''Testimony 2'' is a

progressive rock Progressive rock (shortened as prog rock or simply prog; sometimes conflated with art rock) is a broad genre of rock music that developed in the United Kingdom and United States through the mid- to late 1960s, peaking in the early 1970s. Init ...

concept album A concept album is an album whose tracks hold a larger purpose or meaning collectively than they do individually. This is typically achieved through a single central narrative or theme, which can be instrumental, compositional, or lyrical. Som ...

Neal Morse Neal Morse (born August 2, 1960) is an American singer, musician and composer based in Nashville, Tennessee. In 1992, he formed the progressive rock band Spock's Beard with his brother Alan and released an album which was moderately successful. ...

(his eighth studio album). It was released on 23 May 2011, as a continuation of his first Christian prog album (

Testimony In law and in religion, testimony is a solemn attestation as to the truth of a matter. Etymology The words "testimony" and "testify" both derive from the Latin word ''testis'', referring to the notion of a disinterested third-party witness. La ...

) and contains three sections detailing the composer's life and conversion to

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global pop ...

. Neal returns with his normal solo-album bandmates

Mike Portnoy Michael Stephen Portnoy (born April 20, 1967) is an American musician who is primarily known as the former drummer, backing vocalist, and co-founder of the progressive metal band Dream Theater. In September 2010, Portnoy announced his departur ...

and Randy George, but he also features many guests, including a vocal reunion of

Spock's Beard Spock's Beard is an American progressive rock band formed in Los Angeles. The band was formed in 1992 by brothers Neal (lead vocals, keyboards) and Alan Morse (vocals, guitars), John Ballard (bass) and Nick D'Virgilio (drums). Ballard was rep ...

in the song "Time Changer", which focuses on Neal's past with his original band. The album comes with a second disc of unrelated original songs, one of which is the epic "Seeds Of Gold", featuring a guitar solo by

Steve Morse Steve J. Morse (born July 28, 1954) is an American guitarist, best known as the founder of the Dixie Dregs and as the lead guitarist of Deep Purple from 1994 to 2022. Morse has also enjoyed a successful solo career and was briefly a member of ...

. The Special Edition includes a third disc, a Making Of DVD which runs over 60 minutes and chronicles the writing and recording of this album. Also released with the album is Neal's first book titled ''Testimony - The inspirational and spiritual journey of a prog rock musician''.

Track listing

All songs written and composed by

Disc One

Disc Two

Disc Three (Special Edition)

Personnel

- producer, composer, guitars, synth, piano, organ, vocals *

- drums * Randy George - bass Additional musicians *

- guitar solo on "Seeds of Gold" * Paul Bielatowicz - guitar solo on "Overture No. 4" and "It's For You" * Matthew Ward - background vocals and soulful wailing * Debbie Bressee, April Zachary, Mark Pogue, Mita Pogue - background vocals * Jim Hoke - saxophones * Mark Leniger - solo saxophone * Kenny Barnd - violin on "Jesus Bring Me Home" * Chris Carmichael - violin,

viola The viola ( , also , ) is a string instrument that is bow (music), bowed, plucked, or played with varying techniques. Slightly larger than a violin, it has a lower and deeper sound. Since the 18th century, it has been the middle or alto voice of ...

and cello on all of Disc One * Eric Brenton -

electric violin An electric violin is a violin equipped with an electronic output of its sound. The term most properly refers to an instrument intentionally made to be electrified with built-in pickups, usually with a solid body. It can also refer to a violin fi ...

solo on "Time Changer" *

Nick D'Virgilio Nicholas D'Virgilio (born November 12, 1968), often referred to as NDV, is an American drummer, singer and guitarist, best known as a member of the progressive rock band Spock's Beard. He was also one of two drummers chosen to replace Phil Coll ...

- vocals on "Time Changer" *

Alan Morse Alan Morse (born August 22, 1958) is an American guitarist of the progressive rock band Spock's Beard. He is the brother of co-founder Neal Morse, who left the band in 2002. Morse is married to Kathryn Morse and has two children, Julia and John. ...

- vocals on "Time Changer" *

Dave Meros Dave Meros (born 8 February 1956), is an American bass guitar player, best known as the bass player for progressive rock band Spock's Beard. Meros has also played or recorded with such artists as Gary Myrick, Bobby Kimball of Toto, Simon Phill ...

- vocals on "Time Changer" Technical personnel * Rich Mouser - mixing (CD1) * Jerry Guidroz - mixing (CD2)

Charts

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Testimony (Neal Morse Album) Neal Morse albums 2011 albums Concept albums Inside Out Music albums