Bridge Across Forever

Transatlantic | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (October 9, 2001)
• Original Release Date: 2001
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Metal Blade
• ASIN: B00005PJ9V
• Also Available in: Audio CD
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (88 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #53,722 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Duel With The Devil

2. Almost Home

3. Suite Charlotte Pike

4. Bridge Across Forever

5. Stranger In Your Soul

Editorial Reviews

No Description Available
No Track Information Available
Media Type: CD
Artist: TRANSATLANTIC
Title: BRIDGE ACROSS FOREVER
Street Release Date: 10/09/2001
Domestic
Genre: ROCK/POP

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

52 of 52 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars 2001's grand triumph of pop-influenced progressive rock., December 8, 2001

By 

Lord Chimp (Monkey World) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Bridge Across Forever (Audio CD)

When I first listened to this album, I couldn't wait for it to end...so I could play it again!

TransAtlantic blew me away with their debut, SMPTe. It was certainly a "supergroup," featuring lots of the big names in the Third Wave of Prog: Neal Morse (keyboards/vocals, Spock's Beard), Roine Stolt (guitarist/vocals, Flower Kings), Mike Portnoy (drummer, Dream Theater), and Pete Trewevas (bassist, Marillion). Instead of an album of clashing egos and stoned jamming, SMPTe captured some of the finest progressive rock ever recorded. Barring the prog-nazis and their arrogant opinions, I think everyone was looking forward to TransAtlantic's follow-up. If SMTPe demonstrated such solidarity and chemistry, imagine what the second album would be like!

Is there any reason to be disappointed with Bridge Across Forever? I don't think so. Common criticism of the first album was that it was largely dominated by Neal Morse's songwriting. Bridge Across Forever is definitely more of a full-band effort. Those familiar with all the band members' styles will certainly identify everyone's characteristic touches -- Morse's melody, Stolt's vibrant playing, Trewevas' tasteful licks, Portnoy's intense drumming. (There's a quick bit of metal on "Stranger in Your Soul"...I'm guessing that was Portnoy's idea.) Each member of the band gets a shot at lead vocals, and the vocal harmonies are outstanding. In all cases, the musicianship is intense, technical, and ambitious, but never goes over-the-top.

I think "All of the Above" from SMPTe might beat everything here, but on the whole this album is more consistent and more...beautiful. That's right, there are many beautiful moments of triumph and splendor on this album. Interestingly, Bridge Across Forever seems to be a concept album, or at least a theme album. Repeat listens reveal recurring lyrical themes and musical motifs, but I can't figure out the story if there is one. One possible theme is self-discovery ("awakening the stranger in your soul"...). Neal Morse is a very spiritual writer, so it seems plausible.

"Duel with the Devil" is the massive 25-minute opener, beginning with a baroque-ish string overture before the band unleashes a melodic frenzy of the song's main themes. Amazing vocals and stunning instrumental passages abound! I presume it was Stolt who brought the jazzy vibe into the long interlude, which includes some saxophone/guitar interplay. At the end, the "Elite" choir comes in to sing the final chorus. This small but pretty choral ensemble, combined with Morse's keys and Stolt's soaring guitars, is intensely dazzling and will send shivers up and down your spine...unless you're dead. Then it's impossible.

The Beatles remain a powerful influence for the band, and this is particularly evident on "Suite Charlotte Pike." Echoes of side-2 Abbey Road are prevalent here. The difference is that TransAtlantic consists of musicians who are about 4000 times more skilled (and Portnoy being about 3 billion times better than Ringo Starr). Otherwise, there's huge Beatles vibes here. Consider this track TA's homage to the Beatles. I like it more than the Beatles' output though, so sue me. Hand-claps, harmonies, and hooky melodies make this one fun.

The 5-minute title track gives the listener some breathing room in between the absolute musical intensity that's characterized the album so far. That's not to say "Bridge Across Forever" is filler; it's actually one of the most beautiful songs Morse has ever written. The first time you hear it, you just think "Wow, it's pretty...pretty slow." The sparse arrangement -- consisting of piano, slight string synths, and Morse's delicate vocals --doesn't hit you right away. However, it becomes an addictive little piece. The spiritual lyrics, the soft beaming melodies, and the weighty emotion are wonderful. Many times I've hit the "repeat" button and let the song play over and over... "I've had this dream all my life..."

The final track, "Stranger in Your Soul," is a gleaming progressive playground. This song, like "Duel..." begins with the string ensemble, but after that it moves in different directions. It brings in ethereal soft sections, a crashing metal movement (though the heaviness has no negative effect on the band's melodies), and lyrics that make you feel pretty darn good. The ending to this song is almost deafening in its melodic glory. It will make your heart sing! It will raise your spirits, and lift you off the ground. It's really outstanding.

In my "progressive rock" category, Bridge Across Forever is my favorite release of 2001. Everything about it is great. I hope we continue to see these folks get together for a few more albums over the years.

