Neal Morse dives deep with ‘Life & Times’
When Neal Morse writes a song, it’s usually likely to run 20 minutes and have a half-dozen connected parts.
As the frontman of Spock’s Beard, Transatlantic and his own band, Morse has been at the forefront of modern progressive rock. But his upcoming show at Club Passim in Cambridge will find him with a new album, “Life & Times,” and in a new incarnation, as an old-school singer-songwriter.
“It’s a totally new experience,” the California native said this week. “But I’ve always loved a good simple song; I was raised on the Beatles and I had my favorite singer-songwriter albums when I was young, like early Elton John. Prog is more of a challenging listen, and sometimes it’s nice to just listen to something that makes you feel good.”
At Passim, he’ll play guitar and keyboard, with some looping devices for help.
“I like to do the opposite of what I did before. On the last tour, we were playing (the double concept album) ‘The Similitude of a Dream’ by night, and I was writing this by day. I was going for the kind of sound that John Mayer had on his last couple of albums, and even bought a smaller guitar amp to record with. And I kept sending notes to the engineer — ‘Can you make this sound a little smaller?’”
All the songs on “Life & Times” are under five minutes, and most are about love and family life, neither of which play into Morse’s usual prog epics. But like many vintage songwriter albums, this one breaks the laid-back mood with one hard-hitting protest song. “He Died at Home” addresses post-traumatic stress among veterans — a significant subject for Morse, who had a friend who took his own life.
“I was crying buckets of tears when I wrote the song. But I felt compelled to just tell the story and not give any advice, so I didn’t really put any hope in the song. Sometimes it’s enough to just let people know that you get it, that they’re being heard and aren’t alone.”
Less explicit than usual are Morse’s Christian beliefs, which have been key to his music since he became born again in 2002. He admits that can be a stumbling block for some of his older fans.
“It’s not because I have a sense of being right and want to hit people over the head with it,” he said. “But I hope people get the message because it’s so beautiful and there’s so much to be gained from walking with God. And if I can do anything to get people closer to the Lord, I’m going to do it. When I left Spock’s Beard and made the ‘Testimony’ album, I thought we’d lose a lot of people — and maybe we did, but there were others who came along. I’ve been put in a place where I can say whatever I want to, and there’s a small but dedicated audience for it.” Neal Morse, at Club Passim, 47 Palmer St., Cambridge, Tuesday. Tickets: $25; clubpassim .org.