Transatlantic: Kaleidoscope

Four years after The Whirlwind comes Kaleidoscope, the latest from progressive rock super-group Transatlantic. Generally, when Mike Portnoy, Neal Morse, Roine Stolt, and Pete Trewavas take time away from their other bands & projects and reconvene, we usually can expect some stellar results, and once again that is the case here. With five tracks, two of which clock in at over 25-minutes long, you can expect more bombastic, symphonic prog from these veterans, whose history includes time spent in Dream Theater, Spock's Beard, The Flower Kings, Marillion, Winery Dogs, Adrenaline Mob, Kaipa, and others.

Describing Transatlantic to someone who has never heard the band before usually entails 'imagine a cross between Dream Theater, Fish-era Marillion, Spock's Beard, and The Flower Kings, with a little Yes, Gentle Giant, and Genesis thrown in for good measure', and of course, that's still the case. The styles of all four musicians comes through in each song on Kaleidoscope, from the soaring, symphonic prog opener "Into the Blue", which fluctuates from muscular heaviness punctuated by Stolt's riffs, Portnoy's crashing drums, and Morse's raging Hammond organ, to soothing, Mellotron drenched progressive rock, with Neal's alluring vocals battling Roine's more charming delivery every step of the way. As a lengthy epic, this one works and doesn't disappoint.

The middle part of the CD contains shorter, more direct pieces. "Shine" is a lush, acoustic based number that's all about Morse's soaring melodies, while "Black as the Sky" is a upbeat rocker driven by Portnoy's powerful drumming and some effective lead vocals from Stolt, with Morse & Trewavas providing some expert backing vocals as well. Nice keyboard lines from Neal too, and he weaves some wild lines around Roine's searing lead guitar while Pete's bass rumbles underneath. The acoustic guitars, piano, and pedal steel come out for the emotional, pastoral "Beyond the Sun", complete with another great vocal from Morse.

That brings us to the grand finale, the near 32-minute title track...I mean, come on, when does Transatlantic NOT crank out a near half hour song on their albums? Here, they deliver two! The opening 'Overture' section sees the band throw every Yes/Gentle Giant/Genesis trick (of the tail!) in the book at the listener for a wild, acrobatic instrumental prog tour de force, with guitars a blazing, Mellotrons & Moogs creating waves, and the rhythms super charged. From there we move into the vocal parts of the song, with lyrics about soul searching, as the band takes you through many twists & turns, all of it engaging, especially the 'Ride the Lightning' and 'Desolation Days' parts. Tons of wonderful keyboard tapestries from Morse, and his vocals are top notch on his parts, as well as from Trewavas, Portnoy, & Stolt. Yeah, it's long, but otherwise this epic is a lot of fun.

There you have it-another winner from the guys that call themselves Transatlantic. It's actually kind of nice that the band have managed to keep this thing going, not overstaying their welcome, but popping up every few years and dropping some wonderful, epic symphonic prog in our laps. Let's hope they keep it going for years and years to come.

The special edition comes with a CD full of cover tunes, which we didn't get to review, but looks to be worth seeking out.

Track Listing
1) Into the Blue (25:11)
2) Shine (7:26)
3) Black as the Sky (6:43)
4) Beyond the Sun (4:29)
5) Kaleidoscope (31;53)

Added: February 14th 2014
Reviewer: Pete Pardo
Score:
Related Link: Band Website
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Language: english

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