KALEIDOSCOPE

Transatlantic

Symphonic Prog

3.83 | 679 ratings

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Evolver
Special Collaborator
Crossover & JR/F/Canterbury Teams

Once again, supergroup Transatlantic has continued its string of nearly great studio releases.

The album clocks in at a hair under 75 minutes, and just about three quarters of it are comprised by the two epic tracks that bookend the album. But more about these later.

The three middle tracks are much shorter, and of differing interest. The longest of the three, Shine is the least interesting. It is a standard Neal Morse-styled soft ballad, which, as Morse is compelled to do, is written with those obvious born-again Christian code words clumsily woven throughout, making the lyrics even more tedious than the bland music. Beyond The Sun is a bit better, with some nice strings in a mostly forgettable track.

Black As The Sky is easily the best of the three short tracks. Comparatively simplistic, but highly energetic, this piece comes across like a Keith Emerson homage. With a fairly basic rhythm track, the instrumental section has a wonderfully bombastic keyboard solo section, similar to what Emerson has done over the years in Rondo, Fanfare For The Common Man, and other show pieces.

And back to the epics. Both are highly listenable prog works. And in each, it is easy to recognize where either Morse or Roine Stolt took control of the writing. Always good, but often resorting to passages that sound much too familiar too Morse/Spock's Beard and Flower Kings fans. It's not a bad thing, but I wish these guys would do more to develop a "Transatlantic" signature style, rather than rely on the sound of their other bands.

The two tracks are very dynamic, weaving through countless motifs and themes. Usually this works, but often the transitions come across as forced and awkward. And again, Morse throws in biblical and religious code words that only take away from the music's grandeur.

Still, I rate this upward of 3.5 stars, giving it a 4 in the PR ratings.

Evolver | 4/5 | 2014-3-24

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