Neal Morse

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Neal Morse (born August 2, 1960) is an American singer, multi-instrumentalist, bandleader, and a progressive rock composer based in Nashville, Tennessee.

He formed Spock's Beard, a progressive rock band formed by Alan and his brother Alan in 1992, and released an album that was moderately successful.

He joined former Dream Theater co-founder Mike Portnoy, Flower Kings' Roine Stolt, and Marillion's Pete Trewavas in 1999 to form Transatlantic, a super-group.

Neal Morse began a Christian rock solo career in 2002, debuting several progressive rock concept albums about his new religious conviction.

In the meantime, he continued to perform with Transatlantic and formed three new bands with Portnoy, Yellow Matter Custard, Flying Colors, and The Neal Morse Band.

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Band career

Morse was one of four children growing up in Los Angeles' San Fernando Valley. His father was a choral director. Morse started playing piano at the age of five and learned to play the guitar at the age of nine. He wrote two musicals (Hit Man and Homeland), worked in some session jobs, and performed a few country and western demos with his brother Richard during his twenties.

Morse formed Spock's Beard with his brother Alan after ten years of playing in small Californian clubs, including Burlesque, to express his deep passion for Progressive Rock. The Light (1995), the band's first album, was moderately popular. Despite having released the first two Spock's Beard albums to critical acclaim, Morse discovered himself struggling financially. Richard's brother advised him to perform hit songs in pubs, accompanying him with piano or guitar to bring money. Morse began to travel between California and Germany, where he remained for several weeks before returning to work as a bar musician for a short period of time. Morse continued to work on new compositions for Spock's Beard and live performances with them during his California stints. Morse was also a member of the Eric Burdon band and was on tour with them at the time. Spock's Beard's success soared, and they would soon become one of a string of hit progressive rock bands during the late nineties (along with Dream Theater, Porchelle Tree, and The Flower Kings).

Morse released two solo albums of more straightforward rock music with Spock's Beard, but not quite as well. Mike Portnoy, Flower Kings' Roine Stolt, and Marillion's Pete Trewavas formed the Transatlantic supergroup in 1999. The band has released five studio albums (SMPT:e, Bridge Across Forever, The Whirlwind, Kaleidoscope, and The Absolute Universe), as well as live recordings from each studio tour: Live in London, Never Is Enough, and Kaleidoscope. The group has featured Daniel Gildenlöw of Pain of Salvation, as well as Ted Leonard, Morse's eventual replacement in Spock's Beard.

Morse, Mike Portnoy, Paul Gilbert, and Matt Bissonette formed Yellow Matter Custard in 2003 as a Beatles tribute band. "Yellow matter custard, dripping from a dead dog's eye," Morse's first album, "I Am the Walrus," was released on March 26, 2012 (Mike Portnoy on drums and vocals, Neal Morse on keyboards and vocals, Casey McPherson on lead vocals and guitar, and Steve Morse on lead guitar). In 2014, he performed with The Neal Morse Band, a group formed by Mike Portnoy, Randy George, Eric Gillette, and Bill Hubauer, which released its first studio album The Grand Experiment in 2015. The Similitude of a Dream, the group's second outing, was released on November 11, 2016, and the sequel to that album, The Great Adventure, was released on January 25, 2019. Innocence & Danger, the company's fourth series, was announced on August 27, 2021.

Morse became a Christian again in 2002. Following the unveiling of the Spock's Beard album Snow, he left both Spock's Beard and Transatlantic shortly after, in reaction to a call to make his personal faith more prominent in his recordings. In a band context, he did not think that this would not be possible or appropriate. The period leading up to this decision is chronicled on the solo album Testimony (2003), an epic, introspective work on which Kerry Livgren of Kansas and Mike Portnoy appear. Jayda's daughter, who was barred from Testimony but later on Testimony Live and later, she had been diagnosed as having a hole in her heart that needed open-heart surgery. However, the hole emerged following a church service in which Morse's wife and others prayed for God's healing before Jayda's surgery.

Morse produced and recorded a new concept album starring Portnoy and Randy George (on bass guitar). Phil Keaggy, a guitar and vocals virtuoso, appeared on guitar and vocals as a guest. The album, titled One, is about a man's relationship with God from his Christian perspective and was released on November 2, 2004. Morse's non-prog Christian albums were released in 2005. Morse's children and his family sang Lead Me Lord with the Christian Gospel Temple Choir in January. Morse wrote about half of the tracks. This was announced in February and is now available for purchase. Morse published God Won't Give Up in July, a book that was written around the Snow period. This is a pop album that sounds similar to It's Not Too Late, but with Christian lyrics.

