LIQUID TENSION EXPERIMENT

Okay, modern prog fans, try this on for size: we take the guitarist and drummer from Dream Theater, Dregs keyboardist and future DT member Jordan Rudess, and bass legend Tony Levin and throw them together for an instrumental album. LTE is the most high profile of DT's various side projects, and there's a good reason. Recorded over a few days, this fearsome foursome displays a level of instrumental wankery and precision that could inspire a man to burn his guitars. "Paradigm Shift" launches the album with tremendous force before slowing down to allow actual feeling. The rest of the album follows a similar path, with quiet and peacful melody giving way to hard-rocking technical wizardry.

The highlights are the aforementioned Paradigm Shift, the rockin' "Kindred Spirits," the weird stick and drums of "chris and Kevin's Excellent Adventure," the frantic "Universal Mind," and the final improv "Three Minute Warning." The end jam however, loses focus in its 28 minutes and a killer piece could have been culled from a trimmed version.

Rudess is the breakout star here, having plugged away in relative obscurity. He more than holds his own with his legendary bandmates. Tony's bass and stick are a little buried in the mix, which is a sin; however, he overcomes most of it through the sheer power with which he plays here. Newcomers can start here, but shuld probably begin with the vastly better sequel, which stands as one of the greatest prog releases of the 90s. Fans of DT and Tony should really own this.

Grade: C+