LIVE IN EUROPE

Take musicians from four of the top progressive rock bands around and there is a ready built supergroup. What makes this recording even more interesting now is because Neal not only left Spock's Beard when he decided to take a different course, he also left Transatlantic at the same time. In Morse, Mike Portnoy, Roine Stolt and Pete Trewavas there were four musicians and singers seemingly capable of turning their hands to anything they wanted and although the first live album was somewhat restricted by the band at the time not having much in the way of self-composed material, but that wasn't a problem when it came to the 2001 tour which is captured here.

There are six 'songs' on this double CD, with the extremely short "We All Need Some Light" only being six minutes long. Yep, there are three songs on this album that are over thirty minutes long! Now that is probably enough to get the progheads salivating, but how about incorporating side two of 'Abbey Road' into "Suite Charlotte Pike Medley"!? There are going to many who think that this album is self-indulgent and over-long, but the fan is just going to be happy that it has been made available. They bring together all of the things that non-progheads think are the worst examples of this style of music, complex and complicated music that is overblown and pompous with harmony vocals and intelligent structuring of lyrics and their place in the piece. But to progheads this is a joy, with each song being better than the last, each one with sections (if not the whole thing) that has the listener shaking their head in wonderment and smiling. This is prog, and it's fun! Because all of the guys had other 'main' bands this was only ever about making music that the wanted to, because they enjoyed it, and that enjoyment comes through on this album. It is also available as a double DVD or a double CD/double DVD limited edition. This is wonderful stuff.

Originally appeared in Feedback #78, April 2004