Author Topic: Falling Into Infinity a re-listen  (Read 35900 times)

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Offline 7StringedBeast

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Falling Into Infinity a re-listen
« on: January 04, 2010, 05:23:20 PM »
I spun FII today for the first time in a while.  I have come to the conclusion that this is DT's most inconsistent album to me.  By this I mean that it has some of their best and worst songs all on the same album.  Nevertheless, the high points of this album make it so worth listening to.  Lines in the Sand alone is just a master piece song along with ToT.  And then there is Peruvian Skies, which never gets talked about at these forums one way or another.  I think it deserves recognition because its got a really cool intro riff and the song has a great buildup and great vocal parts.   An New Millennium is such a cool song.  Very original sounding.

Anna Lee moved me so much today for some reason.  I was singing along to it and I felt a huge well of emotions build up.  This song never had this affect on me before, but I have always loved this song.

I usually just skip over the songs I don't like such as You not Me. 

All in all, this album is really cool.  I just tend to skip a few songs.  Lines in the Sand and ToT definitely keep the album afloat though.
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Offline LTE

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Re: Falling Into Infinity a re-listen
« Reply #1 on: January 04, 2010, 05:25:54 PM »
I mostly agree with you. But I think the bootleg demos are a lot better.
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Offline setrataeso

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Re: Falling Into Infinity a re-listen
« Reply #2 on: January 04, 2010, 05:33:18 PM »
I agree with the inconsistancy comment.
I've grown to appreciate Peruvian Skies a lot more. And Lines, TOT, and Hells Kitchen are all epic.

On the other hand, you have Burning My Soul and You Not Me, which I dont think are awful, but are two of the least liked songs of DT's catalogue.

The album is very underrated, imo. Not enough people give it a decent chance.
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Offline 7StringedBeast

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Re: Falling Into Infinity a re-listen
« Reply #3 on: January 04, 2010, 05:35:56 PM »
I actually like Burning My Soul.  I mean the lyrics are laughable, but the song grooves pretty well.  Hell's Kitchen is such a cool intro to Lines. 

Also, the production of the album is pretty amazing.  The worst part about it is the really hollow snare sound.  Otherwise flawless. 
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Offline pianoman

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Re: Falling Into Infinity a re-listen
« Reply #4 on: January 04, 2010, 06:52:36 PM »
Just finished listening to New Millennium for the fifth time, and I just cant get enough of the drum part at 5:41. That whole instrumental break is full of WIN!

Offline Global Laziness

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Re: Falling Into Infinity a re-listen
« Reply #5 on: January 04, 2010, 07:04:29 PM »
Falling into Infinity has its typical strong songs: Lines in the Sand, Trial of Tears, Hell's Kitchen, and even New Millennium. It also has a number of weaker songs, such as You Not Me, Burning My Soul, and Peruvian Skies (say what you will, I'm really dislike Peruvian Skies). You just have to take it for what it is and enjoy its better songs. Frankly, I think Falling into Infinity would be a top-notch album if it looked a little more like this:

1.   New Millennium (8:20)
2.   Hollow Years (5:53)
3.   Hell’s Kitchen (4:16)
4.   Lines in the Sand (12:04)
5.   Just Let Me Breathe (5:28)
6.   Take Away My Pain (6:16)
7.   Speak to Me (6:10)
8.   Trial of Tears (13:04)

Total: 61:31

Obviously it's a bit shorter than the real album, but to me it's a lot stronger.

EDIT: I forgot to mention that the version of Take Away My Pain I would includes a saxophone solo, much like the one on Once in a LIVEtime.
« Last Edit: January 04, 2010, 08:01:22 PM by Global Laziness »
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Offline Scurvy!Dreams

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Re: Falling Into Infinity a re-listen
« Reply #6 on: January 04, 2010, 07:10:01 PM »
say what you will, I'm really dislike Peruvian Skies
Can't argue with you there.

Offline PlaysLikeMyung

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Re: Falling Into Infinity a re-listen
« Reply #7 on: January 04, 2010, 07:12:50 PM »
I actually like Burning My Soul.  I mean the lyrics are laughable, but the song grooves pretty well.

Totally. and the Demo is even better

Offline BlobVanDam

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Re: Falling Into Infinity a re-listen
« Reply #8 on: January 04, 2010, 07:38:58 PM »
I don't think it's really inconsistent. The only songs I consider bad are YNM and TAMP, and perhaps BMS, and I don't even hate them. I just think they're a bit bland. But considering how many songs are on the album, that still leaves a lot of greatness.
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Offline skydivingninja

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Re: Falling Into Infinity a re-listen
« Reply #9 on: January 04, 2010, 10:19:35 PM »
Without YNM and BMS, and with the demo version of TAMP, FII would have been great.  As of right now its a strong, underrated album with a few stinkers.  I can understand why they took out the demo songs though, I've been trying to make the "perfect" 1-disc FII with all my favorite demo songs and they don't seem to fit.

