Nick D’Virgilio, Neal Morse & Ross Jennings – Troika (Radiant Records, 2022)
Nick D’Virgilio, Neal Morse & Ross Jennings, three well know musicians from the progressive rock and prog metal world have teamed up to release their debut album, “Troika”, as a trio.
Alhtough “Troika” is an enjoyable album, it is certainly not progressive rock. Instead, the three musicians have built a set of classic rock songs, pop and folk-rock ballads. The highlight of the album are the 3-part vocal harmonies. Stylistically, the harmonies are deeply inspired by Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young and modern Americana.
Neal says about the experience: “What a great pleasure it’s been to work on this album with these amazing artists! It was kind of funny; we had been working on the songs remotely for several months before I finally heard all of us singing together at the same time. The first time I brought the faders up, I knew we had the magic!“
Nick adds: “I’ve known and worked with Neal for over 30 years and I’ve been a big fan of Ross and the music he makes for a long time. I felt confident right away that this would be a fun project to be a part of. I was so right.”
Ross notes: “Receiving ‘The Call’ from Neal to participate in this project was somewhat of a prayer answered… As a long time fan of their work, I’ve been singing along to Neal’s & Nick’s records for years, so it felt really natural for my voice to slot right in.”
Lineup: Nick D’Virgilio (Big Big Train, ex-Spock’s Beard) on drums, percussion and vocals; Neal Morse (Transatlantic, NMB, former Spock’s Beard) on guitars and vocals; and Ross Jennings (Haken, Novena) on vocals and guitars.
Buy the album from www.nealmorse.com/product/dvirgilio-morse-jennings-troika