Transatlantic Official Thread

[HOF]

Not only is RCG a really dull song (IMO), that live performance he sampled is not great.

[425]

The daily Doug dude does Rose Colored Glasses.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=-IYhsL8Lj6k

Would not be the first TA song I’d recommend to someone. Haven’t watched this yet so not sure what he thinks of it.

I know in a lot of discussions we've sort of ceded ground to the KevShmev point of view on this, but in my opinion Rose Colored Glasses isn't even a song. It's written to be a part of a larger song, and it suffers from being disconnected from the rest of that piece. Listening to Rose Colored Glasses on its own, to me, is like listening to Camouflaged in Blue on its own. You can do it, but you lose something by puling it out of context.

[KevShmev]

The daily Doug dude does Rose Colored Glasses.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=-IYhsL8Lj6k

Would not be the first TA song I’d recommend to someone. Haven’t watched this yet so not sure what he thinks of it.

I know in a lot of discussions we've sort of ceded ground to the KevShmev point of view on this, but in my opinion Rose Colored Glasses isn't even a song. It's written to be a part of a larger song, and it suffers from being disconnected from the rest of that piece. Listening to Rose Colored Glasses on its own, to me, is like listening to Camouflaged in Blue on its own. You can do it, but you lose something by puling it out of context.

I agree that it works better within the flow of the album, which is a trend with concept albums Neal Morse is a part of (he has an uncanny knack, IMO, for writing songs that are great as standalone songs and also work extremely well within the context of the album), but I think it works great on its own as well. 

[ErHaO]

The daily Doug dude does Rose Colored Glasses.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=-IYhsL8Lj6k

Would not be the first TA song I’d recommend to someone. Haven’t watched this yet so not sure what he thinks of it.

I know in a lot of discussions we've sort of ceded ground to the KevShmev point of view on this, but in my opinion Rose Colored Glasses isn't even a song. It's written to be a part of a larger song, and it suffers from being disconnected from the rest of that piece. Listening to Rose Colored Glasses on its own, to me, is like listening to Camouflaged in Blue on its own. You can do it, but you lose something by puling it out of context.

I agree that it works better within the flow of the album, which is a trend with concept albums Neal Morse is a part of (he has an uncanny knack, IMO, for writing songs that are great as standalone songs and also work extremely well within the context of the album), but I think it works great on its own as well.

In general I would agree (examples being Similtude or even The Absolute Universe), but for me personally the majority of The Whirlwind does not work well standalone, especially when unfamiliar with the whole album.

[The Letter M]

The daily Doug dude does Rose Colored Glasses.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=-IYhsL8Lj6k

Would not be the first TA song I’d recommend to someone. Haven’t watched this yet so not sure what he thinks of it.

I know in a lot of discussions we've sort of ceded ground to the KevShmev point of view on this, but in my opinion Rose Colored Glasses isn't even a song. It's written to be a part of a larger song, and it suffers from being disconnected from the rest of that piece. Listening to Rose Colored Glasses on its own, to me, is like listening to Camouflaged in Blue on its own. You can do it, but you lose something by puling it out of context.

Funny enough, "Camouflaged In Blue" has been played by itself by a band with Pete Trewavas in it. The group consisted of Pete, John Mitchell, Jem Godfrey, and Craig Blundell, and they played at the Summer's End Festival in 2010, playing tunes by Frost*, Kino, Marillion, and the aforementioned Transatlantic piece.

-Marc.

[HOF]

The daily Doug dude does Rose Colored Glasses.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=-IYhsL8Lj6k

Would not be the first TA song I’d recommend to someone. Haven’t watched this yet so not sure what he thinks of it.

I know in a lot of discussions we've sort of ceded ground to the KevShmev point of view on this, but in my opinion Rose Colored Glasses isn't even a song. It's written to be a part of a larger song, and it suffers from being disconnected from the rest of that piece. Listening to Rose Colored Glasses on its own, to me, is like listening to Camouflaged in Blue on its own. You can do it, but you lose something by puling it out of context.

So I gave this some thought last night. Would I enjoy The Whirlwind as an album better if some of these songs were stitched together as epic tracks? I never really think of the individual sections of All of The Above or Duel With The Devil as individual songs, but as parts of a larger journey. With The Whirlwind, I do feel like it is sort of a collection of half finished songs (though I also find some of the melodies uncompelling, like on Rose Colored Glasses), but I don’t get any sense that they are connected with each other as parts of a musical whole. Sure there are recurring themes, but for whatever reason I just don’t view the album as one singular epic song.

[bosk1]

I agree that (1) it is odd to take part of a song out of context of the entire song for a first listen, and (2) although the live performance is very good, it loses a lot from the studio version.  I would like to see him do something else from TA.

