Clang & Clatter

OK, so sometimes Neal Morse’s videos leave a little to be desired. But who cares when the music is so good?

Supergroup Flying Colors sat down with AOL’s Noisecreep for an exclusive interview backstage prior to their first ever show together on Tuesday, September 4 at the James Armstrong Theater in Torrance, CA. They discussed the setlist, the fans’ reactions to the album, the writing and recording process, and how it compares to their other work. Read Noisecreep’s short concert review after checking out the video.

And if you haven’t picked up the Flying Colors debut yet, what are you waiting for?!

OK, so apparently every song on Neal Morse’s new album Momentum is going to be as good as “Thoughts Part 5.” And as the video implies, Paul Gilbert does indeed appear for a blistering solo. Nice!

However, I have two questions that need answering. How did I miss this video when it was released back in July? And what exactly am I missing in the 2:13 that was cut from the album version of this song?

Enjoy!

Multi-instrumentalist—and in my humble opinion, musical genius—Neal Morse has released a video, complete with “making of”-style studio footage, for the song “Thoughts Part 5” from his upcoming release Momentum. Appearing in the video are long-time collaborators Randy George on bass and former Dream Theater skin beater Mike Portnoy, who has also worked with Morse in the side projects Transatlantic and Flying Colors. New touring band member Eric Gillette also appears after Morse decided to redo certain vocal sections of the song during the process of mixing the album.

Naturally, “Thoughts Part 5” bears a resemblance stylistically to its predecessors “Thoughts” and “Thoughts (Part II)” from Morse’s former band Spock’s Beard (from the albums Beware of Darkness and V, respectively, just in case you’re interested), actually recalling portions of those songs in the opening section. When asked during a recent interview why the song bears the “Part 5” moniker—seeing as parts 3 and 4 don’t exist—Morse stated, “Just to be weird. We like to be weird.” He further explained that he and Randy George had actually written Part 3 for this album but renamed it when he discovered that Spock’s Beard planned to include a “Thoughts Part 3”—portions of which Neal actually wrote late last year with brother and Beard co-founder Alan Morse—on its upcoming album due this fall.

All I can say after watching this—after I pick my jaw up off the floor—is, “Whoa! Impressive!” If the rest of the album is anything like this, I will buy it immediately when it becomes available.

Enjoy!

Go behind the scenes for the making of “Shoulda Coulda Woulda” with Flying Colors. Watch as Steve Morse presents the main riff to the rest of the band and see how the song develops as they work through the song and as Neal, Casey, and Mike work on vocal harmonies. Other goodies include instructional clips by Steve and Dave, as well as video of the actual take of Mike’s drum solo at the end of the song.

Enjoy!

Put together an ensemble of virtuoso musicians that possesses a resume as long as your arm—and the pedigrees to support it—and give them the impossible task of writing and recording an album in only 9 days, and you could have a jumbled mess on your hands. Instead, new “supergroup” Flying Colors produced a unique, cohesive musical statement that is poppy, contemporary, and accessible while retaining an undeniably progressive nature that must have been one of the stated goals of the project. That’s all well and good, but the true test for me is always the songs, and there’s plenty here to love. I’m only on my third listen, but already I’m prepared to pronounce this set of 11 genre-defying tracks my favorite album of 2012. From the prog-boogie of album opener “Blue Ocean” to the Beatles-infused ELO-meets-Queen “Love Is What I’m Waiting For” to Dave LaRue’s funky bucket-o-beans bass groove on “Forever In A Daze” to the pure, sweet pop-iness of “The Storm” and “Better Than Walking Away” to epic prog-rock closer “Infinite Fire,” Flying Colors has a little bit of everything anyone could ask for.

As any Clang & Clatter follower well knows, I am already intimately familiar with the work of Neal Morse and Mike Portnoy and their respective bands and side-projects, so it should come as no shock that I would at the very least appreciate their contributions to Flying Colors. And I have at least heard of Dixie Dregs, the jazz-fusion southern rock outfit that features Steve Morse and LaRue (as well drummer Rod Morgenstein whose work in The Jelly Jam I have also written about). So going into this album, singer/songwriter/guitarist/keyboardist and frontman Casey McPherson was the one unknown element for me. Any reservations I may have had were immediately dispelled on my first listen. McPherson’s voice is a great fit for the music with a texture and character that I really like, and he often slips into a falsetto that reminds me quite a bit of a less whiny, more sincere version of Coldplay’s Chris Martin (and if you’re unsure, I think that’s a good thing). Here’s what Steve Morse had to say about his bandmate:

Casey was a glorious find, because he could make anything sound fantastic, and was also multitalented like the others.

As always, Portnoy’s drumming is spectacular—and he turns in a darn good vocal performance on “Fool in My Heart”—and I love just about anything Neal Morse touches. However, the biggest surprise Flying Colors had in store for me was Steve Morse. I was completely unprepared for how much I would love his guitar playing. He was named Guitar Player’s Best All Around Guitarist for 5 consecutive years before being removed from eligibility, so you would think that a guitar and music fanatic like me would already be a fan, but for some reason Morse has always been just beyond the scope of my radar. I am barely familiar with is work in the late-80’s incarnation of Kansas, and I was aware that he has held down the guitar spot in Deep Purple for nearly two decades (as long or longer than his predecessor Ritchie Blackmore, by the way). Steve Morse’s playing on this album is stellar, and he tackles nearly every style imaginable on this one disc. But it’s his soaring, expressive soloing that really won me over, reminding me at times of Ty Tabor. That’s big praise coming from me. It seems I now have a new musician with a huge back catalog to check out.

As with any supergroup, there is the possibility for things to go awry, but Flying Colors proves the adage “greater than the sum of its parts,” and it is definitely a must-listen for any fan of the members’ other work. The bio on the Flying Colors site has this to say about the band’s supergroup status:

The world didn’t need another supergroup.

Maybe not, but I’m sure glad they decided to put Flying Colors together anyway.

Here’s a behind-the-scenes sneak peek at the Flying Colors project I posted about yesterday. Seeing the the cast of characters involved talking about their experiences has really piqued my interest. The music bed for the video doesn’t hurt either—it reveals just enough to make me want to hear more.

Enjoy!

After months of speculation, tweeting, and hints about a collaboration between former Dream Theater drummer Mike Portnoy and prog-rock gun-for-hire guitarist Steve Morse, Portnoy has finally unveiled the details of the project. Named Flying Colors, it will include Portnoy and Morse, along with keyboardist and long-time Portnoy collaborator Neal Morse, bassist Dave LaRue, and vocalist/guitarist Casey McPherson. Said Portnoy of the project:

This album has bits and pieces of what you’d expect from each of us. The sum of all its parts led to brand new, unchartered territory for everyone involved.

The self-titled Flying Colors debut will drop on March 27 on the Music Theories Recordings label.