Artist ....... Transatlantic
Album ........ The Absolute Universe - Forevermore (Extended Version)
Genre ........ Progressive Rock
Source ....... CDDA
Label ........ Inside Out Music
Catalog Nr. .. OMLP 575
Release Date . Feb-05-2021
Tracks ....... cd1: 9 / cd2: 9
Length ....... 90:25
Quality ...... 44,1
Mode ......... Joint Stereo
Encoder ...... LAME v3.100 -V0
Size ......... 174,19 MB
Link ......... https://www.insideoutmusic.com/
Rls Notes
Transatlantic have never been a band to resist a challenge. So it
should come as no surprise that for their fifth album, the foursome of
Neal Morse (keyboards, guitar vocals), Roine Stolt (guitar, vocals),
Pete Trewavas (bass, vocals) and Mike Portnoy (drums, vocals) have
really gone out to do something a little unusual. 'A little unusual'?
No, it's considerably more significant than that phrase implies. ôWe
have actually come up with something unprecedented,ö says Portnoy
proudly. ôWe've got two versions of this album. There's a two CD
presentation, which is 90 minutes long, and a single one - that's 60
minutes.ö So far this sounds fairly routine. However, as Portnoy goes
on to explain... ôThe single CD is NOT an edited version of the double
CD. They're new recordings. What we have done are different approaches
to the songs for this! We wrote fresh lyrics and also have different
people singing on the single CD version tracks as compared to those on
the double CD. Some of the song titles have also been changed, while
others might remain the same, but compositionally what you'll hear has
been altered. You must appreciate that what we have done is unique. We
revamped the songs to make the two versions different. Nobody has done
this before.ö ôWe did write some new music for the single CD,ö adds
Trewavas. ôWhat's more, there are also differences in the instruments
used on some of the tracks across the two records.ö
However, that's not all... ôThere will also be a third version that
brings these two together in a box set,ö remarks Portnoy. Now, it must
be said that when the band began mapping out what was to be their
fifth studio album they didn't plan for such a brilliantly bold
approach. In fact, it was to be a lot more conventional. ôIn September
2019, the four of us met up in Sweden to write and arrange the
material for the new album,ö recalls the drummer. ôRoine and Pete
weren't able to come over to the States, as they usually do for this
part of the process. So, it made sense for Neal and me to go to Europe
instead. ôOver a period of 10-14 days, we mapped out the songs. Then
we all went back to our home studios and did the recording. That's the
way we always do it. At one point, though, it was suggested that
instead of doing what was by that time going to be a double album, we
should just be content to do a single CD.ö ôWhat happened was that
everything kept expanding and expanding,ö recalls Stolt. ôTherefore we
decided it made sense to make it a double album. It was Pete and Neal
who then came out and said they felt this would be too long, and we
should reduce it to oneàBut we were already recording, and it didn't
seem feasible to cut it back. There were so many pieces that each of
us loved in what we were planning and didn't want to lose. That's when
we ended up in discussions over the best way forward.ö Trewavas
reveals he was indirectly the person who effectively instigated what
would become the master plan for two versions. ôI wondered if people
would have the patience to listen to so much music Neal agreed with
me, went away and came up with a shorter version of the album, which
prompted those chats between us as to what we should do.ö This is
where things took off in a wholly unexpected direction, as the idea
was born that would transform the album and take it into uncharted
territory. ôI came up the notion of doing both the two CD and single
CD versions of the album in this very unusual way,ö says Portnoy.
ôWhat I proposed was to make each of these editions different. We had
further discussions about this possibility, and eventually decided to
go down that route. Now, this was obviously going to cost a lot more
money. But thankfully our label InsideOut agreed with this approach.
ôBy that time, we were facing the pandemic, so the extra writing for
the single CD had to be done remotely. But that wasn't a problem for
us. We're experienced enough to make this work.ö At this juncture, it
should be noted that each of the two versions of the self-produced
album has a different title. The double CD is titled 'Forevermore',
with the single variation called 'The Breath Of Life'. There's also an
umbrella title for both versions, and this is 'The Absolute Universe'.
