Official DT Top 50 Thread (Riceball Up Now - starting Page 66)

[orcus116]

Alright so since I started out at #25 I figured I'd offer somewhat of a bonus later down the line. I was thinking of doing some general album rankings towards the end but I was wondering if I should do the top 10 one by one with each album or the top 5 one by one with my top 5 albums. I'm not going to tear into any of my least liked albums because there still are a load of good things I can say about each one.

[Jirpo]

I would propably rank Peruvian Skies somewhere at 20. 

This for me!

[hefdaddy42]

Alright so since I started out at #25 I figured I'd offer somewhat of a bonus later down the line. I was thinking of doing some general album rankings towards the end but I was wondering if I should do the top 10 one by one with each album or the top 5 one by one with my top 5 albums. I'm not going to tear into any of my least liked albums because there still are a load of good things I can say about each one.

Sounds cool.

[Mladen]

Care to explain why? Those songs are nothing alike.

Of course they are, they both rule. 

[orcus116]

[14] Misunderstood

The second song I got into and the first song that made my head spin with strange time signatures. I'm surprised that Dream Theater hasn't tried to use the songwriting approach on other songs later on because it's one of the many things they did right on Six Degrees. Being as its one of their more straightforward songs, structure wise, each section does an incredible job building up to the chorus. The songwriting is tasteful, all the instruments seem to care more about creating a mood instead of shredding, and the lyrics aren't half bad. I was so pumped to see this song live back in 2007 and it didn't let me down. I do admit that I skip the ending quite often but I've warmed up to it over the years.


[13] Home

I feel in love with this song instantly. Undoubtedly one of my favorite parts of Scenes From A Memory, it's heavy, it has cool riffing, and the solo section is pretty awesome. This song, aside from "Fatal Tragedy", showcases some incredible technical skill without sacrificing songwriting, something the band has struggled with. Maybe it was the beginnings of Rudess' injection into the band but something was clicking. This is one of the songs I don't believe I've seen live that I want to because it's got a great bombastic sound to it. Here's to hoping.

[Ħ]

Great choices yet again.  Both these songs have some of the greatest intro sections DT has ever written.

[jsem]

I never got misunderstood ending either... but great choices mang 

[orcus116]

Great choices yet again.  Both these songs have some of the greatest intro sections DT has ever written.

Have you tried "Beyond This Life" -> "Misunderstood"? The ending of BTL goes right into the intro of "Misunderstood" incredibly well. It's almost the same guitar tone and everything.

[Ħ]

Great choices yet again.  Both these songs have some of the greatest intro sections DT has ever written.

Have you tried "Beyond This Life" -> "Misunderstood"? The ending of BTL goes right into the intro of "Misunderstood" incredibly well. It's almost the same guitar tone and everything.

I remember someone else suggested that (maybe you did) and I agree that it is awesome.  I'm not too musical but I think Misunderstood ends and Beyond this life begins with the same chord?  Anyway, massive props for that suggestion.

[Psy]

It's interesting to see that we both started with SDoIT and I share the same opinions as yourself.

[Nekov]

Great choices yet again.  Both these songs have some of the greatest intro sections DT has ever written.

Have you tried "Beyond This Life" -> "Misunderstood"? The ending of BTL goes right into the intro of "Misunderstood" incredibly well. It's almost the same guitar tone and everything.

OMG!!!! Never realized that. I just heard it and it's a perfect match.

[TheOutlawXanadu]

They both start with long, drawn out ballad-y guitar playing, with just James singing over John slowly arpeggiating some chords for the first 2/3rds of the song. Eventually both reach to choruses I find somewhat underwhelming. Then both, near the end, go into heavy 'jams' which I really don't think very highly of. As an isolated section the jam is TMOLS is great but in this case is just seems pasted on. The jam in Peruvian Skies does nothing for me, and is just tribute paying to Metallica and (I guess) Pink Floyd.

The only difference is length. Honestly, I can't believe that Peruvian Skies is only 6:43 because it feels to me like it's every bit as long as Ministry. But anyway, I'll stop now because this is your list, not  mine 

Nah man. Peruvian Skies is awesome.

[jsem]

They both start with long, drawn out ballad-y guitar playing, with just James singing over John slowly arpeggiating some chords for the first 2/3rds of the song. Eventually both reach to choruses I find somewhat underwhelming. Then both, near the end, go into heavy 'jams' which I really don't think very highly of. As an isolated section the jam is TMOLS is great but in this case is just seems pasted on. The jam in Peruvian Skies does nothing for me, and is just tribute paying to Metallica and (I guess) Pink Floyd.

The only difference is length. Honestly, I can't believe that Peruvian Skies is only 6:43 because it feels to me like it's every bit as long as Ministry. But anyway, I'll stop now because this is your list, not  mine 

Nah man. Peruvian Skies is awesome.

This

[LieLowTheWantedMan]

The only difference is length. Honestly, I can't believe that Peruvian Skies is only 6:43 because it feels to me like it's every bit as long as Ministry. But anyway, I'll stop now because this is your list, not  mine 

Funny, that song feels short as hell to me.

[jsem]

Doesn't feel nearly as long as MOLS.

[tri.ad]

Nice to see Misunderstood getting some love.

[Jirpo]

I wouldn't place Misunderstood that high, but its definately a good song. And home! : Nice choices.

[inoku]

I wouldn't place Misunderstood that high, but its definately a good song.

i agree. I love the chorus.

