NMB (The Neal Morse Band) has announced “An Evening Of Innocence & Danger: Live in Hamburg”, a live recording of their 2022 tour in support of their most recent studio album. Recorded live in Germany, this 3-disc release captures the band in fine form, presenting ‘Innocence & Danger’ & more over nearly 2 and a half hours of music, and will be released on July 14th, 2023.
Neal Morse, Mike Portnoy, Randy George, Eric Gillette & Bill Hubauer demonstrate a chemistry like no other on this musical document of that tour, supporting their fourth studio album, released in 2021. “NMB’s Innocence and Danger tour was an amazing experience all the way around and the Hamburg gig was a real stand out!”, says Neal, “The band was firing on all cylinders and the audience was so close to us and roaring from the very first note.”
Mike Portnoy continues, “It was our first post-pandemic tour so everybody (including the audience) was just happy to be at shows again experiencing live music together. We particularly felt the love and emotions this evening in Hamburg which has always been an amazing audience for NMB.”
To celebrate the announcement, you can hear the band performing their arrangement of the Simon & Garfunkel classic ‘Bridge Over Troubled Water’. Listen below.
Mixed & mastered by longtime collaborator Jerry Guidroz, the album will be available as a limited 3CD digipak, and digital album, and is now available to pre-order HERE.
“An Evening Of Innocence & Danger: Live in Hamburg” track-listing:
CD1:
1.Do It All Again 10:23
2.Bird On A Wire 08:08
3.Your Place In The Sun 04:18
4.Another Story To Tell 04:50
5.The Way It Had To Be 09:18
6.Bridge Over Troubled Water 08:43
7.Waterfall 07:50
CD2:
1.Not Afraid Pt. 2 21:45
2.Beyond The Years 34:08
CD3:
1.The Great Similitude Medley 29:58
The Markthalle in Hamburg is a venue the band have played many times before, and as Bill Hubauer explains, it’s a place they hold very dear: “There is always something warm and magical about the audiences at Markthalle. This show was closer to the end of the tour and I was getting tired. I remember looking at the itinerary and seeing Markthalle coming up and feeling so happy about it. I knew it was going to give me the boost of energy to get through the rest of the tour. It’s very much one of those “home away from home” tour stops!” Randy George adds, “It’s always a great show at the Markthalle! The tour was going well and the wonderful fans in Hamburg made it a wonderful evening.”
The band played the vast majority of their acclaimed latest album, including a mesmerizing rendition of their arrangement of ‘Bridge Over Troubled Water’, a track that quickly became a favorite of fans during the tour. Portnoy comments, “I loved the format of this tours set-list, breaking the show into two halves similarly to the Innocence & Danger album. The 1st half the shorter more concise songs and poppier side of the band, and the 2nd half with the huge sprawling Prog epics.”
The massive set concludes with the ‘The Great Similitude Medley’ which features highlights from the band’s previous two records “The Great Adventure” and “The Similitude of a Dream”. The result is a sprawling evening of incredible musicianship, that demonstrates a band at the very top of their game.