ôThere was a lot of to-ing and fro-ing on emails between the four of
us over those titles,ö explains Trewavas. ôWe all had ideas. In the
end Mike suggested 'The Absolute Universe', while 'Forevermore' was
from Roine and 'The Breath Of Life' came courtesy of Neal.ö
But wait, there's more to tell. Because this is actually a fully
contemporary concept album. ôWell, the idea of Transatlantic deciding
to do a concept record this time around won't shock anyone, right?ö
laughs Portnoy. ôWhat we have is essentially one giant composition,
split into chapters. The storyline is about the struggles facing
everyone in society today. Politics comes into this, but at no point
do we ever become political. The pandemic also has a significant role
in the subjects we've written about, as you'd expect. So, what we've
essentially done is talk about the craziness of 2020, with the single
CD concentrates a little more on the impact of the virus.ö ôWe didn't
start out with the idea of this being conceptual,ö admits Stolt. ôThe
way things work with us is that we have a load of ideas, and these are
developed spontaneously when we meet up. Everything happens in the
moment. But someone, and I am sure it was Mike, just said one day in
Sweden, 'Let's make this conceptual'. And we were all happy to go for
that.ö
ôWhen we met up in Sweden to begin writing this album we didnÆt have
ôany really preconceived ideas about what it was going to be,ö adds
ôMorse. In fact, it was still developing when we left! We simply
ôfollowed the music where it felt like it wanted to go and wound up
ôwith this pretty crazy conceptual piece! ItÆs become quite a natural
ôthing for the four of us to write in a concept album way as we love
ôto have themes recur; itÆs really fun to play around with them, and
ôfind out all the different ways that you can treat a particular piece
ôof music. ItÆs our favourite thing to do, to play around with these
ôpieces and song bits and try to figure out how to fit them all
ôtogether. ItÆs really quite a bit of work and a challenge, but itÆs
ôalso a lot of fun.ö
So, how does this new ground-breaking album compare to Transatlantic's
previous four albums? ôI always try not to compare albums as much as
possible,ö insists Morse. ôItÆs very difficult when youÆre trying to
be creative, because your natural instinct is to constantly compare.
But in order to create you have to kind of step away from that. Having
said that, I would say this would have more in common with 'The
Whirlwind' album (the band's third, from 2009) than others that weÆve
created.ö
ôIn some respects, it is similar to 'The Whirlwind',ö agrees Portnoy.
ôIn that it is one song split into multiple tracks. But by no means
ôcan you call it a sequel to that one. It's more a spiritual
ôrelationship between the two than any other connection.ö
Both versions not only feature the four members of the band, but also
a string section, as there has been on Transatlantic's other releases.
ôNeal was responsible for bringing in these fine musicians, to add
their talents to what we were doing,ö comments Trewavas. The mixing
stage was handled by Rich Mouser, who has also worked on the band's
four prior studio albums.
The artwork this time is down to Thomas Ewerhard. ôThomas is someone
Neal and I have worked with a lot in the past,ö enthuses Portnoy.
ôWhat he has come up with are three covers. One for each of the two
versions and another for the box set that contains all the music. ôThe
mothership, which has always been an ever present part of
Transatlantic's artwork, is still there,ö reveals Portnoy. ôBut now it
has been made a lot more futuristic. Each of these pieces of art has a
different colour scheme and landscape. They look amazing.ö ôPer
Nordin, who is a friend of mine, had originally come up with the
mothership,ö says Stolt. ôAnd we've used it on all of our albums so
far. But it was now time to move on. So, I went online and found some
fantastic artwork. I sent the links to the others and we decided on
what we were looking for, and then handed this over to Thomas, who has
brought it all to life.ö
As well as the CD format, there will also be vinyl editions for each
version. 'The Breath Of Life' will be pressed on 2 LPs, while
'Forevermore' is to be a triple LP. And the box set houses all of
these. ôThe box will have the five LPs, three CDs, plus a 5.1 mix of
everything and a blu ray, which has a documentary on the making of the
album,ö expands Portnoy.
For Trewavas, 'The Absolute Universe' is a momentous project. ôI think
it is right up there with the very finest albums we've done. As the
others have said, it compares very well to 'The Whirlwind', which I
believe represents Transatlantic at our best. As on that album, we
took our time to write and arrange everything, and that shines
through. I am very excited for people to hear it.ö
ôOur job as composers and creators is to create from nowhere as best
ôwe can,ö feels Morse. And then trust that it will be a blessing to
ôpeople when they listen to it.ö I know what we have done here is
ôspecial,ö adds Stolt. I hope others will find it as rewarding to
ôlisten to it as we did in making it.ö
Let's leave the final word to Portnoy, who believes this album takes
the Transatlantic philosophy to a fresh level. ôWe have always had the
attitude that more of anything is never enough. But this time we have
taken that idea to a new extreme. I am sure 'The Absolute Universe' as
a whole will be any prog fan's wet dream! In a way, it is bonkers. But
we took on this challenge, and I know we've pulled it off.ö
Malcolm Dome London, October 2020
----------
# track length
CD1
01 Overture 08:12
02 Heart Like A Whirlwind 05:11
03 Higher Than The Morning 05:30
04 The Darkness In The Light 05:43
05 Swing High, Swing Low 03:48
06 Bully 02:11
07 Rainbow Sky 03:19
08 Looking For The Light 04:00
09 The World We Used To Know 09:22
CD2
01 The Sun Comes Up Today 05:39
02 Love Made A Way (Prelude) 01:26
03 Owl Howl 07:06
04 Solitude 05:41
05 Belong 02:49
06 Lonesome Rebel 02:54
07 Looking For The Light (Reprise) 05:13
08 Heart Like A Whirlwind (Reprise) 04:18
09 Love Made A Way 08:03