“Melody walks through the door
and Kevin Moore flies out the window…”
Nah, just kidding. Hide those switchblade knives if you'd only be so kind.
So here we are - the most underrated Dream Theater album ever (I have seen more people supporting
Systematic Chaos overall, if not here, so it can’t be that one) and - IMHO, of course - their best effort of the Nineties, beating even
Scenes from a Memory. Yes, even despite the studio pressure and the fact Desmond Child “helped out” with You Not Me. Sometimes your personal preferences are pretty much all that matters, now aren't they? It's not proper and cool to like this album, since it's the great big sellout better fit to Justin Timberlake or Take That than the mighty Dream Theater. For some reason.
I used to dislike New Millennium, really, the song was really tough for me to get into. I don’t even know why, I guess it’s mostly because I felt as if it was not getting anywhere, with most of the song sounding as if it were just starting…starting… whatever. However the chorus is very “delayed-catchy” (you won’t remember it after the fist 20 listen but then you’ll have serious problems getting rid of it as you’łl keep singing it to yourself walking down the street). The intro’s amazing, really.
That said, I never understood the hate for You Not Me. So Desmond Child is a co-writer of the thing. So what? It’s obviously the “catchy song” for the radio, but they had openly catchy songs before and after that. When I first heard the album (and mind you, at the time I knew nothing of the song’s controversial reputation), I honestly heard no difference from the rest of the album. It did not stand out, so to speak. So it’s shorter and more accessible. Considering fandom’s reaction, you would think they sounded like Duran Duran or Katy Perry here. It’s not a highlight, but it’s a solid song. Still gets my vote, because the other stuff is better, but that doesn’t mean I don’t like the song.
Okay, I’ll admit Peruvian Skies is a shameless Metallica rip-off, probably their most obvious this side of As I Am… but it still works. The ballad-getting-progressively-heavier approach is just excellent and might be one of the best contributions to music the blokes from 'Tullica ever made. I just love the development of the song, and it’s catchy as f*ck. I would like to point out the cool Wurlitzer-like sound Sherinian has here, best heard during the second verse. Very subtle, yet very cool. The main riff of the song might have been even better (translate: even more amazing) I guess, but that’s kinda nitpicking, isn’t it?
Hollow Years is an absolutely astonishing, excellent, flabbergasting ballad. It’s a masterpiece, really. It’s melodic, heartfelt, quite unique. That pre-chorus is very moving to me. If a third of the ballads on
The Astonishing were like this, it would have been even better than it already was. That chorus is something to die for. That acoustic guitar is tasteful and captivating - I could listen to it all the time. Including the solo, which might bring the cheese factor a bit higher for someone, but in my book it fits the song like a glove and I go completely crazy about it. Anyone voting against this one has something utterly wrong with their hearing, sorry.
Burning My Soul is one of the more aggressive pieces here and - honestly - trillion times better than Just Let Me Breathe. I admit that as the verse is finished, I always, always expect
“This world is spinning around me // This world is spinning without me” coming right after, but that’s no capital crime. The chorus is cool and I like JLB’s shriek in the last one - even as he had his vocal chords f*cked up, he still gave the song the energy needed and didn’t even sound like a prehistoric flying monster all that much (yes, I’m looking at YOU, Octavarium!). This song gives the album a bit of a punch - otherwise it's rather mellow.
Hell’s Kitchen is… a good instrumental. It’s not their best (that title would go to Erotomania or Steam of Consciousness, I guess), but it’s very nice, with very solid Petrucci lines and overall a very pleasant atmosphere. The intro reminds me of the breakdown of Pink Floyd’s Sheep very much. Again, it’s not very memorable at first - I remember not having a clue how it goes even as I had listened to the album many times over - but with time, it will get under your skin.
Lines in the Sand is probably the strangest song here, I don’t even know how to name the category it’s in … Dance prog? I only know I hear some disco and soul/whatever influence. The Doug Pinnick vocal’s are also a very different touch (though understated - during the first listen I did not notice a different singer at all), though not always pleasant; I’m not all that crazy about his “soulful” delivery, though, thankfully, for the full gospel horror we would still have two more years ahead (well, the
true horror in shape of John & Theresa Solo Spot wouldn't arrive until
Live Scenes from New York), but that’s a story for another time. The song is really rather weird, but it’s very hard for me to dislike it. “Dance prog”, that’s clever and experimental, isn't it?
That "classic Pink Floyd" section from 5:39 onwards is really great and a good showcase for both John and Derek, even though it's rather minimalistic.
Take Away My Pain was one of the only two songs I was more or less sure to vote against when I returned to this album. Surprise, surprise! Okay, I know that the fact it’s about the late Petrucci’s father is … well, somewhat cheap emotions/tears, but as I was listening to it, I nearly teared up myself. It has this strange magic, buried somewhere in the cheesy melodies of both the verse and the chorus that makes it much better than it sound on paper… I realise it has its flaws, but I just cannot vote against it. Mind you, I have never lost anyone
that close to me, but this song makes me think I might have the slightest idea what it’s going to be like… after the first primal and brutal pain and rage and desperation go away, I can only imagine the emotion of this song taking over. Does it make sense? Does it?
