I heard rumors and kind of ignored it,but it seems it's official now!
http://www.mikeportnoy.com/forum/m2293973.aspx (http://www.mikeportnoy.com/forum/m2293973.aspx)
TRANSATLANTIC FLIES AGAIN!!!
PROGRESSIVE ROCK SUPERGROUP
REUNITES FOR NEW STUDIO ALBUM.
POSSIBLE LATE 2009 RELEASE PLANNED.
TRANSATLANTIC, the progressive rock "supergroup" comprised of Mike Portnoy (Dream Theater), Pete Trewavas (Marillion), Roine Stolt (The Flower Kings) and Neal Morse (ex-Spock's Beard), have reunited after a 7 year hiatus to begin work on a brand new studio album.
The band began work on the album in early April in Nashville and are expected to have it released by year's end if all goes as planned.
TRANSATLANTIC have previously released two studio albums to tremendous critical and fan acclaim: 2000's SMPTe and 2001's Bridge Across Forever. The band toured on the heels of each release with an American Tour in 2000 and a European Tour in 2001 and released subsequent Live DVD's/CD's from both tours before going their separate ways for an indefinite hiatus which lasted almost the entire decade.
(//http://i394.photobucket.com/albums/pp29/ytsejams_inc/TA2009.jpg)
Oooooooo! That's very cool and unexpected news. Wouldn't that be a nice Christmas gift? I wonder if they'll do any live shows.
YYYYYYEEEEEESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!!!!!!
[/lame retro-prog fanboy]
OMG super psyched to read that I never though it would happen, whatever next Neal Morse rejoins Spock's Beard?
Was super lucky to see Transatlantic live although I remember somebody here wasn't overly impressed with their live DVD I guess you had to be there and be a fan. I'd go see them again without hesitation
ARGH YES!
Transat-fucking-lantic! :D
They're one of my all time favorite bands. I was at the 013 show they shot for their last DVD. Such a memorable evening.
I for one, can't wait to hear this new album. If the last albums are anything to go by, this thing will KICK.ASS.
PSYCHED!
I hope they do forty 2 minute songs.
Quote from: "MikeEvs"Was super lucky to see Transatlantic live although I remember somebody here wasn't overly impressed with their live DVD I guess you had to be there and be a fan. I'd go see them again without hesitation
Me too! Were you at the Astoria gig? That is probably my second favourite gig of all time...
:D
Just in time for Rosfest 2010 ;)
Whoooooooo, excellent! :D
Quote from: "LivingForever"Quote from: "MikeEvs"Was super lucky to see Transatlantic live although I remember somebody here wasn't overly impressed with their live DVD I guess you had to be there and be a fan. I'd go see them again without hesitation
Me too! Were you at the Astoria gig? That is probably my second favourite gig of all time...
:D
Yes I was, small world :lol:
:D :D :D
This is excellent news if somewhat unexpected! I trust Neal Morse won't be singing about God and Jesus all the time on this new album though... :|
Quote from: "MikeEvs"Quote from: "LivingForever"Quote from: "MikeEvs"Was super lucky to see Transatlantic live although I remember somebody here wasn't overly impressed with their live DVD I guess you had to be there and be a fan. I'd go see them again without hesitation
Me too! Were you at the Astoria gig? That is probably my second favourite gig of all time...
:D
Yes I was, small world :lol:
So was I :D
They also signed up a guest photoshop soloist too it seems? <ducks>
Quote from: "D S":D :D :D
This is excellent news if somewhat unexpected! I trust Neal Morse won't be singing about God and Jesus all the time on this new album though... :|
(the) word.
Quote from: "D S":D :D :D
This is excellent news if somewhat unexpected! I trust Neal Morse won't be singing about God and Jesus all the time on this new album though... :|
AMEN to that, brother... :-)
Quote from: "LivingForever"Quote from: "D S":D :D :D
This is excellent news if somewhat unexpected! I trust Neal Morse won't be singing about God and Jesus all the time on this new album though... :|
AMEN to that, brother... :-)
+1!
I hope he will be singing about having a beer, smoking a cigarette, eating teacakes...
Quote from: "Pajter"I was at the 013 show they shot for their last DVD. Such a memorable evening.
Me too! :D
Very excited about this!!! :mrgreen:
Quote from: "Bert"Quote from: "MikeEvs"Quote from: "LivingForever"Quote from: "MikeEvs"Was super lucky to see Transatlantic live although I remember somebody here wasn't overly impressed with their live DVD I guess you had to be there and be a fan. I'd go see them again without hesitation
Me too! Were you at the Astoria gig? That is probably my second favourite gig of all time...
