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Dream Theater => Dream Theater => Topic started by: TheOutlawXanadu on November 02, 2017, 09:38:47 AM
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Friends... I love The Astonishing, but find it difficult to listen to in one sitting because it's seven hours long. I would love to make an 80-minute playlist but need help. If you are willing, please list your personal 80-minute Astonishing playlist. I will then throw the results into Excel and figure out a final track order. Thanks in advance for your assistance! :metal
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Here's what I'd suggest, focusing on the music first instead of the story:
2. "Dystopian Overture" (Instrumental) 4:50
3. "The Gift of Music" 4:00
4. "The Answer" 1:52
5. "A Better Life" 4:39
6. "Lord Nafaryus" 3:28
10. "Three Days" 3:44
13. "A Life Left Behind" 5:49
14. "Ravenskill" 6:01
19. "A New Beginning" 7:40
20. "The Road to Revolution" 3:35
2. "Moment of Betrayal" 6:11
5. "The Path That Divides" 5:09
7. "The Walking Shadow" 2:58
10. "Whispers on the Wind" 1:37
11. "Hymn of a Thousand Voices" 3:38
12. "Our New World" 4:12
14. "Astonishing" 5:51
TOTAL TIME - 1:15:14
I did this in a couple minutes so you could make a case for other songs but off the top of my head I think that's good.
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I have thought about this before, and it is really hard to do. For me, if I were to maximize and 80-minute single disk format, my playlist would focus more on the music than the story, as my list below is VERY Act 1 heavy and creates a major gap in the story from Act 2. But it keeps all the songs I like the most, and includes a couple of songs that I think most others would say are "must-have" songs that I would maybe otherwise leave off if it were up to me. Here is that list:
1. Dystopian Overture - 4:50
2. The Gift of Music - 4:00
3. The Answer - 1:52
4. A Better Life - 4:39
5. Lord Nefaryus - 3:28
6. A Savior in the Square - 4:13
7. When Your Time Has Come - 4:19
8. Three Days - 3:44
9. Ravenskill - 6:01
10. Chosen - 4:19
11. A Tempting Offer - 4:19
12. The X Aspect - 4:13
13. A New Beginning - 7:40
14. 2285 Entr-acte - 2:20
15. Moment of Betrayal - 6:11
16. Our New World - 4:12
17: Astonishing - 5:51
Total running time: 76:24
This could easily be shorted up if you took out the two instrumentals and The Answer (which is probably the weakest non-instrumental track on the list, in my opinion), which would make room for another 1-2 songs. Those are in because:
-Overture is a nice intro that sets up the album and introduces the themes. It is just a nice way to get started.
-The Answer is a nice transition piece between TGOM and ABL, and it is short and doesn't take up much time.
-Moment of Betrayal is a pretty good song in and of itself. But having that quiet piano intro, and then the strings, and then the full instrumental explosion coming immediately AFTER 2285 really makes it sound epic. And 2285 is really a neat revisiting of the musical themes from Act 1.
If I were going to make a similar list that made the story make sense a bit more, I would remove A New Beginning and add My Last Farewell and Hymn.
If I were going to just make a shorter, more concise playlist that brought it down to about an hour, I would go back to my original and remove Three Days, A New Beginning, 2285, and Astonishing.
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1. Dystopian Overture
2. The Gift Of Music
3. The Answer
4. Lord Nafaryus
5. When Your Time Has Come
6. Act Of Faythe
7. Three Days
8. A Life Left Behind
9. A New Beginning
10. The Road To Revolution
11. 2285 Entr'acte
12. Moment Of Betrayal
13. Heaven's Cove
14. Begin Again
15. Losing Faythe
16. Whispers On The Wind
17. Hymn Of A Thousand Voices
18. Astonishing
Running time: 76 minutes
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For me, it's important to retain the story so that the concept will remain. Here is my playlist:
Dystopian Overture
The Gift of Music
A Savior in the Square
When Your Time has Come
Act of Faythe
Three Days
A Life Left Behind
Ravenskill
Chosen
A Tempting Offer
A New Beginning
Moment of Betrayal
The Path that Divides
The Walking Shadow
My Last Farewell
Losing Faythe
Hymn of a Thousand Voices
Our New World
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Dystopian Overture
The Gift of Music
The Answer
A Better Life
Lord Nafaryus
A Savior in the Square
When Your Time Has Come
Act of Faythe
Three Days
Brother, Can You Hear Me?
Ravenskill
Chosen
A New Beginning
The Road to Revolution
2285 Entr'acte
Moment of Betrayal
Hymn of a Thousand Voices
Our New World
79:27
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Dystopian Overture
My New World
:biggrin:
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1. Dystopian Overture
2. The Gift of Music
3. The Answer
4. Lord Nafaryus
5. A Savior in the Square
6. When Your Time Has Come
7. Act of Faythe
8. Three Days
9. A Life Left Behind
10. Chosen
11. A Tempting Offer
12. A New Beginning
13. Moment of Betrayal (minus piano intro)
14. The Path That Divides
15. The Walking Shadow
16. My Last Farewell
17. Hymn of a Thousand Voices
18. Our New World
79:26
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I made one a while ago that includes what are easily my favorites of the album, and it just so happens that it turned out exactly 79 min.
