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Review:
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I'm a huge fan of all the 4 bands that
the musicians of TRANSATLANTIC come from. Though I still
believe their best work is in each one of their different
groups (DREAM THEATER, THE FLOWER KINGS, SPOCK'S BEARD/NEAL
MORSE, MARILLION), Portnoy, Stolt, Morse and Trewavas have
given me moments of beautiful music together, and their
first album as a super-group, "SMPTe", was one of the first
progresive-rock recordings ever to grace my collection (in
fact, I met 3 of the main bands after, and thanks to, my
first experience with TRANSATLANTIC). So, this band is very
close to my heart. How does "The Whilrwind", then, compare
with their two previous efforts?***
I'll say it now: this is a great album,
but it suffers from the same gigantism that recent Stolt
and Morse works suffer from. The album starts with one of
the greatest introductions of the last years, with joyous,
exultant melodies that signal a bright future. Henceforth,
the music develops in the expected ways, with repetition
of the main themes, with Stolt and Morse taking turns in
the lead vocals (with some participation by the other two
members). the music tends to have a high-spirited taste
to it, I think deeply influenced by the beliefs of Morse
and the always-positive attitude of Stolt (Portnoy and Trewavas
usually make darker music). "The Wind blew them all away"
could've been extracted from a recording from Morse, for
example. ***
Melodies are great, musicianship is great
(Portnoy is very restrained, like always in TRANSATLANTIC,
and Trewavas actually has more of a chance to shine here
than in previous albums in my opinion). But the band makes
one mistake: they are enjoying it too much, and they forgot
that us, listeners, are not playing with them, but listening
to their playing. The album tends to drag toward the end,
and when we finally reach the final track we're exhausted.
"Dancing with the eternal glory/Whirwind" seems to have
been extended far beyond its reasonable running time, with
a coda that is as long as it is unnecessary. ***
I still prefer "SMPTe", with incredible
songs like "All of the Above" or their absolute best ever,
"My New World". I rank "The Whirlwind" right next to "Bridge
Across Forever", which has only four very long songs but
incredibly appears more restrained. I think "The Whilrwind"
is a fantastic progressive-rock album, with some of the
best music that can be produced in the symphonic-rock world,
but it misses perfection due to the inherent excesses of
the genre. I think 4 stars are just what it deserves. With
some trimming and editing, it could've reached an easy 5.***
Note: The second disc, made of covers and
4 original songs, leaves this reviewer cold, as the four
songs are rather forgettable, and the covers are usually
entertaning but irrelevant in a review, for me. Welcome
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