Transatlantic Official Thread

[bosk1]

I may be alone in this, but I think Mike's vocals sound great. He's as strong a vocalist as Roine probably (who I love, just saying).

Woah, hot take alert!!

I do think Portnoy's vocals have improved over the years, but he could never carry an entire album like Roine, who obviously is no Brad Delp or Freddie Mercury, has in the past.

To be clear, I'm more talking about 2020 Roine. I think he has a wonderfully evocative voice in general, and he's certainly more adept at making his voice an instrument than Mike is. But I'm really impressed with the strength in Mike's lead parts on this one. Maybe he's using some effects or multitracking to get it done, but he not only carries his melodies well, he has more emotion and effectation than he used to. I think it people didn't already think of him as Portnoy they wouldn't mind his vocals on this so much.

I agree with all this and had the exact same thought. Mike sounds really great on this album, best he ever has.

In general, I have always liked Mike's vocals, so I agree with this as well. 

And that goes for Pete's vocals as well. 

I have always liked the "Fleetwood Mac" approach, where you have these varied voices, some stronger than others, who all get their turn to take a lead, and all participating in the harmonies and the call/response parts.  I don't recall ever hearing a part and thinking, "[X singer] shouldn't be singing this part." 

[bluefox4000]

i never had a problem with Pete's voice.  he even has my fav song on this album in Solitude so there's that.

Mike on the other hand.  Get that Mic away from him, lol.  sorry but stop.  even looking for the Light which people say he's knocking out of there.  can't say i hear it.

but than again i though the same with Dream Theater when he started become more present towards the end.

now let me say Harmony he's really great at.  but leads......nah.

[Stadler]

i never had a problem with Pete's voice.  he even has my fav song on this album in Solitude so there's that.

Mike on the other hand.  Get that Mic away from him, lol.  sorry but stop.  even looking for the Light which people say he's knocking out of there.  can't say i hear it.

but than again i though the same with Dream Theater when he started become more present towards the end.

now let me say Harmony he's really great at.  but leads......nah.

I'm sort - thought not completely - the opposite.  I get nothing from Pete's voice, and have - politely, to be sure - kind of laughed at it since "Fugazi".  He's not a singer.    Mike, I like his harmonies and what he brings.   The more "metal"  the less I like it, though, even short of the growls or whatever.

[ariich]

I'm closer to Stads on this one. I've never had a problem with Mike's vocals - he's a great backing singer and I've been fine with most of his lead vocals if never wowed by them. But I do think on this album especially there's a big step up in both skill and emotional delivery (the latter being something he's not always been convincing with).

Pete I've generally been ok with in the past mainly because of how his vocals have been used in TA, which has suited him. In Solitude, while I don't think his vocals are great, they're ok and work well enough for the song. But in The Sun Comes Up Today, I just really don't think his vocals are good, and they really bring the song down for me. It's the only song on the album I could easily have included in my combined version, but didn't because I simply don't like it.

[bluefox4000]

i never had a problem with Pete's voice.  he even has my fav song on this album in Solitude so there's that.

Mike on the other hand.  Get that Mic away from him, lol.  sorry but stop.  even looking for the Light which people say he's knocking out of there.  can't say i hear it.

but than again i though the same with Dream Theater when he started become more present towards the end.

now let me say Harmony he's really great at.  but leads......nah.

I'm sort - thought not completely - the opposite.  I get nothing from Pete's voice, and have - politely, to be sure - kind of laughed at it since "Fugazi".  He's not a singer.    Mike, I like his harmonies and what he brings.   The more "metal"  the less I like it, though, even short of the growls or whatever.

I agree with the more Metal the less i like it.  I remember seeing a documentary on Systematic Chaos.  and Portnoy's laying down his "metal" vocals.  he says "This is what DT NEEDS BRO!!!!!!!!"

i'm like..........nah

[Ben_Jamin]

Portnoys vocals on Looking for The Light are great. That part needed that gritty sound that only MP is capable of doing, out of the rest of the guys. This would be perfect for Daniel Gildenlow and is what Roine would've done for The Flower Kings, or just use Hasse as he has a great gritty sound too.

I think they could've gone with Roine at those vocals for The Sun Comes Up Today, and used Pete for some lines, like the verses, but not the Chorus you can really hear it when Pete sings "The Sun Comes Up TODaaaayyy" that would've been a great harmony part.