Offline 7StringedBeast

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Re: Falling Into Infinity a re-listen
« Reply #10 on: January 04, 2010, 10:49:04 PM »
Don't forget about Anna Lee.  That song is really great.  Simple but really nice.
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Offline YtseJamittaja

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Re: Falling Into Infinity a re-listen
« Reply #11 on: January 04, 2010, 11:26:58 PM »
I agree with you. This happen to me too maybe 2 months ago. Now I actually like Take Away My pain and Anna Lee
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Offline yeshaberto

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Re: Falling Into Infinity a re-listen
« Reply #12 on: January 04, 2010, 11:53:58 PM »
I guess I am going to have to give the demos a shot

Offline KISS 76

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Re: Falling Into Infinity a re-listen
« Reply #13 on: January 05, 2010, 03:06:58 AM »
In hindsight maybe its easier for people to dog the album these days but you need to look at the album in relation to the time period it was released in & also remember that the band had only released 3 albums previously & had yet to have Jordan join the band & create the more familiar DT that we have these days... I loved the album when it was released after waiting so long after ACOS. Loved the album then & it still remains one of my favorites as the strong tracks more than make up for the so called weaker ones. Trial of tears sounds epic when added to the live set imo... Also, I really liked Derek's style & have always wondered how Scenes... would of turned out if he had stayed, not that I regret Jordan joining the band though.

Offline Mladen

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Re: Falling Into Infinity a re-listen
« Reply #14 on: January 05, 2010, 04:42:54 AM »
It's good, but still the least good in my opinion. Half of the tracks do nothing to me... I would've liked it better this way:

1. Raise the knife
2. Cover my eyes
3. Peruvian skies
4. Hollow years
5. Burnin' my soul
6. Hell's kitchen
7. Lines in the sand
8. Trial of tears

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Re: Falling Into Infinity a re-listen
« Reply #15 on: January 05, 2010, 10:48:53 AM »
No re-listen needed for me, it's still my favorite Dream Theater album. Yeah, "You Not Me" and "Burning My Soul" are kinda meh, but I'll take those over some of the more unfavorable tracks from recent DT years any day.

Offline Nic35

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Re: Falling Into Infinity a re-listen
« Reply #16 on: January 05, 2010, 10:59:45 AM »
It would have been awesome if the label would have agreed to put Metropolis pt. 2 on the album.
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Offline tri.ad

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Re: Falling Into Infinity a re-listen
« Reply #17 on: January 05, 2010, 11:10:58 AM »
FII is, imo, a very good album with some mediocre songs in it. I think many DT fans just like to throw shit at it because of three reasons (two bigger ones, one smaller one): 1. It sounds very unalike DT at some places (YNM, Anna Lee, TAMP), 2. They follow MP who has often expressed his dismay about FII and general and also particularly the songs that were significantly changed from the respective demo versions (which, from his point of view, is surely understandable at some points - the extent of them, however, is up to anyone's opinion), 3. The inclusion of guest musicians for LITS and particularly YNM.

That said, I don't consider myself part of it. In my fanboi phase, I digged every song of FII. Now, I think that it has indeed some weak spots, but it still offers a lot of greatness - especially TOT and LITS.

As for the demos, I would have added some of them in a heartbeat, while replacing the final versions, like You Or Me, The Way It Used To Be and Take Away My Pain. Some could have needed some re-working until the addition, like Speak To Me and Raise The Knife (see Score) and others would have been throw-away material (Where Are You Now?, Cover My Eyes (although I like the acoustic version of it)).

The best decision from the producer's side, though, was definitely the separation of the BMS instrumental section, now known as Hell's Kitchen.
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Offline setrataeso

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Re: Falling Into Infinity a re-listen
« Reply #18 on: January 05, 2010, 11:55:02 AM »
Am I the only one who lumps the FII demos with the actual album?
Like I can separate TWIUTB from anything on the album, and when I listen to the whole thing, its only the studio FII. But, I consider the demos all "part" of FII, which is a lot more then I can say for just about any other demos on any other album from any other band.
And I like that. It gives a sense of purpose to FII. You hear the album and think "Oh wow. This is really different. Must have been the label's fault, with their outside influences and whatnot." Then you hear the untouched demos, and think "I guess this really is the direction DT wanted to take on FII".