20 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars the best prog album of 2001, November 21, 2001

By 

Steve Marshall "Steve" (St. Louis, MO USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Bridge Across Forever (Audio CD)

The first album from this prog-rock supergroup was notable for its 30-minute epic, All of the Above. The rest of the CD seemed little more than an exercise in self-indulgence. For those who may not already know, Transatlantic consists of Neal Morse on keyboards (Spock's Beard), Mike Portnoy on drums (Dream Theater), Roine Stolt on guitar (Flower Kings) and Pete Trewavas on bass (Marillion). All four members contribute vocals to the mix. When the band's new CD arrived, I checked out the track list and noticed there were only four tracks. With two of them being over the 25-minute mark, I figured this was going to be like their first CD. Man, was I wrong. Structurally, the album is similar to the second side of The Beatles' Abbey Road. Bits and pieces of songs reappear over the course of the disc, with the band moving effortlessly between the musical passages. The musicianship is outstanding throughout (as you would expect), but the songwriting is now more of a group effort.

The first track, "Duel with the Devil" is broken down into five parts. It begins with a string section, followed by Neal Morse's piano to introduce the theme. The rest of the band comes in rocking on "Motherless Children." Things quiet down initially on "Walk Away," then the band rocks hard. The "Motherless Children" theme comes back in during "You're Not Alone," and then again later in "Almost Home"--this time, sung by The 'Elite' Choir as the suite builds to a majestic finish. If this were the only track on the CD, it would be well worth the price. But there's more--a lot more.

One of the coolest things about this disc is the way the band obviously doesn't take itself too seriously. Most prog bands come across as being stiff perfectionists who never make mistakes and do everything for the sake of their craft. After a false start, "Suite Charlotte Pike" breaks down and you hear someone say, "What's up?" Someone comes back with a "WASSUP!" and the band bursts into laughter. Recorded live in the studio, you can hear the studio chatter in places during the song. The track starts with the rocking "If She Runs," which is full of Beatlesque 4-part harmonies (Morse is a huge Beatles fan). The second section, "Mr. Wonderful" is the low point on the CD. Things quickly pick up for "Lost and Found Pt. 1" though. It rocks out for a while, and then quiets down for a reprise of "Motherless Children." Stolt turns in a particularly heartfelt guitar solo at the end of "If She Runs (reprise)." Great track.

At 5:32, the title track is the 'short' song on the CD. Essentially just Morse by himself, "Bridge Across Forever" is one of the most beautiful pieces of music the Spock's Beard frontman has ever written. The 30-minute "Stranger in Your Soul" begins quietly with the string intro heard earlier on "Duel With the Devil." Portnoy & Morse fade in over the strings, followed by the rest of the band, as the intro slowly builds to a rocking crescendo. The music fades into the piano backdrop of "Sleeping Wide Awake." However, the quietness quickly subsides as the aural assault of "Hanging in the Balance" comes pummeling its way out of your speakers.

After a quick reprise of "Lost and Found," the band quiets things down again for a brief keyboard interlude, followed by an incendiary bass/guitar duel between Stolt and Trewavas. Again, the music fades as Morse comes to the forefront for "Awakening the Stranger." The last section of the track is the disc's grand finale--combining the previous themes and bringing things to a stunning close. Be sure to stick around after the track ends though. After a two-minute pause, the music from "Suite Charlotte Pike" fades back for a quick reprise (possibly the way the song actually ended in the studio before the fade).

Bridge Across Forever is definitely one of those CDs that you need to hear a few times before you can truly catch everything that's going on. But the best thing about this CD is that not only is the material enjoyable the first time you hear it, it actually gets better with repeated listens. Challenging, yet ultimately accessible, this is clearly the best progressive rock release of the year.

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This time they got it right, September 3, 2003

By 

Billy Hollis (Nashville, TN United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Bridge Across Forever (Audio CD)

Transatlantic's first effort (SMPT:E) was pretty good (I gave it four stars), but everything really came together for this, their second album. A big difference - this time they were all in the studio together, whereas for the first one they did a lot of their recordings stand-alone.

That gives this album an energy the first one lacked. You can hear the band members playing to each other, not just to the tape.

I particularly like the last cut, Stranger in Your Soul, which starts out with a rising, pounding introduction that transitions from keyboards to Roine Stolt's great guitar. It then blends to something that might have come from the Trevor Rabin era of Yes.

Duel with the Devil and Suite Charlotte Pike (named for Charlotte Pike in Nashville, TN, where they recorded it) are both excellent. Duel with the Devil does the best job of having a central melodic theme and returning to it over time. Suite Charlotte Pike sounds more like about three songs merged together, but the transitions are pretty good.

The title track is very different from all the others. It's haunting and sad, but well done.

If you like the traditional 70s prog rock - Yes, ELP, maybe a dash of Traffic and Genesis - then I think there are good odds you'll really like this one.

The only unfortunate thing is that Neal Morse, who organized the Transatlantic side effort for these musicians, is on indefinite sabbatical, and has not set any expected return date to recording music. Both Transatlantic and Spock's Beard will suffer as a result.