Album Notes

Before beginning our story, on behalf of Tim Morse and all of us at AEP, we would like to extend our appreciation to all those who have responded so favorably to the release of Transformation. And to those who have reviewed the CD, most eloquently and kindly. Thank you.
MARK DEAN (Amethyst Edge Productions)


“Sounds great…unbelievably proficient and will I'm sure find considerable favour in the Prog community.”
BILL BRUFORD (King Crimson, Yes)


“It’s very, very good. The playing is great and the production is excellent. There’s a lot of commitment behind the music, a lot of power. It bursts out of the speakers and sounds fantastic. There’s a lot of precision and no clichés, I like that.”
PETER BANKS (Yes, Flash)


“Transformation recalls the spirit of progressive rock when genres of music were blended fearlessly and the listener was transported to places that expanded the imagination. If you like original compositions full of energy and the unexpected, you are sure to enjoy it.”
DAVID SANCIOUS (Peter Gabriel, Sting)

“Very impressive! It sounds great and all the playing and singing is excellent…it has all the things that prog-rock aficionados like!”
PATRICK MORAZ (The Moody Blues, Yes)


"Transformation contains many of the best ingredients of progressive music in abundance -- multipart pieces that explore complex time signatures, intelligent lyrics, and musicians who clearly are remarkably talented. The album is definitely challenging, but the payoff comes after just a few listens. Transformation is ambitious and conceptual, but above all else it contains beautiful melodies, which consequently pop into my head at Un-expected moments and that make it enormously enjoyable to listen to."
GLENN GOTTLIEB (Yes Magazine)


"A little research quickly reveals why Tim Morse's debut release "Transformation" is such an exceptionally mature CD. Now Tim steps into the studio with Mark Dean to make their mark on Progressive Rock history.

Transformation is an uplifting, energetic, fun excursion into the freedom, the excitement, the excellent musicianship, and the "over the top" musical indulgence that are the hallmarks of Progressive Rock. Highly recommended!"
MARK STEPHENS (ProgPositivity Radio)


"Four stars
Transformation is truly a great album that will take the listener to keyboard heaven.

One of the best prog-rock releases of 2005!"
Melodic.net (KAJ ROTH)



Transformation is the debut release by Tim Morse. This CD is the result of what happens when, you put artist Tim Morse and producer Mark Dean in the recording studio and throw away the rule book. They began in 2002, with the idea that they would have any and everything they wanted on the CD. Leaving no stone unturned, Morse & Dean spent the next two years in production, going berserk in the studio with the motto, "If we hear it in the head, they hear it on the CD." So, Transformation plays like a movie. It is, after all a concept album.

The way Tim sees it, "The lyrics in the songs illustrate the series of events a person can go through in their lifetime and ultimately be transformed as a result of the experience. However, unlike the typical concept album the individual songs can be pulled out and enjoyed in their own right".

Many auditions were held prior to finding singer Richie Zeller, the dynamic vocalist who would sing the lead vocals on most of the songs on the CD.

Mark describes the recording sessions with Richie. "Zelly, like the rest of us, is a multi-instrumentalist, and you really do have to be a musician to learn and execute the vocals for this album, given the time we wanted to spend on the recording of vocals. Richie was fantastic to work with because, there is much syncopation and poly rhythms in this music and he can devour anything I throw at him, and quickly. He took on the emotion of Tim's lyrics. Especially on songs like Goodbye and Temptation. It was inspiring to hear the power and range in all these performances".

Tim Morse is also a published author and his book "Yesstories" has sold over 20,000 copies world wide. His latest book "Classic Rock Stories" was published by the St. Martin's press and he continues to write for music magazines such as Mix, Guitar World, Vintage Guitar, Keyboard and Bass Player. His commentary was also featured on VH-1 by the merit of his book Classic Rock Stories. A little research will further reveal that Tim has interviewed countless progressive rock icons.

Mark Dean recounts, "This is in fact where it all started. Tim was just wrapping up work on Yesstories when he was brought to my attention by Mike Varney at Shrapnel records. He was doing something or other with Magna Carta at the time. He told me that he had met Tim at a Patrick Moraz show and at Patrick's invitation, Tim was playing the piano during the break. Varney hooked us up, and right away I could tell Tim was very intelligent. Of course, I later found out he had been a school teacher. Tim proceeds to update my CD collection as we trade influences. By the time it came to pre-production, we had a pretty good idea of what we wanted to do. What we didn't know however, was how out of control we would allow the actual production to get. We abandoned practical reasoning and it was no longer about making a record within the parameters of a logical budget or time frame. (Uncharacteristic for both of us) Apparently we had something to prove to ourselves. I think it's a certain thing that only happens once.

Aside from Tim's obvious songwriting prowess, one thing that motivated me, was Tim's invitation and even encouragement to not only co-write and play a great deal of the parts on the CD, but when at times I thought my ideas may be too indulgent, aggressive or extreme; I'd say to Tim 'Too much?' and he would say no, go for it. This in turn made me want to do whatever I could to keep it as true, to Tim's original vision as possible. What happened was something neither of us expected. The album took on a life of its own. We were no longer making an album. The album was making us. We were slaves to its demands. We couldn't stop and we didn't even know when we were done until we were. If the question of this CD being over the top or over produced came up, we always had the same answer. We would laugh and say 'who cares'.

Now that's freedom baby."

A word from Tim Morse.

"In January of 2002 I began work on my album and so started one of the most labor-intensive periods of my life. The scope of this music is enormous and it encompasses everything from straight rock n roll, to recording string sections and a mutated Gregorian chant (in Latin of course). I feel extremely fortunate to be working with Mark Dean on this project. He is a very sympathetic producer/engineer and can hear music in the most detail oriented way and conversely know exactly what the big picture sounds will sound like when it is mixed and mastered.

He is also a virtuoso (this is not a word I use lightly or loosely) guitarist, bassist and drummer and his extraordinary musicianship is featured all over my album. As we approach the release of this album I can say the process of making this music has been one of the most exhilarating creative experiences of my life."