Portnoy, Sheehan, MacAlpine, Sherinian - Live in Tokyo

Ready for a shred fest?  Well, that's exactly what you'll get with the new release, Live in Tokyo, from 4 powerhouse musicians. The band is comprised of some folks you might of heard of before: Mike Portnoy (Dream Theater, The Winery Dogs), Billy Sheehan (Talas, DLR, Mr. Big, Vai, The Winery Dogs), Tony MacAlpine (Project Driver, Planet X, Vai) and Derek Sherinian (Dream Theater, Planet X). All of these guys have a common bond between them, being virtuosos, but they've also played together before, in some combination, in other projects.

The idea for this collaboration is basically an avenue for the guys to play together live and showcase some tunes from their various catalogs together with some well-placed covers; Bill Cobham's Stratus and Jeff Beck's The Pump. Let's face it, this is an instrumental wankfest (the only song with vocals is the Talas classic, Shyboy), as all involved are masters of their respective instruments, and it's no wonder they work so well together live. Portnoy takes the role of frontman from behind the kit and provides a good entertaining banter between the songs. All in all, this is a very entertaining listen.

Standout Tracks: Stratus, Lines in the Sand, The Stranger and Atlantis Part 1, and Apocalypse 1470 B.C.

Bottom Line: From the billing, you know this one will be amazing.  With this many talented guys jamming instrumentally only good things could happen - and they did, live in Tokyo. The video for this one must be amazing.

- Ragman wonders what it would sound like if these guys made a record full of original new material(please!)...