Hi,
Jarsve Moshkito Hi, Bought it ... on the way home to my ears!
Good. This album us more on the prog side, but i like it. I think its great.
All in all, the first CD, is actually exceptional on its own, and would not need to add just about anything that is from the 2nd CD, a lot of which did not have the character and tone and continuity that the first CD did.
I would say that the 1st CD is prog, and the 2nd CD is more copy and not as well designed and thought out as the first half was. I tend to think that the 2nd part/half was rushed a lot more than before.
Some nice things ... this is the first time that I actually can HEAR the keyboard work by Jordan Rudess, instead of always thinking he is just secondary to the guitar all the time. And he is quite visible and very nice on the 1st CD and almost invisible on the 2nd CD ... when most of the stuff in the 2nd CD does not have the lively feel that the 1st CD did because of the keyboards. James LaBrie can do some soft stuff. Though not as sensuous or as viable as others in terms of the "standard" for softer and lyrics that require a more significant lyrical edge ... which it could be said that james lacks, but then, no one here or anyone else has stated that Peter Hammill also lacks the lyrical and the soft edge ... and he's much harder than James ever will be in terms of comprehension and appreciation for the music and work ... and I have known folks tell me that PH can't sing ... but if James can't sing, he has the pipes to last 2 to 3 hours and also the mental ability to concentrate for that long ... and that's a very valuable part of what they do at Dream Theater.
Compositionally, I have no issues with the band. What they do, and consitently so, is always a treat and worth a listen, provided we get past the generalizations that many of us have a tendency to fall into/with. I don't look at DT as "prog", any more than I do "rio", anymore than I do "classic", any more than I do "progressive". To me this is an excellent band, and the longer pieces are alomst always very well defined. And they are, compositionally, fairly strong, compared to many other bands, and we can go as far up the lists as we wish. These, do not sound like the same songs, rehashed.
If I have a note to make on their work, is that we need more from the bass, more from the keyboards, and a bit less of the lead guitar, and that would make for music that would be probably "trippier" and not so "metal'ized" a sound, as to alienate a lot of folks out there, that would, otherwise, enjoy this band and their work.
For me, the two CD's could be cut into one CD, and make this an outstanding album of music, and most of the 2nd CD, would probably fall off. I listened to the first CD about 5 times, before I actually put on the 2nc CD, and at that point, the 2nd CD, just did not sound good at all.
Still ... it is Dream Theater! And a good band it is and deserves that credit!
post edited by Moshkito - 2016/02/16 14:32:07