Spock's Beard return to the music stores with their first record since Light in June 2004.
The first seven tracks of this album comprise a conceptual suite entitled "A Flash Before My Eyes," based on a story by John Boegehold.
It's about the experiences of a man in the process of experiencing a car wreck as it happens and watching his life flash before him as it passes out of him.
He recalls everything from his parents' separation on Christmas, to high school football games and meeting his wife and creating a life with her.
It all ends at the end of the flash.
The overture, "Prelude to the Past," is all big prog symphonic rock Former frontman and guitarist Neal Morse's gigantic presence is still missed, but the ambition here is sweeping.
Nonetheless, drummer and frontman Nick D'Virgilio is putting forth the effort and he has a compelling presence as a singer, but his lyrics aren't yet there, they still tell more than show.
The contrast between Boegehold's narrative passages and the song lyrics that illustrate them is harsh.
The music, while more "accessible" than in the past and harder in its rock-ist intentions, still has plenty of flair and verve, though one does miss the wonderfully labyrinthine passages and surprises of yore.
| Title/Composers | Performer | Listen | Time | Size | Size | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | I Wouldn't Let It GoJohn Boegehold, Alan Morse | Spock's Beard | Play | 04:53 | 11 MB | 31 MB |
| 2 | Surfing Down the AvalancheJohn Boegehold, Nick D'Virgilio, Dave Meros | Spock's Beard | Play | 03:43 | 8 MB | 26 MB |
| 3 | Climbing Up That HillJohn Boegehold, Dave Meros | Spock's Beard | Play | 03:31 | 8 MB | 26 MB |
| 4 | Letting GoRyo Okumoto | Spock's Beard | Play | 01:52 | 4 MB | 9 MB |
| 5 | NWCNick D'Virgilio | Spock's Beard | Play | 04:16 | 9 MB | 27 MB |
| 6 | There Was a TimeJohn Boegehold, Alan Morse | Spock's Beard | Play | 04:58 | 11 MB | 35 MB |
| 7 | The Planet's HumStan Ausmus, Nick D'Virgilio | Spock's Beard | Play | 04:42 | 10 MB | 30 MB |
| 8 | Watching the TideNick D'Virgilio | Spock's Beard | Play | 05:07 | 11 MB | 30 MB |
| 9 | As Long as We RideJohn Boegehold, Nick D'Virgilio, Alan Morse | Spock's Beard | Play | 05:35 | 12 MB | 40 MB |
| 10 | Of The Beauty Of It All | Spock's Beard | Play | 04:53 | 11 MB | 30 MB |
| 11 | She Is Everything | Spock's Beard | Play | 06:46 | 15 MB | 42 MB |
| 12 | The Ballet Of The Impact | Spock's Beard | Play | 05:34 | 12 MB | 34 MB |
| 55 mins | 128 MB | |||||
| 55 mins | 366 MB | |||||
| Artist | Job | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Stan Ausmus | Composer |
| 2 | Gina Ballina | French Horn |
| 3 | John Boegehold | Ambience, Composer, Horn Arrangements, Sounds, String Arrangements, Voices |
| 4 | Daphne Chen | Violin |
| 5 | Johnnie Corno | French Horn |
| 6 | Nick D'Virgilio | Composer, Drums, Guitar, Guitar (Acoustic), Guitar (Electric), Loops, Member of Attributed Artist, Percussion, Vocals, Vocals (Background) |
| 7 | Richard Dodd | Cello |
| 8 | Thomas Ewerhard | Artwork |
| 9 | Ramon Flores | Trumpet |
| 10 | Jay Frigoletto | Mastering |
| 11 | Eric Gorfain | Violin |
| 12 | Leah Katz | Viola |
| 13 | Dave Meros | Bass, Bass Instrument, Composer, French Horn, Member of Attributed Artist, Vocals |
| 14 | Alan Morse | Cello, Composer, Guitar, Guitar (12 String Electric), Guitar (Acoustic), Guitar (Electric), Member of Attributed Artist, Musical Saw, Theremin, Vocals |
| 15 | Richard Mouser | Engineer, Mixing |
| 16 | Ryo Okumoto | Composer, Keyboards, Member of Attributed Artist, Vocals |
| 17 | Molly Pasutti | Voices |
| 18 | Section Quartet | Strings |
| 19 | Alex Solca | Photography |
| 20 | Spock's Beard | Primary Artist, Producer |
| 21 | Jenkin Tudor | Assistant Engineer |
| Quality | Format | Encoding | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard | MP3 | 320kps 44.1kHz | MP3 is an audio coding format which uses a form of lossy data compression. The highest bitrate of this format is 320kbps (kbit/s). MP3 Digital audio takes less amount of space (up to 90% reduction in size) and the quality is not as good as the original one. |
| CD Quality | FLAC | 16bit 44.1kHz | FLAC is an audio coding format which uses lossless compression. Digital audio in FLAC format has a smaller size and retains the same quality of the original Compact Disc (CD). |