Music Reviews by Craig Hamilton: jamming

Saturday, December 14, 2013

***** Bridge Across Forever by Transatlantic - Unbelievably Awesome!!! Never a Dull Moment!!!

This album remains among the somewhat hidden treasures of today’s musicians. I love a good secret, as long as nobody gets harmed in the process.

If this album had been cut when the Baby Boomers were young, I predict that this band would be filling stadiums. Transatlantic is better than The Who, or The Rolling Stones, and might be considered on the elevated level of a timeless band like Led Zeppelin, or Jimi Hendrix. I love that though. It would be a shame if Transatlantic filled stadiums full of beer drinkers throwing up and doing drugs. Transatlantic is a lot like Phish. However, fans of Phish are almost always drug users as well as music aficionados. If you listen to Transatlantic, then you will probably find that drugs are not cool at all by this band.

The songs on this album are too long to make it readily accessible by the regular America crew. I would definitely opt to see Transatlantic live though for that reason. It is really good music that would only attract an intimate audience. Most people just can’t stand for songs that are long, but I can assure you that though these songs are long, there is never a dull moment.

Bridge Across Forever is even better than Transatlantic’s first album, “SMPTe,” and I give both albums a 5 star rating. I don’t just hand out 5 star ratings like most people. If an album gets 5 star rating from me, then that means something.

So who is this album not for? I would have to say the masses of teenagers, and frat boy college students, that are merely looking to fit in because they feel uncomfortable listening to anything except something that has promotion, and national attention that only major label records can afford. As Rush says in their very famous song Subdivisions, its “Be cool or be cast out,” and I would figure that a Rush fan would dig this, but not someone who listens to Rush only when they are on the radio. If you seek Rush, then I hope you find Transatlantic.

I like this album because at times it is very jazzy, and then at other times it is very rigidly written. Also, unlike many albums I like this album sounds beautiful in the way that level headed person would perceive. It is an album where the musicians have taste, and it is not so difficult to play that compression dominates the sound.

This is moderately complex music though this is prog rock. It is not musicians showing off their chops. Every note has its place, and though there is jamming there isn’t a single superfluous note on the entire album! There are very few albums I could give such high praise to. However, when this was released it could still be said that usually if a Dream Theater member is on an album, or in this case a former Dream Theater member, then there is no filler on the album.

Music Reviews by Craig Hamilton

Friday, August 24, 2018

Maximum Jive ~ An Awesome Pandora Station

Saturday, December 14, 2013

***** Bridge Across Forever by Transatlantic - Unbelievably Awesome!!! Never a Dull Moment!!!

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