:D
Yes I was, small world :lol:
So was I :D
Me too!! Was it me or was Roine not a happy bunny that night? :)
Oh happy day! The best reformation news in ages
:D
I love their two studio albums, and, even though I am a Christian, it will be great to hear Neal Morse sing about something else, or at least use allegory with a bit more subtlety. It will also be nice to hear Pete Trewavas flexing his prog muscles again.
I wasn't keen on Transatlantic's first live album (patchy and under-rehearsed, to my ears), but the second one was fab. I didn't get or watch the DVDs - the TV in our house is democratically controlled and rationed (which basically means I don't get to watch any prog LOL).
I reckon that twenty 4-minute prog songs is actually do-able ;)
In fact, if they managed 15 short songs, then one 20-minute epic would surely be forgiveable :evil:
Cheers,
David
Fantastic news, hopefully they'll tour and I'll get to see them at last :D
I do hope they'll take their time for this. Not like how Dream Theater craps out an entire album in just two weeks.
Quote from: "The Cosmic Lawnmower"Quote from: "Bert"Quote from: "MikeEvs"Quote from: "LivingForever"Quote from: "MikeEvs"Was super lucky to see Transatlantic live although I remember somebody here wasn't overly impressed with their live DVD I guess you had to be there and be a fan. I'd go see them again without hesitation
Me too! Were you at the Astoria gig? That is probably my second favourite gig of all time...
:D
Yes I was, small world :lol:
So was I :D
Me too!! Was it me or was Roine not a happy bunny that night? :)
From what I can remember early in the set his guitar was a little quiet in the mix and I couldn't really hear him that well it got better as the night went on but maybe it was that not that I suppose he'd know what the sounds was like for me up on the balcony :lol:
not heard much by them but i give anything with bouncy pete in a go.
Quote from: "Dodie"........ it will be great to hear Neal Morse sing about something else, or at least use allegory with a bit more subtlety.
Yes please.
BTW, wasn't that the reason he stopped working with TA? I wonder what has changed......
Quote from: "RWA"Quote from: "Dodie"........ it will be great to hear Neal Morse sing about something else, or at least use allegory with a bit more subtlety.
Yes please.
BTW, wasn't that the reason he stopped working with TA? I wonder what has changed......
Maybe it was some sort of schism in the church of TA. After all Roine Stolt is rather keen on the religious imagery as well. Perhaps his is just the wrong sort... :twisted:
It was my belief that at the time Neal chose to part with all other bands, he simply wanted to focus his energy on his new project. My initial reaction was that surely he had enough creative energy to do his thing and still be involved in SB and TA. Perhaps now he's decided he has room for it.
Quote from: "gr8gonzo"It was my belief that at the time Neal chose to part with all other bands, he simply wanted to focus his energy on his new project. My initial reaction was that surely he had enough creative energy to do his thing and still be involved in SB and TA. Perhaps now he's decided he has room for it.
No no no... it was much more serious then that I'm afraid. :?
God told him to finish "Snow" and then leave SB. I'm not kidding. He said that in his statement back then and it's also on the "making of Snow" DVD. Then Neal realized he HAD to devote his life to God and that it became impossible for him to sing about anything else then "him". That's how it went. Besides, he became (deeply) religious back in the late 90's when his daugther kinda magically cured from a pretty serious heart condition. This is a story he told at the "Testimony" gigs.
Anyway! I'm very glad though he's back. I mean, I respect the man (very nice guy and extremely talented) and kept following his career closely but grow a bit tired of both the lyrics and the music lately. I think a lot of fans did. And fact is he was way more succesfull with SB and TA then during his solo career. A lot of old school fans "left" him and word is he doesn't seem to fit into the praise community/genre. Lot's of money can be made there but praise prog doesn't seem to be awfully succesfull.
Quote from: "RWA"praise prog doesn't seem to be awfully succesfull.
That comment encapsulates so many levels of truth and humour that I don't even know where to begin.
Quote from: "Geetar"Quote from: "RWA"praise prog doesn't seem to be awfully succesfull.
That comment encapsulates so many levels of truth and humour that I don't even know where to begin.
Yeah, I think the phrase comes from the book of Genesis, 6:13. Left page if I remember correctly. ;)
Great news! Almost worth finding my bottle of Glenfiddish and celebrate but I think I'll leave that for the next rebirth of Morse's Christianity. He's a really nice guy (though?), even though he did fondle my Snow Limited Edition case and wrote "God Bless" all over it. A simple "Neal Morse" would suffice, thanks :)
I met Neal last year and seemed like a nice guy to me...interesting 'tan' colour....and no doubts on his talent...songwriting, vocals, keyboards, guitars and not bad on drums either...
