I have nothing against Mangini, but I liked DT much better with Portnoy. I've heard the post-Portnoy stuff on YT and don't care for it. all the Dream Theater releases I like and own are from the Portnoy years. my favorite, and seemingly everyone else's least favorite, being Train of Thought. I like because it's heavy.
It's not my favorite but I, too, love having a heavy DT album, and love the fact that Jordan had the challenge of finding ways and patches that would work.
Originally Posted by davis
I disliked ToT upon release and the lousy show, IMO, they played at the Theater @ MSG didn't help.
However, the album opened for me due to the Budokan DVD where the mix was more revealing, especially for Jordan.
SoC is my 2nd fave DT instrumental, so the album can grow on you...
Death inspires me like a dog inspires a rabbit
Train Of Thought is my the favourite DT album. Haven't really liked anything since that. Asstonishing was really really awful.
My progressive music site: https://pienemmatpurot.com/ Reviews in English: https://pienemmatpurot.com/in-english/
?
3 Long Songs on When Day and Night Unite:
4. "The Killing Hand" Petrucci 8:41
5. "Light Fuse and Get Away" Moore 7:23
7. "The Ones Who Help to Set the Sun" Petrucci 8:05
5 Long songs on Images and Words:
1. "Pull Me Under" Kevin Moore 8:14
3. "Take the Time" Dream Theater 8:21
5. "Metropolis—Part I: 'The Miracle and the Sleeper' Petrucci 9:32
6. "Under a Glass Moon" Petrucci 7:03
8. "Learning to Live" 11:30
As a metal non-fan, I don’t get the claim that “prog and metal go perfectly together.” It’s like those people who go out and ruin a perfectly good chocolate chip cookie by slapping a crust of sea salt over the top. Blech!
That said, those first two albums could almost make me a convert. There’s an undeniable energy to them, and the songwriting gives it a depth that I didn’t hear on later albums. Awake is the high point for me; “Voices” is the one song by this band I would take away and not part with.
The bottom fell out after that. Metropolis: Part 2 had me thinking, “what is this band doing?” I can’t be bothered to research which came first, this or Spock’s Beard, but it’s the same kind of thing: self-indulgent Berklee College widdly-wank interspersed with the cheesiest 80s-style lighter-waving AOR power ballads imaginable. The only difference being the metal content, and the fact that James La Brie is a far better singer than Neal “40 Year Old Man With Adenoids” Morse. Later stuff I heard dialed back the embarrassing fromage somewhat, but still seemed more self-indulgent than anything, with poor compositions used to prop up flashy, empty showboating.
Confirmed Bachelors: the dramedy hit of 1883...
After the first two albums, for me anyway, there just wasn't much. Nothing to really hold me so I moved on.
The older I get, the better I was.
Long songs ≠ themed albums.
To be fair, the rest of them are pretty boring to watch.
That's a pretty good line to draw, IMO.
Musically, I think Rudess is the element that has turned me off the most. Kevin Moore was perfect for the band, and Derek Sherinian I thought was also a pretty good fit, but I just don't care for a lot of Rudess' sounds or the way he plays. The ragtime bits just don't fit, IMO, and the "gothic choir" sound he uses so often just seems cliche.
Music isn't about chops, or even about talent - it's about sound and the way that sound communicates to people. Mike Keneally
DT are good in parts. It seems that almost everyone loves some of their stuff and hates others. Does anyone love it all? I prefer the more melodic stuff to be honest, an album like Train Of Thought is just mostly tuneless noise for me I'm afraid. On the other hand I love (most of) ADTOE and DT12 and say about 1CD's worth of The Astonishing.
What was the concept theme of When Day and Dream Unite?
Bravo!
You did my homework for me.
no tunes, no dynamics, no nosebone
Was "When Dream and Day Unite" a themed album? It was their only album prior to I&W
I assume you are referring to I&W and Awake? People seem to forget those are their second and third albums.
Eric: "What the hell Hutch, it's all Rush, what if we wanted a little variety?"
Hutch: "Rush is variety, Bitch! Rule number one: in my van, its Rush! All Rush, all the time...no exceptions."
From "Fanboys" 2009.
See what I mean?.
The older I get, the better I was.
For me, there have been subtle changes since Portnoy left, more clear use of click tracks live, a fixed setlist and less interesting arrangements in the new songs. It all contributes to a more stale sound, gone are the days where MP would play the guitar with Petrucci on drums....no spontaneity!
I'm not saying they aren't great live still, they just miss something compared to that time!
It's a tough role for him, finding something to do in a heavy band that is so dominated by guitar all the time. When he does play tastefully, he is fantastic IMO. But yeah, I can also do without all the "Itchy And Scratchy show theme song" stuff arbitrarily inserted into the compositions.
Interviewer of reprobate ne'er-do-well musicians of the long-haired rock n' roll persuasion at: www.velvetthunder.co.uk and former scribe at Classic Rock Society. Only vaguely aware of anything other than music.
*** Join me in the Garden of Delights for 3 hours of tune-spinning... every Saturday at 5pm EST on Deep Nuggets radio! www.deepnuggets.com ***
There wasn't one. That was rather the point. The band decided not to do an overall concept for any of those early ones (though I hadn't realized there was some internal disagreement about the matter).
God, I must be the only one who actually likes Rudess's "ragtime" or "jazz" piano bits. Then again, I've always liked when rock attempts Tin Pan Alley, like the Beatles' "Honey Pie" and Queen's "Bring Back That Leroy Brown." I'm just going to consider it an offbeat part of my tastes and move on.
"Arf." -- Frank Zappa, "Beauty Knows No Pain" (live version)
I think this video sums up perfectly my issues with John Petrucci's guitar playing: the Paul Gilbert and Joe Satriani sets are hugely entertaining, combining stunning playing with some memorable tunes. The Petrucci set, however, is just dull as ditchwater; mostly comprising tuneless, turgid fast-picked workouts on the neck pickup, with very little thematic or tonal variation between songs. However technically impressive (and despite the presence of Dave LaRue on bass), it's not good MUSIC, and it epitomizes in many respects the manner in which DT comprehensively lost the plot post-Sherinian. JP's better on the jam at the end, but then he's not playing his own compositions, and he's forced to up his game somewhat.Petrucci did use to be able to combine his formidable chops with melody and feeling but he just seemed to have lost interest in anything beyond technical workouts.
Wow, that LaRue solo (at 1:51:40) smokes. Now there's a guy who doesn't let the flash get in the way of a good groove.
Lots of talent, but all the scale practice and all the resulting chops in the world won't make you a good songwriter. That's a whole different thing. Ever notice that in quite a few bands, the best writer is the weakest player? That's because all the time the rest of 'em spent in the practice room going through Berklee exercises, he spent at writing song after song, or trying to polish the ones he already wrote and get them just right.
Tony Banks vs. Wakeman & Emerson
Music isn't about chops, or even about talent - it's about sound and the way that sound communicates to people. Mike Keneally
It doesn't have to be mutually exclusive - Paul Gilbert above being an excellent case in point. The guy's an excellent writer, and frankly runs rings around Petrucci in the guitar wankerama stakes, too.
no tunes, no dynamics, no nosebone
Aside from Constant Motion, Repentance and Prophets Of War and about half of Train Of Thought. I really do like/love everything. Well the lyrics from the Astonishing kill me too.
My three favorite Dream Theater albums are:
When Dream And Day Unite
Six Degrees Of Inner Turbulence
Octavarium
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