Campaign to get WDADU up there with I&W + SFAM

[LTE777]

Haven been listening to WDADU & WDADRU constantly for the past few days and i must say, apart from production issues (probably due to budgeting) and one of the worst excuses for a front cover i have ever seen, this album certainly doesnt get the praise it deserves and i think its certainly overlooked.  I wanted to know what the forum thinks of this album and why it isnt held to the same acclaim as DT's best albums?  The writing, musicality, lyrics are amazing!!!! And dont give me the "I dont like Charlie's vocals" as we now have WDADRU which is sublime!

I mean seriously, its always second last or last on everyone's list??

Bottom line:
The Killing Hand + Only a matter of time (both with JLB) > anything on I&W and SFAM

Let the flaming begin! Only joking, dont flame anyone!

[?]

WD&DU is VERY underrated; some people automatically put it at the bottom of their lists just because James isn't the singer and the production is their worst. There are some great songs like A Fortune in Lies, The Killing Hand and TOWHTSTS. I think WD&DU is better than FII, TOT and the last 2 albums.

The Killing Hand + Only a matter of time (both with JLB) > anything on I&W and SFAM

I wouldn't go THAT far!

[MasterShakezula]

I can't say it beats Awake, FII, Scenes, or 6, but I'd say it's equal to or better than Images and is better than TOT and its folloups.  I mean, it's absolute high points are probably a little lower than the new stuff's absolute best 2 or 3 songs, but it's hella more consistent.

[Aniland]

Campaign? What? No.

[MasterShakezula]

Campaign? What? No.

I'd say his campaign is rather lacking in any support so far, considering that both responds as of now would still only rank it as 5th or 6th.

[chrisbDTM]

charlie is why its down at the bottom for me. but with james singing the songs its awesome (LATM)


'the killing Haaaaaaaaaaaaaaannnnnnndddd' - charlie

[Mladen]

No...

[Zydar]

The Killing Hand + Only a matter of time (both with JLB) > anything on I&W and SFAM

[YtseBitsySpider]

For me, it is a massive massive album that changed my life.

Images and Words
Scenes
WDADU
Awake

that's often how I rank them.
Charlie's singing is so much MORE filled with emotion than james...I love his sound on the disc. And mike's drums never quite sounded as good after WDADU. Oh certainly more polished...with computer controlled snares and what not....wEeeee

[snowdog]

I personally love the album.  I would put it 4th behind Awake, I&W, and SFAM.  I don't really get why people hate the album.  But then again I don't really understand what people love about the LatM version of "The Killing Hand" either.  I think that some of those lines on there, especially "I'm in the Valley" are horrendously sung and I am just amazed that James apparently overdubbed vocals on that album and left that.  And by "horrendously" I'm referring to how it is nowhere near close to the key of the song, let alone pitch.  It is powerful, but I prefer much more controlled on pitch voice.  

[skydivingninja]

Heck no.  Its got good songs, sure, but they don't hold a candle to anything on Images, 6DoiT, Scenes, Octavarium, Awake, or most of Falling Into Infinity and Black Clouds.  Plus, Charlie's not a great singer and yeah, the production is balls-awful.

[7thHanyou]

I personally love the album.  I would put it 4th behind Awake, I&W, and SFAM.  I don't really get why people hate the album.

This is me, except my ranking order would be:

Images and Words
Scenes from a Memory
Awake
WDaDU

It really is a phenomenal album, and one of the best debuts I've ever heard.  Personal favorites happen to be A Fortune in Lies and Afterlife, both of which boast stronger, tighter songwriting than anything I've heard on albums since Scenes from a Memory.  I think what I like most about WDaDU is that it still boasts that atmospheric sound I associate with early Dream Theater.  This sound is especially potent on Images and Words and WDaDU, but it also shows up on Innocence Faded from Awake.  I think Moore's at least partly responsible.

One thing I do find quite striking is that WDaDU sounds exactly like I'd expect the band's precursor to Images and Words to sound.  That alone makes it exceptionally strong for me, and I'd think other fans would respond similarly, since I&W is a favorite album for most people.  The fact is, I find myself rediscovering WDaDU's intricacies every time I listen to it, with the controlled songwriting as an entry point.

As for Dominici's vocals, he kind of reminds me of Geddy Lee. Suffice to say, I actually like Geddy Lee's vocals.  While it's clear Dominici can't handle some of the material (the popular example is The Killing Hand) and he's no LaBrie, he doesn't seem particularly bad to me either. I actually like his delivery on, for example, Afterlife. Then again, I very rarely have a problem with vocalists in prog or metal bands, so maybe I'm not critical enough.

I don't think WDaDU is better than I&W or SfaM, but I totally respect the opinion of anyone who does. It's a good album.

[Aniland]

Images and Words
Awake
Scenes From a Memory
Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence
Systematic Chaos
Octavarium
Train of Thought
Falling Into Infinity
Black Clouds and Silver Linings
When Dream and Day Unite

IMO

[BanksD]

I love The Ones Who Help To Set the Sun and Status Seeker, but the rest on the album ranges from good to meh for me.

[7thHanyou]

Status Seeker is a good song.  Kind of reminds me of Fish-era Marillion.  That song actually gets double the hate, since it's often deemed the "worst" song on the "worst" album, but it works pretty damn well.

[MasterShakezula]

Six
F into I=A
Metro Number 2
I&W=When D&D Unite
Octave
SC=BC=T of T

And I'd say Status Seeker is the best Rush hit single that was neither.

[7thHanyou]

Six
F into I=A
Metro Number 2
I&W=When D&D Unite
Octave
SC=BC=T of T

And I'd say Status Seeker is the best Rush hit single that was neither.