I’m also glad they sped it up in the process - the demo version’s tad too slow, IMHO.
Just Let Me Breathe is the only bad song on the album and a completely shitty one at that. It’s rather heavy, which I would like usually, but it has next to no melody, it’s overall completely unmemorable and - am I going crazy? - the whole album sounds so great, but this one is just so muddy and foggy. It sounds pretty much like a demo. It always strikes me when I listen to the album - after the immaculately sounding Pain you’ll get this terribly sounding shite. I simply can’t explain how’s that possible. They should have thrown this one out and probably even You Not Me (though I like it!) and put Raise the Knife here.
When I first heard the Anna Lee intro, I thought when they covered Elton John’s Funeral for a Friend/Love Lies Bleeding on the Change of Seasons EP, that most of the influence got stuck within and crept into other songs as well. However, the rest of the song is pure DT. Very sentimental, but very beautiful. A very clever melody and the piano is a nice touch.
EDIT: After I had written this in my text editor, I have read this on the Portnoy site:
"Was Anna Lee inspired/influenced by Elton John’s music? faq id: 210
MP: When we wrote Anna Lee, we specifically listened to both "Someone Saved My Life Tonight" and "Rocket Man" for inspiration."
So it’s confirmed.
Trial of Tears took a long time to grow upon me. I mean, I liked it from the very start, it was rather enjoyable and memorable, but over time it got better and better. It’s also not that typical, though to my ears it sounds less different than Lines. That instrumental section is great and the final buildup is very nice (though it also shows how much was LaBrie affected by that food poisoning - compare it with Learning to Live and you’ll know what I mean). This song brings out rather weird emotions and it's definitely a must-hear. Also, even if I'm not as crazy about Myung's lyrics as many DT diehards are, I really like his work here, very interesting and evocative (
"As I walk through all my myths // Rising and sinking like the waves").
Also, Sheridan is really cool. He uses various sounds and at times he even doesn't sound that far away from Jordan, but maybe there's something wrong with my hearing. Also, he allegedly is a rather cool guy. I would like to meet him one day.
“One example of Sherinian's outrageous personality happened while the band was on tour in Japan, and a large-scale earthquake rocked the hotel they were staying at. Band members understandably panicked, but Sherinian, a California native who was used to earthquakes, only came out of his room briefly with two toweled Japanese groupies and yelled "Rock and Roll, baby!" before retiring back into his room.”
That said, sure, they had better songs on various albums, in fact, none of the songs present here are even in my Top 20 and you won't find killers like Beyond This Life or Metropolis here, since all the songs are so bloody subtle… but as far as their 90's albums are concerned, this is probably the most consistent one, IMHO. When I push play, there’s really no stinkers bar Breathe (and even that one is quite tolerable), so i’s just one great ride from the beginning to the end. Also, the production. Now, I know jack sh*t about production and what works and doesn’t work, but this album sounds really great. Crystal clear and tasty (again, except for Breathe).
By the way, have I mentioned this might be the best DT cover ever (or maybe not, what with SC,
Scenes, ToT and
Clouds and whatever…)? Okay, so it lacks the usual font, but Hipgnosis are the creator to go to if you want your album covers to stand out. I love it! The cover to
Once in a LIVEtime deserves a mention too (also Storm).
Raise the Knife should have been there, indeed, as I’ve written above. It’s an amazing song and I’m very glad they did it on
Score in such an excellent version at least (of course, there’s also the
Cleaning Out the Closet 1999 Christmas Fanclub Promo CD, but that hardly counts, I guess). On the other hand, both the epics present on the album proper are better, IMHO, or at least much more memorable. Pretty much everything from the seventh minute onwards is amazing, however.
Apart from the above mentioned dislikes, I voted against Take the Time and Learning to Live (because I want to see Metropolis and Glass Moon promoted) and against Voices, Mirror and Space Dye Vest; the first two because of the same reasons and SDV because it should DIE ALREADY!
Also voted against TWIUtB, it’s rather bland and pointless. The chorus actually borders on annoying, IMHO. Also overlong.
Next time I’m probably going to vote against ACOS too, because as a twenty minute song it leaves something to be desired - don’t get me wrong, it’s good and grand, with some parts genuinely amazing (the first five minutes or so are an excellent build-up, for example, and I could listen to it over and over again), but it feels a tad overlong to me. I really strain myself to pay attention from time to time and I would definitely like to see it a bit trimmed down - hard to say exactly where, but a minute here and there and I’d enjoy it much more.
Heh, since from now on I like pretty much every album, I will finally participate in full.
GRAFOMANIA ATTAXX!!!
Too much of Mariah Carey to my liking. Same goes for Lines - that yeah-yeah-yeah chorus sounds a bit strange on a DT song. Still like it, though.