SMPT:E

And here we have the premier album from modern prog's best known supergroup. And it's everything we might have hoped it would be. Grand epics, with stellar performances from each member, with just awesome solos.

Being the first album from this group, it has many of the characteristics of the bands the members were most known for. The opening track, All Of The Above would fit in quite well on any of the Neal Morse-led Spock's Beard albums, with a similar structure to some of their epics. And on My New World, Transatlantic equals the sound of The Flower Kings, in both beauty and grandiosity.

The band really hits their stride with Mystery Train, a heavy, slightly funky tune that, although a bit murky at times, works better here than on the toned down live versions. And My New World, where each member gets to shine, is a wonder.

The only downer is Morse's We All Need Some Light, which starts with Roine Stolt playing a Steve Howe-like acoustic guitar intro, leading to some anticipation of a beautiful ballad. But unfortunately it turns into a bland religious ballad, with Morse singing some particularly naive Christian buzzwords. It makes me wonder if it's Transatlantic's tolerance of this type of song that makes Morse feel that he can continue to record with them, and not the Beardies. Still, the song is short, and doesn't mar the rest of the album.