Review - Transatlantic - Bridge Across Forever

I like this one better than their most recent but both are still better than any album by Marvin Suggs and His Amazing Muppephone. Almost.

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Here's a good idea: take four musicians from critically acclaimed but widely unknown melodic progressive bands and make a "supergroup". Now put out an album with only four songs, two of which are almost thirty minutes long. Commercial suicide? Probably. Good eats? Definitely! The suspects in question are multi-instrumentalist and vocalist Neal Morse of Spock's Beard, Flower Kings guitarist Roine Stolt, Marillion bassist Pete Trewavas, and Dream Theater drummer Mike Portnoy. Last year they released their first album, SMPTe, which received the expected critical acclaim, ensuring this year's follow-up Bridge Across Forever. As a fan of melodic progressive music (as opposed to those bands which only want to show off their technical chops and the song be damned) I held my breath as I spun the CD, hoping for the former but fearing the latter. What I found is a nice amalgam of classic progressive rock and modern pop/rock, lots of memorably, hooky melodies, all presented with astounding musicianship cloaked in the guise of a good song. Actually, to this corn-fed Hoosier, the songs all have the indelible fingerprints of Morse on them (making the album sound quite a bit like the best albums by Spock's Beard) but with everyone sharing the vocal responsibilities, giving some nice variety to the mix. The entire album is very symphonic in it's structure. Each song is made up of a variety of recognizable melodies that cross-pollinate to other tracks, giving a nice cohesion to the album. For instance, the first track opens with a moving, melancholy, Morse-ish orchestral string section that develops into the "motherless children" theme that appears later in the second track. Elements of Dark Side Floyd surface later with the addition of sax and a gospel choir, which are later revoked and replaced with an aggressive rhythm and some really spicy guitar tones. The second track, at a puny thirteen minutes long, has a very "Abby Road side 2" feel about it and is literally brimming with hooks. The title track is a somber respite from the grandiose aural assaults of the previous tracks with Morse singing against piano and strings. The final track, "Stranger In Your Soul" begins with the same string passage that opened the album, albeit in a different key. After many musical changes, drawing from Supertramp to Gabriel-era Genesis to straight ahead 70s arena rock, the song, like the opening track, ends with an overblown, dramatic finale which to my ears sounds a bit overdone: a small Achilles heel for an otherwise remarkable project. As far as I'm concerned, any album that leaves it's songs in my head for days after last vibrating across my eardrums is a winner and this one has plagued me for weeks with it's astounding musicianship and catchy powerprogpop melodies. Now if only the voices would stop.

This review first appeared in WhatzUp, November 2001.

Review - Marillion - This Strange Engine

Maybe I should give this one another chance. It's been eleven years, after all. But then I'd have to relisten to The Flower Kings, another band I "should" like but whose music just doesn't click the ol' gears.

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Friends recommend albums. Sometimes you buy these albums they've so enthusiastically raved about. Sometimes you like these albums. Sometimes you wonder why these people are your friends for making you waste your money. Marillion is a UK prog-rock band with quite a history and many albums under its belt. On This Strange Engine, the British boys pare down the "prog" element to a point where it is barely noticeable. You won't find astounding feats of technical prowess, twisting irregular time signatures, or sprawling, complicated compositions. About the only "prog" element left is a hefty use of keyboard and the residue of musical influences. The first four tracks are homogenous to the point of sounding almost alike... acoustic guitar pop with keyboards. Still, "Man of a Thousand Faces" is the best of the lot and quite possibly the best on the album. There's a hint of Trevor Rabin-era Yes in the layered vocal harmonies and some very nice piano soloing embedded in the somewhat catchy chorus melody. "An Accidental Man" is also quite good, sounding like a cross between early Police, later Rush (if they used a bevy of keyboards), and early 80's Yes. Again, the song is saved by some blistering organ soloing and this little keyboard flourish that reminded me of Styx and managed to follow me for the better part of a day. But it goes downhill from there. Most Marillion fans were eager to hear of the lengthy title track which turned out to be an autobiographical fifteen-minute mess with the band not having a clear picture of what they wanted to say or how to say it. "One Fine Day" is a five and a half-minute song that stole large parts of the 70s song "Dreamweaver", and not always the best parts. The worst song, or best if you like cheese, is "Hope For the Future" that opens quite promisingly with a moody, bluesy guitar riff that exactly one minute later turns into the ugly stepbrother of the Lionel Ritchie hit "All Night Long." The worst sin in these songs is that there is no soul, no feeling, no burning passion... just bland pop carried out in a very efficient manner, almost as if they were recorded on automatic pilot. In short, this is not my cup of tea. This review first appeared in WhatzUp, June 2001.