[orcus116]

[12] Lines In The Sand

Slowly rising from its untalked about status over the last few years, "Lines In The Sand" is one of the true gems that came out of the Falling Into Infinity sessions. I've heard some off criticisms about this song ranging from the few seconds of background vocals completely turning people off to it just being boring (more understandable) but I simply cannot agree. As with most songs made during this time period the band is very restrained and the result is a very laid back but powerful song containing some of Petrucci's best lyrics. To top it off he belts out a beautiful solo that shows flashes of Gilmour in its composition. One of the things I really love about it is how much feeling he puts behind it, something I've rarely heard him do since.


[11] Fatal Tragedy

There is usually a battle between this song and "Home" for my favorite off Scene From A Memory but usually the tightness of this song brings it on top. It's really amazing what the band managed to squeeze in 6 or so minutes considering the 180 degree change the song takes halfway through. The meat of the song is concise and well delivered allowing the band to goof around for another 3 or so minutes but it's honestly one of the most enjoyable solo sections they've done because it just sounds damn fun. It may be a bit unfair to compare this to its adjacent track but I think this song does what "Beyond This Life" does better in half the time.

[orcus116]

Also like I asked up top, would you want to see a top 10 albums or top 5?

[robwebster]

Go for a top ten. You're interesting enough with the albums that I'd like to hear it.

Lines in the Sand is the only one so far that I probably wouldn't consider for my own top 25. Good selection. Fatal Tragedy's probably top ten for me.

[Ħ]

Yay for Lines in the Sand!

Never understoood the love for Fatal Tragedy...

And as for the albums, were you just going to post a ranking, or were you going to do write-ups?

[jsem]

Fatal Tragedy is epic. That's why people love it.

Also, LITS - probably one of JP's top 5 solos... love it

[hefdaddy42]

[12] Lines In The Sand

Slowly rising from its untalked about status over the last few years, "Lines In The Sand" is one of the true gems that came out of the Falling Into Infinity sessions. I've heard some off criticisms about this song ranging from the few seconds of background vocals completely turning people off to it just being boring (more understandable) but I simply cannot agree. As with most songs made during this time period the band is very restrained and the result is a very laid back but powerful song containing some of Petrucci's best lyrics. To top it off he belts out a beautiful solo that shows flashes of Gilmour in its composition. One of the things I really love about it is how much feeling he puts behind it, something I've rarely heard him do since.


[11] Fatal Tragedy

There is usually a battle between this song and "Home" for my favorite off Scene From A Memory but usually the tightness of this song brings it on top. It's really amazing what the band managed to squeeze in 6 or so minutes considering the 180 degree change the song takes halfway through. The meat of the song is concise and well delivered allowing the band to goof around for another 3 or so minutes but it's honestly one of the most enjoyable solo sections they've done because it just sounds damn fun. It may be a bit unfair to compare this to its adjacent track but I think this song does what "Beyond This Life" does better in half the time.

Fucking AWESOME!  I would have LITS a little higher, and FT a little lower, but nonetheless two unbelievable tunes.

[orcus116]

And as for the albums, were you just going to post a ranking, or were you going to do write-ups?

Writeups, definitely.

[Ħ]

And as for the albums, were you just going to post a ranking, or were you going to do write-ups?

Writeups, definitely.

In that case I think you should do the album write-ups before doing your top 5 songs, as to add tension and suspense.

[jsem]

And as for the albums, were you just going to post a ranking, or were you going to do write-ups?

Writeups, definitely.

In that case I think you should do the album write-ups before doing your top 5 songs, as to add tension and suspense.

This

[hefdaddy42]

Not a bad idea.

[orcus116]

Explain what you mean. I was just gonna do one song and one album from #10 onwards but there is definitely some predictability behind that.

[Ħ]

1) Do song writeups for #10-#6.
2) Do album writeups.
3) Do song writeup for #5-#1.

[j]

Fucking AWESOME!  I would have LITS a little higher, and FT a little lower, but nonetheless two unbelievable tunes.

The hefdaddy is correct, as he so often seems to be.

-J

[hefdaddy42]

*bows with a flourish*

I wonder if I should do one of these lists.

[orcus116]

1) Do song writeups for #10-#6.
2) Do album writeups.
3) Do song writeup for #5-#1.

I was actually thinking about this but it might take a bit too long. Probably just gonna take the stubborn approach and do the 1 and 1 for the rest.

[jsem]

That's completely OK imo

[orcus116]

[10] Trial Of Tears

The other mammoth track from Falling Into Infinity, "Trial Of Tears" didn't grab me right away but there was one moment where the whole essence of the track caught up to me and I couldn't help but revel in it. Atmospherically speaking it's hard to top this song in the band's entire catalogue. Every little nuance of the song from the smooth guitar lines, the thumping bass line, the reserved drumming, the keyboard pads, and Labrie's laid back vocals comes together like no other song the band has written. The real gem in the song is "The Wasteland" section which contains the most artistically driven 3 minutes has ever done. I could go on and on but if you love the song you already understand.


Bonus: Album Rankings
[10] Systematic Chaos

I've been pretty vocal about this album, brewing mostly from disappointment and how badly it has aged. That's not to say there aren't musical bright spots because there are. "In The Presence Of Enemies Part 1" (#25) and "Repentance" make up the 20 or so minutes of very enjoyable material on the album, the latter especially due to it being more reserved than the other songs that surround it. "Constant Motion" is a track I don't mind either, though only as far as straightforward rockers go. As a whole the album's faults lie mainly in the songwriting, production and lyrical content. The songs just weren't written to age well (not on purpose I can definitely say), the production is too loud and the crispness of it all makes it seem very sterile and lifeless, and the lyrics, while in good fun, just aren't my cup of tea.