[The Letter M]

I agree that (1) it is odd to take part of a song out of context of the entire song for a first listen, and (2) although the live performance is very good, it loses a lot from the studio version.  I would like to see him do something else from TA.

True. When he said RCG was suggested by "popular demand" (or something similar), I thought "Really?!" Every video of his where I see folks clamoring for Transatlantic typically ask for one of the big 3 epics, or even at least "My New World". He seems to pick unusual first-songs for bands that are new to him, like "Love Is The Only Answer" as his first foray into The Flower Kings, when I would've rather see him cover anything from the band's first five albums. At least he started with "Milliontown" for Frost* (although it was the live-in-the-studio version from 2010).

-Marc.

[HOF]

I agree that (1) it is odd to take part of a song out of context of the entire song for a first listen, and (2) although the live performance is very good, it loses a lot from the studio version.  I would like to see him do something else from TA.

True. When he said RCG was suggested by "popular demand" (or something similar), I thought "Really?!" Every video of his where I see folks clamoring for Transatlantic typically ask for one of the big 3 epics, or even at least "My New World". He seems to pick unusual first-songs for bands that are new to him, like "Love Is The Only Answer" as his first foray into The Flower Kings, when I would've rather see him cover anything from the band's first five albums. At least he started with "Milliontown" for Frost* (although it was the live-in-the-studio version from 2010).

-Marc.

I kind of wondered if the same guy who recommended Love Is The Only Answer recommended Rose Colored Glasses. I do hope he gets around to one of the epics from the first two TA albums (even Suite Charlotte Pike would be fun).

[Stadler]

Not appropos of anything, I LOVE "Rose Colored Glasses".

[hefdaddy42]

Not appropos of anything, I LOVE "Rose Colored Glasses".

I do too, and I think it could work just fine on its own.

I do, however, find it to be an odd choice for Doug's introduction to the band.

[darkshade]

One thing that keeps me from listening to more live Neal or live TA is the fact that everything is transposed down a half step. Watching the Daily Doug episode for RCG made me realize that song sounds weird in a few spots because it's not in the original key. I understand why they do it, but sometimes the key a song is in is a major part of why a riff, harmony, section, or melody works so well, and being so familiar with the studio work, it can irk me at times when I hear someone singing about to hit a higher note due to muscle memory, but then they drop it down suddenly because the key is lower.

[darkshade]

At this point, I think I can safely rank TAU.

The Whirlwind
Bridge Across Forever
SMPT:e
The Absolute Universe
Kaleidoscope

It's good, a flawed masterpiece. I think Forevermore could have used a little bit of editing, and cut down on the reprises of album's main themes, but Neal's TBOL cut out too much. However, I find each release worthy of listening to for the different experiences. I think there is a contender for #1 Transatlantic album in there, Forevermore is closer to it than The Breath of Life imo, but as we've discussed earlier the album has its various issues. I have no problem listening to either version straight through, the top 4 here are all great listens and my favorite TA albums. Kaleidoscope is the black sheep for me, though I really enjoy Into The Blue, the other songs on the album are either just fine, or a little boring, but nothing is bad. Hope we get one more out of them one day.

[HOF]

So yesterday I listened to Bridge Across Forever, The Whirlwind, and Kaleidoscope back to back to back.  I don’t think I’ve ever done that in one sitting, and it gave me a new appreciation for both The Whirlwind and Kaleidoscope. While I still think SMPTe and BAF are head and shoulders above the rest of the TA catalog, it helped to hear the later ones in context. Those first two were so monumental, it’s hard for me to accept the other albums for what they are - just solid releases in the life of a band that’s been around for over 20 years now.

I had such a high standard for TA after those first two albums. During the down period after BAF, I always thought if there was going to be a new TA album, it needed to be really special. Truthfully, I’m not sure I really felt like I needed more TA than what we had, and I was pretty much uninterested in Neal’s solo work at the time The Whirlwind came out so I avoided it for a long time. But with most bands, I tend to accept that not every album is going to be a masterpiece. Consistent, solid output is ok and lesser albums don’t have to diminish the masterpieces (Marillion is a good example of this, as are The Flower Kings).

All that to say, while there are parts of both The Whirlwind and Kaleidoscope that I don’t love, there is enough of the same magic that these guys brought to the first two TA albums and their other projects for me to enjoy them (and I’d say the same about TAU, even though it wasn’t part of this listening experience).

[bluefox4000]

How i ranke them

1. Bridge Across Forever
2. The Whrilwind
3. The Absolute Universe (i have no preference on a version.  love em all at this point......but guys.....never do the version thing again, lol)
4.  SMPT:e (not as high on this as others....it's an ok Debut...All of the Above is the highlight.)
5. Kaleidoscope (pretty bad.  this is just a Neal solo record with guests)

[425]

I need to revisit TAU after giving it a rest for about five months. But from memory, this is the first album on which Transatlantic sound like mere mortals. Which is to say, it's a good album, but not a magical one. I think I feel about it the way a lot of people do about Kaleidoscope, which to me is still their #3 and part of that magical run of four.

