SMPT:E

Transatlantic

Symphonic Prog

4.10 | 881 ratings

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LinusW
Special Collaborator
Honorary Collaborator

4.5 stars

After 31 minutes of the song All The Above I just sat there. Stunned. Slowly I started to smile, even laugh! This is one of the greatest epics I've ever heard. Stunningly beautiful, catchy and utterly progressive. This is all the good stuff from the '70s paired with great modern music, resulting in a very accessible masterpiece.

There's Hammond organ, modern synths and other, more atmospheric keys and fantastic piano. And on top of this the rich guitar of my countryman Roine Stolt and an always interesting, yet subtle bass courtesy of mr. Pete Trewavas. Vocals are soft and warm and the drumming duties are taken care of by no other than Mike Portnoy of Dream Theater fame. Need I say more?

Well, I guess I have to. Because not everything on this album is as masterful as All of the Above. We All Need Some Light sure is nice and gentle, but I've never really grown fond of it. Something of a yawner. Mystery Train is great and more like the opener, but more aggressive and with powerful drumming from Portnoy. My New World is second only to All of The Above, with a bunch of different segments, filled with strong influences from Beatles, but most certainly also from Yes!

In held ('twas) in I is the last song and it's a cover. Procol Harum, and I haven't heard the original. It sure is a tribute, but 17 minutes of it? It's a nice song, but I won't count it in the review. Doesn't feel right since it's not the band's own material and due to the fact that I can't compare it to the original.

I love this brand of warm, 'happy' (instrumentation) progressive rock. Always reminds me of Kansas. Great!

LinusW | 4/5 | 2008-2-17

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