[kirksnosehair]

Put me in the same camp as the others who think Portnoy has done a pretty decent job with vocals on this album.  And really most of his vocals on Neal Morse's solo albums are pretty good as well.  I think it's obvious he's had some lessons.  I can hear him using some of the techniques I learned when I worked with a vocal coach.  On "Looking For The Light" I'd even go so far as to say he sounds like a lead vocalist.  Not a lead vocalist I'd pick to sing on my own stuff, but pretty decent and I'm sure they did 67 takes to get what we're hearing on the album and I wouldn't be surprised if they used a bit of pitch correction here and there, but that's pretty typical these days.


Pete's vocals...yeah...no.  I still think it was a mistake and it sounds amateurish.  Use him for backing vocals and maybe for a line here and there (like the "Hanging In The Balance" section of "Stranger In Your Soul" where they each take a line.  That kind of thing sounds fine with Pete, but having him carry an entire verse or most of a song like they've done here and on Kaleidoscope, I just think it sounds kind of unprofessional.  Just my opinion.  I love, love, love Pete's bass playing on this album.  I think it was bosk1 who said before that Pete is the star of this album and I wasn't so sure at first but the more I listen to this the more I agree with that.  His bass lines are superb on this album. 

[bosk1]

Yup.  That was me.

[Peter Mc]

I do get people saying that this is the best Mike has ever sounded and I totally agree.  However, I would also say that "the best Mike's ever sounded" is not a particularly high bar!  I think the reprise of Looking For The Light with Neal on vocals sounds much better (and I'm not even that keen on Neal when he does more rawk type singing).  I just don't get why you'd use guys who can't really sing when you have two full time singers in the band.  No band in the world would hire Mike Portnoy or Pete Trewavas as their singer.

If they ever do another one, I hope they go back to what they used to do with Mike and Pete just doing backing vocals and taking the odd line here and there rather than entire sections or, as in this album, entire songs.  Save their dubious singing talents for the odd fun bonus cover song.

[HOF]

So I've gone back to TBOL after sticking with Forevermore for a while. I think I'd say that disc 1 of Forevermore and TBOL are both really pretty flawless. The only real issues I have are a few spots on disc 2 of Forevermore and the closer on each. Actually I'd just chop all the Love Made A Way variations if I could (preludes included). I'd probably just put The World We Used to Know as the closer for both versions.

[faizoff]

Probably heard Forevermore at least 30 times so far. I still can't get into the closer Love Made A Way, there are parts I like but largely the song is a real let down after that entire fantastic album. I like all the tracks on disc 1, iffy on a couple of tracks on disc 2 and that last track just honestly derails my impression of the entire album. It's just so weird.

Though I've really grown to like Pete's vocals on this album. Didn't buy in at first but I actually really like his touch, however it sounds. The vocals are very enjoyable by everyone MP has some great ones in the album, probably the most professional sounding that I recall.

I should really dig into the bluray and TBOL soon.

[Stadler]

So I've held off on listening to this until I could listen to it in it's entirety, and maybe more than a couple times.  I'm three times through TBOL, and holy mackerel, this is a monumental piece of work.   This is amazing.   I like everything about it at this point, including all but one of the vocal choices.

The one thing - literally the ONE thing I don't like:  the vocals on Solitude.  I guess that's Pete, and it's just a let down.  Jarringly out of place for me; it's too much at one bite of someone that isn't up to the level of the rest in terms of carrying an entire song.  Though, to be nice and to be fair, I agree with Barry: his bass playing is out of this world on this record (as is Roine's guitar playing).

[HOF]

Probably heard Forevermore at least 30 times so far. I still can't get into the closer Love Made A Way, there are parts I like but largely the song is a real let down after that entire fantastic album. I like all the tracks on disc 1, iffy on a couple of tracks on disc 2 and that last track just honestly derails my impression of the entire album. It's just so weird.

Though I've really grown to like Pete's vocals on this album. Didn't buy in at first but I actually really like his touch, however it sounds. The vocals are very enjoyable by everyone MP has some great ones in the album, probably the most professional sounding that I recall.

I should really dig into the bluray and TBOL soon.

Love Made A Way just comes across as contrived. It's slow and tedious and lasts FOREVER(more). It just feels manipulative rather than honest. If it were a third of the length it would probably be ok.

[kirksnosehair]

I don't mind "Love Made a Way" as much as the final track on The Whirlwind,  "Dancing With Eternal Glory" comes across a bit more...religious...to me.  I usually skip that one when I listen to The Whirlwind. 

[Kram]

So I've held off on listening to this until I could listen to it in it's entirety, and maybe more than a couple times.  I'm three times through TBOL, and holy mackerel, this is a monumental piece of work.   This is amazing.   I like everything about it at this point, including all but one of the vocal choices.

