The Neal Morse Band issue Long Day/Overture lyric video

The Neal Morse Band
The Neal Morse Band

The Neal Morse Band have released a lyric video of Long Day/Overture with Prog.

The tracks are taken from their upcoming concept album The Similitude Of A Dream, which is set to launch on November 11 via Metal Blade Records.

Speaking about the follow-up to 2014’s The Grand Experiment, Morse says: “The Similitude Of A Dream is loosely and sometimes directly based on the book Pilgrim’s Progress by John Bunyan which was originally published in 1678.

“The book chronicles the spiritual journey of a man from the City Of Destruction to a place of Deliverance. Someone had suggested to me that I do a concept album based on this book – but I forgot about it. Then when I began writing new songs last December, the suggestion came to my mind.

“I had never read the book, so I searched the story outline and began to write some little song bits and instrumentals based on what I had read. Those bits combined with the ideas that the other guys brought to the table then miraculously exploded into this double concept album.”

He continues: “Funny thing is, this album only really covers about the first 75 or 80 pages. Maybe we should’ve made a five disc collection! Well, we’ll save that for later.”

Morse is joined in the lineup by bassist Randy George, keyboardist Bill Hubauer, guitarist Eric Gillette and drummer Mike Portnoy – who thinks the work is “the album of my career.”

Portnoy adds: “Neal and I have now made 18 studio albums together, and I consider The Similitude Of A Dream the absolute creative pinnacle of our collaborations together.

“I’ve always had a soft spot for double concept albums such as Pink Floyd’s The Wall and The Who’s Tommy, and I can bravely say that I think we’ve created an album here that can sit side-by-side with those masterpieces.

“Bold words, I know, but after a career of almost 50 albums, I honestly consider this to be one of the defining works of my career.”

The Similitude Of A Dream will be available on 2CD, a special edition featuring both CDs along with The Making Of A Dream DVD, and on triple vinyl.

The Neal Morse Band will head out on tour in January across North America, before returning to Europe for a run of shows throughout March and April.

The Similitude Of A Dream cover art

The Similitude Of A Dream cover art

The Neal Morse Band The Similitude Of A Dream tracklist

Disc1

  1. Long Day
  2. Overture
  3. The Dream
  4. City Of Destruction
  5. We Have Got To Go
  6. Makes No Sense
  7. Draw The Line
  8. The Slough
  9. Back To The City
  10. The Ways Of A Fool
  11. So Far Gone
  12. Breath Of Angels

Disc2

  1. Slave To Your Mind
  2. Shortcut to Salvation
  3. The Man In The Iron Cage
  4. The Road Called Home
  5. Sloth
  6. Freedom Song
  7. I’m Running
  8. The Mask
  9. Confrontation
  10. The Battle
  11. Broken Sky / Long Day (Reprise)

The Neal Morse Band 2017 tour dates

Jan 15: Nashville TBA, TN
Jan 17: Seattle Triple Door, WA
Jan 18: San Francisco Regency Ballroom, CA
Jan 21: Whittier Center Theater, CA
Jan 22: Phoenix Nesbitt-Elliott Playhouse Theater, AZ
Jan 24: Denver Oriental Theater, CO
Jan 25: Dallas Curtain Club, TX
Jan 27: St Charles Arcada Theater, IL
Jan 28: Cleveland, OH – Beachland Ballroom
Jan 29: Toronto Mod Room, ON
Jan 31: Montreal Club Soda, QC
Feb 01: Quebec City Salle Jean Paul Tardif, QC
Feb 02: New York Highline Ballroom, NY
Feb 03: Washington State Theater, DC
Feb 07-11: Cruise To the Edge, FL
Mar 22: Barcelona Apolo, Spain
Mar 23: Milan TBA, Italy
Mar 24: Pratteln Z7, Switzerland
Mar 25: Aschaffenburg Colo-Saal, Germany
Mar 26: Berlin Lido, Germany
Mar 28: Warsaw Progresja Music Zone, Poland
Mar 29: Hamburg Markthalle, Germany
Mar 30: Verviers Spirit of 66, Belgium
Mar 31: Cologne Stollwerck, Germany
Apr 01: Malmo KB, Sweden
Apr 02: Tilburg 013, Netherlands
Apr 04: Luxembourg Rockhal, Luxembourg
Apr 05: Paris Divan Du Monde, France
Apr 06: Birmingham O2 Academy 2, UK
Apr 07: Glasgow O2 ABC, UK
Apr 08: Manchester O2 Ritz, UK
Apr 09: London O2 Islington Academy, UK
Apr 12 Tel Aviv Havana Club, Israel
May 06: Gettysburg RosFest, PA

The Neal Morse Band - Alive Again DVD review

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