Neil Morse leaves Spock’s Beard

I found out from Scott that Neil Morse, singer and main songwriter of the excellent progressive rock band Spock’s Beard is leaving the band “to pursue a spiritual path”.

Spocks Beard have been one of the best bands on the neo-progressive scene in recent years, a band with a distinctive sound with recognisable elements from the likes of Yes and Gentle Giant, and avoiding sounding too much like early Genesis.

The band have pledged to get a new singer and carry on; whether they can retain the magic without their main songwriter remains to be seen.

Let’s also hope Neil continues making music, albeit of a more explicitly religious nature. Shades of Twelfth Night‘s Geoff Mann, who was eventually ordained as an Anglican priest.