What truly is progressive music? Each month BraveWords will aim to dissect that answer with a thorough overview of the current musical climate that is the prog world. Old and new, borrowed and blue. A musical community without borders. So watch for a steady and spaced-out array of features, current news and a buyer’s guide checklist to enhance the forward-thinking musical mind. So, welcome to BraveWords’ monthly column appropriately titled, Between A Rock In A Prog Place. 

In this month’s column, we speak to one of the busiest musicians within the entire prog realm, Neal Morse, about the release of his new album – a rock opera entitled The Dreamer- Joseph: Part One (which can be ordered here), as well as the current state of prog, and what his top-5 prog LP’s of all-time are.

 
How was it decided that you were going to compose a ‘rock opera’ with The Dreamer- Joseph: Part One?

“It actually started for me with the people at Frontiers. After Jesus Christ the Exorcist [Morse’s 2019 release], they sent me emails periodically saying, ‘We’d love to have another rock opera with multiple singers.’ So in 2022, after touring with NMB and Transatlantic, it seemed like a good time to try to write one. After kicking the idea around with my wife, I settled on the Joseph story because it’s just such a rich story. I still was not sure, until I started to write it towards the end of September, and I felt like even the very first ideas that I had were pretty good. Among them, ‘A Million Miles Away’ and ‘The Pit,’ so then, I knew I was onto something that was gonna be good.”

Did you use previous rock operas and/or concept albums as a template?

“No. Every album is its own unique event and has its own life. Hopefully, anyway! So, I started with a couple of ideas – a couple of musical themes and a few songs, and then I was reading the story out of the Bible and going from that. At each point, I would read something in the story and think, ‘I wonder what this would sound like? What would Joseph sing here?’ And eventually, I had more material than I knew what to do with!”

Can you give a hint about what the album’s storyline is about?

“It tells the story of Joseph from the Old Testament. You know, the guy with the coat?”

What is the lyrical inspiration behind ‘Like a Wall’?

“At this point in the story, Joseph has just been sold by his brothers into slavery. So the life that he had with his family has suddenly been disrupted, and he finds himself alone with a very dark looking future. His brothers had accused him of lying, which he didn’t do, that’s why I say the line ‘I never lied it was never my fault.’ And he doesn’t know if he’s ever going to be able to recover from this awful betrayal.”

Could The Dreamer eventually be made into a film, a la Tommy and The Wall?

“Of course! Do you have a budget? See you like 80 million? All those things are always a matter of money! It would be great to make a film out of it someday. One can only dream.”

Out of all the songs you’ve written, which is the most difficult to perform and why?

“Wow. That’s a hard one. Well, physically difficult, for me, would probably be the intro to ‘Seeds of Gold.’ That’s a really tough piano intro. Emotionally difficult…I don’t know.”

What are your thoughts on prog rock today?

“It seems to me that there are a lot of good younger bands, the tough part is getting the music out there. I suppose that’s always been the tough part. But I think there’s a lot of good music going on. When I do the Radiant School – which is my studio, songwriting, and making records school that I do once or twice a year – I marvel at how talented and how great a lot of the musicians are that come.”

What are your 5 prog ‘desert island discs’?

“Oh man. Let’s see:”

Beatles - White Album
Genesis - Selling England By The Pound
The Who - Who’s Next?
Yes - Close To The Edge
ELP - Tarkus

Future plans?

“I’m currently working on Joseph Part 2. My plans are to finish that massive project, then get ready for Morsefest, USA and Europe in August, and then take some time off in the fall. Oh, also, there’s a new trio album with Nick [D’Virgilio] and Ross [Jennings] coming out in the fall. It’s turned out to be a really awesome year so far!”

BETWEEN A ROCK AND A PROG PLACE NEWS BLAST

The Flower Kings recently announced that their 16th studio album, Look At You Now, will be arriving on September 8, while a video for the first single, “Beginner's Eyes,” can be viewed below. Moody Blues bassist/vocalist John Lodge is releasing his own version of the classic 1967 album Days of Future Passed, entitled Days of Future Passed – My Sojourn, which can be ordered here. 

Another prog veteran, Steve Hackett, will be issuing Foxtrot at Fifty + Hackett Highlights: Live in Brighton on the September 15, in several different configurations. Symphonic metallists Kamelot launch a North American headlining tour this month (in support of their latest album, The Awakening), and the complete list of dates can be viewed via their official site. 
 

To celebrate the one-year anniversary of their album The Sun Will Always Set, Michigan proggers Imminent Sonic Destruction have issued an acoustic rendition of the tune “Solitude,” which you will spot/hear below. German prog metal trio The Hirsch Effekt will be releasing their latest album, Urian, on September 29 – and is available for pre-order.

Described as both ‘a crossover progressive pop rock band’ and ‘the space age Steely Dan,’ Red32 have issued their self-titled debut, which is available for inspection at their Bandcamp page. Lastly, Boston-based prog rockers OK Goodnight have recently unveiled their latest single/video, ‘The Bird’ - off their latest album, The Fox & The Bird.

August 2023 New Albums

August 4
Devin Townsend- Devolution Series #3 - Empath Live In America

August 11
Hemina- Romancing the Ether 
Neal Morse- The Dream - Joseph: Part One

August 18
Tusmørke- Hestehoven
Various Artists- Abbey Road Reimagined: A Tribute To The Beatles

August 25
Sherinian/Phillips- Live 

Classic Clip

Earlier in our chat with Mr. Morse, he selected the beginning of his tune, ‘Seeds of Gold,’ as the most difficult piece of music to perform (out of all the tricky compositions he’s penned over the years). How about we watch a live performance of the tune from 2011, to see what he means?