Published on Jun 14, 1999
Back when the first Liquid Tension Experiment album came out
last year, I questioned if the progressive rock market wasn’t
getting too saturated with these “one-off” supergroups who get
together to musically brainstorm. Leave it to the guys in Liquid
Tension Experiment – guitarist John Petrucci, keyboardist Jordan
Rudess, bassist Tony Levin and drummer Mike Portnoy – to turn this
into their own side project. Their latest release,
Liquid Tension Experiment 2, is a definite improvement over
their last outing, but there still are times when it feels like the
energy is being depleted.
The sessions for this album were interrupted by the birth of
Petrucci’s daughter, but the way this disc is put together, you’d
swear that the songs were performed one after the other, with
barely room to breathe. In a way, this helps to really draw
Liquid Tension Experiment 2 together; allowing the songs to
flow together helps to keep a level of excitement about the
music.
The opening riffs of “Acid Rain” let the listener know that this
group has grown as a band since the sessions for their first disc.
With three-fifths of Dream Theater taking part in this album
(Rudess replaced Derek Sherinian as DT’s keyboardist shortly after
these sessions took place), you know that the prog-rock levels are
going to be pushed to new heights – and the band doesn’t
disappoint.
But what makes this album so special is that they’re willing to
take more chances outside of the strict prog-rock borders.
“Biaxident” succeeds on many levels, going from a tune with a
slight Latin flavor to the rhythm backbone to a solid rocker. On
the opposite side of the spectrum, “Hourglass” is a beautiful piece
with only Rudess and Petrucci playing; Petrucci’s acoustical work
is breathtaking, showing everyone why he could be one of the most
underrated guitarists in a long time.
There are some moments on
Liquid Tension Experiment 2 that take some time for the
listener to get used to. “914” is a bizarre jam between Levin (who
finally gets a chance to have his bass work brought to the
forefront), Rudess and Portnoy, who recorded this while Petrucci
was out of the studio for his daughter’s birth. It’s kind of a
weird funk groove that’s laid down, but after a few listens, you
can’t help being hooked by it. The same can’t be said for
“Chewbacca,” the only outright dud on the disc which just never
seems to gel as a song.
The centerpiece of the album is “When The Water Breaks,” the
song the band was working on when Petrucci’s wife went into labor.
This one is just a lot of fun to listen to, and makes what was
really hard work for these four musicians sound like it flowed out
of them effortlessly.
While the first Liquid Tension Experiment album – albeit an
enjoyable and musically solid album – sounded like the band was
trying to force itself to create some magic,
Liquid Tension Experiment 2 feels like everything just came
together. Only near the end, on “Chewbacca” and “Liquid Dreams,” do
things sound like they were running out of steam. Maybe this is
because the sessions were interrupted by the impending birth, I
don’t know.
Liquid Tension Experiment 2 is a marked improvement over the
first effort from some of prog-rock’s biggest names, and is an
overall very enjoyable disc. One has to wonder what they have up
their sleeves for the third installment.