The ballads of ADTOE

theseoafs · September 13, 2011, 05:21:31 PM

This is the Life, Far From Heaven, Beneath the Surface. What do you think about these tunes? Stronger or weaker than the rest of the album? Are you happy about their inclusion? How do they compare to ballads of DT's past? Which of the three is your favorite?

I'll start: oh, man, I cannot tell you how much I love Far From Heaven. It's such a beautiful tune. I really hope it makes this year's setlist (in addition to its counterpart).

Jamesman42 · September 13, 2011, 05:24:54 PM

BTS is amazing. TITL is not far behind. Both of those are lyrically great as well. Not bad by any means.

FFH hasn't really hit me and may be my least favorite on the album. Maybe more listens will kick it above BMUBMD. It's not bad though.

fibreoptix · September 13, 2011, 05:25:14 PM

As I said about FFH in it's appreciation thread:

I... like it. I don't love it as much as some of James' other lyric pieces. I'd definately rate Anna Lee, Disappear, Vacant and Medicate Me above it right off the bat. That's not to the song's discredit though, it's a lovely little piece and Jordan should be given kudos for writing his equivalent to Wait For Sleep at long last. He did it justice.

The other two ballads I have absolutely no complaints about. They're both in my top 3 ADTOE songs. Beautiful.

On the subject of FFH though, I gotta tell you - and I feel like a bit of a fool about this - I can't find the musical connection between it and BAI. I've literally no idea where abouts in BAI the quote appears.

gm5k · September 13, 2011, 05:25:51 PM

TITL is one of the top songs on the album and one of DT's best ballads in years. That final chorus is so well done.

BTS was alright to me at first but is growing on me more than any other song on the album right now. Starting to really love it. It kinda takes me back to Awake/FII era for some reason...get a feeling of nostalgia from it.

I'm pretty indifferent to FFH. I sometimes listen to it just to get the whole FFH/BAI connection going. On it's own it's very average to me. I want to love it because I'm a huge JLB fan, but I just can't seem to get into it thus far.

Vajra · September 13, 2011, 05:26:38 PM

All I know is that each ballad is fantastic. After "The Answer Lies Within" "I Walk Beside You" and "Wither" I was worried that DT didn't have it in them anymore to make an epic balled. They put my fears to rest.

theseoafs · September 13, 2011, 05:33:14 PM

Quote from: fibreoptix on September 13, 2011, 05:25:14 PM
On the subject of FFH though, I gotta tell you - and I feel like a bit of a fool about this - I can't find the musical connection between it and BAI. I've literally no idea where abouts in BAI the quote appears.

"Embrace the days" in BAI reprises the chords which went under "You can't imagine" in FFH. It's hard to notice for some because the melodies LaBrie sings are different.

SupermanJLU · September 13, 2011, 05:41:21 PM

While I think BTS and FFH are great TITL is amazing.

fllnsprrw · September 13, 2011, 05:43:26 PM

Best: Beneath the Surface
Worst: Far from Heaven, I cannot get into this song at all! I dunno why..

OsMosis2259 · September 13, 2011, 05:45:11 PM

TITL is legendaryyy

RuRoRul · September 13, 2011, 05:48:53 PM

I like them. Beneath The Surface is probably my favourite at the moment although This Is The Life is close - both the main solo and JP and JM's smaller solos are great. Far From Heaven is beautiful both musically and lyrically but I just don't find anything special about it to make me like it more than the other two (or indeed any song on the album). It's like Vacant in that respect.

jonny108 · September 13, 2011, 05:53:18 PM

I think all 3 are in my top 5 of DT's ballads. The others being The Spirt Carries On and Disappear.

axeman90210 · September 13, 2011, 05:57:17 PM

I love This is the Life and Beneath The Surface so far, and Far From Heaven hasn't clicked yet. It might yet, but it's not as immediately grabbing for me as the other two.

dongringo · September 13, 2011, 06:06:11 PM

Love all three songs. They fit perfectly within the album and James nails them.

