The Similitude of a Dream (original) (raw)

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2016 studio album by The Neal Morse Band

The Similitude of a Dream
Studio album by The Neal Morse Band
Released November 11, 2016[1]
Recorded January–September 2016[2][3]
Genre Progressive rock
Length 106:35
Label Metal BladeRadiant Records
The Neal Morse Band chronology
The Grand Experiment(2015) The Similitude of a Dream(2016) The Great Adventure(2019)
Neal Morse chronology
Alive Again(2016) The Similitude of a Dream(2016) Life & Times(2018)

The Similitude of a Dream is the second studio album by progressive rock supergroup The Neal Morse Band, released on November 11, 2016.[1][4] It is a concept album, loosely based on The Pilgrim's Progress by John Bunyan[5] and follows Christian, who is tormented by spiritual anguish and told he must leave the City of Destruction to find salvation in the Celestial City.[6]

The album was released as a two-CD package, a special edition with a bonus making of DVD, and as a triple vinyl version.[7]

Background and writing

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Morse began writing in December 2015 and started researching The Pilgrim's Progress when he thought he needed some direction and presented his idea to the band one month later.[8] As the band began working on the album, Mike Portnoy was adamant that the album be a single disc whereas Morse felt there was much more to the story that needed to be explored. Morse wrote additional material to complete a second disc and as the band was finishing the album, Mike Portnoy told the band, "we just made the album of our careers.".[9] Portnoy later made these comments public when the album was announced saying, "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, after a career of almost 50 albums, I honestly consider this to be one of the defining works of my career".[10] These comments caused much excitement and anticipation in the prog rock community.[11]

The band released five videos in support of the album release. Long Day/Overture,[7] City of Destruction,[12] So Far Gone,[13] The Ways of the Fool,[14] and The Man in the Iron Cage.[15]

All lyrics are written by Neal Morse; all music is composed by Neal Morse, Mike Portnoy, Randy George, Bill Hubauer and Eric Gillette.

Disc 1

No. Title Length
1. "Long Day" 1:42
2. "Overture" 5:51
3. "The Dream" 2:28
4. "City of Destruction" 5:11
5. "We Have Got to Go" 2:29
6. "Makes No Sense" 4:10
7. "Draw the Line" 4:06
8. "The Slough" 3:03
9. "Back to the City" 4:19
10. "The Ways of a Fool" 6:48
11. "So Far Gone" 5:21
12. "Breath of Angels" 6:32
Total length: 51:59

Disc 2

No. Title Length
1. "Slave to Your Mind" 6:27
2. "Shortcut to Salvation" 4:36
3. "The Man in the Iron Cage" 5:16
4. "The Road Called Home" 3:24
5. "Sloth" 5:48
6. "Freedom Song" 3:59
7. "I'm Running" 3:44
8. "The Mask" 4:28
9. "Confrontation" 3:59
10. "The Battle" 2:57
11. "Broken Sky / Long Day (Reprise)" 9:58
Total length: 54:36

The Neal Morse Band

Special guests

Technical personnel

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source Rating
Stereoboard.com StarStarStarStarHalf star[16]
Prog Radio StarStarStarStarStar[17]

The Similitude of a Dream was received with high praise, being honored as "Album of the Year" (2016) by several online music magazines, including Prog Radio,[18] The Prog Report,[19] The Fire Note,[20] and Rock at Night.[21]

The Prog Report said, "‘The Similitude of a Dream’ does the impossible and exceeds all expectations. It is absolutely a jaw-dropping release that will no doubt rank alongside the best albums by Neal Morse and Mike Portnoy, if not above them."[22] Two years later, in 2018, The Prog Report ranked Similitude of a Dream as the all time best album in the Neal Morse discography.[23]

Sonic Perspectives added, "'Epic' doesn’t begin to describe what these five musicians have managed to pull off here. It is a fantastic progressive rock opus in the best tradition of the finest prog of the 70s and is an album that I find tremendously satisfying, both spiritually and musically. It has everything any prog fan can ask for and then some, it is really the prog fan’s wet dream."[11]

