Lost in the New Real is Arjen Lucassen's solo album consisting of two CDs. Unlike Ayreon and Star One, the album features vocals only by Arjen Lucassen this time around. The only other voice on the CD is that of Rutger Hauer, the legendary Dutch actor who provides the narration (this is, as expected, another concept album). Rutger has a great voice indeed; it's deep and full of charisma.On the first couple of listens, the songs will bring to mind Ayreon's The Dream Sequencer crossed with Lucassen's recent project Guilt Machine perhaps. The psychedelic soundscapes of the former and the smooth transitions of the latter are reworked in a decidedly more pop-flavoured format, resulting in shorter and more compact tunes. Of the 20 songs, only three break the six-minute mark and just one song clocks in at over 10 minutes. As some song titles like Pink Beatles in a Purple Zeppelin suggest, Arjen Lucassen pays tribute to his earliest inspirations; there is a good deal of Beatles, Zeppelin, Queen, Black Oyster Cult, and Pink Floyd to be found here. However, I can still find connections between the poppier material and Guilt Machine, which was a project Lucassen put together for that specific sound in mind.Those of us who have always been impressed by Lucassen's great selection of vocalists on Ayreon albums might feel some of these songs here could have been much better with different vocalists. Then again, this is the very reason why Arjen Lucassen has released this as a solo record, and his singing is what it is. I was personally delighted to hear some of the great vocal melodies that permeated the previous Ayreon stuff. If anyone ever wondered why singers like James Labrie, Mikael Akerfeldt or Jonas Renkse sound so different on the Ayreon stuff than their real bands, the answer lies within this album. Arjen Lucassen is not just a guitar player or keyboardist; he is the total package. Besides recording and producing his own material, he is also an excellent songwriter right down to the timeless vocal melodies that make albums like The Human Equation the masterpieces they are. On the album's most progressive-sounding tune Lost in the New Real, I can actually hear similar vocalizations and melodies.Also, this is not to say the vocals are too monochromatic or one-dimensional due to Arjen not being a great singer. While his range is limited and his delivery far from being as diverse as that of a vocal deity, his clever mixing strategy and production style employs a plethora of vocal techniques: he uses plenty of vocal filters, processed vocal bits, and 'computerized' elements to diversify the album in that sense. This works particularly well in the songs' constantly shifting moods and ubiquitous rhythms. What may seem uneventful in places actually reveals how the seemingly simple arrangements boast powerful guitar themes hammered into shape with layers of shifting synths and strings until the pieces climax with towering crescendos. This is why Ayreon became the musical force it is and this is why this album is a success.I think the first CD is slightly better because it has more unity to it and the songs seem more developed. On the second disc, there are five cover tracks scattered throughout. Veteran of the Psychic Wars (Blue Oyster Cult) and Battle of Evermore (Led Zeppelin) are the standouts, and the Alan Parson Project piece Some Other Time signifies how much Lucassen owes his musical vision to this great band. The only song I don't enjoy as much is the Zappa cover I'm the Slime, but that's perhaps because I have yet to hear any band cover Zappa in a satisfactory manner.I enjoy everything Arjen Lucassen has released in one way or another, but to me, his final masterpiece remains The Human Equation. While this solo album does not come anywhere near it, I don't think it was meant to. Lucassen has said this is an album he did for himself, and we need to accept it as it is.