Review TRANSATLANTIC ‘The Final Flight: Live at L’Olympia ‘

One should be careful with the use of the term ‘supergroup’. It is often used as a marketing slogan and is applied in an inflationary manner. But when it comes to Transatlantic, one can definitely speak of a supergroup. All band members are all masters of their craft who joined forces many years ago to express their passion for the progressive side of rock music.

Of course, Neal Morse, Mike Portnoy, Roine Stolt and Pete Trewavas are also active in many other bands and projects, which leads to an overall discography of ‘just’ five Transatlantic studio albums.

The latest album to date is titled ‘The Absolute Universe’ and has been released in two different versions. With such a stellar release and a normalizing concert situation, Transatlantic moved out into the world to present the studio effort live. In doing so, a sort of third version of the mentioned last studio album was created, but more on that in a moment.

Concerts of the band surpass those of most of their colleagues by far and also on the current live album fans can look forward tore than three hours full of progressive soundscapes. After touring the USA, Transatlantic came to Europe for a few shows. The last one of these shows took place at L’Olympia, Paris on July 28, 2022 and showcases a band that thrills the audience with passion, routine and a lot of finesse.

The centerpiece is the live interpretation of ‘The Absolute Universe’. With the creativity of the band, it is not surprising that due to some jam elements and improvisations, almost new pieces emerge. This is especially noticeable in the last third, from ‘Beyond’ on, where the band deviates a bit more from the original songs.

A goosebump moment is also when the audience loudly sings along the chorus to ‘We All Need Some Light’. This shows the excellent atmosphere in the room on an evening where everyone in attendance soaks up Transatlantic’s outstanding songs.

What may cause confusion is the title of this release: ‘The Final Flight: Live at L’Olympia’. It’s specifically the word ‘Final’ which might raise question marks. The band makes it clear that this is not the end of Transatlantic and that the future is open-ended.

However, a mood of finality also set in during this concert. Considering the fact that the band releases a new album every five toeight years, one can anticipate that the gentlemen would be between 60 and 70 years old at the time of a new release. And who knows what will be at that time. Regardless of this, the show in Paris was the glorious end of a very successful tour and the fact that the four-piece recorded this concert both acoustically and visually is a bonus for every fan of progressive sounds.

Whether or not a little melancholy resonates, Transatlantic have delivered with ‘The Final Flight: Live at L’Olympia’ a brilliant live release that is made for eternity. This album can join the ranks of the great live albums.