  1. ^ a b Munro, Scott (September 9, 2016). "The Neal Morse Band issue Long Day/Overture lyric video". Prog. Retrieved October 25, 2016.
  2. ^ "Radiant Records – Timeline". Facebook. January 13, 2016. Retrieved October 25, 2016.
  3. ^ "Radiant Records – Timeline". Facebook. September 13, 2016. Retrieved October 25, 2016.
  4. ^ "THE NEAL MORSE BAND To Release 'The Similitude Of A Dream' In November". Blabbermouth. September 10, 2016. Retrieved October 25, 2016.
  5. ^ Karadimitris, Chris (October 24, 2016). "The Neal Morse Band (Neal Morse)". Noisefull. Archived from the original on March 15, 2017. Retrieved October 25, 2016.
  6. ^ "The Similitude of a Dream (Album Review)". October 17, 2016. Retrieved April 8, 2022.
  7. ^ a b "Neal Morse Band premiere lyric video for "Long Day/Overture"". September 9, 2016. Retrieved April 8, 2022.
  8. ^ "Interview: The Neal Morse Band — Behind the Scenes of 'The Similitude of a Dream'". February 6, 2017. Retrieved April 8, 2022.
  9. ^ "Neal Morse Band on the "greatest" album of their career". November 3, 2016. Retrieved April 8, 2022.
  10. ^ "Mike Portnoy Announcement". Facebook. Retrieved April 8, 2022.
  11. ^ a b "The Neal Morse Band – The Similitude of a Dream (Album Review)". October 31, 2016. Retrieved April 8, 2022.
  12. ^ "Neal Morse Band release "City of Destruction" video". October 11, 2016. Retrieved April 8, 2022.
  13. ^ "Neal Morse Band Premiere So Far Gone". October 28, 2016. Retrieved April 8, 2022.
  14. ^ "Neal Morse Band premiere new track "The Ways of the Fool"". November 4, 2016. Retrieved April 8, 2022.
  15. ^ "Neal Morse Band Rock Out With The Man In The Iron Cage". November 11, 2016. Retrieved April 8, 2022.
  16. ^ Ramsay, Simon (November 24, 2016). "The Neal Morse Band – 'The Similitude Of A Dream' (Album Review)". www.stereoboard.com. Retrieved December 1, 2016.
  17. ^ Yak, The Prog (November 24, 2016). "The Neal Morse Band – 'The Similitude Of A Dream' (Album Review)". www.progradio.com. Retrieved December 1, 2016.
  18. ^ Album of the Year 2016
  19. ^ Best Prog Albums of 2016
  20. ^ Prog 2016 – The Year In Review
  21. ^ Progressive Rock Extravaganza: A look at my favorite albums of the year 2016
  22. ^ "Neal Morse Band – The Similitude of a Dream (Album Review)". October 17, 2016. Retrieved April 8, 2022.
  23. ^ "Prog Report Ranking – Neal Morse Albums". February 27, 2018. Retrieved April 8, 2022.
  24. ^ "Ultratop.be – The Neal Morse Band – The Similitude of a Dream" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved November 19, 2016.
  25. ^ "Ultratop.be – The Neal Morse Band – The Similitude of a Dream" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved November 19, 2016.
  26. ^ "Dutchcharts.nl – The Neal Morse Band – The Similitude of a Dream" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved November 19, 2016.
  27. ^ "Lescharts.com – The Neal Morse Band – The Similitude of a Dream". Hung Medien. Retrieved November 22, 2016.
  28. ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – The Neal Morse Band – The Similitude of a Dream" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved November 19, 2016.
  29. ^ "Swisscharts.com – The Neal Morse Band – The Similitude of a Dream". Hung Medien. Retrieved November 23, 2016.