It feels strange to say it, but if NMB manages to make one more album that reaches the level of their first four... I think they could surpass Transatlantic.

[HOF]

5. Kaleidoscope (pretty bad.  this is just a Neal solo record with guests)

I don't know how they put Kaleidoscope together or which guys brought in which parts, but in my listen through the other day I thought Roine may have been a beet more prominent in the writing on this one. At least I got more of TFK vibe in some places than a Neal vibe.

[The Letter M]

Transatlantic’s classic second album Bridge Across Forever was released 20 years ago today on Oct. 9th, 2001. To celebrate the album’s anniversary, Transatlantic and Inside Out Music a recently released a special reissue of the album on gatefold 2LP+CD+LP-booklet.  The album contains some of the group’s most celebrated tracks, including the two 30-minute epics, “Duel with the Devil” and “Stranger In Your Soul”, along with the Beatles-influenced “Suite Charlotte Pike”, and the emotional title track. 
What's your favorite part of the album?
Buy/Stream the album here: https://transatlantic.lnk.to/BridgeAcrossForever-ReIssue2021

Giving this one a spin before I head into work this morning!



Also gonna take this moment to plug my Transatlantic Survivor one last time before it wraps up next week! The final round for the Covers Survivor just went up, pitting "The Return Of The Giant Hogweed" against "And You And I", and the 3rd-to-last round of the Finals Survivor just went up, featuring AOTA, MNW, DWTD, and SIYS. If you want to decide the final order of the Top Four Transatlantic Songs, please be sure to vote this weekend and then in the final two rounds going up on Monday and Wednesday next week (barring any tie-breakers).

-Marc.

[HOF]

I just went through a big TA kick a couple weeks back, including spinning this several times. BAF is still one of my very favorite albums ever without a doubt. It’s so perfect.

[The Letter M]

The VERY LAST ROUND of my Transatlantic Survivor ends tomorrow morning, and for the Final Round of the Finals, I'm asking folks to vote for their LEAST FAVORITE between "Stranger In Your Soul" and "Duel With The Devil", to decide which song takes 1st and which takes 2nd place in the whole Survivor.

Would love to see a few more votes. I'm honestly surprised that both BAF epics made it to the top two, but I personally wouldn't want it any other way. If anyone is curious, here's 3rd place to 15th from the Finals Rounds:

03. All Of The Above
04. My New World
05. Into The Blue
06. Is It Really Happening?
07. Overture / Whirlwind
08. Owl Howl
09. The World We Used To Know
10. Heart Like A Whirlwind / Reaching For The Sky
11. On The Prowl
12. The Darkness In The Light
13. Higher Than The Morning
14. We All Need Some Light
15. Black As The Sky

(The Finals consisted of the top 2 songs from SMPT:e, BAF, and Kaleidoscope, top 3 from The Whirlwind, and top 4 from TAU, with the top 2 songs from Consolation Rounds)

-Marc.

[Beedle]

Hi all.  I wanted to drop by and say I have 2 tickets available for the show in Glenside, PA at the Keswick on April 15th.  They are in the front center section, row BB.  I will most likely be unable to go and thought I'd see if anyone here was interested.  Please feel free to message me!

[The Letter M]

Happy 1 Year Anniversary to The Absolute Universe (all three versions).

One year on, I'd say it's still one of my favorites from 2021, and it still holds up for me. I think I listened to it several weeks ago and found myself still really enjoying it (the Ultimate version). I don't think I've heard Forevermore since last March or so, not since I got my hands on a digital version of the Ultimate mix, and I've maybe heard The Breath Of Life a few times since release.

It'll be interesting to see how they pull it all off live in a couple months!

-Marc.

[Nel]

Unfortunately the opposite for me, I listened to the abridged version 3 times, and the extended twice, and absolutely nothing grabbed me. Their weakest album by far.

[Kram]

Happy 1 Year Anniversary to The Absolute Universe (all three versions).

One year on, I'd say it's still one of my favorites from 2021, and it still holds up for me. I think I listened to it several weeks ago and found myself still really enjoying it (the Ultimate version). I don't think I've heard Forevermore since last March or so, not since I got my hands on a digital version of the Ultimate mix, and I've maybe heard The Breath Of Life a few times since release.

It'll be interesting to see how they pull it all off live in a couple months!

-Marc.

I agree.  It was my AOTY for 2021 and still loving it.  I think it stands up well against the rest of their discography.

[Fritzinger]

I listened to Forevermore about a week ago.

