Transatlantic: The Whirlwind versione su CD in standard edizione. Questa particolare edizione è stata pubblicata in Europa nella casa editrice Inside Out Music in data 5. marzo 2021.

Signs and wonders are still happening: seven years after the - too early and indeed too long - creative hiatus of progressive supergroup Transatlantic, original members Roine Stolt (The Flower Kings), Pete Trewavas (Marillion), Neal Morse (ex-Spock ́s Beard) and Mike Portnoy (Dream Theater) have reunited to record a new studio album. The title: "Whirlwind". Music. Concept: brilliant. Or as Neal Morse describes it, "'The Whirlwind' is a shining piece of genius inspired by broad lyrical themes and brought to life by a musical journey that listens, plays and breathes. Like Tolstoy's epic novel. This is 'war and peace' prog." Honestly: even the bravest optimists wouldn't have expected such a breathtaking performance! A special feature of "The Whirlwind": the Transatlantic fill the entire playing time of the CD with the 77-minute (!) title track, which is divided into twelve chapters. The sprawling track begins with the overture "Whirlwind" and ends after more than an hour with "Whirlwind Reprise". Quite a feat: "I think it's the most epic of all epics," Morse explains. "It goes far beyond anything we've ever produced. A 77-minute-long coherent conceptual work? I don't know of any band that's done anything like that before." Still, the bar is already extremely high for this band: With their two previous studio albums, "SMPTe" (2000) and "Bridge Across Forever" (2001), Transatlantic have proven themselves to be magnificent songwriters and virtuoso musicians when it comes to craftsmanship. However, on their latest album, the musicians have moved up a level. Morse: "'The Whirlwind' is big and powerful and has a typical transatlantic sound. I don't know how to describe it, but Transatlantic have their own sound. There are many passages that remind me of parts of our previous records, especially these spacey parts and the slow transitions into the next song. At the same time, this album sounds excitingly fresh. The whole section "Rose Colored Glasses" has something completely new to me, as does the zeppelin-like "Lay Down Your Life". I don't remember us ever doing anything like this before. I love it!" In the spring of 2009, the band reunited for the first time. They holed up in a room - this time at Neal Morse's house in Nashville - and immediately started exchanging ideas and playing around. They all contributed a lot of great stuff. The only question was whether they could keep up the breathtaking pace at which everything was unfolding. "The first night we just stood up and jammed. I was surprised that the guys wanted to get going straight away, even though some of them had travelled up to 14 hours by plane. But being die-hard cavalrymen, they wanted to jump right in. I didn't realize it so clearly at first, but after watching the "Making Of" DVD that comes with the deluxe version, I realized that most parts of the whole album were written on the first night. It's really amazing what happened." You don't need to know much more about "The Whirlwind" beforehand, because you should definitely listen to this magnificent prog rock masterpiece with your own ears and enjoy it with your own senses. I am in no way exaggerating when I say that Transatlantic have outdone themselves with "The Whirlwind". If you like concept albums and have a soft spot for intelligent, melodic and multi-layered progressive rock, you'll get full service here. So the only questions left to answer are: why did Transatlantic take a break in the first place and what was the initial spark for "The Whirlwind". "When I left Spock`s Beard for spiritual reasons, I felt that I should end Transatlantic as well, because if I don`t continue with one project, I shouldn`t continue with the other," explains Neal Morse. "The bottom line is that I quit because I felt God expected me to. A little later I wrote a song called 'The Whirlwind' for which Transatlantic seemed destined. I asked the guys if they wanted to get together and collaborate on it. It seemed like the right thing at the right time." However, it could also be argued that fans shouldn't have waited much longer for a work as spectacular as "The Whirlwind."

Album comprende generi Rock e Progressive rock. Standard Version.