Customer Reviews

Live in America

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This album, about 100 minutes, is a great example of prog rock played right. It goes right up there with Yessongs and Scenes From New York. About 6 tracks on 2 cds, there is a lot to cover. It starts with All Of The Above, Transatlantic's trademark song. I thought they couldn't do Undying Love that well, but they nailed it. Then there's Mystery Train/Beatles Medley. There's Mystery Train, which doesn't sound any diffrent from the original, but the Beatles medley's preety good. I love the little keyboard solo, and Neil says "I've been trying to do that all week!" Than the classic ballad, "We All Need Some Light," which is perfect. A lttle mistake in the intro, but that's ok. The Genesis Medley is a pure example of making the best out of mistakes. During the first 3 minutes, the band's completly lost, and then Mike breaks it up. It's good after that. Then there's My New World, which is truely amazing. The medley also rocks. 19 minutes of each member's tune, then a Beatles tune. It's a great gig, and I hope to hear more from them.

Neal Morse for some reason sounds really good on the first section of "All of the Above" but is terrible on track 2 and other various songs on the CD. Everytime I hear him hit a bad note, it makes me wince. Same goes for Mike Portnoy. He is an excellent, innovative drummer, one that I look up to, but he goes a bit overboard with his singing, for his vocal abilities are very limited. Otherwise the musicianship is good quality. The cover of Genesis's "Watcher of the Skies/Firth of Fifth" was excellent, as well as the 30 minute epic, "All of the Above."

Thid cd is cool, but the production is not great. It sounds good, but at times certain instruments are hard to here. The keysboards are not very at hot in the mix at times. I guess I just got spoiled to hearing the excellent studio versions. This cd is still cool though. The band does some excellent cover songs. If you are a true Transatlantic fan you should buy this cd, but if you are buying their music for the first time, don't get this one. The other two cd's are awesome.

Live in America isn't the greatest album I've ever heard in my life. But it could be one of the most fun.

Transatlantic is an incredible group. Or, as most would call it, a supergroup. Four of today's most gifted musicians comprise Transatlantic (Dream Theater drummer Mike Portnoy, The Flower Kings guitarist/singer Roine Stolt, Spock's Beard keyboard player/vocalist Neal Morse and Pete Trewavas, the severely underrated bass player for Marillion). And the level of musicianship is just about what you'd expect: stratospheric.

This live album features tracks from their first album (simply titled Transatlantic, or SMPT:E) plus some surprises and fun medleys along the way. "All of the Above" kicks things off in a big way. It's a great track, but it's the next track where things start to get interesting for me. "Mystery Train" seques into "Magical Mystery Tour" (with Portnoy sharing the vocals!) and "Strawberry Fields Forever." What fun these guys are having. The sheer joy they're feeling is infectious. I find myself smiling and enjoying every note they're playing. They're not taking themselves too seriously, and they certainly don't need the gig. So they're doing it because they love to play this music, and these songs. And play together, with great respect.

"We All Need Some Light" is also nicely done live, although the harmony vocals are a little rougher around the edges than on their studio album.

Disc Two begins with another fun surprise: "Watcher of the Skies/Firth of Fifth" from Genesis! The medley on this disc is just as fun as the one on Disc One. This one includes a Spock's Beard song ("Go the Way You Go") as well as more Beatles ("She's So Heavy").

If you like prog rock, this album is essential. If you like to hear four musicians with exceptional talent having fun playing together on stage, this album is essential.

Let's face it: Transatlantic Live in America is essential no matter how you slice it. Buy it!