Why the confusing abbreviations?

[Phoenix87x]

WDADU is the album that I listen to more then any other DT album. I'm talking like once every two weeks, where as I've listened to SC and BCSL maybe 3 times each in all the time since their release. WDADU never gets old and its fantastic from beginning to end. It really is my favorite right behind I&W even though I know I'm part of the minority for saying that.

For me its:

Images and Words
WDADU
Awake
SFAM

[MasterShakezula]

Six
F into I=A
Metro Number 2
I&W=When D&D Unite
Octave
SC=BC=T of T

And I'd say Status Seeker is the best Rush hit single that was neither.

Why the confusing abbreviations?

Why not?  

[Pettor]

It's just not what I like about DT. Never listens to the CD partly because of the singing, partly the production and I just don't think the music is what I seek. SFAM, 6DOIT etc. are just miles better for my personal taste.

[Metabog]

Come on WDADU is not nearly on the same level as those albums.

[King Postwhore]

A test for me is how many spins does an album get and I barely play it anymore so my answer is no.

[5]

Six
F into I=A
Metro Number 2
I&W=When D&D Unite
Octave
SC=BC=T of T

And I'd say Status Seeker is the best Rush hit single that was neither.

Why the confusing abbreviations?

He clearly meant When Dungeons & Dragons Unite.

[bosk1]

A test for me is how many spins does an album get and I barely play it anymore so my answer is no.

Same.  Since WDADRU, I have definitely gained a new appreciation for those songs.  But the album will never, EVER even come close to matching I&W or SFAM.

[Perpetual Change]

WDADU falls just outside of my top 4. Not as good as Images, Awake, Scenes, or Six Degrees, but better than Train of Thought, Octavarium Systematic Chaos, and Black Clouds.

...Actually, let me think about that.

[As I Am]

Excellent album that could have been AWESOME! IMO, only bad production and Charlie's vocals held it back from being a DT "classic"!

[Dublagent66]

I think everyone here agrees that the musicianship is just as good as any of their albums.  It's everything else about the album that takes a severe drop off.

[MasterShakezula]

I think everyone here agrees that the musicianship is just as good as any of their albums.  It's everything else about the album that takes a severe drop off.

I'd say the lyrics at some points are rather "huh?". 

I still don't have a clue what Light Fuse and Get Away is supposed to represent. 

[bosk1]

I think everyone here agrees that the musicianship is just as good as any of their albums.  It's everything else about the album that takes a severe drop off.

No, I don't think they would.  Even the band members don't feel the musicianship is "as good."

[7thHanyou]

I think everyone here agrees that the musicianship is just as good as any of their albums.  It's everything else about the album that takes a severe drop off.

I'd say the lyrics at some points are rather "huh?".  

I still don't have a clue what Light Fuse and Get Away is supposed to represent.  

I much prefer those lyrics to the more literal lyrics of recent DT albums.  In fact, I love the lyrics.  They're much more poetic and expressive.  In general,

A trifling euphoria
Was such an untimely religion
Maybe your life can explain
The reason for my indecision

Is better than something like:

Watch me crawl from the wreckage
Of my silence
Conversation failing

Or (ahem):

Now wait a minute man...

I'd say lyrics are a strong point of WDaDU and Images and Words, while they're sadly a weak point for much of Dream Theater's future catalog.  What happened to Petrucci?

Then again, it's Moore who wrote the lyrics for "Light Fuse..."

[lordxizor]

I'd put it somewhere in the bottom third as far as DT's albums go, but definitely not at the bottom. The production is what kills it for me. Charlie's just OK and brings it down a little bit for me as well. WDADRU is good, but I frankly dislike live recordings. I'd love to see a rerecording with James in the studio, but that's not going to happen.

[MasterShakezula]

What happened to Petrucci?

I really enjoyed Petrucci's lyrics up until Systematic Chaos, when he seem to delve back into fantasy.  I mean, sure, Killing Hand was fantasy and awesome, but you see, on SC and BC, he went into a variety I like to call: dumbass fantasy.   

[TAC]

I hardly ever listen to the Charlie version, but I would rank WDADRu, which I listen to a lot, 3rd after I&W and Scenes. Does flip with Awake for 3rd or 4th...

[iamtheeviltwin]

Do most of you have the original WDADU or the 2004 remaster?  I have both and honestly I never listened to the album much until I got the remaster.  As much as I prefer JLB over CD, I actually find I prefer the remaster over WDADRU...

Although I love the version of afterlife on SCORE...

As for the album itself, CD's voice took some getting used to, but honestly he isn't nearly as bad some people paint him to be (like someone mentioned above he has a very Rush-like sound or more recently Coheed and Cambria).  He just isn't the voice I associate with DT, since I came in with I&W and never actually listened to WDADU until sometime after 8VM.  Which makes WDADU seem to me almost like another band (although the instrumentals are clearly DT).

When it comes to album ranking...I still place it as my lowest DT album.  I really like Ytse Jam (I am a sucker for instrumentals) and Afterlife.  Fortune of Lies and Light the Fuse are good.  The rest of the album is just ok for me.  (of course being my least favorite DT album still puts it miles above many of the albums I own)

[Perpetual Change]

I don't like WDADRU that much. The documentary is cool, but the concert was sort of a wasted opportunity. Vocally, it's much more demanding than many DT albums yet they played it as an encore set, when James already was exhausted. As a result, he just does not sound good in many spots. Had they opened the show with the WDADRU performance, things may have turned out a lot better.

Thankfully, Charlie's vocals on WDADU don't bother me at all, and neither does the production. So it's always a joy to listen to that.