Anyone get the new Dream Theater yet? (1 Viewer)

[Paul E. Fox II]

Well, another fan has entered the Dream. I know have them all (minus the singles and imports mind you...).
My question is this...where to I begin? I have listened to "When Day And Dream Unite" and wasn't that impressed, however "Images and Words" is what moved me to buy the rest. Now what do I put in the CD Player next? Do I start with the newest and go backward or start with "Awake" and go in chronilogical order? I did listen to Petrucci's Guitar Solo off of Once In A Livetime, man...that dude can play!
Let me know!

 

[Rob M.]

When Dream and Day Unite is defintely not a good place to start-musically it's great, but that singer was terrible. Where you go next probably depends on your taste. Personally, Awake is still my favorite, but it's heavy and dark. Falling Into Infinity gets a lot of unfair (in my opinion) criticism. It does contain my two least favorite DT songs ("Hollow Years" and "Burning My Soul"), but it has some great material as well, especially "Lines in the sand" and "Trial of Tears". Once in a Livetime is pretty good, but Labrie's vocals aren't at their best-he nails a few of the songs, but absolutley murders a few as well. Worth owning to hear JP playing music from Star Wars and Close Encounters.

Since you like Images and Words a lot, your best bet will probably be to skip ahead to Scenes From a Memory {Metropolis pt 2). The new album is fantastic as well, as is the three-disc live set released last year (Labrie's vocals are 100 times better than Livetime. After those, go back and get into the other discs, plus A Change of Seasons.

Try to find a copy of Live at the Marquee, an import from 1993. Great performance, and you get a couple of the songs from the first album with Labrie on vocals. Excellent stuff. And, don't forget the DVD. Finally, you should be able to find the import singles of "The Silent Man" and "Hollow Years," which have some great non-album tracks.

When you get through with all that, you can move on the side projects. That's a topic for another day, though. You have plenty of listening for now. Enjoy.

 

[Paul E. Fox II]

Rob,
Thanks for the heads up. I listened to the first Disc of the new CD today, as well as having Awake on in the background whilst doing some things around the house. I've also checked out The Big Medley from Falling Into Infinity, but so far, none of the stuff I've listed here has really been *LISTENED* to, if you know what I mean.
I'll be back with more soon, on that you can rest assured!

 

[AbelM]

IAW and SFAM

Who are these people?

 

[Paul E. Fox II]

Oops, The Big Medley is on A Change Of Seasons, not Falling Into Infinity as I said in my previous post. My apologies!

 

[Paul_Medenwaldt]

I'm heading to the Dream Theater concert tonite in Minneapolis and I was curious to what song set they will be playing. If anyone has a song list to pass along that would be great.

Paul

 

[Sheldon C]

I saw DT last night in KC and was very impressed. They are one of the few bands that have a tight, clear, distinct sound when they play live. Usually I am disappointed with most bands because all they put out is a muddy mushy sound played at a very high volume. Dream Theatre was very loud don't get me wrong, but they remained crisp at the same time. What's even more impressive is that the music they play is so difficult compared to most rock bands. Petrucci was nailing every solo in a seemingly effortless manner.

The only other bands (and I've heard many hard rock/metal bands) that have that same type of clear live sound are Tool and Metallica.

The most impressive part of the show (other than opening with glass prison and playing it perfectly) was during the second set when they played the entire 2nd disk - it sounded absolutely amazing.

 

[Mike Broadman]

Do they have an opening act?

I'm seeing them in Boston, don't remember when. It'll be my 4th DT show, not including the time I saw them as an opening act.

Yes, they are amazing live. The first DT concert I saw was a more intimate affair, with acoustic stuff and covers. It was so much fun. They were very engaging with the audience. It felt like we were hanging out at a bar and playing tunes. They covered Elton John, Led Zeppelin, U2, and closd the show with Deep Purple, all playing each other's instruments. The did an astoundingly gorgeous version of Lifting Shadows Off A Dream. Definitely a great experience.

The last show I saw them do was Scenes in its entirety. Quite a spectacle.

Needless to say, I can't wait until I see them again.

 

[Sheldon C]

Mike - no opening act. They played two sets, the first was around 2 hours and the second was around an hour and a half. The first set I was right up front, but I had to give in to my ears a little bit and move back for the second set. Actually the sound quality picked up big time when I moved back, James' voice sounded much better when my ears weren't doing that high pitch rattle thing every time he belted out a high note.

 

[Mike Broadman]

Wowie, 3.5 hours! Man, they don't mess around, do they?

NP: Pancho Sanchez, Latin Soul, CD

 

[Tom Ryan]

Guitarists, check out the lessons section at www.guitarworld.com and you can read the columns Petrucci has written for Guitar World. They're really good, and a couple especially woke me up to the fact that I need a set technique-practicing schedule, not just jamming for hours like I usually do.
-Tom

 

[Paul_Medenwaldt]

Well here is what I thought of the DT show last nite.

Now this is coming from someone who is not really a diehard fan, but I do buy their albums and enjoy their music.

DT opened up with The Glass Prison and during the guitar solo John Petrucci stands upfront and center looking like the underappreciated guitar god he his. That man can play. I don't know how recent this news is but he's sporting his new short hair cut.

