WHIRLD TOUR 2010 - LIVE FROM SHEPHERD'S BUSH EMPIRE, LONDON

I guess the term "supergroup" is damned nowadays. And it is a more than proved fact that the gathering of great musicians don´t exactly mean that their collective work will be also great. On the contrary, several attempts into making supergroups resulted in far more failures than success. However, once in a while, a reunion of some real outstanding musicians do result in an amazing chemistry where the music is actually bigger than the sum of its parts. Transatlantic is indeed one of those. Expectatiosn were high, of course, since the group included some of the most iconic and talented personalities in modern prog music. Namely: Neal Morse (former leader of Spock´s Beard), Roinde Stolt (from swedish giants The Flower Kings), Pete Trewavas (Marillion) and Mike Prtnoy (Dream Theater). Although I can´t say their two first albums were all that great in terms of recording quality (which of course adverselly affected the resulting sound), the third, Whirlwind, finally gave them the chance to show their potential in all its glory. So I was quite curious how they would sound live, specially since they did not play together on stage for several years. As a special guest they had Daniel Gildenlöw (leader of swedish prog metallers Pain Of Salvation).

But when I put the DVD on I knew from the very start that I was facing a classic. Amazingly they do not only play the whole 79 minutes fo the Whirlwind suite, but also several cuts from the previous two albums. And watching them play one might wonder how they are able to reproduce those long and complex pieces with such ease and passion. Unlike several prog acts, they do move, have a very good stage presence and produced a strong connection to the audience all the time (Gildenlöw seems to be specially fired up). The impression they give is that they are having the time of their lives and even the normally reserved english public reacts accordingly.

With an amazing sound and very good video quality, this is one of the most well recorded shows I ever saw in my life (all the instruments are so well balanced you might think they are reallly just mimicking a CD instead of playing live). Vocals are also a big highlight with all the members contributing actively for the harmonies proving they are more than just skillful musicians, they are also fine singers. My biggest fear was that they might stray away a little in some pointless jams or long solos, but fortunalty that does not happen, even if in a few moments it looks like this is going to. Kudos to them for reducing those self indulgent moments to a minimum. With all their talent and technique it would be almost inevitable, but they manage to give the public good music, not ego trips. Nor - thank god! - ten minute drum solos or anything like that. It was all a very group efford and they gave the public what they wanted (and them some!).

After playing a mere 147 minutes(!) of music, they still come back for an encore of no less than 36 minutes those were performed on the second DVD of the package)! What stamnina they had! The extras include some fine backstage shots, interviews, rehearsals and tour images (all very well done and showing the high spirits of everyone involved). But the true gem of this part is the bonus video showing the band at the High Voltage Festival, where they were joined by guitarrist Steve hackett for an excellent cover of the Genesis classic The Return Of The Giant Hogweed.

Conclusion: Words can´t really describe the immense emotion I felt while watching this video. Well, I tried. Just do the same and let Transatlantic carry you to a great symphonic journey. Awesome DVD! Even with all the names involved, Whirld Tour 2010 Live In London exceeded my highest expectations by a large margin. The group showed not only that they could perform such excellent elaborated music live flawlessly, but also play it with great energy, personality and conviction. It reminds of other giant bands like Yes and Genesis at their peak in the 70´s. I mean, almost too good to be true.

Rating: 5 stars, no less. An essential masterpiece of progressive music. A classic video that every fan of prog music should have!