Liquid Tension Experiment - Liquid Tension Experiment 2

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1 Acid Rain
2 Biaxident
3 914
4 Another Dimension
5 When the Water Breaks
6 Chewbacca
7 Liquid Dreams
8 Hourglass

The second Liquid Tension Experiment album doesn't contain anything quite as self-indulgent as its predecessor's chops-heavy half-hour jam session "Three Minute Warning"; the epic piece here, the 17-minute "When the Water Breaks," is much more composed and therefore focused (even if it's not what you'd call a tight listen).

Elsewhere, the music blends Dream Theater-esque progressive metal (logically) and spontaneous interaction with mellower, more lushly textured pieces; the high level of musicianship is, of course, beyond question.

Liquid Tension Experiment - Liquid Tension Experiment I

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1 Paradigm Shift
2 Osmosis
3 Kindred Spirits
4 The Stretch
5 Freedom of Speech
6 Chris and Kevin's Excellent Adventure
7 State of Grace
8 Universal Mind
9 Three Minute Warning

This is the second of Magna Carta's one-time-only groupings and the second to feature bassist Tony Levin.

Fortunately for all concerned, it's light years beyond Black Light Syndrome, which paired Levin with guitarist Steve Stevens and drummer Terry Bozzio in an ill-conceived and poorly executed set of improvisations.

There is one such impromptu excursion here, the concluding 28-minute "Three Minute Warning," but even it holds up favorably by comparison.

But it's the rest of the tunes here that showcase the versatility of Dream Theater members John Petrucci and Mike Portnoy and Dregs keyboardist Jordan Rudess.

They fit the fusion/prog rock tag, with plenty of chopsmanship on display, but also with some allegiance to melody and restraint.

Not likely to get any radio play, but then that wasn't the point of the session.