A member of his church contacted Morse in the summer of 2005 to inform him that he should make an album based on the tabernacle and that he should keep it private. Morse nevertheless stated that he was working on a classified project before he had written a note or even promised himself to do the work. Mentioning it during a radio interview was enough to convince him to buy the album. On his message board, he was able to guess the participants, subject, and meaning of the album based on a sequence of clues. The unethical project was finally revealed to be? (also known as The Question Mark album, which is expected to be influenced by The White Album in terms of the tabernacle in the wilderness and the tabernacle of the heart.) With guests Mark Leniger, Alan Morse, Roine Stolt, Steve Hackett, and Jordan Rudess, Neal, Mike Portnoy, and Randy George are the studio band.

Morse released Cover to Cover, a collection of cover versions by Mike Portnoy, Randy George, and others, proving that despite the new focus on solo projects, Morse was not adverse to exploring songs with non-religious subjects. Morse released Sola Scriptura, a concept album describing Martin Luther's life and struggles, as well as medievalism. Portnoy and George co-starred with Morse, was joined by Paul Gilbert (of Racer X and Mr. Big) who appeared in a few solo roles.

Morse's acoustic folk album Songs from the Highway came right after Sola Scriptura. On September 30, 2008, Lifeline was released. Morse was revived by Portnoy and George just four months after the launch of the Sola Scriptura live DVD was first released. So Many Roads, his European band's live album, was released on June 30, 2009. Testimony 2, a sequel and extension of the first Testimony album's autobiographical tale, was released on May 23, 2011. Morse's style was followed on record by this singer, who accompanied it with a tour and live DVD. Testimony, a new autobiographical snapshot of his life and spiritual journey, was published in more detail in 2011 than in the related Testimony albums.

Momentum was released on September 11, 2012, an album that contained several shorter songs and one epic.

Morse has released two more cover albums with George and Portnoy (Cover 2 Cover in 2012 and Cov3r in 2020), a guest-heavy prog rock musical retelling the life and Passion of Christ (Jesus Christ the Exorcist, released in 2019), and a biographical album based on Paul the Apostle's conversion and writings (Sola Gratia, published in 2020).

Morse spent the bulk of his touring in Europe during his early solo years, and his band featured mainly European artists. Collin Leijenaar (drums, music director), Paul Bielatowicz (guitars), Elisa Krijgsman (guitars), Wilco van Esschoten (bass guitar), Jessica Koomen (vocals, keyboards, percussion), and Henk Doest (keyboards) were among the incarnation of Sola Scriptura's tour group, for example. Morse reunited members of the band's early Testimony album, including Portnoy, George, Rick Altizer, and others, for Testimony 2. He then held a competition to create a full-time band, which then toured behind Momentum. Mike Portnoy (drums), Randy George (bass), Eric Gillette (guitars, keyboards), and Bill Hubauer (keyboards) were among this new band's members. Adson Sodré, a guitarist, was in the band until visa restrictions led to his departure.

He became a member of Eric Burdon's I band in 1997. Live at the Coachhouse was also released by the Coachhouse. Morse performed vocals on "The First Man on Earth" on The Universal Migrator Part 1, one of Arjen Anthony Lucassen's Ayreon albums in 2000. Neal Morse tracks have also appeared on the CPR Volume 1 (2004), CPR Volume 2, and Tsunami Project anthologies. Morse was also involved in the recording of the ProgAID single "All Around the World." Both The Tsunami Project and the ProgAID single were funded for victims of the 2004 Asian tsunami.

Morse has appeared on numerous albums in 2005, including Ajalon's Threshold of Eternity, Roine Stolt's Wallstreet Voodoo, Mimi's Magic Moment, and Mark Leniger's Walk on Water. Morse was one of many musical guests on Dream Theater's 2007 album Systematic Chaos, including "Repentance." These guests were caught on film apologizing to significant people in their lives for wrongdoings committed in the past. Morse sang of the first track on Jordan Rudess' tribute album The Road Home.

Under the Project Aegis moniker, Matt Smith of Theocracy joined him in a publication named "And the Rest Is Mystery" in 2020.

Solo career

Morse became a born again Christian in 2002. Following the launch of Spock's Beard album Snow, he left both Spock's Beard and Transatlantic immediately after, in reaction to a call to make his personal faith more prominent in his recorded output. He believed that this would not be possible or appropriate in a band context. On the solo album Testimony (2003), an epic, introspective work starring Kerry Livgren of Kansas and Mike Portnoy, the time leading up to this decision is chronicled. One part of his conversion to Christianity, who was left out of Testimony Live and later in the song Jayda on Testimony 2, was that his daughter Jayda had been diagnosed as having a hole in her heart that necessitated open-heart surgery. The hole remained after a church service in which Morse's wife and others prayed for God's healing but not before Jayda's surgery.