And people who haven't heard the demos for FII should really get on that. You'll probably enjoy them a great deal.
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Re: Falling Into Infinity a re-listen
« Reply #19 on: January 05, 2010, 01:02:02 PM »
Trail of Tears is an absolutley beautiful song, and definatley one of my favourites by DT.
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Offline LTE

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Re: Falling Into Infinity a re-listen
« Reply #20 on: January 05, 2010, 02:39:39 PM »
Am I the only one who lumps the FII demos with the actual album?


I don't lump the albums, but I have probably listened to the demos as many times as the actual release.
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Offline setrataeso

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Re: Falling Into Infinity a re-listen
« Reply #21 on: January 05, 2010, 03:02:26 PM »
Trail of Tears is an absolutley beautiful song, and definatley one of my favourites by DT.

I'm not crazy about that song.

I much prefer Trial of Tears.
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Offline bosk1

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Re: Falling Into Infinity a re-listen
« Reply #22 on: January 05, 2010, 03:10:08 PM »
An New Millennium is such a cool song.  Very original sounding.

This is actually kinda funny given that it is technically the least original song on the album.  You do know that it was created from re-worked parts of Caught In A Web, right?
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Offline LTE

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Re: Falling Into Infinity a re-listen
« Reply #23 on: January 05, 2010, 03:14:39 PM »
Trail of Tears is an absolutley beautiful song, and definatley one of my favourites by DT.

I'm not crazy about that song.

I much prefer Trial of Tears.

Eric Johnson has a GREAT song called Trail of Tears....
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Offline LTE

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Re: Falling Into Infinity a re-listen
« Reply #24 on: January 05, 2010, 03:15:16 PM »
An New Millennium is such a cool song.  Very original sounding.

This is actually kinda funny given that it is technically the least original song on the album.  You do know that it was created from re-worked parts of Caught In A Web, right?

Whats the story on that?

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Re: Falling Into Infinity a re-listen
« Reply #25 on: January 05, 2010, 03:21:04 PM »
An New Millennium is such a cool song.  Very original sounding.

This is actually kinda funny given that it is technically the least original song on the album.  You do know that it was created from re-worked parts of Caught In A Web, right?

Whats the story on that?



I didn't know this either. Elaborate or provide link to more info, please. :)
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Offline bosk1

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Re: Falling Into Infinity a re-listen
« Reply #26 on: January 05, 2010, 03:24:37 PM »
Can't remember of the entire story is all in one place, or if it is bits and pieces here and there, but I believe the details are in the liner notes for the FII demos and the Old Bridge show.  There is probably a good deal on it in the book as well.  But essentially, during the extensive writing and re-writing process for FII, DT took a break to do a short string of shows (generally referred to as the "fix for '96" shows) to get out and reconnect with the fans.  During that time, they played some of the yet-to-be-released FII songs as well as some reworked older tunes.  One of the reworked tunes was CIAW, which was slowed down and made to sound more "industrial" in parts.  These reworked parts eventually were further reworked in the subsequent FII sessions and became their own song:  New Millenium.  Caught In A New Millenium on LSFNY is basically a mashup of NM and the '96 version of CIAW.
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Re: Falling Into Infinity a re-listen
« Reply #27 on: January 05, 2010, 03:38:22 PM »
Can't remember of the entire story is all in one place, or if it is bits and pieces here and there, but I believe the details are in the liner notes for the FII demos and the Old Bridge show.  There is probably a good deal on it in the book as well.  But essentially, during the extensive writing and re-writing process for FII, DT took a break to do a short string of shows (generally referred to as the "fix for '96" shows) to get out and reconnect with the fans.  During that time, they played some of the yet-to-be-released FII songs as well as some reworked older tunes.  One of the reworked tunes was CIAW, which was slowed down and made to sound more "industrial" in parts.  These reworked parts eventually were further reworked in the subsequent FII sessions and became their own song:  New Millenium.  Caught In A New Millenium on LSFNY is basically a mashup of NM and the '96 version of CIAW.

Ah ha. I remember now...I remember how it started...whoops, wrong band.

But my memory on this is returning.
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Offline Jamariquay

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Re: Falling Into Infinity a re-listen
« Reply #28 on: January 05, 2010, 04:32:46 PM »
My ideal one-disc FII would look like:

1. New Millennium
2. The Way It Used To Be
3. Peruvian Skies
4. Hell's Kitchen
5. Lines In The Sand
6. Hollow Years
7. Raise The Knife
8. Speak To Me
9. Trial Of Tears

That'd be pretty keen, in my book. You Or Me would also fit in well there.

