MORE NEVER IS ENOUGH

"More Never Is Enough" is a totally brilliant monster release spanning a massive 190 minutes of full blown prog at its best. The 3 Cds are backed up by the double DVD showcasing the band in all their glory on the stage. Morse is in fine voice throughout and pours every ounce of his being into the songs; his Christian emphasis is understated in the lyrics but is never overbearing. Morse is a keyboard wizard and shines with every improvised and purposeful performance; a flawless flurry of organ phrases. Stolt is excellent on guitar, moving the audience through various emotions with powerful riffs, Trewavas is fantastic on bass and, of course, Portnoy is a revelation on drums. An amazing concert is the result of these virtuoso musicians, and on this release the audio experience is as dynamic as Transatlantic have ever proved. The DVD is perhaps the best visual representation of the band; A1 camera work capturing everything from the enthusiastic crowd who often stand to their feet after a song, to the performances of each band member. The Tilburg concert is almost identical to the Whirld Tour DVD but still has a lot of variations in the music.

There are a few surprises such as injecting classic songs in the midst of the mammoth instrumental breaks such as Santana's Soul Sacrifice, and Deep Purple's Highway Star. There is a nice jazz interlude in the middle of Duel with the Devil. The epic Stranger in My Soul which clocks 33 minutes, features acoustic vibrations of Stolt with some precious beautiful lyrics of Morse, "home is far away, I was sleeping wide awake, breaking down waiting for the sound". The song builds to some deep heavy distorted guitar, perhaps the heaviest track. The band take turn on vocals and Portnoy relishes the odd time sig changes. Other epics include the awesome All of the Above at 32 minutes and Duel with the Devil at 29 minutes. The Whirlwind is here in its entirety running for about 80 minutes and there are other quintessential Transatlantic songs such as We all need some Light and Bridge Across Forever. It was fun to watch the band perform Return of the Giant Hogweed as an encore and Morse loves the quirky lyrics and projects enthusiasm into the Gabriel classic as the band play dynamic familiar passages that have become part of prog folklore.

The opening track of The Whirlwind features minimalist feminine sections of symphonic beauty which are augmented by the masculine rock sections balancing out the quieter moments. The multi-movement suite of Stranger In My Soul shifts metrical patterns throughout and climaxes with the huge wall of sound that is essential Transatlantic. During Duel With The Devil there is a wonderful blend of guitar and organ trade offs, with sporadic drumming patterns and chaotic punctuation, building to a huge crescendo, lifting the crowd to their feet with a mighty roar. The sonata form structure is powerfully realised, utilising an opening theme, transition, a second theme, and a final closure. The track is captured perfectly on this live performance but it is always masterfully executed in any live set.

Daniel Gildenlow also performs, and Portnoy does some fun stuff with a performance of 'Manchester England England, I believe in God' from the movie "Hair". Also the band have interesting moments with the audience notably when the lights go up on the crowd and they sing "Rock the house", and Portnoy makes the crowd sing it a few times to get a louder response. Also the band switch instruments at the end for fun just to get the audience going. It is a lot of fun to indulge in these masters of prog and they never fail to please. Portnoy says there is only one thing that would satisfy the urges of a prog rock crowd; a bass pedal solo turned up to eleven, or perhaps twelve. The solo continues for a while and then a heavy riff cranks up, yes, exactly, Smoke on the Water. Portnoy actually sings the classic song and you have to admire the keyboards and cool guitar on this. Portnoy almost mocks the "Made in Japan" version at the end. What follows is some awesome drumming and wah wah guitar, and it somehow segues back to the Stranger in My Soul.

It is certainly a huge package with more Transatlantic than has ever been released previously, and it is certain to appease the legion of Transatlantic fans. A concert packed with utter brilliance, this is one of the best live releases of the year.

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