Search - Transatlantic: Building the Bridge/Live in America on DVD

Fantastic DVD for fans of Transatlantic, Spock's Beard, Mari

bass boy | Arkansas | 04/17/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Wonderful DVD of Transatlantic's first tour, shot in a small theater but full of energy. The video also includes the band's "making-of" sessions for their "Bridge Across Forever" album. It's great to see prog-rock giants hamming it up in the studio, goofing off and just being "human." The segment where Neal Morse performs the song "Bridge Across Forever" with just vocal and his piano in the studio is worth the selling price. Absolutely stunning. Neal could have been a fifth Beatle.
The concert isn't quite as magnificent as their "Live in Europe" DVD, shot on the band's second tour, but this new video reissue deserves five stars still. The group has great energy and out-of-this-world chops. Some complained about the CD version released three or four years back because Neal didn't overdub his vocals. But this is a strength to the concert. It really is live, and not some sweetened-up version. What's the point of putting out live DVDs and CDs if they're overdubbed? It's kind of fake when there's doctoring involved. Yes, Neal's voice cracks a few times, but it's live people. Even in progressive rock, live flubs can creep in here and there. It's interesting how guitarist Roine Stolt changes his guitar solos up, when compared to his original solo passages on the first CD. He seems to be the biggest fan of improvisation on stage - his comments on the "Live In Europe" DVD were telling. He said he enjoyed that other concert, but it felt like "a rock show" that needed more improvisation. On "Live in America," drumming genius Mike Portnoy isn't filmed quite as much as he was on the "Live in Europe" DVD, but fans can still see him.
On a final note, I ordered this from Neal Morse's Web site and recieved it in the mail three weeks ago - I've watched it twice in full and certain segments multiple times. Don't know why Amazon.com lists a May release date. Check out Neal's official Web site, or Radiant Records' official Web site if you can't wait until May to pick up this video!
Peace"

Great Live Prog

Alexander Canduci | In hiding | 07/18/2006

(4 out of 5 stars)

"A good live DVD, showcasing Transatlantic's first tour of America, along with the making of the Bridge Across Forever album.

The making of segment is reasonably good, Mike is an absolute crack up, but it does tend to get a little repetative, especially as each of the members continually labor the point that they all contributed to the album. I think they protest too much, and it is fairly obvious that Neal dominates the album just as he did the first.

Speaking of the first album, the tour supporting that album is showcased on the live segment, and it is quite good. One of the major criticisms of that tour was that you never heard Roine Stolt's guitar, and having listened to some of the shows, I can testify that this was definately the case. Which is why I was quite interested in this live DVD, as it states on the back cover that Roine did an audio remix in 2005.

Well, this isn't so much of a remix, so much as Roine has re-recorded his guitar parts in the studio. There are obvious visual mismatches between what his fingers are playing and what you are hearing during many parts of the show, especially during 'Firth Of Fifth', 'My New World' and the final medley. I don't blame Roine for this, as his guitar was mixed quite low in those gigs, but it does make a mockery of this being a completely live performance. Though in his defence, many other bands have done this: Rush (All The World's A Stage) and Genesis (The Lamb show as released in the Archives 1 four disc box set, where both Hackett and Gabriel did major re-recordings of their parts).

So well worth getting, apart from a couple of perhaps minor complaints."