TransAtlantic
TransAtlantic were a progressive rock supergroup formed in 2000 by vocalist/keyboardist Neal Morse of Spock's Beard and drummer Mike Portnoy of Dream Theater.Originally intending to include Fate's Warning guitarist Jim Matheos, Morse and Portnoy tapped Flower Kings guitarist/vocalist Roine Stolt when Matheos was unable to participate. The band completed their lineup by adding bassist and progressive rock veteran Pete Trewavas from the group Marillion.
Their first album, 2000's SMPT:e (a play on words, as both a combination of the members' last initials, as well as a common machine time protocol used in high end recording studios) received strong critical reviews, including "some of the best progressive rock music ever written" (Robert Taylor in All Music Guide) and "a fireworks of ideas and incredible musicianship" (The Metal Observer).
A subsequent tour of the United States led to a double live CD, Transatlantic Live in America, and a video of the same name. The band showed their musical heritage on the live CD, presenting covers of The Beatles' "Strawberry Fields Forever", as well as Genesis' epic "Watcher of the Skies/Firth of Fifth".
Though SMPT:e contained the thirty-one minute opus "All of the Above", the band's second studio album, 2001's Bridge Across Forever, found the band flexing their muscles in the long form that progressive rock is known for. The CD contained just four tracks, the twenty-six minute "Duel With the Devil", the fourteen minute "Suite Charlotte Pike", and the twenty-six minute "Stranger in Your Soul" making up the bulk of the disc, with the title track coming in at a relatively scant five minutes.
TransAtlantic disbanded with the defection of Morse from the mainstream prog scene (which included his leaving Spock's Beard as well) to launch a new career as a Christian musician. A live DVD of the band's last tour was released in late 2003, featuring (among others) all aforementioned epics plus a rendition of (a medley of) The Beatles' Abbey Road album. The extended edition also contains a cover of Pink Floyd's "Shine on you crazy diamond".
