Short Reviews [The Neal Morse Band - 2023 - "An Evening of Innocence & Danger: Live In Hamburg"]

Recorded in Hamburg on their 2022 tour to promote the ‘Innocence & Danger’ album which was released the previous year, we again find Neal Morse Neal Morse (vocals, keyboards, guitar) in the company of Eric Gillette (guitar, vocals), Bill Hubauer (keyboards, vocals), Randy George (bass, bass pedals, vocals), and Mike Portnoy (drums, vocals). Of course, this being a live album we expect it to be fairly lengthy, and we are not disappointed as this is a triple CD set with a running time of nearly 2,5 hours. The gig itself was divided in two, so we get eight shorter songs (seven of which are from the latest album ) followed by the two epics from ‘Innocence & Danger’ before it concludes with the “The Great Similitude Medley” which features highlights from the band’s previous two records ‘The Great Adventure’ and ‘The Similitude of a Dream’. This means that anyone into Morse is going to find plenty on here to enjoy. I was lucky enough to see the original line-up of Spock’s Beard a few times, before first seeing Neal on his amazing ‘Testimony’ tour, which of course also featured Randy and Mike, his long-time sparring partners. That he is one of the most important songwriters and performers to have come into the prog scene in the last 30 years is never in doubt, and the album is all one would expect. I have no idea how many live albums I have featuring Neal (the technical terms is “lots”) and he always seems perfectly at home no matter who he is performing with. However, there are some times when it is appears he is almost performing to his own formula, and while there are plenty of fans there who love what he did to “Bridge Over Troubled Water” I must confess to not being in the same boat, as there was something magical about the original which has been lost here. However, that can almost be forgiven when we get into the last three numbers, which have a running time of 22 minutes, 34 and 30 respectively. It is when he allows himself to fully expand and go full prog that he really comes to life as he creates music which is dynamic, full of contrast and power, and it is these where the listener can truly be lost inside. That this is a great album is never in doubt, but due to the material it is never totally indispensable, albeit thoroughly enjoyable at all times. It is nice to listen to, but there are other live albums of his which are superior.