He did everything I would have asked of him and a whole lot more. This is his best album out of his most recent batches and one that rivals all the best from the year. I didn't think anybody would dethrone Tomas Bodin's I Am for my choice of album of the year. While I wouldn't go so far as to say he has surpassed it, this is right up there with it. It's far better than One and it even edges out Testimony and Snow. The only downside is that it's one disc and you'll be wanting more long after it's done. However, it's in his most complicated format yet. In some ways, it's one long song and yet it's not. Each track fluently translates into the next better than anything he's ever done. Additionally, this is, for the most part, a dozen separate songs that play alone just fine. If you ask me, that's an impressive feat by itself. A lot of the songs are short, but they're cut and pasted in such a way as to completely overlap one another. You'll have trouble knowing where one ends and the next one begins. If you thought of Testimony or Snow as one song, you'll find it increasingly more difficult to differentiate between these pieces. This is a huge strength of the album. It keeps its hold on the listener and doesn't give you a chance to sneak away. It's merely a matter of convenience to break it up into these twelve separate tracks. It's all good and I doubt that many will find themselves skipping tracks, jumping into the middle, or abandoning ship without taking it to its creative climax. Even though Neal is guilty of sticking to a certain style, you'll never be bored by sameness or lack of originality. I found myself stuck to the contents as if it were covered in a sticky shellac of Elmer's glue.

There are two additional improvements over his previous album also worthy of mention: The first has to do with the lyrics. He is in touch with his spiritual side, but also open-minded and sensitive to the diversity that would be found among the different sects of people. It doesn't matter your denomination or beliefs, these words can reach just about anybody. In my opinion, this is the greatest accomplishment of the album as this sort of message is seldom if ever done so well. It's about religion, but at the same time, it's about the enlightenment he's experienced over the years. The whole world could learn from his message. Many people, even those who are agnostic, will welcome these insightful expressions. Second, the instrumentals are superior to his previous engagements. The guitars are significantly better than they were on One. This can be attributed to Al Morse, Roine Stolt, and Steve Hackett who each make exceptional guest appearances. Neal needs no help on the keyboards, yet we are treated to contributions from Jordan Rudess. Where else do you see all these musicians on the same release? As if this weren't impressive enough, we bear witness to an unbelievable extravagance, these maestros trading licks. These parts will certainly wow you. In addition to these gracious gifts from these instrumental gods, Mike Portnoy is back at it again on the drums. It's not Transatlantic exactly, because Pete Trewavas is absent. Instead, there is a new bassist on the block and his name is Randy George. He's not altogether new as Neal has featured him on his latest endeavors. In any case, he's a more than suitable replacement for the missing Pete and able to provide his own melodic wonder. Together, these musicians make a winning combination and cook up sweet symphonic treats that hearken back to the recent times of the relatively-retro, but positively-progressive Transatlantic.

The only downside is that as mentioned, there is a certain similarity to all his past pieces. This goes with the territory, but not so much as usual. We do get many of the same solos, the Latin licks, and much of the same orchestrations from the string and brass sections. To paraphrase Andy Tillison of The Tangent, who really cares when he does it so well? I wholeheartedly agree, but we're fortunate enough to get new themes on top of the material we've already grown to fancy. I will take this album as is and whatever else he puts out regardless of how far (or near) he ventures from the familiar path. Not only is it a trip you'll take to its completion, it's one you'll take often and in some cases one you'll return to right away. The repeat button was engineered to endure frequent clicks. This album has been designed to put it to the test. For those who can't wait (or have the album and want a different perspective) a couple single versions are available for download at Neal's site - these are quite different from the renditions on the disc.

This review is available in book format (hardcover and paperback) in Music Street Journal: 2005 Year Book Volume 2 at https://garyhillauthor.com/Music-Street-Journal-2005.