The prolific AC at Bad Dog Promotions has sent me another winner. This time it’s So Many Words by Alan Morse. The newly released (22nd January 2026) solo album from the Spock’s Beard co-founder and guitarist.
Now, I do like Spock’s Beard – well, up until Snow and Alan’s brother Neal left though not so much after that and especially not Feel Euphoria and Octane. Thus I felt I needed to give this album of Alan’s a chance.
He does most of the hard work himself though has co-opted current and former Beard bandmates such as brother Neal, Jimmy Keegan, Nick D’Virgilio, Dave Meros, Ted Leonard and Ryo Okomuto. And in addition Tony Levin and master drummer Simon Phillips.
With the Beard-heavy contingent and contributions you may be thinking So Many Words is by any other name a Spock’s beard album. Not so…..
Yes – there are similarities however this is an Alan Morse project and he does it his own way making an album of enjoyable and accessible mainly melodic prog with plenty of more rockier moments, tasty guitar crunches and solos and accompanying keyboard and synth work to compliment proceedings.
The vocals are nice and clean too delivering the big hooks and melodies.
Everyday is Insane is a stylish opening track. The chugging start before other things come in and it turns in to a driving melodic prog/pop song featuring the keys/synth interplay and big earworm chorus. Here it is:
It’s Never Enough is a bit rockier not least when Alan lets rip on his guitar solo. Neal Morse comes in for I Don’t Want to Travel Time If It Takes Forever as the bothers Morse combine to great effect and continue the rockier side of prog.
And it’s Time, Making Up My Heart and the title track make up trio of quite fiery, chunky rockers with Morse showing his guitar chops to the maximum whilst building in all sorts of other sounds and textures for quite a ride.
The closer of Behind Me ends an excellent, well structured album in a progtastic way.
Now, a quick mention for the track titled Bass Solo. It isn’t a bass solo really. A four minute waste of space which goes nowhere other than being a splodge of random ambient sounds. It has no place here.
Part prog, part rock, part melodic, all together an album with more than enough to please the ears. All expertly written and performed by a top crew as you’d expect with the musicians involved.
And certainly not a well known, classy name trading on that reputation for an easy solo outing. Alan Morse shows he can stand alone and tall on his own merits without sounding like the “day job” with Spock’s Beard.
I think this is a digital only release. I’m not aware of CD/vinyl versions at time of posting.**
** AC tells me there are physical versions, see here:
https://linktr.ee/alanmorse
BandCamp:
https://alanmorse.bandcamp.com/album/so-many-words
Amazon Music:
https://amzn.to/49IYXP7
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