Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10
The curious mind left unchallenged and unstimulated is soon left to rust, an act of ignominy, one that is akin to neglect and dishonour. However, an inquisitive mind that is nurtured, encouraged and given the chance to explore will forever be found rummaging through the day to day with hope, Wired For Madness, hooked to the freedom that such gifts entail.
Enthusiasm for a subject will take you so far, but as Dream Theater’s Jordan Rudess delivers another trail blazing symphony of sound in a parallel solo career, it is clear that madness is more than a state of mind, it is a passion for the euphoric drama, the search for the inspired and one that captivates the longer you are immersed within its whirlwind like soul.
It is in drama that the art of the Progressive is found, a continuing story, the concept album that is felt even if it wasn’t intended, for in the collection of songs that make up Wired For Madness the chapters produce an arc of experience, it is a concept of the man and not of the release he has diligently put together.
Across the tracks Drop Twist, Perpetual Shine, Why I Dream and the two-part explosion of story-telling that makes up the album’s title track, Wired For Madness Parts 1 and 2, the idea of transformation takes place, a metamorphosis in which the mind behind the trip is revealed. It is a complex one, one of questioning and subtle interrogation, a physical world let go and the mind map to a greater conscious drawn out, the synaptic fires burning, raging, hard and yet at its core it is an album of soft serenity, the peace in the maelstrom and one that is involved and fulfilling.
The concept of the man is drawn out by the involvement of an array of guests, including Joe Bonamassa, Vinnie Moore and James LaBrie, that capture the musical notion that a person may be the sum of their endeavours but it still takes the first flourish of a curious feeling to set forth idealism and fortitude under each different circumstance faced.
A stunning album, Progressive at its best but one that finds the lure of other genre’s unable to resist, a curious feeling brought to life and wired for all possibilities and reflections.
Jordan Rudess’ Wired For Madness is available now via Music Theory Recordings/ Mascot Label Group.
Ian D. Hall