The one thing - literally the ONE thing I don't like:  the vocals on Solitude.  I guess that's Pete, and it's just a let down.  Jarringly out of place for me; it's too much at one bite of someone that isn't up to the level of the rest in terms of carrying an entire song.  Though, to be nice and to be fair, I agree with Barry: his bass playing is out of this world on this record (as is Roine's guitar playing).

This is me but with Forevermore (I haven't heard TBOL) - they knocked it out of the park with this one!  I've even warmed to Pete's vocals in Solitude (still not great but I guess I've gotten used to it) lol

[darkshade]

I definitely got used to Pete's vocals. They add some color and come off as 'charming'.
I think MP's vocals on Looking For The Light fits the song really well, and there's no "day after day" type vocals anywhere in sight.
Could have been worse, MP and PT could have handled the majority of vocal duties on the album.

[ErHaO]

I am not sure why it is, but the vocals do kinda keep bothering me on this album. I can hear on past material that aside from Neal the guys (Pete, Roine, Portnoy) don't exactly have the voice of an angel, but here it does detract from the album for me. Portnoy's vocals work well in Look Into The Light, I agree. Still, detracting from the album does not mean the album isn't quality, I think it is a good record for sure.

[DTA]

Huh, I listened to Breath Of Life and I was under the impression that it had 3 unique songs (Reaching For The Sky/Take Now My Soul/Can You Feel It) but the first two are just renamed versions of Forevermore songs. I was expecting the abridged version to have a few songs unique only to that, but I guess that's not the case. After listening to Forevermore the past few weeks, Breath Of Life definitely feels like the lesser version of the two.

[HOF]

Huh, I listened to Breath Of Life and I was under the impression that it had 3 unique songs (Reaching For The Sky/Take Now My Soul/Can You Feel It) but the first two are just renamed versions of Forevermore songs. I was expecting the abridged version to have a few songs unique only to that, but I guess that's not the case. After listening to Forevermore the past few weeks, Breath Of Life definitely feels like the lesser version of the two.

The lyrics are different though and there are some subtle differences in the instrumentation and arranfments.

[DTA]

Huh, I listened to Breath Of Life and I was under the impression that it had 3 unique songs (Reaching For The Sky/Take Now My Soul/Can You Feel It) but the first two are just renamed versions of Forevermore songs. I was expecting the abridged version to have a few songs unique only to that, but I guess that's not the case. After listening to Forevermore the past few weeks, Breath Of Life definitely feels like the lesser version of the two.

The lyrics are different though and there are some subtle differences in the instrumentation and arranfments.

I'm sure I'll pick up on the differences with a few more listens but I went in expecting completely different songs just based on the titles. It was probably mentioned that was the case in some interview but I had no idea.

[The Letter M]

Huh, I listened to Breath Of Life and I was under the impression that it had 3 unique songs (Reaching For The Sky/Take Now My Soul/Can You Feel It) but the first two are just renamed versions of Forevermore songs. I was expecting the abridged version to have a few songs unique only to that, but I guess that's not the case. After listening to Forevermore the past few weeks, Breath Of Life definitely feels like the lesser version of the two.

The lyrics are different though and there are some subtle differences in the instrumentation and arranfments.

There are also different lyrics for "Higher Than The Morning", "Love Made A Way (Prelude)" (with a new melodica intro), and "Love Made A Way" (which has its track index starting earlier in the album than it does on Forevermore). Also, "The Greatest Story Never Ends" excludes the Gentle Giant vocal bit and has a completely new instrumental section leading up to the closer, though the Ultimate Mix on the BD includes all of the music for TGSNE.

At some point, I want to document all of the differences and similarities between all 3 official versions of the album, citing what was changed between Forevermore and TBOL, and how the Ultimate Mix borrowed from both.

-Marc.

[425]

I don't mind "Love Made a Way" as much as the final track on The Whirlwind,  "Dancing With Eternal Glory" comes across a bit more...religious...to me.  I usually skip that one when I listen to The Whirlwind.

I really like Dancing with Eternal Glory a lot. But feels like Neal was so happy with that one that he wrote a bunch more tracks in that vein to close various concept albums (Crossing Over/Mercy Street Reprise, Broken Sky/Long Day Reprise, A Love That Never Dies). And Love Made a Way might be my least favorite of that bunch.

[Peter Mc]

To be fair, I think he has always done these big grandiose endings going back even to his Spock's Beard days.  I agree though that Love Made a Way is one of his least inspired ones.  I don't dislike it as much as some seem to but it seems like zero thought went into making it an actual song.  It's just basically two completely separate choruses from earlier in the album repeated one after the other with nothing to link them together.

