Spectacularly executed and ambitious, this double-CD marks a logical plateau for Spock's Beard: the full-blown concept album. While there's no denying the band's central irony--they make what is essentially '70s retro-prog--it's executed by founder and vocalist Neal Morse and company (brother Alan on guitars, bassist Dave Meros, Ryo Okumoto on keyboards, drummer Nick D'Virgilio) with compelling zeal and wide-eyed wonder. There's ever-so-brief nods to thrash metal and industrial abrasiveness, but the touchstones remain the glorious vocal harmonies of Yes and Kansas, the moody pomp of early Genesis, and the machine-gun arpeggios and jagged time-shifts of King Crimson. The band has the good sense to mock the genre's inherent excesses (and itself) on "Ladies and Gentleman, Mister Roy Okumoto on the Keyboards," even as Okumoto resurrects Keith Emerson's late-'60s torture-the-Hammond routine. If the story (albino misfit Snow finds corruption in the big city, eventually becomes the Messiah, ultimately prefers personal redemption) cribs motifs off everything from Tommy to The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway, its message of renewed hope and innocence reclaimed can seem mighty appealing, especially after decades of punk cynicism and postmodern navel gazing. Hold those lighters high! --Jerry McCulley