An album of extremes, wired for madness is the brand new solo effort from Dream Theater keyboardist Jordan Rudess. Veering from the wildest flights of fancy one might associate with the Dream Theater mothership (wired for madness – part 1) to an almost folk-tinged-prog in the vein of King crimson (why I dream) and even stopping to take in some blues scenery along the way (just can’t win), Jordan makes full use of his undoubted talents to deliver a record that consistently surprises and challenges the listener.
At the outset, the album appears little more than a vehicle for Jordan to exercise his wildest tendencies, ELP style, and opening cut wired for madness – part 1 is awash with arpeggiated synths and taut, syncopated percussion. Very much of a piece with the mid-sections of longer Dream Theater numbers, it’s a classic Rudess sound, the lush pads and insane digressions on the keys duelling for supremacy against a hot-wired guitar riff and nary a vocal in sight. It’s a dizzying start but persevere and it not only starts to make a mad kind of sense, but it also becomes increasingly exhilarating as each section flows into the next. A sonic adventurer, Jordan incorporates stuttering electronica, wild-eyed guitar-key duals and, at one point, a full-blown jazz detour. It all comes to a head with a surprisingly restrained vocal passage (in the track’s third movement, lost control) that provides the song with its human voice before segueing into the lengthy epic that is wired for madness – part 2. Totting up a twenty-two-minute run time, the track is divided up into seven separate movements in its digital incarnation, beginning with the string-laden entering delirium. Things take a turn for the heavier, however, as the other side sees banks of machinery blink into life and a stuttering beat gives way to electrifying riffing. It’s a short section, as ominous as thunder clouds and a bridge to the next vocal section which appears in the pastoral prog of cosmic chaos, a track that takes both Crimson and early Genesis as its guide. As the track progresses, things keep getting stranger, and a whimsical passage exists in a universe where the music of British pageantry is given free reign before being thrown into a metallic blender and battered from all sides by a crushing guitar riff. As vocals return on angels in the sky, so the piece heads toward as dramatic denouement which sees guest vocalists (including Dream Theater colleague James LaBrie) bring the piece towards an awe-inspiring conclusion. Overall, wired for madness is a remarkable piece of music, symphonic in its ambitious ebb and flow, incorporating vocal passages; instrumental moments of high drama, fleeting glimpses of whimsy and, somehow managing to make it all seem coherent. There’s an argument that if Jordan had released these two tracks alone, the album would have been worth exploration, but there is still much more to enjoy in the ensuing six tracks.
A short, melodic piece, off the ground is a piano-led ballad that is grounded by a nicely understated vocal from Jordan. As with most synth-based backdrops, there’s a fine line where such a track could succumb to the cellophane sounds of the studio, but Jordan is a master at making the most of the instrumentation at his disposal, and the track manages to retain its humanity even with the considerable weight of the studio behind it. The track is further enhanced by a perfectly phrased solo and the piece, overall, is reminiscent of wind and wuthering-era Genesis. That does little to prepare the listener, however, for the Peter-Gabrriel-esque insanity of the perfectly-named drop twist a supine instrumental that weaves and bobs in the sunlight as synth patches hurtle through the mix. Similarly inventive is the elastic funk of perpetual shine, a track that perfectly fits into how I imagined David Bowie’s “plastic soul” might sound. It’s cool but, if the second half of the album has an undisputed highlight, it’s the blues of just can’t win, which features a guest appearance from Joe Bonamassa. A perfect-pairing, just can’t win is an ecstatic, horn-drenched blues jam that just sounds like it was a blast for all involved. The album ends with a pair of tracks that are more typically-progressive. The first of these is the gently wistful just for today, a track perfectly suited to Jordan’s Wetton-esque vocal delivery. It leaves the elegiac why I dream to bring the album to a close, and this it does with a deft mix of melody and exquisite musicianship.
Solo albums from virtuoso musicians can be a challenging listen, and wired for madness initially appears to be heading in that direction. However, once the listener broaches the dizzying whirl of the title track’s opening barrage, there is a wide musical landscape to explore. Moreover, although the wired for madness suite is a symphonic marvel, the remaining tracks offer a compelling journey through Jordan’s myriad influences, taking in blues, prog, jazz and metal without ever feeling incoherent. It’s an album as colourful as the artwork that adorns its sleeve and it’s sure to find favour with fans of progressive rock old and new. 9
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