Transatlantic - The Absolute Universe

[Splicer]

Islands is only starting to grow on me after three or four listens because I'm just now getting used to the shorter song format or the absence of motifs that I hear throughout the record. On the other hand and as far as comfort prog goes, the Forevermore version (the only one I've listened to so far) hit all the marks right away. That might be because it's formulaic, but then again people read series Mystery because it's formulaic. It's got big melodies, a lot of Roine's singing and playing, and generally some of the epic things I didn't hear on the Flower Kings album.

[Poisoned Youth]

I much prefer the Waiting For Miracles album to Islands. I find the songs much more melodic with no throwaway tracks on it like lots of their albums.

I just listened to Islands again and I think I still have to give the nod to Miracles for the reason that "less is more". That said, I think disc 2 of Islands is fairly strong, and if I could make a 50 minute album consisting of the best tracks from Islands, it would rival Miracles imo.

[Flightwave]

I ordered the magenta 2 x vinyl from Neal’s site for the Breath of Life version. I really love this album! Great sound and memorable hooks that stick in your head (for good reasons!). Another great release. Came with the CD too.

[awebert]

Still haven't gotten mine from Radiant... is anyone else still waiting?

[SRS]

Still haven't gotten mine from Radiant... is anyone else still waiting?

I also am waiting on my order from Radiant of the Ultimate Set (but I did get a notice it was shipped on Monday so its on the way, estimated delivery March 1)
Fortunately I also ordered from Roine's shop and got those individual CDs several days before release date so I've been listening and loving it for weeks now. Still only listening to BoL version.
Hopefully you get it soon, it is worth the wait!

[rickawakeman]

Came with the CD too.

One of my favorite features of Inside Out vinyl releases.

[JKL2000]

This is not meant to sound as judgmental as it will (and it's off-topic to boot!), but why do so many vinyl buyers care what color vinyl their disks are? I can see having a preference when you're provided a choice, but why are there often so many choices? Are there people collecting each color vinyl of an individual album? The number of choices on Bandcamp for some releases seems excessive to me.

[chalkpie]

^ Collector's items.

[JKL2000]

^ Collector's items.

But what's with the ones that come out in three different colors - plus black? Are people collecting the full set of colors?

[Sunlight Caller]

^ Some people undoubtedly are, and that way the artist can double or triple their revenue. It might be cynical, but I guess for some it really makes a difference.

The whole collectors market is an interesting one. I love the occasional box set and will often justify the price to myself by saying “oh this will be worth more on the collectors market one day”, but then I never cash in on them, so it’s all mind games with myself! I would only buy one version of a vinyl release though, but am a sucker for a pretty colour. I still have my original Steve Hillage “Green” and clear “Rainbow Dome Music”, oh and a blue Wonderous Stories 12”. Prog, like Model T Ford’s, didn’t come in many colours back in the 70’s.

[Sterbus]

McCartney III had eleven different version between vinyl and cd.

Just see this https://www.superdeluxeedition.com/f...mccartney-iii/

[Flightwave]

This is not meant to sound as judgmental as it will (and it's off-topic to boot!), but why do so many vinyl buyers care what color vinyl their disks are? I can see having a preference when you're provided a choice, but why are there often so many choices? Are there people collecting each color vinyl of an individual album? The number of choices on Bandcamp for some releases seems excessive to me.

It doesn’t matter to me the color to be honest. I like the color magenta and this album happened to be pressed on that color, so I purchased the magenta record.

[miamiscot]

I love colored vinyl but it doesn't really matter all that much to me. I would imagine that there are people who will buy all the color variants of a new record by a band they love. Why not??? It's only money!!!

[Gruno]

^ Some people undoubtedly are, and that way the artist can double or triple their revenue. It might be cynical, but I guess for some it really makes a difference.

The whole collectors market is an interesting one. I love the occasional box set and will often justify the price to myself by saying “oh this will be worth more on the collectors market one day”, but then I never cash in on them, so it’s all mind games with myself! I would only buy one version of a vinyl release though, but am a sucker for a pretty colour. I still have my original Steve Hillage “Green” and clear “Rainbow Dome Music”, oh and a blue Wonderous Stories 12”. Prog, like Model T Ford’s, didn’t come in many colours back in the 70’s.

So many different music collectors who seek items for different gains.

Some collect anything and everything with the band's name attached.
Some collect only certain media formats, sometimes multiple formats (cd, vinyl, tape, 8-track, reel-to-reel)
Others collects music/dvd only; obtains 1 of each.
etc.

Then there are those from the list above who go one step further and purchase multiple quantities for whatever reasons. Some may want to hold onto it as a possible investment, grab additional to gift to others in future, save as a backup, etc.

The slippery slope is difficult to define. Just because an artist can press multiple version of an LP in various colors, should they do so knowing there is a subset of fans who are addicted to collecting? Does the artist have a responsibility or not? Is there a line (or should there be) between catering only to the known hardcore collector fanbase vs. simple supply & demand? McCartney as an example:

McCartney III had eleven different version between vinyl and cd.

Just see this https://www.superdeluxeedition.com/f...mccartney-iii/

What was the purpose of so many variants? Just because he could? To make vinyl collectors happy/mad? To attempt to gain a fake #1 charting album by relying on the hardcore collectors that buy multiple formats & multiple copies?

It doesn’t matter to me the color to be honest. I like the color magenta and this album happened to be pressed on that color, so I purchased the magenta record.

Maybe this is the reason? McCartney wanted people to have a simple choice.

I love colored vinyl but it doesn't really matter all that much to me. I would imagine that there are people who will buy all the color variants of a new record by a band they love. Why not??? It's only money!!!

That's when it gets into the slippery slope even more. In 2020/21, artists need to recoup lost income. Some are turning to these multi-variation items. Is that right in these times? Is there a moral ground and what is it?

