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As guitarist for progressive rock giants Spock's Beard, Alan Morse has established himself as one of the genre's most creative players. With material in the Spock's camp at a surplus, Morse found the time to create his first solo album, Four O' Clock & Hysteria.
An instrumental tour-de-force, Morse's exceptional composition and playing abilities are thrust to the forefront, but as the man will admit, coming up with the album wasn't as easy as it seemed.
"The biggest challenge for me in creating this album was disciplining myself to do the planning and organizing," begins Morse. "I much prefer doing the creating and playing."
Sharing the producer's chair with his brother Neal, Morse's decision to forego vocals was driven by a desire to focus on what he does best -- play guitar.
"The guitars are what interest me the most," admits Morse. "Even on my favorite records I'm just waiting to get through the vocals to get to the good part - the raging guitar solo! I didn't want to waste my energy on some pesky vocals."
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"Some of the pieces I wrote myself, usually by laying down some loops and jamming along until I got something I liked," continues Morse "Some I wrote with Neal, who was the only co-writer on it. I went out to his house for a week, and we just tossed ideas back and forth until we had a few tunes we liked."
Of the album's 12 tracks, the driving opener "Cold Fusion" and catchy "Return To Whatever" are initial highlights, but as Morse acknowledges, the album has its share of ear candy.
"One tune, 'Home' I woke up with in my head early one morning while I was out at Neal's doing some writing. So I went out into the studio and laid down the guitar line before anyone else got up. It's a very simple and heartfelt piece. I wasn't sure it would fit on the CD, but Neal liked it too, so I put it on. Now it's one of my favorite cuts."
The benefits of doing a solo album for Morse are tenfold, as the man was able to spread his creative wings and create an album that will no doubt catch the ears of the devoted Spock's Beard fanbase and many others who may never have heard of the band. Clearly pleased with his first solo album, Morse has gained a fresh perspective on the band he formed with his brother over ten years ago.
"Spock's Beard stuff is usually very highly structured, with little room for improvisation. On this record, it was nice to stretch out and not have to compromise. I got to do it exactly the way I wanted it, didn't have to fight for bandwidth with 82 tracks of Mellotron and B3. Don't get me wrong - I love that stuff! But it was refreshing to be able to just do my thing and not worry about stepping on someone else's toes."
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Shipping within the U.S. & Canada
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