BRIDGE ACROSS FOREVER

The Prog supergroup are back with their second studio offering. Only four tracks on this album, but as two of these are over 26 minutes long and the other two are 14 and 5 minutes long respectively then I think we can forgive them. The title cut is a solo ballad from Neal, with good piano, but he has almost put himself into the background on this album in the way that he has managed to keep his normal prog writing style under wraps.

"Duel With The Devil" is one of the epics and it opens proceedings in a very Flower Kings/Pink Floyd fashion. The promo doesn't detail who wrote what, but I would be amazed not to see Roine's name on the credits. Broken into five sections it really does show the musical strength of this band. "Suite Charlotte Pike" starts, then stops with shouts of "Wassup!!" Take two starts almost immediately, and the band seem to be very much in a groove with a Beatle- esque slant on proceedings. After the title cut the other 26-minute epic "Stranger In You Soul" closes the album, which contains not only some very traditional Genesis-style keyboards but also some great instrumental passages, and vocals from both Neal and Roine. With both of them being very much the leaders of their own bands it is easy to overlook the rhythm section of Mike Portnoy and Pete Trewevas, but they are very much an integral part of the sound.

This is an album that repays careful listening, with four top musos having a blast in the studio. Apparently, the full version will be available as a digi pack with extra tracks (including "Shine On You Crazy Diamond") and some video footage.

Originally appeared in Feedback #64, Oct 01