Search - Transatlantic :: Bridge Across Forever

Harks back to classic days of yore

progstock | U.S. | 03/11/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I can't think of a CD I've purchased within the past decade I took a more immediate liking to than this effort. If you like "Foxtrot" or "Nursery Cryme" then you will like this CD as well. There's ample use of Tony Banks-style Hammond -- but with classic Moog and Oberheim patches more predominant than in very early Genesis, and occasional heavier riffs evocative of Spock's Beard or Dream Theater, this CD has a voice of it's own. And what a great voice it is! Catchy melodies and weaving textures that you will find hard to get out of your head.



Now let me attempt to dispel a few prog misconceptions I continue to run across in reviews that may be applied to the music on this CD:



1. Prog rock is pretentious, overblown; Rick Wakeman wears a cape - Hey, that's the genre! If the music and production didn't have a grand scope and sweeping grandeur enveloping it, it wouldn't be prog, now would it? I'm reminded of Mozart's critics in "Amadeus" who generally liked the work, except there were "too many notes." If you don't like long interwoven suites, fully orchestrated sections mixed with a variety of musical textures and lyrics more ethereal than "driving your Chevy to the levee," then don't call yourself an aficionado of the genre while declaiming it as pretentious. Rather, just admit you don't like prog rock. And Rick Wakeman only wore the cape in concert and put on one helluva great show. It was the 70s. Big name rockers wore garments a lot stranger than a cape! I can't figure out all the Wakeman-bashing going on out there.



2. New prog rock bands like Transatlantic and Spock's Beard are derivative - To a degree, yes. You can tell these guys probably wore the grooves out on their early Genesis albums. And you'll find passages evocative of Crimson and Gentle Giant thrown in for good measure. Is that a problem? Again, if the sound were totally foreign when compared to classic prog music then it would have to fit into another genre. "Bridge Across Forever" does an excellent job of blending what was great about 70s prog with their own unique vision and songwriting skills, and I think it compares very favorably to some 70s prog greats. If I had 100 CDs as good as "Foxtrot" or "Nursery Cryme" I'd be thrilled, rather than steamed that the latter was "too derivative."



3. Neal Morse's voice is too nasal, his lyrics are insipid - I don't find that to be the case. I like his voice. As to lyrics, if anyone who likes early Yes music claims Neal Morse's lyrics are insipid, then please explain the lyrics of "Starship Trooper" to me. Or anything off of "Tales From Topographic Oceans." Don't misunderstand me, I love those albums -- "The Yes Album" still stands as one of the greatest 40 minutes of music ever assembled, in my opinion -- but part of the mystique of the prog genre is that you're more likely to run across lyrics describing a Giant Hogweed gone rampant in downtown London as opposed to "good lovin' gone bad." If you don't care for the fantastical in lyrical content then once again I submit you just don't like the genre.



Sorry for the ranting. I'll likely pick up many "not helpfuls" for going off-topic entirely too often, although I think my comments apply to the CD I'm reviewing as well. If you're still unsure about purchasing this CD, reread the first paragraph -- it really says it all."