I was lukewarm on TAU when it came out and I still am. It's a good album, but it's far, FAR away from f.e. The Whirlwind. I just think the whole album should have been more thought through. Many ideas that were clearly brought in separately by the members were patched together and they just don't form the coherent piece I (or the band) would like them to form - or that other NM(B) albums form, like Similitude or Adventure. Also, I would have like less vocals (and less vocals by Pete) and more fun instrumental stuff like Is It Really Happening?.

Finally, the whole thing screams compromise. Bringing out three version might have been advertised as new, prog and awesome by MP, but it's really just lack of focus for me. MP's "Ultimate" edition not making sense by reprising/not reprising certain themes from BoL and Forevermore doesn't make it better. I would have loved if they had gotten together again and made a real ultimate version, lasting like 80 minutes or so.

That being said, I still think the "Belong, belong"-theme is one of Neal's greatest from the last years (I assume it's Neal's)!

[Setlist Scotty]

Unfortunately the opposite for me, I listened to the abridged version 3 times, and the extended twice, and absolutely nothing grabbed me. Their weakest album by far.

Just like the new DT, I think it will grow on you as you give it progressively more spins. Personally I would put it as my second favorite just behind BAF - specifically the BoL version. For me the FM version has too much superfluous stuff and I agree with how Neal edited it out of the BoL version.

As for TAU being a patchwork, I didn't feel that way at all. To me it feels like there is much more of an equal balance throughout the album than it being Neal-driven, which is the feeling I get from at least the previous 2 TA albums.

[DoctorAction]

It didn't grab me hard and I've not been back to it. There are a few things that grated when listening to it but, in the main, the 3 format bullshit put me off. The results of the band saying "We can't agree how to compose an album together!" just smells. And having them spin it as some ground-breaking thing instead annoyed the arse off me.

[HOF]

Happy 1 Year Anniversary to The Absolute Universe (all three versions).

One year on, I'd say it's still one of my favorites from 2021, and it still holds up for me. I think I listened to it several weeks ago and found myself still really enjoying it (the Ultimate version). I don't think I've heard Forevermore since last March or so, not since I got my hands on a digital version of the Ultimate mix, and I've maybe heard The Breath Of Life a few times since release.

It'll be interesting to see how they pull it all off live in a couple months!

-Marc.

I need to give it another spin. I will say after the first month or two after it was released, I haven’t gone back and listened to it all the way through many times since. My impression of it is still positive, but I haven’t had the urge to listen to it very often either.

[425]

I was lukewarm on TAU when it came out and I still am. It's a good album, but it's far, FAR away from f.e. The Whirlwind.

...

That being said, I still think the "Belong, belong"-theme is one of Neal's greatest from the last years (I assume it's Neal's)!

I agree with your overall assessment of the album, but take the total opposite view of the "belong" theme. I've gone on a tear about this before, so I won't reprise all of that, but I really don't like that theme. It's so sing-songy and it sounds like a taunt, but it's meant in earnest. And they plaster all over the album, every chance they get, it seems.

[Revenge319]

I listened to TAU: The Breath of Life when it came out, but never returned to it since its release. I'm unsure if/when I'll return to it, because nothing about it stuck with me, and that's in contrast to Bridge Across Forever and The Whirlwind which had me hooked right away, and both of those went on to become two of my favorite albums ever.

[bosk1]

I really liked it when it came out.  I have cooled off on it a little since then, but still really like it.  When it was newer, I was thinking I might rank it in the top 3.  Now, I think it is squarely #4 behind the first three albums.  But it isn't far behind them, and is clearly far ahead of Kaleidoscope for me.

[krands85]

I couldn't really get in to it unfortunately. The different versions didn't help matters, but I'm probably just weird when it comes to Transatlantic - Kaleidoscope is still my favourite album of theirs 

[gzarruk]

That being said, I still think the "Belong, belong"-theme is one of Neal's greatest from the last years (I assume it's Neal's)!

IIRC, that one came from Roine. I remember him talking about it during an interview from around the album release.

[Metro]

I listened to TAU quite a bit last year, and at one point I probably would have considered it my AOTY. For a while, every day I would wake up with a different section of the album stuck in my head. Then in the second half of the year when a bunch of other new music came out, my attention went elsewhere and I didn't listen to it for a while.
At the end of last year I tried to listen to the Ultimate Edition in one sitting and I just couldn't do it. It just drags so much towards the end, and with this version of the album the goal just seems to be "How long can we possibly make this?"

I'm taking a break from Transatlantic until Morsefest this year. Speaking of which, I finally made my Airbnb reservations for that weekend.

[ErHaO]

Ultimately I feel the Abridged version is the best as an album. It is nice to have the longer one, but I keep coming back to the Breath of Life version more. Looking at streaming services, I think I am in the minority.