The 102+ minutes of music on this double cd package is definitely worth the price. This "supergroup" made up of stellar musicians (Neal Morse from Spock's Beard, Pete Trewavas from Marillion, Roine Stolt from the Flower Kings, and Mike Portnoy from Dream Theater) have put out one studio album (here's hoping for more) and probably played no more than handful of shows in support of that brilliant album. Some of the best performances from those shows is captured on this double cd. The Transatlantic originals (the epic 'All of the Above', 'We All Need Some Light', 'Mystery Train', and 'My New World') are essentially true to form with some better than the studio versions ('Mystery Train' with the Beatles' 'Magical Mystery Tour' and a brilliant cover of 'Strawberry Fields Forever') and some not quite as good ('We All Need Some Light'). What really makes this cd worth owning are the covers and medleys. As mentioned, the Beatles' covers ('She's So Heavy' is also covered) are terrific. The band's work on Genesis' 'Watcher of the Skies' and 'Firth of Fifth' is impressive, and perhaps my favorite is the medley of The Flower Kings/Spock's Beard/Marillion/Dream Theater material to close out the disc. Overall, a terrific performance. Anyone who enjoyed the studio album will probably enjoy this even more. Also recommended to fans of Spock's Beard, Marillion, and The Flower Kings (of course!).

The one thing I hate about many live albums is the inclusion of overdubs after the fact to correct the flubs. There are none of those on this album. Yes, TransAtlantic make a few gaffs, but that's part of the charm. I got this album soon after it was released and have enjoyed it ever since.
Sadly, with the exception of the soon to be released DVD, there will be no more TransAtlantic. Neal's decision to persue other musical avenues has ended this great collaberation. Grab this collection, grab SMPT:e, grab Bridge Across Forever.
The one thing you need to remember is that all of these albums were recorded over an incredibly brief period of time. SMPT:e was recorded in four separate studios with the players not really playing together until the Live in America shows. Bridge was recorded in a four days, with some tweaking after the fact.
These three albums are a testament to the creativity and talent of these four musicians. Don't let them fade away.

First of all, I was surprised at the sound quality of the album. While the mix between band and audience could be better (giving more of a live feel) it's certainly better sounding than some of the live material Spock's Beard has put out.

The performance is excellent, and while it's not perfect, the imperfections and improvisations definatly make it great, and give it something only a live show can provide. However, if you don't already own the "SMPTe" album, definately pick that up first. This album is really only for people who really loved that record and can't get enough of it, or for people who were lucky enough to be at one of the shows. The original material is all taken from SMPTe, and while it's interesting to hear the band run through the covers, it's not an essential album to own. The Genesis tunes are great, and the closing medley (comprised of songs from each members' "real" bands) is amusing, but the Beatles tunes are pretty sloppy, and none of the covers are really essential.

I love the album, but only pick it up if you've already got the studio release, or if you're a big fan of Spock's, as Neal Morse features prominately on this album.

Another edition of this album is a 2-CD set. Try to get it because of more tracks contained in it!

The 2 studio albums Transatlantic put out are very well done with excellent production and fine musicianship. As a fan of all the bands (Spock's Beard, Marillion, Flower Kings, Dream Theater), I am pretty familiar with the playing abilities of the band's members (Neal Morse, Pete Trewavas, Roine Stolt, and Mike Portnoy). Although the music selection is great with a good mix of Tranatlantic material, classic prog (Genesis), and a medley of the 4 band's music listed above, the performance is fair. Not to be too harsh on these guys as they haven't had the time to play as a band and this recording was made during a tour of only 6 shows (ever). Considering the lack of playing time as a band, they do pretty well. But there is room for improvement. It was a surprise to see their willingness to put out a live album considering their limited time together, so hats off to their boldness. If you are a hardcore fan, pick it up; if you are exploring Transatlantic's music for the first time, start with either of their superb studio albums. This is good, but not their best.

Dream Theater and Transatlantic (and other sideline groups) are good at doing medleys! It was good to hear All of the Above, I think they did a good job of it.

But I thought they sounded a bit tired on the album, and I miss the original keyboard/guitar arrangements that worked well together on SMPTE.

But overall not a bad attempt! I believe this was their last album. Would have been interesting the Moarse man stayed on with these guys in this group and see what other wonderful material they would have brought out!

If you are a Transatlantic fan add it to your collection. Experince what they were like in concert on this CD because not many people had the chance too!