TRANSCENDENCE

this album desperate me...get me very impatient .... songs in the classical line of NS ...similar to Tempest ones. But how can we call this work prog rock if drums don't appear ...if Leonard is almost a phantom..???? Very keyboards oriented...quite pleasant songs...nothing very special or original...so the preserve their Genesis PG era line...(of course much worse than their inspiration) So really if you are looking to electronic progressive ..Ok. But if you are a fan of the goos works of NS ...the lack of drums...is a situation difficult to swallow.... please North Star ROCK...ROCK...prog Rock...¿why Leonard is a phantom?... This is more close to a demo ...¡¡¡¡¡so many years for this¡¡¡¡¡ Sorry but my disappointing takes me to a 1 star review

This is a very special collection of art rock which I have played almost daily since I recieved it. To answer he former reviewer, which I understand doesn't speak or read English well , the drummer is deceased. The other members , apparently k Leonard and j Newnam mostly records this work as a tribute o he drummer. This means no drums . When the late g Leonard does show up on the recording I think it's Tech work . I see THIS TRIBUTE FINAL CD as a polar (polar star) reverse of TEMPEST in fact. Transcendence is rich in a lot of vocals and vocal harmonies and "tempest" in fact is completely instrumental. I can't truly see how anyone hears this as a genisis knock off. After 30 years of making North Star music And being compared to PG Genisis ,maybe NS deserves the crown Since genisis couldn't hold I together for 5 years. Hearty honest music on this cd. A lot of feelings. No drum rock , but endless textures and vibrational , musical mastership. Recommended for listeners with an ear for to the point, fine , subtle , and deep progressive composition. Not one for the beer party listeners to be sure.

When I first listened to this release it was very difficult to me to decide if I was listening to a studio album sensu stricto or a compilation. Transcendence is built in so special manner that it seems to have clear signs of a concept album, a song-based album and a 'rare-and-unreleased'-type compilation at the same time. Anyway it can faintly be rated as a regular studio release. All the compositions were composed and recorded long before 2015 when they were published, let's say in the pre-North Star era of North Star, most of them were performed by the duo of Kevin Leonard and Joe Newnam, not by the entire band, and all are rather etudes for keyboards and bass than genuine prog compositions. But all are full of beauty, so this release is worth to be familiar with for everyone who likes North Star and US progressive in toto.