I hate to have to say it, but I was a little disappointed with this album. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a great disc, but after the last Beard album I was expecting a masterpiece. Some of this stuff just feels too mainstream and not up to that kind of masterpiece quality. Of course, this is a transition album with a new drummer and new lead singer. So, that’s kind of to be expected. I should say, though, Ted Leonard’s vocals are great. I would go so far as to say that he’s the best singer the band has ever had. He really rocks. Also, there are some songs that stand up to the level I would expect. This is a double CD version here, and for my money if a couple of the songs from disc two had been traded with songs on the bonus disc and then the whole dropped to one set, it would have been a more consistently strong album. Of course, it’s the Beard, so it’s still pretty darned great, either way. It’s just not as amazing as I expected it to be.

This review is available in book format (hardcover and paperback) in Music Street Journal: 2013  Volume 4 at lulu.com/strangesound.

This powers out from a piano introduction. There are some pounding, rocking moments that sound a lot like Kansas to my ears. It’s a very dynamic song that has a lot of different movements and flavors. It just seems a little sterile to me. That said, the vocal performance is great and some of the guitar lines really scream. The instrumental section around the five minute mark is pretty magical.

This song is good, but just not extremely special. There are a few moments that are magical, but otherwise it doesn’t feel like something different from a hundred other bands. Mind you, it’s still a great tune. It’s just that Spock’s Beard are capable of incredible and something more unique. I like it. I just think as a Beard song it really pales.

Here’s a hard rocking riff driven tune. The keyboards are quite cool. This is almost like Led Zeppelin meets Spock’s Beard. The vocal hook is quite catchy. There is an awesome wall of vocal harmonies section later in the piece, too. The cut continues by revisiting those various sections. This one is really magical and in a lot of ways seems the most effective merging of classic Spock’s Beard sounds with modern elements.

The extended introduction on this tune is very Yes-like. Both the bass line and the keyboard sound really drive that home. The song proper is classic Spock’s Beard. That Yesish movement returns at times as punctuation/variation. The instrumental segment mid-track is very much set up in a Yes-like manner and the bass guitar really gets a chance to shine on it. That gives way to a mellow section that works through. As they come out of the vocal movement of that the guitar really brings some hints of David Gilmour and the whole thing feels a bit like Pink Floyd. It rises up with a killer triumphant jam that’s awe-inspiring. As it builds outward it again touches on Yes-like territory, but it’s trademark Beard. This song is the best number on the album. It’s worth having for this tune alone. There’s a triumphant and powerful melodic resolution later in the piece.         

Here’s a remix of the earlier track. I definitely prefer the original version, but this is not bad. It just doesn’t have the same level of magic.