''Spock's Beard'' is the eponymous ninth studio album by American

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 ...

band

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 Morse, Neal (lead vocals, keyboards) and Alan Morse (vocals, guitars), John Ballard (bass) and Nick D'Virgilio (drums). Bal ...

released on November 21, 2006. On September 21, 2006, Dave Meros added the tentative track list to the band's website, and said the following regarding the album's title: "As you probably know by now, we're calling our ninth studio release simply ''Spock's Beard''. No big heavy reasoning behind that, really, it just seemed like a cool thing to do. (Of course, you are more than welcome to help us invent some heavy philosophical or hidden meaning so we'll have something interesting to say in interviews...There are a few cool song titles that could have become the CD title...but we've done that a lot before. Then there is the obvious 'SB9' and its variations, or the clever play on words thing, like 'nein' or 'asinine' or something like that."Spock's Beard's Official Websit

Accessed 30 September 2006 Like its predecessors "A Guy Named Sid" (from ''

Feel Euphoria ''Feel Euphoria'' is the seventh studio album by American progressive rock band Spock's Beard released on July 8, 2003. It was the first album the band recorded following the departure of vocalist/songwriter Neal Morse, also the first full-leng ...

'') and "A Flash Before My Eyes" (from '' Octane''), the individual sections of "As Far as the Mind Can See" are divided into separate tracks on the album.

Track listing

Critical reception

With this release, critics recognized a shift to more of the classic Spock's Beard sound. Sea of Tranquility reported, "It sounds like Spock's Beard have refocused here a little bit, and while their last two albums were very strong, this latest is really something special. Capturing many of the elements that fans loved so much about their earlier material, plus adding in some new sounds, Spock's Beard is a triumph for a band that really needed something to reinvent, or reinvigorate, themselves to their fans."

Personnel

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 Col ...

–

lead Lead is a chemical element with the Symbol (chemistry), symbol Pb (from the Latin ) and atomic number 82. It is a heavy metals, heavy metal that is density, denser than most common materials. Lead is Mohs scale of mineral hardness#Intermediate ...

and backing vocals,

drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair of matching drumsticks ...

timpani Timpani (; ) or kettledrums (also informally called timps) are musical instruments in the percussion family. A type of drum categorised as a hemispherical drum, they consist of a membrane called a head stretched over a large bowl traditiona ...

percussion A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a beater including attached or enclosed beaters or rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or struck against another similar instrument. Exc ...

electric Electricity is the set of physical phenomena associated with the presence and motion of matter that has a property of electric charge. Electricity is related to magnetism, both being part of the phenomenon of electromagnetism, as described b ...

and acoustic guitars * Alan Morse –

and acoustic guitars,

backing vocals A backing vocalist is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists. A backing vocalist may also sing alone as a lead-in to the main vocalist's entry or to sing a counter-melody. Backing vocalists are u ...

lead vocals The lead vocalist in popular music is typically the member of a group or band whose voice is the most prominent melody in a performance where multiple voices may be heard. The lead singer sets their voice against the accompaniment parts of th ...

on "Sometimes They Stay, Sometimes They Go" *

Ryo Okumoto Ryo Okumoto (奥本亮, born May 24, 1959) is a Japanese rock keyboardist, best known for his work with progressive rock group Spock's Beard. He joined the band in 1996 and has been a member ever since. When singer and keyboardist Neal Morse w ...

– keyboards,

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 Philli ...

–

bass guitar The bass guitar, electric bass or simply bass (), is the lowest-pitched member of the string family. It is a plucked string instrument similar in appearance and construction to an electric or an acoustic guitar, but with a longer neck and s ...

bass synth A synthesizer (also spelled synthesiser) is an electronic musical instrument that generates audio signals. Synthesizers typically create sounds by generating waveforms through methods including subtractive synthesis, additive synthesis and ...

sitar The sitar ( or ; ) is a plucked stringed instrument, originating from the Indian subcontinent, used in Hindustani classical music. The instrument was invented in medieval India, flourished in the 18th century, and arrived at its present form i ...

;Additional personnel *Stan Ausmus – song co-writer *John Boegehold – song co-writer * Rich Mouser - mixing

Notes and references

{{Authority control 2006 albums Spock's Beard albums Inside Out Music albums