TRANSATLANTIC - the
Prog Supergroup of Neal Morse, Mike Portnoy, Roine Stolt & Pete Trewavas –
have announced the release of ‘Live at Morsefest 2022: The Absolute Whirlwind’
for the 26th April 2024. This mammoth Limited 5CD + 2 Blu-ray
Artbook set features both sets from Morsefest in their entirety, with nearly 4
and a half hours of music in total.
To coincide with
the announcement, the band have launched a live clip of the track ‘Can You Feel
It’, taken from night 2.
Pre-order the album
as a Limited 5CD + Blu-ray artbook, featuring an extensive 36-page booklet
including photos and liner notes, here: https://transatlantic.lnk.to/LiveAtMorsefest2022-TheAbsoluteWhirlwind
Mike Portnoy
comments:
“Not to be confused
by last years live release of our last show in Paris, THIS release of TA at
Morsefest 2022 represents the most epic and mammoth of all TA Live
releases!
2 Nights, 2
completely different sets, 2 TA concept albums done in their
entirety…accompanied with Strings, Horns, Percussion, Female Vocals,
etc…Transatlantic has always been about “More Never Is Enough”, but no live TA
release has ever been more EPIC than this one…It’s the ULTIMATE Live TA
experience!”
Neal Morse adds:
“At 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!“
Roine Stolt
comments:
“Playing Morsefest
was quite a task, learning all the different material for the 2 different
shows.
We even got a
chance to play that Procol Harum tune, that is dear to me & 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
2 nights very special.”
Pete
Trewavas comments:
“To 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
Neal’s to rehearse for the two shows, back where we had rehearsed for the tour
some four or five weeks earlier.
We had 3 days I
think it was to refresh The Whirlwind full version and learn ‘In Held T’was In
I’. 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.
Neal 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.”
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
Neal’s 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 year…when will Neal Morse, Mike Portnoy, Roine
Stolt & Pete Trewavas perform at Morsefest? In 2022, at the 9th
Morsefest, it finally happened and in epic Transatlantic fashion.
In 2021, Transatlantic
released The Absolute Universe, the band’s 5th album since forming in 2000.
However, as the band’s motto is “More Is Never Enough,” ‘The Absolute Universe’
was released as two different versions – ‘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 April
29th and 30th.
The weekend at
Morsefest provided 2 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 “Into the Blue”
and “Shine” from the band’s 4th album ‘Kaleidoscope’ as well as the classic
ballad “We All Need Some Light.” As a surprise, the band played a song they’ve
never performed live before - their cover of the Procol Harum classic “In Held
‘Twas In I” from the first Transatlantic album ‘SMPTe.’
Night 2 saw the
full performance of The Absolute Universe – The Ultimate Edition, combining all
of the tracks from the 2 versions of the album. The night closed
with a medley of tracks from the band’s first two albums including “All of the
Above,” “My New World,” and “Stranger In Your Soul.”
For the first time, the band performed alongside a choir and string section, making these shows truly special for those who were in attendance. Now, you can experience these incredible performances for yourself with the release of this Limited Deluxe 5CD+2Blu-ray artbook, featuring an extensive 36-page booklet with photos, contained within a hardcover.
TRANSATLANTIC
online:
https://www.transatlanticweb.com/
https://www.facebook.com/TransatlanticMusic/
www.instagram.com/transatlanticofficial
www.twitter.com/transatlantic99
INSIDEOUTMUSIC
online:
https://www.facebook.com/InsideOutMusic
https://twitter.com/InsideOutUSA
http://www.youtube.com/InsideOutMusicTV
https://www.instagram.com/insideoutmusic/