THE WORLD THAT WE DRIVE THROUGH

Underwhelmed, disappointed, flummoxed? Either way, there is something about The World That We Drive Through that just doesn't work. These are some of the best musicians in modern prog. Why do I feel as though I misspent my hard earned cash?

The packaging is top notch, Ed Unitsky is in line, again, for the best album art of 2004. Jonas Reingold and Zoltan Csorsz reign supreme as the tightest rhythm section in prog. Roine Stolt is a formidable guitarist and he plays some inspired leads. Theo Travis fills in nicely for David Jackson. Sam Baine and Andy Tillson are very adept with a miriad of keyboards and Synths. Guy Manning plays an understated role on acoustic guitar, mandolin and an all too short vocal part.

Why can't I get into this disc? The lyrics aren't bad, even thought provoking and socially accurate. The vocals, ah, here we get to the crux of the biscuit. Andy Tillson takes the lead vocal chores on this disc, as he did on the first Tangent album as well. He just comes off poorly on this release, not that he has a pleasant quality voice to start with. The delivery comes off so irritating. Guy Mannings slightly lispy voice is warm and inviting, however, he gets too small a part of the lyrics to offset Tillson's over the top performance. Roine Stolt gets the lead on The Winning Game and also seems to fall flat on the performance, too forced and false sounding. That really may be the only serious problem with the album. That is why I still gave it three stars, the music is strong enough to get it back into the CD player for an occassional listen.

Skipping the Distance has a great opening and, despite the vocals, it stands as the best tune on the record. The bonus track Eponenzgesetz, a tribute to Tangerine Dream, is comprised of keyboards only, is my favorite track and, thankfully, an instrumental.

Sadly, this sophomore effort does not reach the heights scaled by it's predecessor.