''Lifeline'' is the seventh studio album by Neal Morse. The album features performances from Mike Portnoy (ex-

Dream Theater Dream Theater is an American progressive metal band formed in 1985 under the name Majesty by John Petrucci, John Myung and Mike Portnoy while they attended Berklee College of Music in Boston, Massachusetts. They subsequently dropped out of the ...

) on drums and Randy George (Ajalon) on bass, as well as special guest appearances including Paul Bielatowicz on guitar and

Paul Gilbert Paul Brandon Gilbert is an American hard rock and heavy metal guitarist. He is the co-founder of the band Mr. Big, and was also a member of Racer X, with whom he released several albums. In 1996, Gilbert launched a solo career, for which h ...

( Racer X and

Mr. Big Mr. Big may refer to: Entertainment In film and literature * Mister Big (James Bond), a villain in the novel and film ''Live and Let Die'' * ''Mister Big'' (1943 film), a 1943 musical * ''Mr. Big'' (2007 film), a 2007 documentary In televisi ...

), who features on a bonus cut. Live drummer Collin Leijenaar plays on the bonus track "Set the Kingdom". Neal and his band first performed the title track, ''Lifeline'', live at the Night of the Prog Festival on the Loreley, Germany. It was also played at a concert in Trondheim, Norway, with a local band. It was later announced that the album would be released on October 1, 2008. Unlike many of his previous releases, ''Lifeline'' is not a concept album.

Track listing

All songs written by Neal Morse except where noted. A special edition was released with a CD of bonus material, including covers of four "pretty cool songs by pretty uncool bands" as well as two original songs. "Set the Kingdom" actually ends at 11:00 and is followed by silence before the

hidden track In the field of recorded music, a hidden track (sometimes called a ghost track, secret track or unlisted track) is a song or a piece of audio that has been placed on a CD, audio cassette, LP record, or other recorded medium, in such a way as t ...

Reception

Unlike the majority of Morse's work, reception for the album has been mixed to positive. Radu Catrina of ''The Dwarf'' found it to be "an abrupt drop in quality" from what he considered previous excellent releases, and refers to ''Lifeline'' as "a descent into the often mind-numbing abyss of Christian rock". According to Neal Morse's official website, TheProgFiles.com reportedly wrote: "Hands down, nobody in the industry does prog better than Neal Morse."

Personnel

; Band * Neal Morse — keyboards, guitars, vocals * Mike Portnoy — drums * Randy George — bass ; Special guests *

— lead guitar on "Crazy Horses" * Paul Bielatowicz — lead guitar on "Lemons" and second guitar solo on "Fly High" * Collin Leijenaar — drums on "Set the Kingdom" * Carl Groves — backing vocals on "Lifeline", "The Way Home", "Children of the Chosen" and "So Many Roads" * Jonathan Willis — strings on "The Way Home", "Eyes of the Saviour" and "Fly High" * Jim Hoke — saxophone on "Leviathan" and "The Humdrum Life" * Ivory Leonard and Danielle Spencer — backing vocals on "So Many Roads" Technical personnel * Rich Mouser - mixing

References

{{Authority control Neal Morse albums 2008 albums