Liquid Tension Experiment
Liquid Tension Experiment
Magna Carta Records, 1998
REVIEW BY: Christopher Thelen
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED: 03/10/1998
In the world of progressive rock, jam sessions are now becomingthe "in" thing. Starting a few months ago with the pairing of TerryBozzio, Tony Levin and Steve Stevens ( Black Light Syndrome), the process has been to take some ofthe hottest musicians around, throw them together for about a week,and see what they come up with.
This time around, Levin (does this man ever sleep?) pairs up with Mike Portnoy and John Petrucci ofDream Theater, as well as Jordan Ruess (fresh from his side projectwith Rod Morgenstein) - voila! - Liquid Tension Experiment was produced. And while the purerock power is evident throughout this disc, it seems to lack someof the spontaneity that Black Light Syndrome simply oozed.
Maybe part of the difference is that Levin is again very much abackground player on this project - but when he does come to theforefront, he shines brightly. Maybe it's because the interplaybetween Portnoy and Petrucci is so strong that this feels like aDream Theater album at times. Maybe it's the in-your-face keyboardsof Rudess which almost constantly are at the forefront of themusic. Whatever the case, while the music is brilliant, the magicjust isn't there this time around.
Let's stay positive for now - the music is incredible, and isenough to make anyone run for the stores to pick up albumsfeaturing any of these musicians. The opening track "ParadigmShift" is a sign of what is to come musically: strong, melodicperformances which try to highlight each musician evenly andfairly. Surprisingly, more often than not the shorter pieces offerthe larger glances into the musical strengths. Whether it is thegoofing around of "Chris And Kevin's Excellent Adventure" or themusings on a bass theme of "Osmosis" or the wonderful weirdness of"The Stretch," Liquid Tension Experiment captures your ears and refuses tolet go.
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