Transatlantic is my favorite prog band, hands down. "Kaleidoscope", their previous outing, won Album Of The Year from me, and "Bridge Across Forever" is without doubt my favorite prog album.
Before I even get to the music on this new record, I feel like I have to address the elephant in the room; the format. This album comes in two forms; a 60 minute abridged version and a 90 minute expanded edition. If that was extent of it, I could go along, since I get why people wouldn't want to spend an hour-and-a-half listening to a single album. Heck, I don't really want to do that. But that's not that all there is to this. Not only are there two different lengths of the album, the actual music contained therein is different between the two. The tracks feature different singers, different instruments, and different lyrics, depending on which of the two you're listening to.
What that means is to get the full picture of what Transatlantic is offering us, we have to listen to both versions, and then reconcile in our heads that the best moments will be scattered among both versions, and neither will be our own 'definitive' version of the album. And to make your own version of the album that will most please you, both CD packages will have to be bought, so the band is asking you to spend twice as much to get the album you really want (which you'll have to compile and burn for your own use).
Making an album is a decision making process, and on that front, Transatlantic has failed miserably. What is clear to me from this project is the band couldn't decide what direction to go with these songs, and rather than make a choice, or have someone make it for them, they instead opted to try to please everyone, which pleases no one. I'll be honest with you; I am incredibly disappointed they took this route, both because of the unseemly business side of things, but also because when we talk of this album there is no shared reality.
If I praise "The Absolute Universe", what am I talking about? Is it the short version, the long version, or the version I put together for myself? In a world where we saw 'alternative facts' become a real sentiment, we now have Transatlantic giving us alternative albums, and rendering discussion of their music either difficult or worthless.
The two versions of the album make for a disconcerting listen when "Heart Like A Whirlwind" is indeed completely different than the version we've been listening to for a month as "Reaching For The Sky", or when "The World We Used To Know" isn't on the abridged version at all. There's a feeling of being in the 'uncanny valley', where the album is something we know we have heard before, and it's remarkably similar, but clearly not the same. By presenting us before the release with songs from both versions, I feel like anyone who doesn't buy both is going to wind up disappointed.
As for the shared musical identity, Roine's being more assertive certainly shows up, as the band's sound on this record is lighter and more in line with The Flower Kings than on my favorite Transatlantic album. Those moments when the band cranks things up and introduces a heavy (for them) riff are few and far between, while the softer stretches of instrumental noodling grow longer. Taking a different tone isn't a problem, except that the long version of the album is 90 minutes long, and like the recent Flower Kings albums, that's far too long to play softly without adding in something more energetic and exciting.
I'm also not sure what to make of the ties to the past. The lyrics often refer back to "The Whirlwind", and there are a couple musical passages that feel like reprisals of previous work. I can't decide if they are intentional 'easter eggs' for the prog nerds, or if they are running out of ways to put notes together in new and different ways after being at this for decades. I could be convinced either way, and I'm not fond of either answer. When they essentially replay the second half of "Heart Like A Whirlwind" as the second half of "Solitude", it becomes a bit much.
What the album is lacking are the big, epic moments and songs that have defined Transatlantic as a band. There is no "Black As The Sky" or "Rose Colored Glasses" here, none of those stirring moments from their epics that blend prog and pop in the way that makes their music so interesting. They sound too comfortable, too relaxed through most of this record. "Owl Howl" is either five or seven minutes of mostly instrumental bits, including a lengthy passage where there is barely more than the drum beat and a synthesized woodwind piping out a couple of notes. I dare say it's flat-out boring.
And I have to also say this; while I get the band has an affinity for groups of the past where everyone took turns singing, Mike Portnoy and Pete Trewavas are not good enough singers to sing lead when you have Neal Morse and Roine Stolt on hand. I'm sorry, but they aren't.
So after digesting two-and-a-half hours of "The Absolute Universe", I have a few conclusions I can share. 1)Neither version of the record is 'the way to go'. 2)I now appreciate the limited amount of time they usually give themselves to put these records together, because the extra time they took allowed indecision to paint itself all over this record. 3)Other than their debut spending seventeen minutes on a cover I never want to hear, this is probably the weakest Transatlantic album yet, as presented.
However, I did go through the process of putting together my own blend of the album, and that made a huge difference. Listening to that collated playlist, the album opens up and becomes something I find far more enjoyable. There are tracks on the extended version I feel need to be included in the listening experience, but I also find ninety minutes intolerable, and a few of the production choices better on the short version. So, by combining the best of both, we wind up with an album I really love. I would definitely say it's better than the debut, and possibly even "The Whirlwind".
Now comes the hard part. How do I render judgment on this album now, and when the end of the year comes? I have found myself loving "The Absolute Universe", but not either version the band has offered us. I would be lying not to say it will likely end up one of my favorite albums of the year, but I would also be lying to say it is. I'm not sure how to reconcile these thoughts, nor how much credit I can give to the band when I had to do some of the production work on my own to create the album experience as I enjoy it.
I suppose the only summary I can give it this; "The Absolute Universe" is more a jigsaw puzzle than an album. If you're looking for a collection of musical ideas you can put together in your own form, then Transatlantic has given us plenty to work with. If you're looking for an album you can buy or stream and listen to with no regrets, this will not be it. Both versions of the album are missing elements vital to the experience, and it's a huge missed opportunity.
Meanwhile, I'll be listening to my version and trying to convince myself I can legitimately call it an Album Of The Year contender when it only exists in my own mind.
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