Author: Peter Podbrežnik
Artist: Transatlantic
Label: Inside Out Records
Release: 2014
Length: 75:43
Rating: 5/5
»Kaleidoscope«, the fourth studio album from the international progressive rock supergroup Transatlantic, may even be their best yet. That’s an especially big achievement after three top-notch studio outings that didn’t spark a new genre renaissance, but still proved that you can make ‘old-school’ prog rock in the 21st century and stay artistically distinctive. The four top-class musicians, who live and breathe their music from dawn to dusk, have joined forces again and recorded an album that every fan of progressive rock in its most honest, primal form will love. Almost five years have passed since their previous record, »The Whirlwind« (2009), which isn’t all that long for musicians juggling a whole heap of different projects.
In the meantime, drum maestro Mike Portnoy left his ‘home’ band Dream Theater and threw himself even more wholeheartedly into crafting the new Transatlantic album, where he’s once again joined by his old buddies: American singer/keyboardist Neal Morse (ex-Spock’s Beard), Swedish singer/guitarist Roine Stolt (The Flower Kings) and English bassist Pete Trewavas (Marillion). Portnoy and Morse got the first songwriting ideas for some of the »Kaleidoscope« tracks back when they were busy with their new, equally ‘star-studded’ project Flying Colors, so their European bandmates were later able to build on some of those original ideas with their arrangements.
This time Transatlantic came up with ‘only’ five compositions, but, to the delight of all fans of long progressive rock epics, two of them run over 25 minutes. One of the wonderful things about all four of these musical heavyweights is that individual arrangements often recall the work of their ‘home’ bands or Morse’s solo career, so listeners and fans of those bands never know what Transatlantic will serve up around the ‘next’ corner.
The opening 25-minute suite, »Into the Blue«, is split into five sections, with the first one, »Overture«, entirely instrumental. Neal’s distinctive vocals only kick in at the six-minute mark, after the whole foursome has already shown off their enviable virtuoso chops, keeping the individual arrangements melodic and the overall vibe positive, with an ambience that slightly recalls the usual ambient moves of Roine’s The Flower Kings.
On the epic section »The Dreamer and the Healer«, Neal’s emotionally rich singing is especially impressive, while the multi-part harmonies between guitar and keyboards are a real feast for the ears. »A New Beginning« is the somewhat jazzier moment of the suite, where the four indulge in plenty of varied improvisational feats. That means Trewavas lays down quite a few complex, impressive bass lines while Portnoy keeps switching between different drumming styles. This time Roine takes the lead vocal, and among other things serves up punchy, spicy guitar passages that keep fine company with Neal’s witty moves on the Hammond organ.
The backing vocal harmonies are, as usual when it comes to Transatlantic, excellent, since Portnoy and Trewavas are also more than decent singers when the moment calls for it, even though plenty of Dream Theater fans still have doubts about Mike’s singing talent. The section »Written in Your Heart«, where special guest Daniel Gildenlöw (Pain Of Salvation) joins in on backing vocals, is markedly melodramatic and packs mighty symphonic curtains, sprawling guitar harmonies and a few pastoral elements. At the close, the section »The Dreamer and the Healer« comes back around, so the circle of this epic treat, perhaps even the best piece on »Kaleidsocope«, gets a melodic and harmonious epilogue.
The pastoral, slightly psychedelic »Shine«, where Stolt shows off some very subtle acoustic guitar playing, is a rousing number that was practically made for live shows. That goes especially for the unabashedly positive chorus, led by the eternal preacher Morse, while the backing vocal harmonies are once again at an enviable level, as is Portnoy’s short psychedelic stint as lead singer. Fans of big guitar heroes can also enjoy Roine’s inventive guitar improvisation here.
»Black as the Sky« will surely appeal to all fans of the eighties neo prog movement, since it has a strong layer of high-ringing synth textures up front, while the vocal chops of the whole foursome create tasty, melodic harmonies between the time changes. Here too there’s no shortage of generous, witty improvisations of the kind only the best in their musical craft can come up with. »Beyond the Sun« is a melancholic piano ballad with Neal in the lead role. His singing adds an almost religious stamp to the piano and string arrangements and will most likely go down well with all fans of his solo career.
For the big finale, Transatlantic have prepared a nearly 32-minute magnum opus titled »Kaleidoscope«, i.e. the title track, which spans no fewer than seven sections. The instrumental opening section, »Overture«, has quite a few fierce clashes between guitar and keyboards, while Portnoy also shows off a bit of a metal approach to the drum kit, which will please all prog metal fans. Despite the considerable complexity of the individual sections, Transatlantic keep a distinctly melodic thread running throughout. That’s especially audible on the cheerful neo prog merry-go-round »Ride the Lightning«, which, thanks to the synth textures, should also catch the ear of some fans of Fish-era Marillion. Morse, with his charismatic vocal contribution, once again plays a key role in creating the magical atmosphere that mirrors the musical philosophy of all four Transatlantic members.
