Liquid Tension Experiment Reviews

I would rate this "supergroup" cd as one of the most musically incredible things in my collection. I say "supergroup" because half of this band is the best guitar/drums tandem going in rock today, John Petrucci and Mike Portnoy of Dream Theater. Jordan Rudess (then of Rudess/Morganstein, now of DT also) and legendary bassist Tony Levin round out the excellent lineup. As you would expect from 4 virtouso musicians, the musicality and sheer awe-inspiring "did they really play that?!" looks are omnipresent. It would be inaccurate to say that any song was bad, but I do have my favorites. The shred-fests Paradigm Shift and Universal Mind are excellent pieces of improvised prog-metal. Also, the Levin/Portnoy "bass 'n' drums" duet Chris and Kevin's Excellent Adventure is one of the best songs of it's kind that I have heard, the overdubbed whistling is a nice touch, but I could've done without the voices. Perhaps the nicest piece of all is the Petrucci/Rudess duet State of Grace, which can almost be called a prog update of Amazing Grace (a piece DT jams on in concert), but better of course. Three Minute Warning... no, I'm not even gonna describe it, it has to be heard to be believed. A near half hour long jam that was recorded in one take with no overdubs, and without a single note or thought spoken beforehand between the musicians. Who else could've played that?

Liquid Tension Experiment 2:

Acid Rain 6:35 (Liquid Tension Experiment)
Biaxident 7:40 (Liquid Tension Experiment)
914 4:01 (Liquid Tension Experiment)
Another Dimension 9:50 (Liquid Tension Experiment)
When The Water Breaks 16:58 (Liquid Tension Experiment)
Chewbacca 13:35 (Liquid Tension Experiment)
Liquid Dreams 10:48 (Liquid Tension Experiment)
Hourglass 4:26 (Liquid Tension Experiment)

While perhaps not quite as good as the first "experiment", LTE2 is without question one of the best instrumental albums you'll find. This time around the songs are more composed and less improvised, the songs are more like songs rather than extended jams. This makes for a more interesting listen in places, and a less interesting one in others. The best tracks are the incredible opener Acid Rain, Biaxident, Another Dimension, and the album's standout long-form jam When The Water Breaks. And Chewbacca (if it wasn't for the semi-boring middle section) could very well have been the best LTE track of them all. Since this album consists of what is now 3/5ths of Dream Theater, parts of it are, as one would expect, highly reminiscent of the solo section on the subsequent DT album Scenes From A Memory. However, Tony Levin's presence and the lack of vocals serve to distinguish the two album's instrumental credentials. All in all, this album (along with the first one) is a must-own for any Dream Theater fan or any fan of great instrumental music (especially stuff like Steve Vai or Joe Satriani) or progressive metal in general.

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