Transatlantic: Bridge Across Forever

It’s not often that an album comes along and completely changes the way you hear music. An album that is so strong, and so beautiful to your ears, that you are forever changed. For me, that album came along in 2001. From the first time I spun TransAtlantic’s sophomore effort, “Bridge Across Forever”, I knew that the band had created something so epically special, that it would be a long time before it left my CD player. As it turned out, the album would never leave my rotation for very long.

TransAtlantic is a so-called “supergroup”. Comprised of Neal Morse (Spock’s Beard), Mike Portnoy (Dream Theater), Roine Stolt (The Flower Kings), and Pete Trewavas (Marillion), the band is a veritable who’s who of the prog world. Each of their four bands had already carved out a spot high in the annals of progressive rock, but with TransAtlantic, they somehow elevated their status even further.

Their first album, “SMPTe”, was a masterpiece in its own right. The music combined what fans had come to love from each individual member, and the album became a quick favorite in the genre. And even though it would seem that Neal Morse was the front-man in the group, each member had ample time to shine. With the follow up, “Bridge Across Forever”, the album has a much tighter “band feel” than its predecessor.

Though “Bridge” is not a concept album, there are several repeated themes, and sections throughout three of the album’s tracks, sort of tying the songs to each other. I always thought it was a really cool way of making the album feel like one cohesive whole.

Opening, and closing the disc are the two major epics of the album. “Duel With the Devil”, and the “epic to end all epics”, as Neal once called it, “Stranger In Your Soul”. These two songs alone are worth the price of admission to the bridge across forever. Each track goes through so many peaks, and valleys, that by the time you are done with them, you find yourself wanting to take an immediate return trip. And for my money, “Stranger In Your Soul” is the greatest song ever recorded. To this day, I still get goosebumps every time I play it.

Sandwiched in-between the two major epics, are two shorter tracks. At just under fifteen minutes, “Suite Charlotte Pike” is reminiscent of the “Abbey Road” medley, from side two of The Beatles album. With the entire band trading off vocals at different points throughout the tune, this may be the most diverse track on the album. When the band performed this one live, they expertly wove the tracks from The Beatles medley into it, creating some kind of monster, that worked surprisingly very well. After “Pike”, we’re treated to the very beautiful title track. A Neal Morse highlight, this may be one of the most delicate tracks that Neal Morse has ever recorded.

After the release of “Bridge Across Forever”, as fans waited for a follow-up, it was announced that Neal would be leaving the band, and they would be on hiatus. Thankfully, as it turned out, that didn’t last forever, as the follow-up was released a mere eight years later. Still, with an album like this, it may have been better to allow it plenty of time to breathe, and be taken in, as I still find little nuances, and new things in the mix, to this day.