Prog Rock legends YES announced today their new album “Fly From Here” — their first album in ten years — with 2-time Grammy Award winning producer, Trevor Horn.

Horn and YES bassist Chris Squire re-discovered the track “Fly From Here” which has never been recorded as a studio track. “Chris and I were talking one evening about a song ‘Fly From Here’ that we never recorded,” explains Trevor Horn. “I said I was prepared to spend two weeks with ‘YES’ recording that song. When I arrived in America to record it, I was taken prisoner by the band and only allowed my freedom again in return for producing the whole album. It was an offer I couldn’t refuse!!!”

“Fly From Here” encompasses YES’ signature brand of mysticism and grand-scale compositions. Maintaining a complex, symphonic sound that features the beautiful harmonies and strong heavy riffs they are known for. “The new album represents the best of YES from the 70s and the 80′s with a current twist,” states Squire.

Geoff Downes has also reunited with YES to record “Fly From Here,” bringing YES’ classic symphonic sound with his strong style of playing. Downes had originally joined YES and recorded the album Drama in 1980. YES features a lineup of guitarist Steve Howe, bassist Chris Squire, drummer Alan White, and Geoff Downes on keyboards with lead singer Benoit David.

“Fly From Here” will be released on Frontiers Records July 2011. More details about the album, its packaging and YES’ live plans for the rest of the year will become available shortly.

For additional information please visit www.yesworld.com.

By Will Romano

Once they reconvened, Transatlantic recorded 2009’s Billboard-charting “The Whirlwind” and, in 2010, released a massive triple-disc live collection, an accompanying 2-DVD set, and a 5-disc deluxe edition, titled “Whirld Tour 2010: Live at Shepherd’s Bush Empire, London,” boasting such epic compositions as “All of the Above,” “Duel with the Devil,” “Stranger in Your Soul” and the 80-minute (you read that correctly) title track of “The Whirlwind.”

Morse couldn’t have chosen a more appropriate — and prophetic — title for the band’s reunion disc: There were moments when it appeared as though the entire Transatlantic touring caravan would derail. “Pete [Trewavas] had created this audio collage of natural disasters and newscasts [for the record],” says Morse. “It was very fitting, because at the time we were doing the tour, there was this volcanic ash cloud [emanating from Eyjafjallajökull Volcano in Iceland] that was precluding all flights into Europe. We didn’t even know if we were going to be doing the tour.”

“Our lighting guy and our merchandiser missed the U.S. leg of the tour because of the canceled flights,” says Collin Leijenaar, Transatlantic tour manager. “I was constantly following the news, adjusting tickets and travel plans. For me it was a whirlwind.”

Turbulence continued to wreak havoc even after the tour. Stunning the prog community, Portnoy announced he was leaving Dream Theater, crowning the entire topsy-turvy cycle.

“Symbolically, the whirlwind captures the turbulence that can happen in our lives and, also, in the world,” says Morse.

Read the an interview with Neal Morse on his solo project with Mike Portnoy and Randy George by clicking here

Neal Morse (middle) with recording partners Randy George (left) and Mike Portnoy (right).

By Will Romano

The Good Book teaches us that out of the whirlwind, God speaks. For Neal Morse, former frontman for the celebrated modern prog rock band Spock’s Beard, this proverb is not mere Biblical allegory: it’s ancient wisdom that’s shaped his life.

Arguably, Morse’s professional career has been built upon a series of tumultuous experiences from which his faith has delivered him. Morse has survived alcoholism, the doldrums of the music business and the rock and roll party lifestyle, in large part, through his belief in a higher power.

There was a time, however, when some fans, in confusion and anger, questioned the wisdom of Morse’s belief in God’s plan. After all, in the early 2000s, The Man Upstairs had plucked their favorite keyboardist/guitarist/vocalist/songwriter from two of the leading prog bands on the scene today (Spock’s Beard and supergroup Transatlantic) when their popularity was growing exponentially.

Neal Morse also trusts in the spritiual power of his live shows.

Exiting Spock’s and Transatlantic was not an easy decision for Morse, who prayed for months on the matter. Morse had no idea if fans – and his record label – would even remain loyal and supportive in his new musical endeavors. Ultimately fans would flock to hear Morse’s musical sermons, but it was a painful episode in the songwriter’s life, and one he told in great detail with his popular 2003 double album “Testimony “— the songwriter’s first solo record and major spiritual declaration since leaving Spock’s.