I hope they tour, so I can make up missing the opportunity of seeing them in Oxford a few years ago...Doh!!
That is indeed great news - I missed them first time round so it'd be great to see them if they do tour. Fingers crossed!
It'll be out in October!!!
http://www.mikeportnoy.com/forum/tm.aspx?m=2399307 (http://www.mikeportnoy.com/forum/tm.aspx?m=2399307)
I'll be freezing myself until that date arrives. The wait would be insufferable!
One 77-minute track??!?!!?! Blimey!
They're famous for their epics, but 77 minutes is one hell of a song!
Let's hope it's not mostly "filler" material. Neal Morse's latest efforts have these long boring passages which I tend to skip. IMO it's better to have a 10 minute killer song from start to finish, than to add these sections which just don't really add anything.
I don't think they'll release it as one track though. It'll probably (and hopefully) be split into separate tracks. Although then it's more of a concept album than a single epic track. At least, that's the way I see it.
Do you think that they'll be kind enough enough to stay with Inside Out, who then put it on eMusic on release, and I only get to use one of my October's 10 credits on it?
No - didn't think so....
Mind you - Return of the Giant Hogweed on the bonus disc - should be fun
Oh ho, looks very tasty! And I love the artwork. The few covers are going to be very interesting too, especially the afforementioned Hogweed. :)
That reminds me, I must look into actually buying and listening to their previous releases...
Quote from: "FantomG"I met Neal last year and seemed like a nice guy to me...interesting 'tan' colour....
:lol: :lol:
Just caught wind of this.
Quote from: "Pajter"IMO it's better to have a 10 minute killer song from start to finish, than to add these sections which just don't really add anything.
Well, in Transatlantic's case, the short songs are usually the fillers (to be exact, "Morsian" fillers), so I myself am pretty excited about this gargantuan epic... I just hope everyone of them had an equal part in the writing process, and that "his holiness Neal" :lol: didn't came out of his "no-more-Transat" phase just to turn it into another solo album with guests.
I take it you're referring to the song Bridge Across Forever?
Yeah it's a bit of a filler moment, but it's still a beautiful song imo. :)
Indeed I am ; and it's a beautiful Neal song, not a Transatlantic one ;)
I've always considered it a Transatlantic song, even though it's technically Neal doing all the work.
Still, it's on their album so. :lol:
http://bandwidth.csrtechnologies.com/Ra ... railor.php (http://bandwidth.csrtechnologies.com/RadiantRecords/new_trailor.php)
Here's a trailer. I'm a little more excited hearing this than I was when I first heard it; one 77 minute song seems a bit too much for me but we'll see. The stuff in the trailer sounds nicely down my alley but who knows?!
I just pre-ordered. Listening to The Return of the Giant Hogweed right now. Crappy 128kbps download quality, but oh my, this is AMAZING!
Oh, look! A river! (//http://btjunkie.org/torrent/Transatlantic-The-Whirlwind-2009/3773751123a29ed0be02c17015a3737f68518547838b)
It's a pity it has some voices in the middle of the songs saying: hey! this is a promo!
Quote from: "Gandalf1986"Oh, look! A river! (//http://btjunkie.org/torrent/Transatlantic-The-Whirlwind-2009/3773751123a29ed0be02c17015a3737f68518547838b)
It's a pity it has some voices in the middle of the songs saying: hey! this is a promo!
WOAH! That's incredibly fast!
Thanks a lot though. This will keep me happy until my pre-order arrives.
Quote from: "Gandalf1986"Oh, look! A river! (//http://btjunkie.org/torrent/Transatlantic-The-Whirlwind-2009/3773751123a29ed0be02c17015a3737f68518547838b)
It's a pity it has some voices in the middle of the songs saying: hey! this is a promo!
You bad, bad man :lol: , now I have to make the hard decision of whether to give in and download or wait until realease. :?
The voices aren't annoying at all. They're actually kinda funny sometimes. Besides, they're not at all frequent.
As for the music, not overly impressed at first listen. It sounds more like a Neal Morse album, which I already feared seeing as he wrote the song. I was hoping the other members had made some more drastic changes.
It's not bad at all though. It just doesn't really feel like Transatlantic. Maybe it needs to grow on me some more.
I've listened to it 10 times, so I can tell you: this is a Neal Morse album featuring Portnoy, Treawavas and Stolt... I expected this!
How are the lyrics? Are they all about Jesus? :shock:
Quote from: "LivingForever"How are the lyrics? Are they all about Jesus? :shock:
:lol: There are some lines that makes you think about that, so yes!