Offline skydivingninja

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Re: Falling Into Infinity a re-listen
« Reply #29 on: January 05, 2010, 05:49:52 PM »
My ideal one-disc FII would look like:

1. New Millennium
2. The Way It Used To Be
3. Peruvian Skies
4. Hell's Kitchen
5. Lines In The Sand
6. Hollow Years
7. Raise The Knife
8. Speak To Me
9. Trial Of Tears

Thats probably the best 1-disc FII I've seen...brb, gonna listen and try it out.

EDIT: just putting this together, it cuts out JLMB, the demo version of TAMP...GAAAAH!  Dammit DT!

Offline BlobVanDam

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Re: Falling Into Infinity a re-listen
« Reply #30 on: January 05, 2010, 07:27:55 PM »
Am I the only one who lumps the FII demos with the actual album?

Am I the only one who doesn't? I really don't include them with FII, just as I don't include the cut tracks with IaW or Awake. There are some good songs among them of course, but overall I feel there was a good reason many of them were cut, and personally they would have weakened the album for me, whether it was a double disc, or if they'd replaced tracks on FII. That's not to say they're bad, but I'm a big fan of FII, and prefer most of what's on there to what isn't.
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Offline SystematicThought

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Re: Falling Into Infinity a re-listen
« Reply #31 on: January 05, 2010, 08:24:37 PM »
I actually like it. I enjoy a lot of the music on it.

However, I was just listening to Cover My Eyes. I don't understand why they would have that one cut. That one actually sounds quite mainstream and might have done well
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Offline setrataeso

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Re: Falling Into Infinity a re-listen
« Reply #32 on: January 05, 2010, 10:05:44 PM »
Am I the only one who lumps the FII demos with the actual album?

Am I the only one who doesn't? I really don't include them with FII, just as I don't include the cut tracks with IaW or Awake. There are some good songs among them of course, but overall I feel there was a good reason many of them were cut, and personally they would have weakened the album for me, whether it was a double disc, or if they'd replaced tracks on FII. That's not to say they're bad, but I'm a big fan of FII, and prefer most of what's on there to what isn't.

Oh no, I agree that they aren't superior to the album songs (though many seem to believe otherwise).
I just more meant that there was a clear connection between the songs on and off of the album, sound-wise. And that DT still had control over their sound, as evident by the demos (which, from what I know, have gone untouched by outside influences). Because of the similar sound, I find both the album and the demos feel like one cohesive (or non-cohesive, depending on your pov) piece of work.
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Offline BlobVanDam

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Re: Falling Into Infinity a re-listen
« Reply #33 on: January 05, 2010, 10:20:57 PM »
Am I the only one who lumps the FII demos with the actual album?

Am I the only one who doesn't? I really don't include them with FII, just as I don't include the cut tracks with IaW or Awake. There are some good songs among them of course, but overall I feel there was a good reason many of them were cut, and personally they would have weakened the album for me, whether it was a double disc, or if they'd replaced tracks on FII. That's not to say they're bad, but I'm a big fan of FII, and prefer most of what's on there to what isn't.

Oh no, I agree that they aren't superior to the album songs (though many seem to believe otherwise).
I just more meant that there was a clear connection between the songs on and off of the album, sound-wise. And that DT still had control over their sound, as evident by the demos (which, from what I know, have gone untouched by outside influences). Because of the similar sound, I find both the album and the demos feel like one cohesive (or non-cohesive, depending on your pov) piece of work.

I think that a contributing factor to my dislike of a few songs on FII is because they make the album feel less cohesive. FII is a fairly varied album, but songs like YNM cross the line of straying too far I think, and I think that some people who don't like the album have a similar problem, but obviously feel that more songs cross this subjective line. And with that in mind, I think that some of the cut songs would contribute to breaking the flow of the album further, rather than improving it.
By itself, a song like Cover My Eyes is a well constructed little pop rock song, and I enjoy it, and although I prefer it to a song like YNM, I think it would break the flow of the album more than YNM does.
The cut songs aren't bad, but I just don't think that adding any of them would really improve what I already consider to be a really strong album, and I don't think it's a huge loss that they didn't make the cut.
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Re: Falling Into Infinity a re-listen
« Reply #34 on: January 06, 2010, 12:16:42 AM »
I agree that FII is already a really strong album, but with a few tweaks, it could have been even better.  As it stands, I rank it 4th or 5th; in its "ideal" form (IMO), it would sit 2nd or 3rd.

I mean I don't see why you'd prefer leaving YNM on the album when you could literally swap it out with one of the better demos and cut the album's primary flaw right there.

-J