"I think Sola Gratia is one of the best albums I have ever done." A strong statement for any musician, but an extraordinary one when it comes from the all-round singer-songwriter Neal Morse, considered one of the most talented progressive rock artists
Sola Gratia was first born in the mind and developed further into a concrete idea in an inspiring environment: "A few people suggested that I should make a prog concept album based on Apostle Paul. When I was on a cruise from Australia to New Zealand in January 2020, I woke up with a lot of musical ideas that reminded me of the concept. Thereupon I went on deck with my keyboard to concretize these basic ideas in the sunrise. When I came back from the cruise I was very excited about the new material and I decided to continue working on the project. Sola Gratia was born."
The album was recorded "virtually" in April 2020, at the peak of the Corona Lockdown, in collaboration with Mike Portnoy (drums) and Randy George (bass): "It's the first album we recorded separately. I sent the basic tracks to them and asked them if they wanted to change some things. But they just said 'No, it's great that way', so they just played their part and sent their parts over. On the one hand it wasn't an easy way to make an album, on the other hand making an album always presents you with unexpected challenges"
01 Preface 02 Overture 03 In The Name Of The Lord 04 Ballyhoo (the Chosen Ones) 05 March Of The Pharisees 06 Building A Wall 07 Sola Intermezzo 08 Overflow 09 Warmer Than The Sunshine 10 Never Change 11 Seemingly Sincere 12 The Light On The Road To Damascus
13 The Glory Of The Lord 14 Now I Can See/the Great Commission