anymore. Not that the change is bad, but for dignity's sake, lets not compare this to 'The Light', 'Snow', 'V', 'Beware the Darkness', 'The Kindness of Strangers', - well, you get the point. Every other Spock's BEard album, besides 'Octane'. I don't doubt their talent - they are talented, and Nick is a good vocalist. The songs are simply poorly written, on the most part.

Onto the songs. Most songs are filler. Or, at least, would be filler on any other album. However, 'Ghost of Autumn' is amazing. Here's where the difficulty comes. That song alone is worth the price of the disc. And so it should be, because you don't want to pay for any of the other ones. It's a ballad - catchy, dominated at first by piano and Nick's vocals. The chorus is excellent, and the song then bursts into an absolutely breathtaking guitar solo. The 'epic' suite on this album is very, very poor - it's entitled 'A Boy Named Sid', and it's composed of several dry, very lacking, plain pieces. Yes, together it's a long song. But each piece sounds *completely* different from the other pieces. The lyrics are very poor and uninspired. They never revisit previous themes, so essentially it's a bunch of shorter songs that they claim is part of one longer song.

Then again, the album ends on a high note. Carry On is another good song. Some good hooks, good vocals.

All in all, this is a very poor album. But I'm not knocking the new line-up - they showed they can do well with what they have, on 'Octane'. Thats a good album. This one...well, isn't.

Transition means change...or, get over yourselves.......2005-09-05

Feel Euphoria isn't going to win any awards for creativity in songwriting. In fact, it is startling that it's an unfocused mess. However, there are messes and there are messes by Spock's Beard, meaning, while far from their best album Feel Euphoria is far from the most horrible, "it makes me puke", "oh my god, Nic's vocals aren't angelic" ad nausem from the non-progressive listeners.

I always thought Neil Morse was a HAM. On Transatlantic's Live In Europe DVD he confirmed it. There's a moment of good music being played, hey wait a second, "I'm not featured!" jumping into action Morse grabs a backup guitar he's not fit to play and ruins an otherwise nice moment on the Beatles Tribute section of the show by trying to play a lead. Now lets think about this, there are two equally great guitarists in the band. Both are fine soloists, but Neil didn't have enough to do with his various keyboards and acoustic guitar. Better get to that spare electric and take a good moment, something people whine is missing on this CD, and ruins it with his fratboy party music. It was the epitome of everything that was screaming to me for Neil to take that vacation from rockin' out.

I was deeply disappointed in Snow, which Feel Euphoria should be compared to, as on Snow the sound of the album was Neil Morse and the band called Spock's Beard doing a thrilling tribute to why prog rock turned people off in the first place.

Excess is just as bad as lack of cohesion as a band gets it's legs without it's, at times, brilliant and seemingly incapable of being a team player band behind it's leader. I was positive the band would break up after Snow and was glad to see they decided to keep trying. That's something lost to a lot of people reviewing. Also lost is the idea of actually taking a band for what it is, listening to songs for what they are and not forgiving a band from being behind the dictation of a pleasant to listen to vocalist who' real art was in arrangment and song development.

Feel Euphoria stutters on it's start by the band trying new things. How un-progressive (meant in it's most scathing way.) I agree with several that the vocals are actually better post NM. The vocal arrangements need some help, and why the band decided to do a chameleon like album is questionable, but most of the album is still in the progressive mode and it's mostly sung exceptionally well. The playing is still excellent although, to me, wasted on Neo Metal and Alternative, which is an alternative to what? But that's another subject.

When the Beard get in gear and play as they are comfortable with doing they sound fine and if no one was told NM was gone there would be no objections, but because he is gone, to borrow a phrase, God is dead. Neil Morse is far from God. In fact, if you respect him you'd mention he wants to serve him rather than the small progressive rock audience that Spock's Beard inhabit. Whether Christian balladry is exactly a higher calling, it is to NM, so leave the guy be, he's happy and if you're all fans you should let him be and focus on the band that remains.

Regarding "A Guy Named Sid" I'll agree it's far from the best thing the Beard has done, but it's also miles ahead of traditional rock, which hasn't put much effort into originality other than new and better ways of getting you to buy 30 year old albums. That suggests a bit of cheapness towards the recording industry and it's unwilliness to try anything new.

And with people like many of the reviewers, who can blame them. Keep on wanting the same sandwich and you'll soon have every restaurant reproducing their version of it, some worse, some the same and most likely none better. Comparing fast food to a band may seem a terrible choice but doesn't anyone else hear a lack of substance to this material? And while the substance may be lacking it is at least played with some genuine pleasure, which seems looked on with disdain.