James LaBrie sure can belt out those songs with precision. Great singer live. I don't know why i thought this but if there ever came a time that James was down and out and no job he could probably front Journey.

John Myung is solid bass player. His on stage presense isn't much to desire. He reminds me of when Ron Woods was with the Rolling Stones. Kinda just stand there and do his thing.

Mike Portnoy could be a front man himself. He has a lot of energy and I was quite impressed with his drum set.

Jordan Rudess also sporting a shorter haircut but not as short as John's.

I really enjoyed the show expecpt for the guy who was in my vacinity farting every 10 minutes. They played for about 1 hour and 30 minutes then took a 20 minute break and played for another 75 minutes.

Paul

 

[Sheldon C]

I agree that Mike Portnoy could be a frontman himself. In fact, he had the most charisma of any of the band members by far. I too am not a die hard fan, but damn; after Tuesday night I am quickly becoming one.

 

[Mike Broadman]

I just picked up the newly remastered version of Dreamtheater's debut album, When Day and Dream Unite. I never really got into this album before for two reasons:

1. Poor sound quality

2. Different and worse singer

I figured that since it's remastered, I know only have to contend with the singer. Actually, he's not that bad, he's just no LaBrie.

It sounds decent. I think it was all just recorded poorly: very quick and cheap. The new mastering does the best it can with the source material.

Musically, it's a lot of fun for fans. It's a power metal shred-fest. Sometimes, it sounds like they've got all the ability but don't know what to do with it. Not a good place to start for newbies, but a nice addition to the CD library.

I also recommend checking out Live at the Marquee, from the Images and Words tour. It's not an official live album, but I think the band sanctions it. It sounds fine. What's interesting is that they play two songs from When Day and Dream Unite, but with LaBrie singing. It definitely sounds better this way.

I can't wait to see them perform on Friday.

 

[Paul E. Fox II]

I've been doing a LOT of listening to this band of late and I'll say this, they sure do know what they're doing. The new one is really growing on me fast, but for what it's worth, Metropolis Pt. 2: Scenes From A Memory is a totally BadASS album!!!! I can't stop listening to it! I finally had to force myself to take it out of the player and listen to something else 'cause my wife was threatening to revolt!
Now, I've got to get that damn DVD!

 

[Andrew 'Ange Hamm' Hamm]

"That Damn DVD" is a little disappointing, IMHO. It ticks me off to see footage of them playing songs I love--songs that ARE on the live CD--during the documentary when the songs are not part of the concert footage. How much brains does it take to add "Metropolis Part 1" to the "Metropolis Part 2" live video??? Other than that it's a great show.

Speaking of my humble opinion, it is very clear to me that as good as all the other musicians in DT are, Mike Portnoy is the star of that band. The things he does on drums are out of this world; the syncopation, the polyrhythms, the fills, the non-traditional use of cymbals. And he never misses a beat, never seems to change the tempo of lose his place. What an amazing musician.

NP: Jane Kelly Williams - Tapping the Wheel

 

[Mike Broadman]

Paul, the DVD is freakin' great. The footage is great, and they mix in images about the story. It's my idea of what a music DVD should be. Watching the band for hours can get a little stale, and I'm not a big fan of videos, so mixing the two is great. The commentary track is good fun, as well. The bonus material includes an extra hour of performances of Change of Seasones, the Awake trilogy, and Learning to Live.

The triple CD of the entire concert is a nifty little companion piece as well.

NP: Dreamtheater, Scenes From a Memory, CD, coincidentally enough.

 

[Paul E. Fox II]

I've never really seen a music DVD that really hooked me. I actually look for stuff like what's going on with the guitar player during his solo's and a lot of times, the camera just doesn't seem to get the shots so little "wannabees" like myself can see what the guy is doing.
I've listened to a bit of the three CD "Live Scenes From A Memory" but so far it's hard for me to pull the studio version out of the player!
I've still got a LOT of critical listening to do but so far, these gentlemen have moved me musically more that I have been in YEARS!

 

[Rob M.]

I really like the DVD as well, but I hate most of the "story" footage. I know the guys meant well, but most of it was really cheesy. I thought the still shots that were fuzzy, then came into focus as the story was revealed were much more effective. But, the performance is what matters, and they were at the top of their game that night. And, Paul, give the live set a good listen, especially "A Change of Seasons." I now consider that the definitive version of the song.

I'm hoping to see a DVD of this tour with 5.1 audio. The set list seems to scream "Two-disc set," since there's an intermission. Even more, I hope they play at least one date here in the South, since they've been my favorite band for almost 10 years and I've never seen them live.

NP: Kevin Gilbert The Shaming of the True

 

[Brian Perry]

Ange,

I love Portnoy, but I think Rudess is the most technically proficient member of the band.

To me, the measuring stick for progressive rock drummers has always been Neil Peart. I would say Portnoy has equaled or surpassed Peart in terms of polyrhythms but hasn't matched Peart's ride cymbal work. In other words, I think Peart would have a tough time with The Dance of Eternity, but Portnoy would struggle with certain parts of La Villa Strangiato.

But both are outstanding!