The section »Black Gold« boasts a mysterious, somewhat dark mood that leans slightly toward Genesis’ »A Trick of the Tail« era, but the next moment, thanks to Roine’s vocals, it starts to recall some The Flower Kings standard. That goes especially for the ‘rainbow’ chorus, which is completely in the Flower Kings style, while the mellotron motif will remind plenty of people of early King Crimson. After that Morse shines with witty synth improvisations, and then Stolt’s cunning guitar soloing joins in, making no secret of the fact that this is a composition with a completely ‘retro seventies’ approach and atmosphere.
»Walking the Road«, thanks to its central symphonic motif, recalls the Genesis classic »Afterglow«, while Pete Trewavas pleasantly surprises in the lead vocal role, his melancholic, slightly frayed timbre fitting nicely with the subtle keyboard curtains. An orchestral part with mighty symphonic keyboard arrangements and fascinating guitar passages heralds the next section, »Desolation Days«. There Neal once again excels as lead singer, this time with excellent backing from acoustic arrangements, mellotron and brilliant vocal accompaniment.
This is followed by the complex instrumental section »Lemon Looking Glass«, into which the four musical masters pour all their virtuoso skills and conjure up a real prog rock orgy of total spontaneity and unpredictability. Of course, here too you can find certain comparisons with the legacy of the prog classics. In this case Stolt’s improvisational guitar approach will surely remind plenty of listeners of King Crimson’s »Red« era. This epic masterpiece of enviable technical and ambient dimensions does finally come to an end, as for the finale they reprise the melodically spicy »Ride the Lightning« motif, which wraps up »Kaleidoscope« (the song and the album) in an almost ideal way.
The special edition of »Kaleidsocope« comes with a bonus disc on which Transatlantic cover songs by some of their favorite artists. Given that all the versions of well-known songs are at the very least interesting, if not outstanding, picking up this edition is fairly advisable for all loyal fans. The instrumentally rather faithful cover of the Yes classic »And You And I« is certainly by far the most predictable choice, but Morse and Stolt split the vocal duties between them superbly and in this way brought a wholly distinctive magic to this »Close to the Edge« evergreen. Quite a bit bigger surprises are the excellent cover of the Electric Light Orchestra standard, the art rock masterpiece »Can’t Get it Out of My Head«, and the no less interesting, almost prog metal version of the Procol Harum evergreen »Conquistador«.
How eclectic the musical tastes of the individual Transatlantic members are is best shown by the cover of Elton John’s hit »Goodbye Yellow Brick Road« and a fresh take on the Small Faces standard »Tin Soldier«, which Uriah Heep also covered in the early eighties. Such versatile musicians happily and convincingly take on the world of glam rock and rhythm and blues too. With their cover of the Focus masterpiece »Sylvia«, Transatlantic return to the world of progressive rock, while one of the more interesting picks is the cover of the chaotic King Crimson treat »Indiscipline«. The Moody Blues evergreen »Nights In White Satin« is, along with »And You And I«, the most predictable choice, especially given that all the Transatlantic members are big fans of mellotron and orchestral arrangements.
It would be quite a surprise if »Kaleidoscope« weren’t the first serious contender for best progressive rock album of 2014, given that all four members of this superstar lineup keep diligently delivering a level of consistent quality that plenty of younger peers can only envy. There aren’t many similar prog rock formations around these days, in fact there are laughably few, and most of them usually include at least one former or current Dream Theater member (not necessarily Portnoy), so every new Transatlantic release means a barrel of joy, especially for all those music lovers who haven’t lost hope that progressive rock might one day shake up the scene again in today’s commercial music world, since »Kaleidoscope« climbed all the way to number six on the German and Dutch album charts.
Lineup
Neal Morse – vocals, keyboards, acoustic guitar
Roine Stolt – vocals, electric guitar, percussion, additional keyboards
Pete Trewavas – bass guitar, backing vocals
Mike Portnoy . drums, backing vocals
GUEST MUSICIANS:
Chris Carmichael – cello
Rich Mouser – pedal steel guitar on “Beyond the Sun”
Daniel Gildenlöw – special guest vocalist on “Written in Your Heart”
Production
Transatlantic
Tracklist
1. Into The Blue (25:13)
2. Shine (7:28)
3. Black As the Sky (6:45)
4. Beyond The Sun (4:31)
5. Kaleidoscope (31:53)
CD2 (bonus CD on the special edition):
1. And You And I (Yes cover) (10:45)
2. Can’t Get It Out Of My Head (ELO cover) (4:46)
3. Conquistador (Procol Harum cover) (4:13)
4. Goodbye Yellow Brick Road (Elton John) (3:20)
5. Tin Soldier (Small Faces cover) (3:22)
6. Sylvia (Focus cover) (3:49)
7. Indiscipline (King Crimson cover) (4:45)
8. Nights In White Satin (The Moody Blues cover) (6:13)
