{"id":10624,"date":"2024-10-03T19:24:54","date_gmt":"2024-10-03T17:24:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/kessel-tamerus.nl\/Esthers_Blog\/?p=10624"},"modified":"2025-11-30T11:49:31","modified_gmt":"2025-11-30T10:49:31","slug":"jordan-rudess-permission-to-fly","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kessel-tamerus.nl\/Esthers_Blog\/cd-recensie\/jordan-rudess-permission-to-fly\/","title":{"rendered":"Jordan Rudess – Permission To Fly"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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\u2018Permission To Fly\u2019 is the new album by Dream Theater keyboardist Jordan Rudess. The lyrics are written by his daughter Ariana. Jordan says: \u2018Although I enjoy writing lyrics myself, I mainly focus on the sonic quality of the words. For this album, I wanted to go deeper and offer something that resonated on a more profound and cerebral level. Ari did that exceptionally well.\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Already at the start of the opening track, you hear a lot of high tones from the keys. The twists and turns follow in rapid succession. The transition to quieter section is unexpected. The calm, dreamy vocals match the quiet music. After a short minimalist piece, \u2018The Final Threshold\u2019 ends. The calm start of \u2018Into The Lair\u2019 connects beautifully with this. Although the track seems fairly quiet, there are quite a lot of details, including \u2018wordless vocals\u2019. The music and (stacked) vocals are well spread across the headset. The beautiful, low notes are well combined\/interchanged with high notes and\/or sound effects. The drumming serves all over everything. Although the keys are mostly in the foreground, the guitar playing should not be forgotten. There are some unexpected changes in tempo, volume and musical style. As expected, you can also hear metal influences. The sound of the cymbals is a little too faint for a while. Otherwise, the sound is fine, allowing the details to stand out. The build-up to the end sounds mysterious.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At the beginning of \u2018Haunted Reverie\u2019, you hear all kinds of unusual sounds, followed by piano playing. Both the (background) vocals and the music are quite \u2018polished\u2019. The vocals are generally in the somewhat lighter parts. This keeps vocals and music in balance. The tenderly sung part is beautiful, but touches me a little less than I would like. \u2018The Alchemist\u2019 has a very soft start, but that quickly changes. There are all kinds of twists and turns: different styles and instruments are mixed or alternated. So there is quite a lot of variation, especially in the music. Because of the complex parts, it does take some time to get to know the music well. But there are also some less complex pieces in there, so you don’t get \u2018\u2019overloaded\u2018\u2019. The emotion in the slower piece sung and played at the end is pure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2018Embers\u2019 is very accessible, yet is more complicated than it seems. \u2018Shadow of the Moon\u2019 contains slightly classical elements. This tracks is a bit predictable. The (stacked) vocals are quite sweet, but it remains an ultimate balance with the music. \u2018Eternal\u2019 is much heavier. There are numerous details plus lots of twists and turns, this is delicious prog. The first few minutes are instrumental, and mostly played fast. The transition to vocals blends into absolutely everything. The twists keep coming: the more you listen, the more beautiful it gets. Especially beautiful is the transition to a minimalist section. When tempo and volume increase again, there are again many details, not all of which you hear on the first listen. The ending is quite sudden. \u2018Footstep in the Snow\u2019 is a bit calmer. Especially minimalist part, the emotion in the vocals comes into its own. \u2018Dreamer\u2019 is a slightly classical instrumental track where you can dream away delightfully.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The alternation between vocal and instrumental parts is good in all tracks. There is enough variation, both within the tracks and between each track. Moreover, the colour of the vocals forms a unity with the music. With all this, \u2018Permission To Fly\u2019 meets expectations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

(82\/100) (InsideOutMusic<\/a>). <\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n

Social media<\/strong>:
Facebook: Jordan Rudess<\/a>
Patreon: Jordan Redess <\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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