Oh dear those replies have all confirmed my deepest fears :cry:
I really was hoping for something a bit less like Neal Morse's solo albums.
I have to say, the second listen was a lot better!
There's an article about it in the new "Prog" mag and in the three sentences describing what it is about, Neal mentions God in two of them.
So this really could be a Neal Morse solo album played by Transatlantic. I'd need to hear it all first. Wonder if they'll make one track a free download? ;)
Now, I have no problem with music that carries a religious message but I'm not so keen on a religious message set to music...if the distinction is clear from that.
It can be done in a subtle way. I have an album by Danny Cope that I really like and play quite a bit. I had no clue that the guy was in to religious music until I emailed asking if a second album was coming. He mailed back to say there was but I might not like it cos it was being done as a religious album. I listened to a lot of the tracks on his website and, as he predicted, I seriuosly didn't like it. The words were very "You are the light, you are the light, you are the light, light our way" and the music was similarly structured. I guess the target audience like it like that(?).
My point is, when I listened to the first album again I realised that every song had a kind of moral that was to do with having faith or being a better person or similar. I still love the songs as songs and I wonder if other artistes would do better if they adopted a similarly subtle approach?
The saying; "the devil has all the best tunes" doesn't have to be right all the time.
it's a fine line, and I really dislike getting preached at.
I'm with Pedro. He phrased it very well and I have a thing I tend to say when people ask my "views" on religion that I think translates to this to: I have nothing against people who have a religion - any religion - as part of their lives, but I do dislike it when people's lives are part of a religion. Same thing with music. Subtlety tends to do it better and add a bit of a poetic edge to lyrics.
For centuries painters had certain religious symbols they'd include in paintings and they were no less intended as a tribute to God just because there wasn't anyone from the Bible actually in it. And non-religious songs don't always come right out and say "Hey! This song is about a man's wife dying from cancer after fighting it for a long time" but the general message still comes across and the musicians still have every chance in the world to explain it in detail.
Sorry to be in the minority, but I really don't mind when music has overtly religious words. Bach's Mass in B Minor is quite good, for instance.
For me, the question here is whether Neal Morse's evangelising lyrics (e.g. Sola Scriptura) are as effective and interesting as the lyrics when he deals with spiritual themes with a bit more finesse (e.g. Snow). For me, there isn't much contest. It isn't really about whether Jesus is explicitly named or not.
The other two Transatlantic albums were recorded much the same way as this one, I should imagine - with the European's sending stuff in to go with what Neal Morse had already written. Those albums sounded like Neal Morse projects too (just different projects). And that's fine with me. I must get around to ordering my copy...
Cheers,
David
I'm no fan of Praise Prog, as some wag dubbed it the last time this came up, but I think Pedro and Phil have it about right.
Flintshire County Council has announced the return of Spotted Dick to its canteen menus.
A council spokesman previously revealed that catering staff had renamed the dessert Spotted Richard or Sultana Sponge after "childish" comments from a customer, the BBC reports.
Council head Colin Everett said: "Although the majority have seen the humorous side of the story, the impression given in the media that the council might have been 'politically correct' has led to some derision and, sadly, to a number of abusive letters being sent in from across the country.
"In full agreement with the catering management, Flintshire County Council will observe proper tradition and refer to all dishes by their proper name."
He added: "Spotted Dick will be back on the menu under its proper and proud name. In future, any customers who act in this childish way will be asked to behave properly or will be refused service.
"Let common tradition and common sense prevail."
Quote from: "johninblack"Flintshire County Council has announced the return of Spotted Dick to its canteen menus.
A council spokesman previously revealed that catering staff had renamed the dessert Spotted Richard or Sultana Sponge after "childish" comments from a customer, the BBC reports.
Council head Colin Everett said: "Although the majority have seen the humorous side of the story, the impression given in the media that the council might have been 'politically correct' has led to some derision and, sadly, to a number of abusive letters being sent in from across the country.
"In full agreement with the catering management, Flintshire County Council will observe proper tradition and refer to all dishes by their proper name."
He added: "Spotted Dick will be back on the menu under its proper and proud name. In future, any customers who act in this childish way will be asked to behave properly or will be refused service.
"Let common tradition and common sense prevail."
:roll:
Has anyone here received their copy yet? I live in upstate NY and people in Michigan
and California have got their copies today. I hope it arrives Saturday. It would make
a nice ending to my vacation.
*EDIT* It's now Saturday and it's not here yet. bah!
