New Transatlantic album

[The Mister]

<font size=2>Yeah, I know too few of you guys care, but I just wanted to plug the new Transatlantic album, <u>Bridge Across Forever</u>.

Transatlantic is a relatively new progressive rock supergroup consisting of Neal Morse (lead singer from Spock's Beard), Roine Stolt (guitarist/singer from the Flower Kings), Mike Portnoy (drummer and writer for Dream Theater), and Pete Trewavas (bass from Marillion), and <u>Bridge Across Forever</u> is their second album.

Tracklist: Duel With the Devil (26:43)
a: Motherless Children
b: Walk Away
c: Silence of the Night
d: You're Not Alone
e: Almost Home
Suite Charlotte Pike (14:30)
a: If She Runs
b: Mr. Wonderful
c: Lost and Found Pt.1
d: Temple of the Gods
e: Motherless Children / If She Runs (Reprise)
Bridge Across Forever (5:32)
Stranger In Your Soul (26:06)
a: Sleeping Wide Awake
b: Hanging In the Balance
c: Lost and Found Pt.2
d: Awakening the Stranger
e: Slide
f: Stranger In Your Soul
Personally, I don't like the first song that much, because there simply isn't enough of a dynamic shift in the song (and you'd expect that in a 5-part, 26-minute song). It just goes from loud to louder and then loud again.

On the other hand, the remainder of the songs are VERY good, and do a good job both in showing off the chops of the musicians AND showing good composition skills. Furthermore, this album is much more a group effort than their first album <u>SMPTe</u>, which was dominated by Neal Morse and therefore sounded more like a Spock's Beard album than anything else.

If you want to hear samples, go to http://www.transatlanticweb.com/ , go to the "Media" tab and download the digital card (or individual samples if you don't want to download 5.2MB at once). It's worth a try, and if you don't like it, I won't take it personally. (I'm just a fan, after all.) :smile:

[Avi]

Did anyone follow through on this?

[Ozric Tentacles]

Alright! Finally, my former identity's unanswered post has been recognized! Wheeee!!!!

[erickson]

I've been wondering whether or not to branch out from Dream Theater. . . they've been one favorites for going on 10 years now (is Scenes from a Memory one of the best albums of all time, or what?)

But whenever I listen to samples of Spock's Beard or Transatlantic, I'm kind of let down. Maybe I've just heard "bad" samples. . .

[Ozric Tentacles]

Maybe you prefer minor keys/chords to major ones? Transatlantic / The Beard do tend to sound "happier" than DT.

BTW, I prefer "Six Degrees of Separation" to "Scenes From a Memory". And not because of the 42-minute, eight-part title track. I actually prefer all of the first disk to that. Each song stands very well on its own.

(And I don't think I'll ever get used to LaBrie's voice.)

I have found the new OSI (http://www.dreamtheater.net/disosi.htm) album to be VERY impressive, FWIW.

[erickson]

Maybe you prefer minor keys/chords to major ones? Transatlantic / The Beard do tend to sound "happier" than DT.

That very well could be it.

BTW, I prefer "Six Degrees of Separation" to "Scenes From a Memory". And not because of the 42-minute, eight-part title track. I actually prefer all of the first disk to that. Each song stands very well on its own.

I like Six Degrees (side 1 more than side 2), but I think it's probably my least favorite DT album (I haven't heard Day and Dream, though). To me, it's the most different of their albums, especially the title track. Different isn't necessarily bad, though. For example, the last song on side 1 is arguably the most atypical DT song; but, it's also one of my favorites.