Bands find their way by enjoying what they play, whether it was bright to put an album out fairly quickly is partially answered here. To me there's a bit more than 50% of a good album here. It is not as good as some prior releases, but it is so far from the poop some try to make of it that those crying and wimpering should go over to Peter Gabriel's career and find an album that bothered them for a while as Gabiel is a charismatic artist that could get away with material on this album if he'd wanted. The point to this collection is that the band wants out from the yoke of Neil Morse and having a chance seemed very excited to have a shot.

From what I heard of the latest release, it was another sub-par effort by fetishists, or is that Spock's Beard fans? I think the former. The latest 2nd sans Neil Morse CD didn't seem all that terrible. It did sound like you'd need some time to get used to the music, but horror of horrors, we wouldn't want to do that, now would we?

For all the fans who listen to the NM-less Beard, why not listen and not pine away? And for any band members brave or foolish enough to actually read the reviews here, guess what, you owe it to your listeners to decide who you are. Are you now hard rocking, post progressive or are you truly NEO progressive. It's a big difference, and you are in need of cohesion. The playing, the singing and occasionally, the music is there. But it's not there enough to justify passing this on to the fans as your new calling card, as your new calling card says, good band looking for identity.

SO on both sides there are issues, but I feel more for a band behind an egotistical band leader, and his ego to some degree was acceptable as he actually delivered on his part. His arranging and singing, something I tolerated rather than enjoyed, did bring many a fine moment to Spock's Beard, as on albums like "V" and the oft maligned "Kindness to Strangers" which was my introduction to the band. In a lot of ways that album was all over the place as Feel Euphoria, but it's stronger moments were stronger and more defined while their excesses were simply annoying.

If there is a ray of sunshine here it's the lack of trying to sound like Genesis, Gentle Giant or Yes which was like a extra added feature with the Beard. As a listener, I always wanted more identity and less nostalga. And that is something that is actually good about Feel Euphoria. Though nowhere as symphonically progressive as before, the band at least tries progression.

Fanboys being what they are, they "puke" at the thought. Boy, does the recording industry want a word with you! Given a couple new areas of music you might become an A&R man looking for whatever derivitive clone band there is out in the world of music.

Reasonable listeners might pick up some rays of hope here. There's a better singer with a range that fits the feel the band seems to be going for, that is, more muscular and darker. It is a trend with prog bands of late, meet the prog metal guys halfway and stave off a complete takeover of the genre. Then there's the simplicity factor.

While not the poster child of sing-along songs, Spock's Beard still write melodic music. Some of it is a bit messy and might take some time to form, but I hear some changes for the better, mainly, change. After Snow I had no desire to hear Neil Morse do anything. It was everything that good progressive music shouldn't be, that is, bombastic for the hell of it, sprawling modest length songs that were almost more like the faux progressive sounds of "Mr Roboto" Styx to post "Leftoverature" Kansas, both discredits to the genre.

So cheer up, Feel Euphoria isn't great by any stretch of the imagination, but it's not a complete sell-out either. There is a band in great need of direction, something that often is lacking in bands that follow a leader. Where scathing critics hear terrible noise, and in you consider anything here noisy you need a dictionary and copy of any Ministry album post 1996 for a taste of noise in rock.

Oh, and let's judge the band for what they are, not who they are missing. These are not kids that are picking up their instruments for the tenth time and getting someone's wealthy dad to pay for studio time and a vanity CD pressing. The agony some of you suffer over a band missing exactly what no progressive music listener should desire, that being an idol. Had the band decided to stay in 40 minute territory the album could have been significantly tighter and while some hardcore listeners would not be satisfied no matter what, there is a lot on Feel Euphoria that could have gone to make this a more convincing album.

Rather than doing the digipack, lay it on them approach, I'd have had vastly more desire hearing a new approach to the old album by cutting the awkward opener, and really, that is a problem. Focus on there being nothing powerful enough to lead this collection of songs off to a good pace. I will agree completely on this problem. But I will never condemn a band that sincerely works on an album without dreging out the trench and building the exact same albums they'd have done with Neil Morse.

Honestly, they seemed to finish off with "V". Snow was more a song stylist in an art rock band. It didn't feel any more cohesive than Feel Euphoria. But it did sound like the familiar voice of the band with the familiar song arrangements and faux religious ethos from the past.

