Progressive rock supergroup Transatlantic has announced the release of Live At Morsefest 2022: The Absolute Whirlwind, a mammoth limited edition 5 CD + 2 Blu-ray artbook set featuring both sets from the event in their entirety, with nearly 4 and a half hours of music in total, due 26th April.
The band, featuring vocalist and keyboard player Steve Morse (ex-Spockâs Beard), Roine Stolt (The Flower Kings) on guitar and Pete Trewavas (Marillion) on bass, and Mike Portnoy (Dream Theater) on drums, has released a live clip of the track âCan You Feel Itâ, taken from the second night 2, that you can watch here at RAMzine.
âNot to be confused by last yearâs live release of our last show in Paris, this release of Transatlantic at Morsefest 2022 represents the most epic and mammoth of all Transatlantic Live releases!â Portnoy declared. âTwo nights, two completely different sets, two Transatlantic concept albums done in their entiretyâĤ Accompanied with strings, horns, percussion, female vocals, etcâĤTransatlantic has always been about âMore never is enoughâ, but no live Transatlantic release has ever been more epic than this oneâĤItâs the ultimate live Transatlantic experience!â
Morse added: âAt long last, a musical dream come true in true epic fashion! To play The Absolute Universe, The Whirlwind, and other great pieces of music with Transatlantic, along with an amazing string section, background singers, etc. What more could any musician ask for? This is the very best of the very best in my view. I hope you all enjoy experiencing this as much as we enjoyed performing it!â
Morsefest, the festival put on by Neal Morse annually in Nashville, Tennessee has been in existence since 2014. Typically, the weekend long event celebrated music from his solo work and other bands from his career. But with each passing Morsefest, there had been one question lingering among the faithful audience that returned every yearâĤ When would Transatlantic perform at Morsefest? In 2022, at the 9th Morsefest, it finally happened, with the other two members also commenting on their festival appearance.
âPlaying Morsefest was quite a task, learning all the different material for the two different shows,â said Stolt. âWe even got a chance to play that Procol Harum tune, that is dear to me and takes me back to my teenage years, just getting to know what prog is/was. The addition of the strings and choir at Morsefest, plus Philip adding percussion lent a different and perhaps more of an orchestral side. That worked really well and made these two nights very special.â
Trewavas remarked: âTo play Morsefest 2022 was an absolute pleasure for me and gave us a natural break at the end of the North American leg of The Absolute Universe tour, where we regrouped at Nealâs to rehearse for the two shows, back where we had rehearsed for the tour some four or five weeks earlier.
âWe had three days I think it was to refresh The Whirlwind full version and learn âIn Held Tâwas In Iâ. The festival was an absolute blast. We were all super relaxed and enjoying ourselves probably due to the little break from touring back to rehearsing.
âNeal had been wanting to get Transatlantic at MorseFest since we released Whirlwind and it never panned out for various reasons, so it felt fitting that we got it all together for The Absolute Universe tour.â
The Absolute Universe, released in 2021, was the bandâs fifth album since forming in 2000. However, as the bandâs motto is âMore is never enough, it was released as two different versions â The Breath Of Life (Abridged Version), and Forevermore (Extended Version). In addition, the band combined those two versions for an Ultimate Edition of the album. With touring restrictions due to the pandemic finally lifted, the band finally started their tour in April 2022 ending up at Morsefest on the weekend of 29th and 30th April.
The weekend at Morsefest provided two nights of shows. For night one, the band performed their classic album The Whirlwind in its entirety, the first time they had done so in 10 years. The evening also added âInto The Blueâ and âShineâ from the bandâs fourth album Kaleidoscope as well as the classic ballad âWe All Need Some Lightâ. As a surprise, the band played a song theyâve never performed live before – their cover of the Procol Harum classic âIn Held âTwas In I from the first Transatlantic album âSMPTe.â
Night 2 saw the full performance of The Absolute Universe â The Ultimate Edition, combining all of the tracks from the two versions of the album. The night closed with a medley of tracks from the bandâs first two albums including âAll Of The Aboveâ, âMy New Worldâ, and âStranger In Your Soulâ. For the first time, the band performed alongside a choir and string section, making these shows truly special for those who were in attendance.
Night 1 tracks featured are: âInto The Blueâ, âIn Held (‘Twas) In Iâ, âShineâ, âWe All Need Some Lightâ, âOverture/Whirlwindâ, âThe Wind Blew Them All Awayâ, âOn The Prowlâ, âA Man Can Feelâ, âOut Of The Nightâ, âRose Colored Glassesâ, âEvermoreâ, âSet Us Freeâ, âLay Down Your Lifeâ, âPieces Of Heavenâ, âIs It Really Happening?â and âDancing With Eternal Glory/Whirlwind (Reprise)â.
While Night 2 featured: âOvertureâ âReaching For The Skyâ, âHigher Than The Morningâ, âThe Darkness In The Lightâ, âTake Now My Soulâ, âBullyâ, âRainbow Skyâ, âLooking For The Lightâ, âThe World We Used To Knowâ,
âThe Sun Comes Up Todayâ, âLove Made A Way (Prelude)â, âOwl Howlâ, âSolitudeâ, âBelongâ, âLonesome Rebelâ, âCan You Feel Itâ, âLooking For The Light (Reprise)â, âThe Greatest Story Never Endsâ, âLove Made A Wayâ, âBridge Across Foreverâ and âThe Final Medleyâ.
Live At Morsefest 2022: The Absolute Whirlwind can be ordered by clicking here.