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AAL2014
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- #11
- Posted: 03/08/2018 17:16
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| Fischman wrote: | | AAL2014 wrote: | | Fischman wrote: | #2 on my all time list and there are times I think it should be #1.
By 1992 I was confident there'd never be another new album that would completely rock my musical world and redefine for me what music can be. I was wrong and Images and Words was the proof. This album was a genuine revelation.
I was driving to night school after work and WAAF (Boston) played "Pull Me Under" and I was blown away... almost had to pull over the car so I could process what I just heard.
To this day, it remains my favorite Dream Theater album. No matter how many times I listen, I never tire of it. It has the best ever combination of technical excellence and captivating melody, impossibly dense and complex arrangement, yet hummable tunes, sheer instrumental virtuosity and genuinely expressive presentation. Many like to say that progressive metal is just indulgent technical showing off at the expense of emotion and connection; this album blows that false stereotype right out of the water.
LaBrie's soaring vocals and incredible range and control throughout the full breadth of vocal pitches and sonics are a high watermark standard for any vocalist
Petrucci's guitar is recital worthy in its execution, yet marvelously expressive and presents a gorgeous tone
Myung's bass is creative, innovative, and adds layers of depth to already complex music.
Portnoy rightfully established himself as one of rock's elite drummers on this album and his added creativity further sets this album apart
Moore's keyboards round out the recipe perfectly in every way
The songwriting is unique, original, fresh, explores depths of the human experience, is often poignant, and blends in with the music in complex ways no others have ever been able to achieve.
The production is absolutely flawless, topping this off as an absolutely perfect album. Unassailable in any way.
Talk about standing the test of time; 26 years on and rather than fading with age and repetition, every time I hear it, its stature only grows further in my ears. I don't think there's a single other album about which I can say that after a quarter century of repeated listening. |
This is a beautiful summation of a great album. I always appreciate seeing Dream Theater love. I've been a big fan of theirs for as long as I've been serious about music. However, I cannot agree with the production being flawless. My one main beef with this album and the reason I can say definitively this is not my favorite Dream Theater album is the production. I think the drums sound very inorganic. I heavily prefer SFAM on where the drums sounded live and natural. What are more of your thoughts on the production of this album?
Also, I was recently just talking to a drum student of mine about Dream Theater and particularly Pull Me Under. He said that when Pull Me Under came out it was very popular around here (Flint, Michigan. Yeah, that place in the new Netflix documentary) but people would call into the rock station at the time asking for "That new Def Leppard song, Pull Me Under."  I got quite the kick out of hearing that. |
I guess the sound hits my ear just right, including the drums. Whatever production qualities you're sensitive to here must not be reaching me. It is quite possible that I'm so enamored with every other aspect of the album that my brain just processes it as a whole and I don't hear what you hear as a flaw.
Now that you mention it, I guess I can hear a little production/drum sound similarity with Def Leppard, a group I have little tolerance for. I suspect that, given that what Portnoy is doing is so much more intricate, technical, and marvelously executed, that stands out to me more than the production/sound. Even if the entire group sounded exactly like Leppard, I couldn't ever see myself making that mistake given the difference in the quality of the musicianship. Kind of like Rush's Grace Under Pressure sounding like the Fixx, but there being no chance of anybody who's actually listening making that mistake. |
Hey thanks for the recommendation on the Fixx haha, they have some interesting songs and does sound like Rush was influenced by them for the next couple albums.
Anyway, back to Images and Words for a sec, "I guess the sound hits my ear just right" is literally the only thing one needs to feel or say. I've just always felt the opposite and I don't think it mars the record but I'm just a stickler much of the time about drum sound and production.
Hey I'm glad other people liked the Astonishing. I saw it live and left at intermission. Lifeless and trite to my ears but this is a direction Dream Theater has been somewhat steadily wallowing towards since shortly before Portnoy left the band.
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YoungPunk
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- #12
- Posted: 03/08/2018 19:47
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Yeah I can see why many don't like the Astonishing. They seemed to be looking at appealing to Lady Gaga/Katy Perry fans but if you look at what I bother rating...
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AAL2014
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- #13
- Posted: 03/08/2018 20:17
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| YoungPunk wrote: | | Yeah I can see why many don't like the Astonishing. They seemed to be looking at appealing to Lady Gaga/Katy Perry fans but if you look at what I bother rating... |
I never thought of it to that kind of extreme as there are still some way out there instrumental passages, and it's not necessarily a story a non-Dream Theater would or would want to get into on first listen. However, they did have that single from the record that featured Lizzy Hale so you may be on to something.
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Daydreamer
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- #14
- Posted: 03/25/2018 21:26
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A great album. The producition does sound a bit too synthetic but I can live with that. The only thing I don't really like is LaBrie's voice I mean I'm the guy who usually likes high voiced singers but the way he pronounces words when he goes high is extremely annoying.
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Tha1ChiefRocka
Yeah, well hey, I'm really sorry.
Location: Kansas
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- #15
- Posted: 03/26/2018 00:37
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This is something that I liked back when I was 16, but now I have absolutely no interest in.
Sidenote: The KC Royals for a long time have used the buildup on Metropolis before games when announcing the lineups.
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AAL2014
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- #16
- Posted: 03/26/2018 15:03
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| Tha1ChiefRocka wrote: | This is something that I liked back when I was 16, but now I have absolutely no interest in.
Sidenote: The KC Royals for a long time have used the buildup on Metropolis before games when announcing the lineups. |
No shit? I've been following baseball a little longer than music and I didn't know that. As a Tigers fan though, it's a tough pill to swallow to realize the Royals are cooler than you thought.
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Tha1ChiefRocka
Yeah, well hey, I'm really sorry.
Location: Kansas
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- #17
- Posted: 03/26/2018 15:21
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| AAL2014 wrote: | | Tha1ChiefRocka wrote: | This is something that I liked back when I was 16, but now I have absolutely no interest in.
Sidenote: The KC Royals for a long time have used the buildup on Metropolis before games when announcing the lineups. |
No shit? I've been following baseball a little longer than music and I didn't know that. As a Tigers fan though, it's a tough pill to swallow to realize the Royals are cooler than you thought. |
The funny thing is that I knew it as that before I had actually heard the album, so when I was listening to it the first time I had a weird epiphany.
PS I hope both are teams start rebuilding themselves this season. The Indians are too powerful right now.
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Lowkey
Gender: Male
Age: 26
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- #18
- Posted: 03/26/2018 19:38
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Very good album, but it feels distant
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