“Testimony” was such a popular effort as well as a glorious celebration of spiritual awakening and a mission from God that it’s little wonder that Morse is, at press time, finishing its follow-up, titled “Testimony II.” “There was a lot that was left out of the first Testimony record,” admits Morse from his home in Nashville, Tenn. “For example, my daughter [Jayda] was born with a large hole in her heart. She had a miraculous healing from the Lord. I didn’t say anything about that in the first Testimony album. I just didn’t think the time was right — until now.”

“Testimony II” was a work in progress when Morse spoke with Goldmine (former Dream Theater drummer/leader Mike Portnoy had just finished recording drum tracks and Randy George, of Ajalon, was laying down the bass as this interview was being conducted). However, Morse did divulge some tentative song titles, which include: “The Truth Will Set You Free,” “Chance of a Lifetime,” “Mercy Street” and the closing section, “The Crossing,” among others.

Each song explores a different aspect of how God dealt with Morse during his gradual spiritual transformation. “One of the things that happened to me in 1998 was, I was playing keyboard in the Eric Burdon Band,” says Morse. “It was the first consistent money I made, but I was on the road a lot. Well, for me, it was a lot. This all happened when my kids were little. After about a year and a half, I thought I needed a change. Finally, I got on my knees at the Days Inn in Boston and prayed. You know, ‘Jesus, if you’re real …’ putting him to the test … ‘if you’re real, would you get me off the road?’”

\It seemed impossible at the time: Morse and his wife, Cherie, had just bought their first house and had mortgage payments to make. “We had really just stepped out financially,” says Morse. “But they say that if you step out in faith, you can do miracles. Maybe a week later I received a fax out of the blue from Metal Blade Records making an offer on the Spock’s Beard catalog. I took that as a sign that I could quit the Eric Burdon Band. I talk about things like that on the record — different ways the Lord has helped me and drew me closer to himself.”

Though snippets of song ideas had been swirling around Morse’s head for months, the writing process for “Testimony II” was completed at a cyclonic pace, partly to meet his intended release date of May 15, 2011. “I felt the hand of God in it,” says Morse. “When I started to really look at the ideas and put them together … [it was] about November, 5 [2010]. I had the whole thing written … pretty much by December 1. Then I had to start demo-ing it so that Mike [Portnoy] and Randy [George] could have something to listen to, which they didn’t get until around December 12 or 13 … Then I knew I’d better get the foundation laid. I e-mailed Mike and he said, ‘I can come next week and record …’ It became this kind of crazy thing.”

Though “Testimony” is now considered one of Morse’s best solo records, at the time, it was a risky commercial venture. Morse had just left Spock’s Beard, the celebrated modern prog band he formed with his brother Alan and versatile drummer/vocalist (and current Spock’s Beard frontman) Nick D’Virgilio in the mid 1990s, after the release of the successful “Snow,” a conceptual double album that’s part Jesus Christ Superstar, part Joseph Campbell-styled hero monomyth.

“The real reason I left was because I felt … God was calling me out of it,” Morse said in 2008. “It was kind of like God spoke to me in very few words, like, ‘It’s time’ and ‘You know.’ I prayed about it for nine months … I feel like He let me be with the band and let us have our dream together for a while, and then it was time for me to move on.”

You can hear Morse working through his mental anguish on the 2005 CD, “God Won’t Give Up,” which was originally written and demo-ed during the “Snow” era. “While I was grieving and going through this decision process, I remembered when Jesus was in the Garden of Gethsemane … and [The Bible] says that he sweat drops of blood,” Morse said. “I don’t mean to be overly dramatic, but I think of that time as being my Gethsemane.”

Some fans wondered if Morse would leave the prog genre altogether. Since “Testimony,” Morse has released 2004’s “One” (which takes a cue from the Biblical parable of the prodigal son), 2005’s “?” (a concept record based on the Biblical Tabernacle, the mobile dwelling place of God worshipped by the wandering Jews after their exodus from Egypt), “Testimony Live” DVD (2004), “Sola Scriptura” (on the life of Martin Luther and his challenge to Christian dogma), “Question: Live” (both from 2007), 2008’s “Lifeline” (created in the mold of Spock’s Beard’s 2000 record, “V”) and the 2-DVD concert/documentary “Sola Scriptura And Beyond,” which walk the line between secular and spiritual progressive rock.

Yes, Morse’s lyrics do cross into evangelizing sometimes, and his Inner Circle Internet music club is thriving (i.e. a monthly fee gains you access to exclusive spiritually oriented releases, such as 2010’s “Mighty to Save” and the originals-heavy 2009 CD, “The River: Worship Session Volume 4”). But the composer’s solo material is as dense and aggressive as ever and certainly more personal than it ever was with Spock’s and Transatlantic.

“Being autobiographical is [a rarity] in the prog world,” Morse says. “I try to make [the lyrics] poetic but also pointed enough so that people know what I’m talking about. I’m walking between those places.”

“Experience gives you so much more depth to the emotion,” says Collin Leijenaar, Morse’s touring drummer, who has the unenviable duty of duplicating Portnoy’s studio performances. “There has to be life in the music, otherwise it’s useless, just math.”

“His energy permeates,” says guitarist Guy Manning (The Tangent, Manning). “Neal is one of the most talented musicians who makes it all sound completely natural, but is very much right there, right in the moment. Neal’s gift is the infused joy you hear in his singing or in his playing.”

Ironically, prog rock, with its bold, sweeping musical statements, is the best vehicle for Morse’s ever-evolving autobiographical musical testimony. What some listeners like about prog is the feeling of romanticism that it stirs in us and the power it has to help us achieve a higher state of consciousness. Morse’s music — and, indeed, the newfangled subgenre Christian Progressive Rock (CPR) — does something similar, bringing to the surface certain ineffable longings, what C.S. Lewis called this “the inconsolable secret,” even as it espouses optimistic Christian themes.

“It’s what J.R.R. Tolkien referred to as the Eucatastrophe,” says Glass Hammer’s co-founder/bassist/vocalist/keyboardist, Steve Babb, who explains that Hammer’s records such as “The Inconsolable Secret” (2005), 2007’s “Culture of Ascent” and 2010’s “If” are based on similar Christian redemption motifs. “Everything goes dark, and then, suddenly, there’s a flicker of light, and you have the ‘joyful turn.’”

Suddenly, I’m reminded of the cover image of Neal Morse’s 2008 solo recording, “Lifeline.” A man, who looks suspiciously like Morse, is drowning in deep waters as a rope, hanging down from the sky, dangles in front of him. “Yeah, that’s God throwing a lifeline,” says Morse. “That’s the way my life has gone. I never get tired of talking about all the good things God has done.”

The New Testament tells us that from an abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. Judging by the passion and depth of Morse’s solo output, he’s only begun to testify to the truth.

Read about how Transatlantic’s ‘Whirlwind’ was an appropriate title by clicking here

By Jeb Wright

Carl Palmer is a drummer’s drummer. He has spent decades honing and perfecting his craft. He remains intrigued and challenged by drumming even today. He remains teachable, and he has a longing to learn more. He is as much the student as he is the master — never satisfied with resting on his laurels even though he could do that and still leave audiences with their jaws agape.

He has achieved multi-platinum success with two bands: Emerson, Lake & Palmer and Asia. He has received awards of excellence and has a gaggle of amateur and professional drummers placing him on a pedestal, or at least a drum stool, in homage to his talents.

Palmer is currently on a global tour trek in support of his third in a series of live albums recorded as a guitar/bass/drums three-piece band. The album, simply titled “Working Live: Volume III,” takes ELP-like progressive rock and bashes you over the head with electric guitars where the keyboards and vocals once were. The Carl Palmer Band is not simply remaking ELP classics, however. The band is more interested in taking classical music and infusing it with what Palmer calls “hard-core prog.” The result is a unique blend of music that satisfies the snobbiest of classical critics as well as a guy who is more into heavy-metal guitar soloing.

In this interview, we discuss how technology had to catch up to Carl’s vision, and how playing with younger virtuosos helps keeps an older virtuoso on his toes. Palmer is a drummer, a visionary, a bandleader, a rock icon and man consumed with musical perfection and technical elegance.

You have accomplished excellence again with your “Working Live: Volume III” release. We all know that the drumming will be great, as it is a Carl Palmer album. I think people are really blown away by the guitar player in your band named Paul Bielatowicz. He has to play these difficult keyboard parts on guitar.
A: I had to sit down with a specialist who specializes in transcribing keyboards to guitar. It was really quite a long procedure. I have to tell you that if you had asked me that question 10 or 20 years ago, then we would have all said it would be impossible for a guitar player to accomplish what he is doing. The advancements in technique have come a long way. There are quite a few guitar players who can play that type of music. I am very fortunate that it has come along at a time when I wanted to do what I am doing.

Q: When did the idea first hit you to take ELP music and take it down to a guitar, bass and drum three-piece set up?
A: I wanted to play classical adaptations of music but I didn’t want to be compared to Emerson, Lake & Palmer. I didn’t want the keyboard or the vocal elements of the music, either. People in Europe have always liked this kind of music. I have found a niche market, and I realize that it is not a supermarket or even a delicatessen approach. It is very intellectual. You either like it or you don’t, but it has a harder edge to it. Playing classical adaptations on guitar put a new spin on it, and I am very pleased with it.

Q: I think this setup is one of the most unique projects you have been involved with, and that includes ELP and Asia.
A: It is very different, and it is being received very well considering this is only the second tour of America. In Italy, for example, this is an art form that they are all about. They either are very romantic or they are very hard-core prog; they think they invented it. We are scoring really big there. In America, it is very different than what I have been used to. It is going to take some time, but I am enjoying doing it. I will take the time because I am enjoying it so much and I will get my point across.

Q: One of the most impressive things is that you don’t realize that you are listening to a live album. When you do think that it is a live album, you are blown away with what is going on. I would imagine there are not a lot of overdubs on this thing.
A: The only time we overdubbed or corrected anything on this album was on “Pictures At An Exhibition,” as it is such a long song. There were certain places where crowd noises or other noises got in the way of the guitar, so we fixed that. The band is well rehearsed, as that is a policy of mine. As far as I am concerned, this is a true measure of what we are all about.

Q: In your other bands, you have been an equal member. This is all under your name. How is it different?
A: Obviously, whatever I say goes, and if people don’t like it then they can do one of two things: They can leave, or they can stay. I make all the decisions of where we play. I am older than the rest of the band, so I have more experience. Playing this type of music is a great opportunity for these young musicians, as there are very few outlets out there that allow this. If you have got instrumentalists, then this is the ideal opportunity for them. They might as well enjoy my experience and enjoy the music they are playing. I have to admit that is pretty much how I run it. I try to get other people’s opinions, and I try to understand what they think about their part. You have got to realize that my bass player is only 25 and my guitar player is only 30. I understand that, and it works out great for me.

Q: “Volume III” proves you are doing something correct. I think this album needs to be listened to from start to finish. What makes a live performance go from good to great?
A: That is kind of you to say; thank you. You have to remember that the equipment you record on today is far advanced, and therefore you can obtain live recordings, digitally, that are equal to a recording in a studio. What you are really talking about are great bands having a great night. The performance is always going to be better when it is played in front of an audience. I think that when you have great performances and you are well rehearsed, then you should be able to reproduce an album live on stage every night. For me, it is a magical process recording these albums. The technology is there today, and the technique the musicians have is there, and that was not always the case. It is all there now, and it has come to the forefront and allows you to make a great live album. Assuming everyone plays great and there is no feedback, or nothing breaks down, then you will make a good, if not a great, album.

Q: Will this project continue now that you have fulfilled your contract obligations?
A: I would like to play some original material as we move forward. I think the classical approach will always stay with this band, and I even have some ideas of some classical pieces I would like to record. There was a contract to make three live albums that we have fulfilled, but we really enjoy recording live, so we may continue recording live.

Q: Have you gotten any feedback from Keith Emerson or Greg Lake?
A: They have both been along to see concerts, though not on this tour; they have seen my band. It is very different for them, as there are no keyboards or vocals. They honestly don’t know what to say, although I know they enjoy it. I like nostalgia, and I played with Keith and Greg last July, and it was great, but I am very into playing with younger players who are at the top of their game, and that is what this band is all about.

Q: Are you comfortable with the way people idolize you?
A: I personally don’t need to be told how great I am. I also don’t need to be told if I played well. I know if I played well, and I know if I played badly. I think when someone compliments you on doing this or that, then that is nice. For me, the minute it is said, however, it goes in one ear and out the other, as I am only interested in what I think. It is very nice when someone says that I have influenced them, because I know how I feel about the people that have influenced me. I do like that. It is not my main priority to be idolized. As long as I know that I have done my best, then I am OK. If people want to idolize me after that, then that is OK with me, but it is not a priority.

Q: I hear you saying it is more about the art form and the craft.
A: Exactly. What I am doing with my band is just keeping alive what I did with ELP. I don’t want to just duplicate what I did with ELP. I actually only play three songs that were written by ELP. The rest of the music was recorded by ELP but has been done by dozens of other orchestras. I do keep some of that older stuff alive, and I am really proud of it. It’s more about being a classically based prog rock band. Prog is a word used to describe innovation, and that is what I am trying to do today. I don’t need to have vocals anymore, as there are plenty of bands with vocals today. This is an intellectual band that really goes balls to the wall. There is nothing romantic about it at all. There is a lot of feeling in the music, but it is also very technical.

• Get the new John Lennon book: “John Lennon: Life is What Happens, Music, Memories & Memorabilia”
• Buy the brand new edition of “Goldmine Standard Catalog of American Records 1948-1991, 7th Edition”