Jordan Rudess
The Road Home

THE REVIEW

Hello everyone, let me introduce myself as I am new as a reviewer. I am a young (I am 15 years old) enthusiast of Rock and Progressive music. I love Dream Theater with all my heart and consequently, I also adore Jordan Rudess, the group's keyboardist.

While browsing through the curiosities of the band, I discovered Rudess's solo career and as soon as I read the track list of his latest album, I ran to the store and bought this record, which you might find trivial as it only features covers of '70s Prog hits, but Rudess has nothing to prove in terms of creativity given the vast array of masterpieces he has produced, both with Dream Theater and in his solo career. Having said that, let's move on to the analysis of the individual tracks: the album opens with "Dance On A Volcano" (Genesis, A Trick Of The Tail, 1976), a track that also opens its original album. The song is very similar to the original, although it differs in length, being about 3 minutes longer due to the addition of a solo. Rudess manages to keep pace with Banks and at times surpasses him with an excellent arrangement of the song!

The second track is "Sound Chaser" (Yes, Relayer, 1974). Here too, the track follows the original closely, the voice timbre is identical to Anderson's. The extended duration is due to a guitar solo and a keyboard solo in a Floyd-style golden era. We continue with "Just The Same" (Gentle Giant, Free Hand, 1975). A great Progressive piece, made even more captivating by Rudess's keyboards which with their effects give a more modern stamp to the track, which otherwise follows the line of the previous ones. My favorite song: "JR Piano Medley", a fabulous piano arrangement of songs that made the history of '70s Progressive: "Soon", "Supper's Ready", "I Talk To The Wind", "And You And I". A genuine tribute to the inspirational music of Rudess, who doesn't miss the chance to personalize them. A journey back in time, on the notes of Yes, Genesis, and King Crimson: FANTASTIC. The penultimate track is "Piece Of The Pie", a track I personally don't know the origin of. To my ears, it sounds like a keyboard solo, showcasing Rudess's technical abilities. The album ends with the famous "Tarkus" (ELP, Tarkus, 1971).

In summary, this CD seemed very original to me because it revisits historical pieces in a modern key. In this work, Rudess is accompanied by illustrious names of modern Prog, like the Italian Marco Sfogli and Steven Wilson of Porcupine Tree. I hope you liked this debut.