The fourth track, “Beyond the Sun,” the only song credited to a single member of TA, Neal, is best described as something Anderson and Wakeman could have written around 1989. If this were still 1982, this song would absolutely dominate album rock radio in America, and TA would be one of the best selling artists and bands in music. The song, though, did make me a little sad. Talk about a rocking intro, one sure to enliven the entire crowd immediately. I hope they start off the concert with this. My favorite track, by far, is “Black as the Sky.” Every member of TA is in top form, but especially good are Roine’s vocals and the rhythm and interplay of Mike and Pete. The religion never becomes blatant, though, and it will probably seem merely a Jon Anderson-like love of the Cosmos for most listeners.Įveryone who loves TA has already had a chance to hear “Shine,” so I won’t go into details here, except to state that it 1) fits the albums and 2) has a sitar part at the beginning I didn’t catch in the video. Of all of the songs on the album, this is by far the most religious, lyrically, especially the references to St. Even the creepy, ominous voice that appeared on TFK’s “Bavarian Skies” and “White Tuxedos” makes a cameo here on “Into the Blue.” Very welcome, though, is the cameo vocals of Daniel Gildenloew. At moments, it sounds like pure TA, at other times, it sounds very much like a sequel to TFK’s Desolation Rose. Rather than it building and building, it builds, falls, and builds again several times. The first song, “Into the Blue,” doesn’t really pick up until several minutes into the song and past the atmospherics, the transition from The Whirlwind. Except, perhaps, for Neal’s one solo contribution and paean to hope, “Beyond the Sun.” The latter, though, bleeds directly into the 32-minutes finale, “Kaleidoscope,” and serves as an effective prologue. Fear not! As a song, Shine, seems like nothing else on the album. When the video of “Shine” appeared online, a number of proggers on the internet loved the song, of course (who doesn’t love TA?), but worried about the direction of Transatlantic, wondering if the whole album would have such a praise and worship feel. Appropriately, each song title deals with a color or a type of light. Ok, enough comparisons, but even the title of the new TA album is revealing, as a series of overlapping, reflecting images. To take this a bit further, Andy Tillison of The Tangent would be leading a cavalry charge uphill. Or, to put it in military terms, BBT is an Anglo-American Marine unit and TA is a group of late medieval Berserkers, ready to challenge the enemy through individual honor. Not that either is retro, as they both are their own and no one else’s, of course. While thinking of modern prog groups, BBT reminds me much more of 1973 Genesis, while TA reminds me of 1971 Yes. Sadly, that was 30 years ago, and I have no such time, though the desire remains. Were I still sixteen, I would spend hours trying to decipher the meaning of it all in some gnostic fashion. One picture in the accompanying booklet even mysteriously shows a white board with the parts of each member. It’s even a blast listening to TA albums, thinking, oh that’s Neal’s part, that’s Roine’s, that Mike’s, or that’s Pete’s. TA, though, sounds like four very separate individuals who want to play next to and around one another. Big Big Train, for example, always sounds like a group of brilliant individuals who have agreed to build an album while working firmly as a cohesive unit, a community without bounds. Yet, for me, it’s hard to think of Transatlantic as a band as much as I think of them as four friends, getting together to jam next to each other. A Transatlantic album is never just another offering, it’s always a moment in prog history.Ĭohesive Community or Autonomous Individuals? this is pure and glorious Transatlantic in every way.Īnd, what can one say about Transatlantic that hasn’t been said? These four guys not only embody traditional symphonic prog in their music, they live it and promote it and love it and cause lots of other folks to feel the same. The band, it seems, readily survived the whirlwind, and they’ve come back to tell us about their adventures.ĭespite the opening few moments of transition (over six minutes, actually) from the last album, Kaleidoscope has far more in common, in terms of structure and themes, with SMPT:e and Bridge Across Forever than it does with their 2009 masterpiece. The atmospherics and sound effects cause the listener to imagine the Transatlantic blimp/starship landing in a Close Encounters sort of way. The opening few moments of Kaleidoscope transition perfectly from the band’s previous outing, The Whirlwind. Transatlantic, Kaleidoscope (Radiant/Metal Blade/Inside Out, 2014).
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |