Lifeline by Neal Morseby

For those of you who are familiar with Morse's work then picking this up is a no brainer. It's progressive and it's Neal, so what could be wrong with that. At first listen, this album has all of the characteristics of Spock's Beard and Transatlantic so can anything be wrong with that? I would say not, but after some more listening time I would tend to agree with the other reviewer that Neal has done this before, but it's no different here than picking up the latest Journey album. Been there, done that also because that's the genre they're in. So, Neal isn't going to stray too far from the formula he knows and has done for years. Not to say that this isn't a killer album and doesn't blow away anything in the mainstream Christian market. It certainly does. The three tracks, Lifeline, Leviathan, and So Many Roads are the prog pieces of the album. While the other tracks are good, they are more to the worship side of things and a lot more mellow. But I think Neal is proclaiming his faith here and that's why they're included. I saw a little more "Jesus" referenced in this album than previous and that's his right. After all, he is a Christian and how else does he proclaim his faith other than sharing it with you in the songs. So, I wouldn't expect anything different going forward and maybe more in your face about Neal's faith. While I love the songs he did with Transatlantic and the evident spirituality in those songs which I think were some of his best, this album still delivers. It just delivers in a different way. I would love to see songs like "We All Need Some Light" or "Bridge Across Forever" in further outings from Neal. Without putting his faith in your face those songs make quite a huge statement, bar none to what he has done since.

Overall, a solid effort here (Between 4 and 5 stars) and this review is only for the 'Lifeline' album, not the bonus disc that is also available.
1. Lifeline
2. Way Home
3. Leviathan
4. God's Love
5. Children of the Chosen
6. So Many Roads: So Many Roads/Star for a Day/The Humdrum Life/All the Wa
7. Fly High