Sola Gratia (album)

Sola Gratia (Latin for "grace alone"[3]) is the eleventh studio album by American progressive rock vocalist, keyboardist and guitarist Neal Morse, released on September 11, 2020.[5] It marks his return to Inside Out Music.[5]

Sola Gratia
Cover art of the album
Studio album by
Neal Morse
ReleasedSeptember 11, 2020
RecordedApril 2020
GenreProgressive rock[1][2][3]
Length65:41[4]
LabelInside Out
Neal Morse chronology
Jesus Christ the Exorcist
(2019)		 Sola Gratia
(2020)

Recorded in April 2020, it is a concept album about Paul the Apostle, focusing on the period from his persecution of early Christians[5] to his conversion.[1][6]

The album was released as a limited CD/DVD Digipak (with Making-of video footage), a Gatefold double LP and CD, a standard CD jewel case and on digital platforms.[5] It was debuted live during his annual MorseFest event in September 2020.[5]

Three singles were released from the album, each of them with an accompanying video: "In the Name of the Lord",[7] "Seemingly Sincere" (dealing with the stoning of Saint Stephen; video directed by Christian Rios of Ray of Light Films)[8] and "Building a Wall".[9]

Background and recording

Morse started to write the album during some time off in New Zealand after touring in Australia, and the idea of writing something about Paul the Apostle had been suggested by several people in the past.[6]

According to Morse, the title of the album was inadvertently suggested by his wife. She said he should do a new "solo" album, but he heard "sola" album. Morse then saw some connections between this album and Sola Scriptura, due to both dealing with themes of persecution, and decided to name it Sola Gratia.[5]

Although all the Neal Morse Band members perform on the album, Morse chose to release it as a solo effort instead because he wrote and recorded most of the material alone, while albums released with the band are usually created in a more collaborative manner.[5][3] Most instruments not played by Morse were recorded remotely, a first for him and his band,[10] except for the strings and choirs, which were done in loco.[6]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Neal Morse[2][6]

Sola Gratia track listing
No.TitleLength
1."Preface"1:26
2."Overture"5:59
3."In the Name of the Lord"4:27
4."Ballyhoo (The Chosen ones)"2:43
5."March of the Pharisees"1:40
6."Building a Wall"5:01
7."Sola Intermezzo"2:10
8."Overflow"6:27
9."Warmer Than the Sunshine"3:22
10."Never Change"7:52
11."Seemingly Sincere"9:34
12."The Light on the Road to Damascus"3:26
13."The Glory of the Lord"6:17
14."Now I Can See / The Great Commission"5:17
Total length:65:41[4]

Reception

Critical reception
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Dangerdog Music Reviews4.5/5[1]
Sea of Tranquility[2]
Sonic Perspectves8.6/10[3]

Dangerdog's Craig Hartranft called Sola Gratia "simply signature Neal Morse, offering delightfully intricate and creative melodic progressive rock" and said it is "another compelling and entertaining album of his signature melodic progressive rock."[1]

Pete Pardo from Sea of Tranquility pointed that the album "is littered with his trademark catchy vocal harmonies, a never ending supply of complex & symphonic musical passages, and an overall sense of bombast" and said it's not hard to appreciate it "whether you subscribe to the concepts that Morse leans towards or not".[2]

Scott Medina from Sonic Perspectives concluded that the album's strengths "lay in its top shelf performances from George, Portnoy and Morse, a healthy dose of quality material, and of course its pristine production thanks once again to Rich Mouser". However, he wasn't sure the album could top the Neal Morse Band albums, saying "Ultimately, this album can sit comfortably alongside the aforementioned ? and [Sola] Scriptura, but it is up to the listener whether or not Gratia matches the heights of those albums."[3]

Charts
Chart (2020) Peak
position
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[11] 68
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[12] 142
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[13] 70
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[14] 19
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[15] 19

Personnel

Musicians

  • Neal Morse — keyboards, guitars, vocals, percussions, drums on "Building a Wall"
  • Mike Portnoy — drums (except "Building a Wall"), mow on "Building a Wall"
  • Randy George — bass
  • Eric Gillette — guitars on "Overture" and "In the Name of the Lord", solo on "The Glory of the Lord"
  • Bill Hubauer — piano and a-ha moment
  • Gideon Klein — cello, viola, string bass
  • Joose Weigand — violin, viola
  • Wil Morse, Debbie Bresee, April Zachary, Julie Harrison, Amy Pippin — background vocals

Technical

  • Neal Morse — production
  • Gabe Klein — strings recording
  • Thomas Cucé — drums engineering
  • Rich Mouser – mixing
  • Thomas Ewerhard — artwork

References
  1. Hartranft, Craig (September 2, 2020). "Neal Morse: Sola Gratia". Dangerdog Music Reviews. Retrieved February 20, 2021.
  2. Pardo, Pete (November 24, 2020). "Morse, Neal: Sola Gratia". Sea of Tranquility. Retrieved February 20, 2021.
  3. Medina, Scott (August 20, 2020). "Neal Morse – Sola Gratia (Album Review)". Sonic Perspectives. Retrieved February 21, 2021.
  4. "Neal Morse - Sola gratia". Ultratop (in French). Belgian Entertainment Association. Retrieved February 21, 2021.
  5. Ewing, Jerry (July 1, 2020). "Neal Morse announces new solo album Sola Gratia". Prog. Future plc. Retrieved February 18, 2021.
  6. Morey, Bryan (September 4, 2020). "By Grace Alone: A Conversation With Neal Morse". Progarchy. Retrieved February 21, 2021.
  7. Munro, Scott (July 17, 2020). "Neal Morse shares video for his new track In The Name Of The Lord". Prog. Future plc. Retrieved February 20, 2021.
  8. "Neal Morse releases new video for Seemingly Sincere". Prog. Future plc. August 10, 2020. Retrieved February 20, 2021.
  9. "NEAL MORSE Premiers "Building A Wall" Lyric Video". Brave Words & Bloody Knuckles. August 28, 2020. Retrieved February 20, 2021.
  10. "Sola Gratia Description". Retrieved April 11, 2022.
  11. "Austriancharts.at – Neal Morse – Sola Gratia" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved February 21, 2021.
  12. "Ultratop.be – Neal Morse – Sola Gratia" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved February 21, 2021.
  13. "Dutchcharts.nl – Neal Morse – Sola Gratia" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved February 21, 2021.
  14. "Offiziellecharts.de – Neal Morse – Sola Gratia" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved February 21, 2021.
  15. "Swisscharts.com – Neal Morse – Sola Gratia". Hung Medien. Retrieved February 21, 2021.
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