It's a strange time right now for music.

[Finch Platte]

Listening for the first time. Sounds like the guys, but the comments on Pete's bass playing are spot-on. Dude is all over the place on that thing! It may make the release for me- I'm getting a little bored of the TA sound. They're all really good musicians, but it's more of the same for me. So damn earnest! :*D

[JKL2000]

What was the purpose of so many variants? To attempt to gain a fake #1 charting album by relying on the hardcore collectors that buy multiple formats & multiple copies?

I hadn't thought of that!!

Listening for the first time. Sounds like the guys, but the comments on Pete's bass playing are spot-on. Dude is all over the place on that thing! It may make the release for me- I'm getting a little bored of the TA sound. They're all really good musicians, but it's more of the same for me. So damn earnest! :*D

Neal Morse is nothing if not earnest!

[PixelDelirium]

I finally got my Ultimate Edition (autographed by Neal) from Radiant Records today! Ripping the Blu-ray now... I may even give the vinyl a listen since I did just recently purchase a new turntable. But, I really have no intention of making this a regular thing.

[Garden Dreamer]

It's frustrating when I can't put aside time to give a new album a proper listen; I've had Forevermore here for a few weeks now and only listened once while doing something else. But Breath of Life arrived today and I figured I could digest the shorter version without distractions and gotta say that if this was the only version made I'd be happy with it, so I'm even more excited now to digest the longer version! Their harmonies were always good but they sound better than ever here. I love how "The Greatest Story Never Ends" just rallies the whole package and "Love Made a Way" provides the obligatory dramatic finish. Great stuff. Anyone catch the Ayn Rand reference throughout the first verse of "Higher Than the Morning"?

[SRS]

News for the hardcore Transatlantic fans

Message from Neal on the next IC release out on Monday: "THE MAKING OF BREATH OF LIFE" video documentory:

Hi, everyone!

Just wanted to share the news of this month’s Inner Circle release that will land on Monday, March 22nd.

As you probably know, for Transatlantic’s The Absolute Universe, I took the lead role in putting together the "Breath of Life" version. If you have the Blu-ray, you will have seen the Making of documentary which mainly focuses on the work we did in Sweden. This month’s IC release tells “the rest of the story” – the long journey from the initial idea to edit in March 2020 to November 2020, when the final mixes were signed off, and everything in between – which includes me catching Coronavirus!

The documentary is around 70 minutes long, and you’ll see me doing some of the lyric rewrites, adding overdubs and chopping and editing this thing!

If you aren’t yet a member of the Inner Circle, you can sign up today. You’ll immediately be able to get the January 2020 release “NMB 3: Some More Adventures” plus get the March release on Monday, the 22nd.

I look forward to hearing what you think of the documentary!

Here is the trailer

[Top Cat]

Thanks to everyone who've shared their personal feelings about the two different versions.
I was confused on which to buy, but settled on the Forevermore Extended version vinyl 3LP light blue from Ken's LaserCD.

First to consider was, the original material and concept is basically the Extended Version of how the album was originally intended to be when all 4 members were mapping out the ideas together in the same room(it was later completed in each home studio).
If you're a fan of Neal's way of mixing and the final product, then I believe the Breath of Life version will sound great to you.
I like the idea the Extended Version has Roine's mix on it, plus it focuses more on his guitars, where the Breath is Neal and his keys.
I'm not a big fan of Neal's upfront and powerful vocals being showcased, although I do like Neal and his songwriting(I'm just not interested in hearing this music that way).

The final thing that helped me decide was, if you go to Amazon, they have both versions listed, and you can listen to 30 second samples of each song on each album.
I did this, and the Roine version appealed to me more, and as mentioned earlier(Poisoned Youth)it sounds more like a group to me, and the mix is more balanced in tone to me(also rawer).

I'm really looking forward to this treat. I don't have the budget to treat myself like I used to, but I have to stimulate the economy somehow, right? lol

[BarryLI]

Having bought both and listened extensively I think BOL is unnecessary, the original version recorded in Sweden is all you need.

[SRS]

Having bought both and listened extensively I think BOL is unnecessary, the original version recorded in Sweden is all you need.

But then you miss out on "Can You Feel It" which is a great song! Everybody needs all versions -lol

[Rajaz]

But then you miss out on "Can You Feel It" which is a great song! Everybody needs all versions -lol

As a completist that I am, I am planning to buy BOL later. But having the EV for now is very satisfying and not knowing about the Stolt vs Morse opposite versions, I found it to be an excellent effort.
Compared to past Transatlantic albums, it is much better than Kaleidoscope, IMHO.

For now, I can still listen to "Can You Feel It" on my Amazon music cloud account at any time :-)

[ThomasKDye]

So... having played Breath of Life to death and suffered many nights of having the songs run through my head when I'm trying to sleep, I have finally ordered Forevermore. I plan to get chemically enhanced tomorrow morning and listen to it while I stare outside at the awesome view in wonderful weather. Cheers!

(Honestly, the only reason I got the short version first is I did not expect to like it this much. I mean, Kaleidoscope is okay but "meh" compared to the first two albums.)

[JKL2000]

I’ve listened to BOL a few times, but not yet to the extended version. After a few listens, I feel a little burned out on TA, but I must get to that extended version. BOL is ok, but I can’t say it rocks my world or anything. I think I prefer The Whirlwind. I find the song Trewavas sings to be a bummer, because it just doesn’t sound good. There’s no way around that for me. I feel like I could have done it better, and I’m not good. I love Pete, but...

Also, when the band shouts “Whoo!” a couple of times, I cringe. Maybe I’ll get over these things. And maybe I’ll like the extended version a bit more. I feel like more Stolt will help.