Transatlantic - The Whirlwind

As I mentioned, my most anticipated musical release of the year has arrived in my hands as of last week. And since then I’ve had the time to dig in and digest it a bit, so now it’s time to review.

If you’ve missed all of my previous postings on Transatlantic, let me describe the group a bit. They’re a progressive rock super group consisting of Mike Portnoy from Dream Theater on drums, Neal Morse ( Ex-Spock’s Beard) on keyboards and most of the vocals, Roine Stolt from The Flower Kings on guitar and the rest of the vocals and Pete Trewavas from Marillion on bass. Their music is in the classic era progressive rock sound, like from the 70s when prog was starting to really pick up steam. But it’s very modern as well. They’re influenced greatly by early Genesis, Yes, and The Beatles among others.

So after an 8 year gap between albums, does Transatlantic still have it? My answer is: Yes! As soon as I started listening to the album for the first time I got a grin on my face that didn’t go away for quite a while. The overall sound is a bit different, but the guys are in different places musically now than they were 8 years ago so a shift is to be expected. The writing chemstry is still in place and that’s what really counts.

The album is basically one giant 77 minute song. And as opposed to the most recent album in my collection that tried this approach (Porcupine Tree’s – The Incident), The Whirlwind succeeds in making it feel like a single piece instead of songs strung together with some transition bits thrown in. Recurring lyrics and musical themes weave through the piece and tie everything together.

The fact that all 4 of them were excited to be back together and producing music shines through clearly in the playing and musical composition. Of special note are Pete Trewavas’s bass lines in this album. He’s always been an exceptional bass player, but he’s outdone himself on this release. I don’t usually sit there and listen to the bass specifically in a song, but here I often find myself mesmerized.

My only complaint with the album revolves around the lyrics. While generally really good, Neal Morse’s dive into overtly Christian/religious music after he left Spock’s Beard has left it’s mark here as well. In a few spots, I find the lyrics to be slightly uncomfortably preachy and what was once spiritual overtones that were subtle in the past albums became much more distinct here. It doesn’t detract much from the album for me, but it’s there and it’s something I could really have done without.

The production and mix are perfect. No loudness war crap everything sounds amazing. Even Mike and Pete’s vocals which can be shaky at times are really impressive here.

Is it better than Bridge Across Forever? Well…no. But Bridge Across Forever is, as far as I’m concerned absolutely perfect in every way. Be that as it may, Transatlantic is back and The Whirlwind is a worthy addition to their musical legacy. This is probably my #1 album of the year, in a year with some incredible albums.

Related posts:

  1. Caught In The Whirlwind
  2. On The Edge
  3. Top Albums of 2009
  4. QotD: In Heavy Rotation
  5. Vox Hunt: Music – Hurry Up Already!