It's a fucking tragedy and a sign of our times that MacAlpine is not given the universal recognition his skill level deserves. The sweeps, the shredding. OMFG!
Tony MacAlpine is just a beast. I'm convinced his hands are bionic. Saw Tony on the Maximum Security tour in 2014, and even his sound check will blow your mind. If he missed a note, he just turned it in to the prettiest sweep arpeggio you've ever heard. They were the best mistakes I've ever heard. Thank you for sharing this piece of badassery.
Man, how Portnoy and Sheehan play all of these different gigs with different guys and so many complicated songs -- and keep it all straight and tight. My brain would be scrambled eggs.
I'm totally Blown Away! Not only did they play great but they look like they were having fun doing it! Who the hell in the right mind could have given this a thumbs down??
Here it is: T-Mac is great! JP is great! Sheehan is great! Myung is great! Tony Levin is great! Sherinian is great! Rudess is great! Moore is great! Portnoy is great! Mangini is great! Let's just be glad we get to hear amazing music from such great performers :-D
I wish more genres and the prog scene would treat it's classic songs and musicians like jazz musicians do. A ton of extremely skilled and nuanced players building on standards, and instead of arguing over who should and shouldn't play a song, we just listen. Judging by the comments we are becoming more open to that kind of thing.
Portnoy-Sheehan-MacAlpine-Sherinian - A Change Of Season / Acid Rain (from 'Live In Tokyo') 2012