Principally recorded at Dark Horse, Nashville, Tennessee and Racket Club Studios, Buckinghamshire, England.
Transatlantic drummer and founder Mike Portnoy has been bucking and setting trends since the early '90s by immersing himself in progressive rock at a time when grunge and teen bands ruled. His primary band, Dream Theater, raised the bar for musicianship and complexity while helping to establish the progressive metal genre. Portnoy showed his depth and diversity by forming the critically and commercially successful bands Liquid Tension Experiment and Transatlantic. The latter's SMPTe proved to be a groundbreaking release by reviving the progressive sound of the '70s, while injecting an updated '90s approach. With this release, bandmates Neal Morse of Spock's Beard, Roine Stolt of the Flower Kings, Pete Trewavas of Marillion, and Portnoy continue to push this forgotten genre into newfangled directions. As expected, there is a surfeit of technical wizardry, but there is also an increased focus on rich harmonies, memorable melodies, and recondite lyrics. The lead vocals are shared among the four members in order to avoid the session sounding too much like a Spock's Beard recording, making this release sound more original than its predecessor. All four members offer unique talents, but Morse and Portnoy are the two who raise the band to a higher level. Portnoy, in particular, continues to be one of the most original voices on the drums, kind of like a John Bonham for progressive rock. Of the selections, there are two epics -- a Beatles-influenced jam and a striking ballad -- that should rightfully be placed alongside the likes of "Close to the Edge" and "Supper's Ready." The limited edition contains additional tracks of cover tunes. This may not be one of the most historic progressive recordings of all time, but it is surely one of the best. ~ Robert Taylor
Additional personnel includes: Chris Carmichael (violin, viola, cello); Keith Mears (saxophone); The Elite Choir (background vocals).
Neal Morse,Roine Stolt,Pete Trewavas & Mike Portnoy
MUST HAVE FOR PROG ROCK FANS!!!!! Brilliant songs and music. Better thean their first album. Roine Stolt is Awesome Submitted by Stephen.Mar (Denver, CO, USA) Was This Review Helpful? YesNo 2 of 2 found this helpful.
BRILLIANT!!!!!! IT'S A GREAT ALBUM SOMETIMES THEY TRY TO BRING BACK THE MAGIC THAT IS GONE WITH THOSE 70'S SUPERGROUPS LIKE GENESIS, YES AND CRIMSON THIS IS REAL MUSIC THIS IS TRUE ROCK NOT THAT NEW RAP METAL CRAP THAT IS EVERYWHERE RIGHT NOW Submitted by a reviewer (baltimore , MD USA) Was This Review Helpful? YesNo 1 of 1 found this helpful.
Not Dream Theater This is an incredible CD. I am a fan of DT, LTE, Queensryche so this is a little lighter than usual for me. If thats OK stylistically for you then its a must have album.
If you are a Flower Kings fan then this is right up your alley. Its a pleasure to listen to such first class musicians ... Submitted by Mike (Alberta, Canada) Was This Review Helpful? YesNo
Beutifull!! transatlantic bridge across forever is excellent album like the others albums and I recomend it to you Submitted by Aturbulence (portugal) Was This Review Helpful? YesNo
Second Transatlantic album I couldn't wait to have this second disc as well. The first one is just brilliant and full of really strong motives from which several good albums might have come. That is exactly what "The Bridge" is. A good album. But somehow it isn't enough from guys that are able do so much better. But 3 is still pretty good. Submitted by a reviewer (Seattle,WA) Was This Review Helpful? YesNo