Descent of the Nomacs
Dystopian Overture
The Gift of Music
The Answer
A Better Life
Lord Nafaryus
A Savior in the Square
When Your Time Has Come
Three Days
A Life Left Behind
The X Aspect
A New Beginning
The Road to Revolution
2285 Entracte
Moment of Betrayal
Heavens Cove
The Path That Divides
Machine Chatter
The Walking Shadow
My Last Farewell
ALSO, I have found that the best way to listen to The Astonishing once you've already listened to it all once or twice, is to only listen to a few songs in a row from it at a time while listening to other music on random.
(With the exception, of course, of if you're watching them do it in its entirety live) :
:jawdrop:
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How could anyone omit Chosen out of the list? ???
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Dystopian Overture (start at 3:58) 0:53
The Gift Of Music 4:00
The Answer 1:53
A Better Life 4:39
Lord Nafaryus 3:28
A Savior In The Square 4:14
When Your Time Has Come 4:19
Act of Faythe (the final...) 0:29
Three Days 3:44
Brother, Can You Hear Me? (start at :50) 4:21
A Life Left Behind 5:49
Ravenskill (start at 2:11) 3:50
Chosen 4:32
A Tempting Offer (ends at 3:43) 3:43
The X Aspect (start at 1:24) 2:49
A New Beginning 7:41
Moment of Betrayal 6:12
The Path That Divides (start at :42) 4:28
The Walking Shadow (ends at 2:18) 2:18
My Last Farewell (start at :58) 2:46
Whispers On The Wind (end at 1:27) 1:27
Our New World 4:12
Astonishing (start at 3:17) 2:24
Total 79:50
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I actually made a single CD version. I'll post it tomorrow.
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Descent of the NOMACs
The Hovering Sojourn
Digital Discord
Machine Chatter
Power Down
:neverusethis:
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I actually made a single CD version. I'll post it tomorrow.
(https://d1v8u1ev1s9e4n.cloudfront.net/55c961ed067d7b4f553e87bb)
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OK Mr. Hand!
The Gift Of Music
Lord Nefaryus
A Savior In The Square
When Your Time Has Come
Act Of Faythe
Three Days
Ravenskill
A Tempting Offer
The X Aspect
A New Beginning
Moment Of Betrayal
Heaven's Cove
The Path That Divides
The Walking Shadow
My Last Farewell
Hymn Of A Thousand Voices
73 Minutes
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That hand is genuinely frightening. It was really nefarious of you to post it.
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OK Mr. Hand!
The Gift Of Music
Lord Nefaryus
A Savior In The Square
When Your Time Has Come
Act Of Faythe
Three Days
Ravenskill
A Tempting Offer
The X Aspect
A New Beginning
Moment Of Betrayal
Heaven's Cove
The Path That Divides
The Walking Shadow
My Last Farewell
Hymn Of A Thousand Voices
73 Minutes
You can still fit Our New World. Are you one of those weirdos who doesn't like the song?
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We'll build a new world
A better world
We'll build a new world
Our new world
We'll build a new world
A better world
We'll build a new world
Our new world
We'll build a new world
A wondrous world
We'll build a new world
A bold new world
I find this hard to listen to
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OK Mr. Hand!
The Gift Of Music
Lord Nefaryus
A Savior In The Square
When Your Time Has Come
Act Of Faythe
Three Days
Ravenskill
A Tempting Offer
The X Aspect
A New Beginning
Moment Of Betrayal
Heaven's Cove
The Path That Divides
The Walking Shadow
My Last Farewell
Hymn Of A Thousand Voices
73 Minutes
You can still fit Our New World. Are you one of those weirdos who doesn't like the song?
Yes, I know it would fit, but the whole point of making my abridged version is making songs that I really like. I would've cut When Your Time Has Come, but for the transition from Savior.
Plus, I actually find Hymn Of A Thousand Voices a fitting ending song.
I didn't want to fill up 80 minutes for the sake of it.
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We'll build a new world
A better world
We'll build a new world
Our new world
We'll build a new world
A better world
We'll build a new world
Our new world
We'll build a new world
A wondrous world
We'll build a new world
A bold new world
I find this hard to listen to
I find sing along choruses easy and fun to listen to. I'm not saying all repeated choruses are good, it just depends on the vocal melodies and lyrics. Plus, that's the end of the song. Most choruses are repeated at the end of a song.
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We'll build a new world
A better world
We'll build a new world
Our new world
We'll build a new world
A better world
We'll build a new world
Our new world
We'll build a new world
A wondrous world
We'll build a new world
A bold new world
I find this hard to listen to
I find sing along choruses easy and fun to listen to. I'm not saying all repeated choruses are good, it just depends on the vocal melodies and lyrics. Plus, that's the end of the song. Most choruses are repeated at the end of a song.
Yeah, I don't have a problem with the repeated chorus. Just reading it on paper, I suppose it seems a bit silly, but when it's sung, it works.
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If they added in 'An astonishing world' at the end, that could've made up for it :angel: