Search - Neal Morse, Mike Portnoy, Randy George :: Cover to Cover

A Great Album for Driving With the Windows Down

Guy Dayen | Milwaukee, Wisconsin United States | 03/10/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I wasn't familiar with these musicians, but I knew all of these songs, so I took a chance. I was happy I did - the artists do a great job at covering these (mostly) very-well known songs. Their versions of "Pleasant Valley Sunday", "Maybe I'm Amazed" and "Stronger Every Day" are terrific. The other songs are all really good. This is the perfect album to put on in the car when you go out driving along on a sunny Saturday afternoon with the windows down. Get it !!!"

A great album....and I usually hate covers!

Sakos | United States | 02/06/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I usually hate cover albums but this one is great. I'm a huge fan of Mike Portnoy's work with Dream Theater, Transatlantic, and Neal's solo albums, and a huge fan of Neal's work with Spock's Beard, solo, and Transatlantic, which is the only reason I bothered with this cover disc. But man, was I surprised. This version of Maybe I'm Amazed is nearly as good as Paul's original, and the covers of some of my favorite classic tracks, like Badge, What is Life, Find My Way Home, and I'm Free are killer. Even the lesser known covers on here are excellent. The playing is top-notch and Neal's voice...my God, is it just incredible. Even if you don't like covers (like me), this is worth it!"

Only for die hard fans

S. Miller | Wichita, KS USA | 02/23/2007

(3 out of 5 stars)

"Ok, maybe not. I am a die hard fan of these guys, but I only really like a couple of tracks on this CD - Pleasant Valley Sunday and Maybe I'm Amazed (which Neal sings the heck out of). And I've only listened to the CD a few times and it gets put on the shelf.

These are cover tracks that were likely done to "warm up" at the start of the day or "wind down" at the end of the day in the studio sessions.

What acts do covers and who likes covers anyway? Its one thing for a prog band to do a cover of a 20 minute song (like Transatlantic) and add its own flavor and twists to the song. It's another thing when the songs are pop songs. You can't add much unique to a pop song.

My friend and I argue about this all the time. We both play guitar in a band. He refuses to play covers (not even to warm up) and won't even listen to prog cover songs. His logic is that "if you are going to take the time to record a cover, just make a unique prog song that is in the similar style instead". Otherwise it is just a novelty.

I can only recommend this for fanboys."