SMPT:E

Well for every 5 star review I do I try to balance it with a 2 or 3 star review (let's face it, you have to look hard to find a 1 or 2 star prog album). So I am led to review the first Transatlantic album. So many stars, so much promise here, and they almost did it. The album is brilliant, inconsistent, and fulfils and disappoints at the same time. The first song is brilliant. Surprising is Pete's amazing bass playing, and Mike's ability to play symph prog. Neil's writing is up to his usual (at the time) standard, and Roine takes a low profile sideman role here, though he also sounds great. But, unfortunately it's all downhill from here. We are treated to a few throwaways (think Spock's Beard and Flower Kings weaker tunes), and a totally pointless cover. In this case it is the brilliant "In Held T'was in I" by Procal Harum, a brilliant proto-prog item, the cover of which adds nothing and if fact subtracts from the absolutely brilliant and ground-breaking (should I say genre-inventing) original. If you want to hear this song in all its glory, get the reissue of their "Shine on Brightly" and don't look back. I'll go with 3 stars here because "All of the Above" really is great.