Stolt Morse Portnoy Trewavas
Transatlantic, justly positing itself as an art-rock supergroup for the 21st century, comprises the guitarist Roine Stolt (The Flower Kings), the singer and multi-instrumentalist Neal Morse (Spock's Beard), the drummer Mike Portnoy (Dream Theater), and the bassist Pete Trewavas (Marillion). The band's debut album,SMPTe, is named for its musicians and plays on the acronym for the Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers, whose ubiquitous synchronization code facilitated this project-studio recording. The album offers five lengthy pieces of derivative but highly accessible rock. The players wield their progressive-rock chops with dexterity and fervor, turning on a dime from the psychedelic-jam musings ofProcol HarumandGentle Giantto the precision and symphonic-pop colors ofYesandAsia. Given the band's deep pool of playing and singing talent, it's no surprise that the album's weakest link is its lyrics, but for all ofSMPTe's purple, freshman-English writing, an infectious, almost Beatlesque idealism pervades the record, buoying parts of its breathtaking 31-minute centerpiece, "All of the Above," and sweetening "My New World" with a playful melody and artful Mellotron accents. WhileSMPTeis by no means destined for the annals of progressive-rock greatness, the album nevertheless rewards repeated listening and represents a triumph of music and beauty over affectedness and gloom.--Michael Mikesell