Morse wrote and recorded a new concept album starring Portnoy and Randy George (on bass guitar). Phil Keaggy, a guitar player, made a special appearance on guitar and vocals at a recent gig. One of the albums, titled One, is about a man's relationship with God from a Christian perspective and was released on November 2, 2004. Morse released two non-prog Christian albums in 2005. Morse, his children, and his relatives, all performed Lead Me Lord with the Christian Gospel Temple Choir in January. Morse wrote about half of the tracks. This was first announced in February and is now available for purchase. Morse published God Won't Give Up in July, which was written during the Snow period. This is a pop album similar to It's Not Too Late, but with Christian lyrics.

Morse told him that he should make an album based on the tabernacle and that he should hold it private. Morse also stated that he was working on a classified project before he had written a note or even committed himself to do the work. Mentioning it during a radio interview was enough to persuade him to buy the album. On his message board, he had a competition to guess the participants, theme, and meaning of the album based on a string of clues. The espionage program was eventually revealed to be? (also known as The Question Mark album, which is rumored to be influenced by The White Album in terms of the tabernacle and the tabernacle of the heart). Neal, Mike Portnoy, and Randy George's bandmates include guests Mark Leniger, Alan Morse, Roine Stolt, Steve Hackett, and Jordan Rudess.

Morse released Cover to Cover, a series of cover versions by Mike Portnoy, Randy George, and others, proving that despite the new focus on solo pursuits Morse was not adverse to exploring songs with non-religious themes. Morse released Sola Scriptura, a concept album describing Martin Luther's life and times, as well as medieval Church corruption. Portnoy and George teamed with Morse once more, and Paul Gilbert (of Racer X and Mr. Big) joined them for a few solo performances.

Morse released Songs from the Highway immediately after Sola scriptura. Lifeline, the studio album, was released on September 30, 2008. Morse was welcomed by Portnoy and George two months after the launch of the Sola Scriptura live DVD was first introduced. So Many Roads, his European band's live album, was released on June 30, 2009. Testimony 2, a sequel and expansion of the first Testimony album's autobiographical tale, was published on May 23, 2011. Morse's style was followed on album by tour and live DVD. He published Testimony, a new autobiographical account of his life and spiritual journey in more detail than in the related Testimony albums in 2011.

Momentum was released on September 11, 2012, an album that featured many shorter songs and one epic.

Morse has released two more cover albums with George and Portnoy (Cover 2 Cover in 2012 and Cov3r to Cov3r in 2020), as well as a new Sola Scriptura biographical album based on Paul The Apostle's conversion and writings (Sola Gratia, released in 2020).

Morse spent the majority of his touring in Europe during his early solo years, and had a band made up largely of European musicians. Collin Leijenaar (drums, music producer), Paul Bielatowicz (guitars), Elisa Krijgsman (guitars), Wilco van Esschoten (bass guitar), Jessica Koomen (vocals, keyboards, percussion), and Henk Doest (keyboards) were among the incarnation of Sola Scriptura (keyboards). Morse reunited members from the band's debut Testimony album, including Portnoy, George, Rick Altizer, and others. He then organized a competition to create a full-time band, which eventually toured behind Momentum. Mike Portnoy (drums), Randy George (bass), Eric Gillette (guitars, keyboards), and Bill Hubauer (keyboards). Adson Sodré, a guitarist, was in the band until visa issues prompted his departure.

He joined Eric Burdon's I band in 1997. Live at the Coachhouse was also released by the coachhouse. Morse provided vocals for the song "The First Man on Earth" on Arjen Anthony Lucassen's Ayreon album in 2000. CPR Volume 1 (2004), CPR Volume 2, and The Tsunami Projekt anthologies also featured Neal Morse tracks. Morse also appeared on ProgAID's single "All Around the World." Both The Tsunami Project and the ProgAID single were funded for victims of the 2004 Asian tsunami's destruction.

Morse has appeared on several albums in 2005, including Ajalon's Threshold of Eternity, Roine Stolt's Wallstreet Voodoo, Salem Hill's Mimi's Magic Moment, and Mark Leniger's Walk on Water. Morse was one of many musical guests on Dream Theater's 2007 album Systematic Chaos, including "Repentance." These visitors were caught apologizing to people in their lives for wrongdoings committed in the past. Morse performed vocals on the first track on Jordan Rudess' tribute album The Road Home.

He joined Matt Smith of Theocracy in a new version of Project Aegis in 2020.

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