Oh well. It might be good that I'll be back to work when it arrives. I'll need something
to lighten my mood. :roll:
Not got mine yet, but then the UK posties are currently on strike and therefore I'm expecting a delay :cry:
Quote from: "Mooncat"Not got mine yet, but then the UK posties are currently on strike and therefore I'm expecting a delay :cry:
I noticed play.com have changed their release date to the 2nd of November probably because of the strike
It's quite different from earlier Transatlantic, but the more I play it, the more I like it :D
I might look into getting the 3 disc edition for Christmas. I'm listening to Procol Harum now, and I must say that I'm really looking forward to hearing their version of A Salty Dog!
Got mine today yay! I haven't listened nor watched the DVD yet but I'll say this
little box set thingy is quite nice.
This album is still getting better for me. After watching the making of, I love this album even more.
Quote from: "MikeEvs"Quote from: "Mooncat"Not got mine yet, but then the UK posties are currently on strike and therefore I'm expecting a delay :cry:
I noticed play.com have changed their release date to the 2nd of November probably because of the strike
Apparently been pushed back to the 16th now. Can't say I'm best pleased, knew I should have pre-ordered from Radiant.
Is play.com the only place where you can buy it?? Cancel it and buy it somewhere else.
Quote from: "ich_bin_besser"Is play.com the only place where you can buy it?? Cancel it and buy it somewhere else.
Have checked amazon.co.uk and they have it as the 16th to as do HMV. Sounds like it's a problem with UK distribution as a whole not just one retailer
I pre-ordered through Amazon and received an e-mail telling me my order is delayed because they can't locate the item. Hey, Amazon, I dunno, maybe you shouldn't offer items for sale that you don't actually have access to. It's bad bidnith.
It's all great stuff. I finally got to finish hearing the album on my way home tonight.
I popped in the bonus disc too and I'm liking the first track a lot. They get into
this country kind of thing which sounds like fun.
One thing that strikes me is how these guys can get together and churn out so much
quality stuff in such a short time. Grant it they spend a lot of extra time doing their own
overdubs in their own studio a lot of the ground work is done in those 2 weeks or so they had.
Then they still have time to knock out a few covers to boot too!
I'm traveling out of town to work this week I'm going to have plenty of time to get to
know the album a bit better to and fro. So far it's growing on me.
I believe there's a picture of Neal next to the word "prolific" in the dictionary. His new solo album came out on Tuesday as well as Whirlwind in the US.
I always love his vocals, really pure. Same as Neal Morse.
In my opinion this may be the best Portnoy performace I've ever heard. Scenes From A Memory brings some good competition, but I'm really in love with his playing on this album.
Quote from: "eponymous"Just gave Disc 1 a listen on my commute in. Admit to being distracted/sleepy, but I seem to have noticed a *lot* of references to/quotations of other music. Most notably "In The Cage" at the end of "Set Us Free". Will have to listen again on the commute home and see what else I catch.
Overall I enjoyed it. Stellar musicianship all around. Some of Roine's vocals don't sit quite well with me at the moment but then I haven't listened to any TA or Flower Kings in ages and it always takes me awhile to get used to his vocals...
Yeah somewhere in the 2nd track(? I think) there is the obvious bass riff to "Yours is No Disgrace"
not sure if the phrasing is exact or not. regardless if it was intentional or not, I like it!
I'm a big time Chris Squire fan and it always shows in Pete's playing when he's in TA.
I was tired and in a lousy mood this morning starting off on my hour and a half commute
this morning and hearing parts of this album along the way made me smile a few times.
For those of us who were waiting for the ever moving (away) release data, last weeks "Rogues Gallery" show featured quite a few tracks, plus more from Big Big Train.
//http://www.thedividingline.com/archives/rgplaylist.htm
Can't comment to much on the music yet because.... the first thing I did was watch the DVD!What can I say, I'm a sucker for "making of" DVD's. :)
But so far I'm not dissapointed. Gave it one spin so it's a bit early to tell.
I'm addicted to the track 'Spinning'. Transatlantic at it's finest. (that's saying a whole lot, as the whole album is brilliant)
Well, I don't care much for the last track (heard to many of those on Neal his solo albums) but overall this is one fine album.
Hail TA!
European tour please! :D
Agreed on the last track.
European tour, hell yes! They can't possibly skip us.
Agreed on the last 2 answers. 8-)
I love The Whirlwind. The most outrageous slab of unadulterated high-cholestrol epic prog since Topographic Oceans (discuss?) :lol:
Not so sure about one or two of the bonus disc tracks, but overall its my prog album of the year, at least until Panic Room get their finger out and deliver "Satellite"...
BTW, I ordered mine from Marillion's Racket Records, and it came surprisingly quickly. So to speak.
All the best,
David