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Rating: Progressive Rock is a unique genre, capable of capturing the hearts of many listeners with the same speed and intensity with which it provokes disdain and disinterest in others. One of the main criticisms aimed at this "branch" of Rock is the prolixity of certain works related to it, accused of getting lost in a sea of technicalities and instrumental digressions that, according to detractors, hide an inability to create melodies and sound structures capable of combining theoretical and practical preparation, originality, and synthesis.
Conversely, there are those who love to lose themselves in certain mammoth suites, where often improbable superstructures (and sometimes, I freely admit, even "forced"), made of constant chases between more Rock-oriented parts and Fusion/Blues breaks, take over and literally bless away the very idea of the "song form", understood in the most classic summation of: intro + verse + chorus + final closure.
Transatlantic is undoubtedly a band that has made this mode of writing an emblem of their musical proposal, a choice well represented by their latest studio work, that "Whirlwind" from which the live album I want to talk about today is taken, namely "Whirld Tour 2010 - Live From Shepherd's Bush Empire, London", whose full title includes the prefix "An Evening With Transatlantic", which, in my opinion, represents a true statement of intent, and now I will explain why. First of all, make yourselves comfortable, because here things get long (the live, not the review! Don't worry!), in fact, we are faced with a monumental recording, spread over three optical discs and containing only (so to speak!) six tracks, with only the first one occupying the entire first disc, being the full, uninterrupted reproduction of the splendid "Whirlwind", a track that, in its nearly eighty-minute duration, condenses all the thought and musical attitude of these giants of the world neo-progressive scene! As I mentioned earlier, this is a unique work, a kind of invitation to spend an evening with someone who wants to tell you a story, hence the importance of the prefix mentioned a few lines above.
In this work, you will not find tight rhythms or stadium chants, but rather a series of narratives that, united together, form a single and exciting story, composed of more "rock-oriented" and tense parts, interspersed with atmospheric excerpts of great effect, where the splendid voices of Neil Morse (keyboards) and Reine Stolt (guitar) duet with a first-rate instrumental section, composed of Pete Trewavas on bass and Mike Portnoy on drums (both also contribute vocally), joined by Daniel Gildenlöw (voice of Pain Of Salvation) on guitars, keyboards, and percussion (also contributing vocally). And it is precisely on the former Dream Theater drummer, if you allow, that I would like to pause for a moment, in order to highlight a truly excellent and tempered performance, far from the "opulent" and, at times, "intrusive" standards typical of his production with Dream Theater, in fact, in this instance, we find a Portnoy almost "workmanlike", grinding out hits, rolls, and tempo changes completely at the service of his bandmates, certainly not sparing demonstrations of technique (such a volcanic drummer is hard to rein in!), which, however, are not at all excessive or out of place, indeed they fit perfectly into the sound structure put together by Transatlantic, so kudos to Mr. Portnoy!
Of course, the rest of the band is no less, and each member contributes to the show with the best of their technical skills: Reine Stolt launches into solos of fine quality, captivating and substantial at the same time, Pete Trewavas accompanies perfectly, with surgical precision and impeccable professionalism, Neil Morse weaves keyboard and vocal textures of great effect, and lastly, Daniel Gildenlöw fits so well into the band's project that he seems more like a permanent member than a special guest! In conclusion, I can only recommend this live to all lovers of good music, because in this work you will find nothing but great musicians asking you to spend a little time with them, that's all! As for me, I can only urge you not to decline the invitation, because it is truly worth letting yourself be carried away by this "Whirld Tour 2010 - Live From Shepherd's Bush".
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