LIQUID TENSION EXPERIMENT 2

As with many follow-up project albums (Transatlantic's "Bridge across forever" an example) LTE2 lacks the inventive freshness of its predecessor. Where I felt LTE1 to have NO filler tracks, the two jam-based tracks here without Petrucci are just that. The rest of the songs all have their moments, but do not stick to your mind like "Paradigm Shift", "Kindred Spirits", "Freedom of Speech" or "Universal Mind". And where is Tony Levin? On LTE1 his playing was distinct but on this one he seems to drown in the mix. Four musicians milking a concept that's run dry; the experiment should have been left to rest after the intial success. Oh well.