Nick D’Virgilio (Big Big Train, ex-Spock’s Beard), Neal Morse (Transatlantic, NMB, ex-Spock’s Beard), and Ross Jennings (Haken, Novena) recently announced the formation of their new trio D’Virgilio, Morse & Jennings. Signed to Inside Out Music their debut album “Troika” will be released on Feb 25th, 2022.
The album, which will be available as Ltd. CD Edition / Gatefold 2LP+CD / Digital Album, can be now pre-ordered HERE.
Today, the band is also sharing the album’s first single “Julia”. You can watch the video by Christian Rios below.
Ross Jennings had this to say about the track: “With my original demo clocking in at around the 8-minute mark and possibly leaning too close to ‘prog epic’ than the singer/songwriter vibe we were attempting to present on this record, Neal arranged my lengthy ballad into something more concise, in-keeping with the album’s essence and writing in a powerful new chorus in the process! This one was all about the 3-part vocal harmony interplay and ‘pull-at-the-heartstring’ lyrics which deals with themes of regret and forgiveness in the context of a broken father-daughter relationship.”
“Troika” Album Artwork
“Troika” Track-Listing:
- 1.Everything I Am (5:43)
- Julia (6:07)
- You Set My Soul On Fire (3:22)
- One Time Less (4:53)
- Another Trip Around The Sun (4:39)
- A Change Is Gonna Come (4:24)
- If I Could (4:02)
- King For A Day (5:47)
- Second Hand Sons (4:43)
- My Guardian (3:43)
- What You Leave Behind (4:16)
Recorded during lock-down, the process began with Neal Morse writing some acoustic songs that he thought would be enhanced by strong vocal harmonies. He already knew how well his voice blended with former Spock’s Beard band-mate and Big Big Train drummer/ vocalist, Nick D’Virgilio who came on board and, considering a third man, the Americans sought out Haken‘s Ross Jennings from the UK to complete the trio. All three found they had songs that would benefit from the three part harmonic blend, and so they pooled their resources, inputting creatively into each others compositions.
Neal comments: “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 comments: “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.”
The tracks took shape with the musicians recording all of the music and vocals separately, yet the eclectic performances burst with the energy and excitement of the collaboration. Acoustic anthems, charged rockers and sensitive ballads are all part of the mix, and the unique blend of Ross, Neal and Nick‘s voices and styles have created an album in which you will encounter these musicians in a way you’ve never heard before.
Nick D’Virgilio can be heard most recently on Big Big Train’s latest studio album “Common Ground”, and will tour with the band in 2022.
Neal Morse has just released the fourth album as part of NMB (The Neal Morse Band) alongside Mike Portnoy, Randy George, Eric Gillette & Bill Hubauer. “Innocence & Danger” is out and they will begin a tour in support of it later this year.
Ross Jennings is the vocalist in Haken, who released their latest acclaimed album “Virus” in 2020. He is about to release his debut solo album “A Shadow of my Future Self” on the 19th November.
Follow D’Virgilio, Morse & Jennings online:
