John Petrucci and Mike Portnoy continue to set an example for divorced parents everywhere. Patching things up turned into Christmas dinners, these dinners turned into Portnoy recording the drums for Petrucci’s solo album, and once ‘Terminal Velocity’ was out, everyone’s mind immediately went to the natural progression, a record with Liquid Tension Experiment, the first in more than two decades.
‘LTE3’ truly is good, because besides the amazing performances and undisputed chemistry, it shows joy, great musicians doing what they do ‘for the love of the game’. As if continuing the tendency of Portnoy’s last Dream Theater albums, when the longest songs where the ones to steal the show, here as well the first songs are a good warm-up for the grand finale provided by the last four tracks: ‘Rhapsody in Blue’, showcasing full-on jazzy experimentation galore and a… whiff of Tuscany, and the dreamy epic ‘Key to the Imagination’ both introduced by a duet; ‘Chris & Kevin’s Amazing Odyssey’ (Portnoy/Levin) and ‘Shades of Hope’ (Petrucci/Rudess) respectively.
I have no desire to speculate about reunion scenarios, it is however interesting to see if the upcoming DT record, which is being recorded, will carry some of the elements that make ‘LTE3’ such a fun listening experience.
