The Dreamer’s Ball
Neal Morse has returned to the Bible to inspire his latest concept album, The Dreamer – Joseph: Part One. The singermusician has harnessed the tale of big dreams and redemption woven with sibling rivalry and betrayal and transformed it into a progressive rock epic. Morse tells Prog all about it and also details his second collaborative album with Nick D’Virgilio and Ross Jennings.
Words: Grant Moon
His coat might not have as many colours, but Neal Morse has done justice to the Biblical story of Joseph.
Images: Chad Hoerner
“The thing is, the mainstream Christian person in America has no interest in anything that sounds like progressive rock at all. But on the whole this is a prog album, for prog fans.”
Neal Morse is a little hoarse. We catch him the day before August’s Morsefest, his annual convention at his local church in White House, Tennessee; there’ll be another at the Netherlands’ fabled Boerderij club the following weekend. He and his band – long-time friend and drummer Mike Portnoy, bassist Randy George, guitarist Eric Gillette and keyboardist Bill Hubauer – have been rehearsing hard alongside their string and horn sections.
“Morsefest has taken on a life of its own,” he tells Prog, all rock star-gravelly and looking two-thirds of his 63 years. “It’s this special event for a lot of people and, to use a Christian term, it’s a great ‘fellowship’, great camaraderie. Everyone’s sharing in the joy of this music they love. I’m blessed to be a part of it, really.”