All of the Above

Genre: Progressive Rock

Artist: Transatlantic

Album: SMPT:e

In honor of some very exciting news, I am returning to the first artist I discussed in this blog: Transatlantic. After seven years apart, the members of the supergroup have come back together and a new album by them is due to be released at the end of this year. To commemorate such a marvelous event, I have chosen to discuss the song that started it all.

All of the Above is over 30 minutes long and, like all of Transatlantic's songs, it is a complete masterpiece. It follows a person's struggle as he loses all hope and loses himself. The song actually starts out very positively. It is like it begins after the story has ended, but rather than saying, "Once upon a time," it beings, "In a state of fallen grace...it came" taking the listener back into that state of fallen grace. It follows a man who believes nothing matters. He has lost himself to some things he has done. But the narrator sings to him that his actions are not all there is to him, but he doesn't hear the narrator. He degrades himself in order to find fulfillment. He chooses less-than-desirable company, becomes the enemy just to be better, and ends us looking complete, but only being half alive.

One day while he is in the dumps, he finds himself in a railway station. There is no peace in his mind. He feels trapped, imprisoned, and hopeless. But then, in the midst of despair, he looks up at the full moon and senses the moon is somehow aware of him and declares softly, "Innocence and undying love will reign!" The man has sought fulfillment in all the wrong places, but then realizes that in order to find what he has been looking for, he must return to who he really is inside and turn away from what he has become. There, in his state of fallen grace, the full moon arose and smiled. Like a child, but fully grown, the man becomes aware of that fire in the sky, the fire that burns inside him and returns all hope to him.

I also find myself going through the same cycle as this man. Sometimes I feel backed against the wall of despair and hopelessness. At times I forget the true source of fulfillment. In moments like these, I need to re-evaluate who I am and who I have become. If I don't like who I am, then I realize that I must make some changes. I must get out of myself and serve others and express love for those around. It is through service that I find happiness and fulfillment. It is by making other people smile that makes me feel whole, complete, and truly alive. All of the Above is able to capture all these emotions that I feel and sometimes this song is all I need to get back on my feet again. I really love this song! It is a classic and demonstrates true talent on so many levels.