If I were to be outraged by an album in Spock's Beard's catalog I would have picked Snow instantly. I bring it up as most of the whininers will see that as the last legitimate SB album. Again, if that invisible band member were reading this review I'd also say, stick too your ground. You didn't have a future after Snow. You do have a future but you really need to put most of your effort into writing songs that adult listeners don't want to cringe listening to. I do not for a moment think that what we have here is the apex of Spock's Beard, phase 2. That's what has pissed off so many people; forget the slaves to the past, there are things that can be done to improve.
1. if you aren't going for memorable melodies then crank up the quality of the music
2. There's this fantastic instrument called they synthesizer. In case Neil stole the one they used it might be a fresh new sound
3. by cranking up the quality I don't mean more solos by Alan Morse, I mean arranging material that is fresh
4. look at The Flower Kings for symphonic inspiration or faces that can be argued aren't progressive but have the feel when it suits them, in this case Porcupine Tree
5. look but don't emulate, I mention this as Porcupine Tree feels more like the future and The Flower Kings more rooted in the past, but both with new band members, replacing and at minimal equaling to surpassing the band members replaced. In both cases they were not the frontman, driving force, but they were important as each band in it's own way has an identity that withstood change

And in the end, this sincere but mediocre effort isn't what offends me. It is the underlaying group of fans that whine about the good old days which is something that has all but killed YES. Name a change that was good? The Trevor Rabin based YES? The Rick Wakeman who looks as interested as a corpse that reanimates when it's time to play a riff (cha ching! there goes $14,358 in the bank for that motif, time to be bored in a band context again...when's the tour over, oops, [plays some chords] what was I thinking? Oh yeah, how many more gigs before I can go back to doing what I really enjoy?); and while I say bad things about art rock's most copied band, let me add that even they are husks of their heyday. Why do we let ourselves be lead around the nose by labels more interested on what will get a song in FM rotation than whether it's a good song?

I appreciate Feel Euphoria even if it's not the first album I go to for inspiration. At least I hear a band again and that's a start. What Spock's Beard does with it's new found freedom from it's past may be a shallow husk of the old band, at least this album doesn't reek of conformism or offend by trying to foist a new sound, new purpose marketing blitz.

I'll take the band that tries over the individuals that protect their image any time. Many listeners here won't put the time into it. They are offensive to music, not just Spock's Beard. And for all the invective they spew, at least the band puts effort into what they do. But that's not even the point to a lot of reviewers of this album. Hopefully SB v2 will have the last laugh and produce some albums that show them for the excellent artists they are in their own right. What of the Spinal Tap bands that aren't intentional lampoons? They're what sells; but Feel Euphoria sickens some of you. I'm sure you'll find a new band to fixate on, don't worry, there's clones a plenty you'll find and love.

Neither a great CD nor Satan's spawn as suggested at times by the more hysterical reviewer.

Finding Their Way w/o Neal.......2005-03-03

Ok, I waited until Octane came out to give my thoughts on this CD. And to those of you who want Neal back, it doesn't look like he's coming back. After releasing One and just released his 'Worship'CD Volume One, he's making his stand pretty clear. I'd love to see Transatlantic 3, but let's be realistic about the whole situation. Lead singers leave groups and the groups go on. Spock's Beard has a whole different sound. While many dispute this cd as either good or bad it's something you'll have to get used to. I actually like Feel Euphoria better than Octane (which I've reviewed already). Even though I give both 4 stars it's just a matter of personal taste. I believe this cd has more of that progressive feel while Octane almost harkens back to Day For Night with short commercial-type songs. That can be or not be a bad thing for a group. But Spock's Beard is a progressive rock band and labeled as such so, of course, that's what one expects. I think Nick has a fine singing voice, but what's missing from this CD and Octane is Neal's superb song writing and arranging that always pulled everything together so well. Happy listening if you choose to, but don't bash this cd just because you have a pre-conceived notion of what it should sound like. If you want to hear the same thing everytime then pack it up and head for the Top 40 because there's plenty of that junk out there.

Spocks Keep Going!!.......2005-01-30

This was my first CD from SB that i got hold of, and i can say it is still my favourite. it is obvious there is more guitar and it comes across really great.

the opening track Onomatopaeia would have to be the weakest, i do not know why - there are a few awesome sections but its a great rocking tune. The Bottom Line has rapidly become one of the most enjoyable tunes SB has released. the vocal melody is the coolest ever. the title track is so different to anything ive heard from them and that makes it awesome!! the intro just kicks major ass, while the 5 note build up into the chorus is stellar! Shining Star has entered my all time list of best songs, ive always been a fan of ballads and this is amazing, Nick really shines majorly - and the lyrics tend to have an impact on me personally (which would be a first). East Of Eden, West Of Memphis did not click with me at first but i gave it time and eventually it found its place, good way to keep the album flowing. Ghosts Of Autumn - the second ballad on this disc is stunning also, i did not listen to this regularly for some time and once i did i wondered to myself why?!?! the piano is beautiful, the vocals and music really stands tall in this.

The epic Sid well that just kicks ass, i wouldve preferred it to be a continuous track but that doesnt really matter. my favourite section is "you dont know" but as a whole its truly a good start to a new epic. the album then ends on carry on which finishes the album nicely. the 2 bonus tracks are great but not up to the same standards!

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