Search - Various Artists :: Rudess Morgenstein Project

A Must For Drummers and Keyboard Players Alike

mumbleguy | East Tennessee | 09/17/2003

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Those who know of Rod Morgenstein's playing with the Dregs will see this as a natural extension of the Dregs. . . and I do mean extension. While always free within the Dregs, Rod has total control here. I think this CD was the best drum performance the year it was released. If you are into odd time signatures (they are all over this release) then this is your album. The compositions are very well thought out and yet manage to not sound too bounded. Jordan Rudess, of later Dream Theater fame, makes a stunning debut here. His playing is fantastic and more importantly, his use of sound on the electronic keyboard is phenominal. Even the best players seem to have difficulty making their keyboard sound like an organic instrument and not just a sound effect. This is not the case here. Additionally, there appears to be layer upon layer of sounds as though there were a plethora of overdubs. There were actually relatively few. Although you would never believe it, the song Over the Edge is totally free of overdubs. All this wonderfulness is blunted, only slightly, by the ballads. While they are beautifully done, they are quite predictible. This may only be my problem. . . I like to be suprised."

I can't believe I'm only the second person to review this.

Smokes | Long Island, NY | 01/21/2005

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I think the fact that I'm only the second person to review this CD shows 1 of 2 things... either most people have no awareness of good music or the people like me who love this don't want to bother trying to convert morons. This is a great CD, no questions asked. I love all of Jordan Rudess's music and Rod Morgenstein is one of the greatest drummers around. I didn't know how anyone could pull off an entertaining CD using only TWO instruments (drums and keyboards) but these two did and with flying colors. It's all instrumental so don't expect any singing or lyrics. Coolest tracks include "Don't Look Down", "Drop the Puck", "Tailspin", and "Cartoon Parade". Go online and buy this, it's awesome!!!"