I should just say that despite my nitpicks about the album, I still do think it's a really good album and am listening to it and enjoying it a lot.

[425]

He's definitely done grandiose endings a lot (which I don't have a problem with), but I think the ones I mentioned are more of a type than some of the earlier ones like Testimony Part 5, Reunion, The Conclusion, etc.

[emtee]

Now that we've had these albums a couple weeks, I'm curious as to the overall concept of multiple versions. I find myself falling into a groove of one or the other but when I switch, it's really throwing me off. I can't imagine having multiple versions of any of my favorite albums. Not that more isn't better or worse, just that the concept of multiple sort of changes how I digest and memorize. Overall I'm finding it weird.

[DoctorAction]

I have to admit, I've not made it through either version. That's mainly a case of what I'm in the mood for currently, but the multiple version thing has also put me off when I've considered listening to it.

I can't ever imagine wanting multiple versions of music. In the case of this release, knowing what we know about the disagreements within the band, it's a clear lack of a unified vision, which is a shame, IMO.

[kirksnosehair]

It is a bit odd because I've never experienced this before outside of my own songs as they evolve when I'm in the writing process.  I kind of like having that peek under the hood so to speak in that we have a collaborative work (Forevermore) and a more solitary project (Breath of Life) that I think kind of shows how devoted Neal is to his religion and spreading the message in a way that doesn't come across like some kind of ecclesiastical bludgeoning.   So it's interesting to have, but I doubt I will listen to TBOL all that much as I tend to gravitate away from shorter stuff and really love the Forevermore version.


In fact, this album now holds #2 spot for me, only eclipsed by Bridge Across Forever and I still may move it up again.

[MinistroRaven]

Hi, everyone!

It's been great to hear the positive comments and reviews of Transatlantic's new album, The Absolute Universe, and we thought we'd follow that with The Absolute Blowout Transatlantic Sale!

We have a whole range of Transatlantic merch on special: t-shirts, hoodies, CDs, DVDs and deluxe editions. We even found a small number of copies of the "Live in Europe" 2DVD/2CD set, and the even more rare "Building A Bridge: Live in America" DVD – snap them up while you can! Every item is available "while stocks last" (and we don't think they'll last long at these prices!)


https://www.nealmorse.com/product/the-absolute-blowout-transatlantic-sale/

[425]

I was just about to post this! Just grabbed Live in Europe and Building the Bridge. Those are not exactly easy to find (at least the CD version for Live in Europe) so it's pretty neat of them to make them available at basically retail price.

Also, the price they have for KaLIVEoscope is insane, so if you're even a little interested and don't have that release yet, I'd definitely recommend getting it.

[faizoff]

I still have my Live in Europe CD/DVD set from eons ago I think it has a slight misprint on the DVD. I must've watched those DVDs every single day for months when they came first got released.

[DoctorAction]

In fact, this album now holds #2 spot for me, only eclipsed by Bridge Across Forever and I still may move it up again.

Wow. Cool. BAF is my joint favourite with TW. Given your comments I'll hit the Forevermore version when the fancy next takes me.

[axeman90210]

Ugh, had Building the Bridge in my cart, got distracted by work, and then it sold out.

[Stadler]

I just got a copy about two weeks ago; I forget where (it wasn't Radiant).  Let me check to see if there any left.

[kirksnosehair]

In fact, this album now holds #2 spot for me, only eclipsed by Bridge Across Forever and I still may move it up again.

Wow. Cool. BAF is my joint favourite with TW. Given your comments I'll hit the Forevermore version when the fancy next takes me.

Honestly it took me about 3 or 4 full listens to start kind of getting it.  My rankings are very pragmatic.  This one gets the #2 spot by virtue of the fact that SMPT:e has about 17 minutes of music that I don't care for (the Procol Harem cover) and on this one it's closer to 7 or 8 minutes that I could do without.  The only thing I skip here is sometimes the last track of disc 2 "love made a way" I get that he was going for the grandiose and bombastic but it's so...expected.  I really wanted a different kind of ending than what we got with The Whirlwind and this song is not much different from Dancing With Eternal Glory except the title "Love Made a Way" sounds less religious.  But it's pretty much the same mid-tempo song with different melodies and different lyrics that convey almost the same message. I was hoping for a departure from that since it's been done many times already, but that's a minor gripe. 

[DoctorAction]

I'm about 2/3 of the way through Forevermore now. Very good. The first few tracks felt more natural and energetic to me than TBOL versions.

I'm on Solitude right now tho. Neal has just come in on vocals. I'm no believer but thanked God for that. Pete's vocal on this one is a wincer...