Album(s) of the Day

"Nothing but fuckin' epics!" -- Mike Portnoy

Today I managed to listen to three fairly different albums that each contained the kind of epic material that progressive rock is favorite for. They each did it a different way and with varying degrees of success, so I thought I'd do a compare and contrast thing.

First up was Bridge Across Forever, by Transatlantic (2001), featuring the above-quoted Mr. Portnoy on drums. I avoided the initial album by this prog supergroup (featuring members of Dream Theater, Marillion, The Flower Kings, and Spock's Beard) because of the general sentiment that it was just a rehash of 70s cliches. But by the time this, their second and last album, came out, I had a gift certificate to spend and was surprised to find the album locally, so I went ahead and picked it up. It is a collection of 70s cliches, but done very well. Not groundbreaking, but good and fun for what they are. With the exception of a 5-minute filler ballad (which I skip religiously), the rest of the songs on the album weigh in at 13, 26, and 27 minutes long, respectively.

Next up was Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence (2002), a 2-disc opus from the aforementioned Dream Theater. This album completely lost me for DT, particularly the second disc, which contains on the 42-minute title track. It just seems to drag on and on! In addition, Jordan Rudess should be prosecuted for the horribly cheesy string patches he uses during the overture. Just makes you shake your head.

Finally, there was mei, by echolyn (2002). This album contains just one tune, which clocks in at just over 49 minutes. Still, at seven minutes longer than "Six Degrees . . .," it goes by much more quickly. "Mei" stands in stark contrast to the other epics, in that it features only bits of instrumental soloing here and there. The subtlety and musicality of the whole thing, however, is breathtaking. If I had to peg a "favorite album of the decade" here at the halfway point, mei is probably it.