Edan the Man · September 13, 2011, 06:09:26 PM

Quote from: theseoafs on September 13, 2011, 05:33:14 PM
Quote from: fibreoptix on September 13, 2011, 05:25:14 PM
On the subject of FFH though, I gotta tell you - and I feel like a bit of a fool about this - I can't find the musical connection between it and BAI. I've literally no idea where abouts in BAI the quote appears.
"Embrace the days" in BAI reprises the chords which went under "You can't imagine" in FFH. It's hard to notice for some because the melodies LaBrie sings are different.

There's also a little melody that appears right after James sings the lyrics "I'm too far from heaven" that appears again in the end of Breaking All Illusions (played with strings).

MasterShakezula · September 13, 2011, 06:11:09 PM

I enjoy them very much. Especially Beneath The Surface. That is right up there with Disappear and The Silent Man.

Metrovarium · September 13, 2011, 06:15:40 PM

All of them are great - much better than the ballads of the last few albums (though The Answer Lies Within is a favorite of mine). I'd rank them, but they're all about the same in terms of quality, IMO. Maybe BTS would be ranked slightly higher.

sagar_k · September 13, 2011, 06:17:01 PM

I love JLB's rising vocals in BTS. I'm still 50/50 about Far From Heaven, I remember JP saying its a preface to BAI, but doesn't seem to gel in. This Is The Life has great vocals by JLB, mixed nicely with JP's guitar.

krands85 · September 13, 2011, 07:51:42 PM

Quote from: fibreoptix on September 13, 2011, 05:25:14 PM
On the subject of FFH though, I gotta tell you - and I feel like a bit of a fool about this - I can't find the musical connection between it and BAI. I've literally no idea where abouts in BAI the quote appears.

You're not alone there

I'm pleasantly surprised with the way the ballads turned out on this album. The shorter songs are usually my least favourite, so I wasn't expecting too much. Really loving TITL though and BTS is beautiful, a fitting end to the album I think. I haven't really connected with FFH that much yet, but it's beginning to get there I think.

None of them will ever be my favourite songs, but they're certainly not weak links like I was half-expecting them to be. I love the consistency of this album.

patomtz · September 13, 2011, 07:55:42 PM

Beneath the surface might be in the top 3 of the album! beatuiful way to end up the album!

senecadawg2 · September 13, 2011, 08:00:07 PM

Quote from: Jamesman42 on September 13, 2011, 05:24:54 PM
BTS is amazing. TITL is not far behind. Both of those are lyrically great as well. Not bad by any means.

FFH hasn't really hit me and may be my least favorite on the album. Maybe more listens will kick it above BMUBMD. It's not bad though.

I agree with this, for the most part. I think Far From Heaven is a bit weak as a stand-alone track. However, when played in succession with BAI (as I think it should be), it really shines.

sguerrero · September 13, 2011, 10:32:38 PM

3 awesome ballads on one DT album, I'ts been a long time since that happened and I'm totally grateful for this.

tjanuranus · September 13, 2011, 10:36:10 PM

Ffh is amazing. On first listen I didn't get it as much but really listening to the lyrics and melodies it's blowing me away!!

BlobVanDam · September 13, 2011, 10:41:56 PM

TITL is my favourite of the ballads. A great FII/SFAM style song with JP's best soloing on the album.

FFH is a beautiful song, and both JR and JLB are at the top of their game here.

BTS is really good, but I feel it's already overrated. It's good, but not that good. The keyboard section is the best and most interesting part imo.

I've always loved DT's ballads, and this album is definitely no exception.

KevShmev · September 13, 2011, 10:44:25 PM

All three are stellar, with This is the Life being my favorite (and probably my 3rd favorite off the album).

Priest of Syrinx · September 13, 2011, 10:55:30 PM

Quote from: BlobVanDam on September 13, 2011, 10:41:56 PM
BTS is really good, but I feel it's already overrated. It's good, but not that good. The keyboard section is the best and most interesting part imo.

I'm getting a 70's Genesis vibe from the background instrumentation during the Moog-ish solo, but I can't think of the song...

Zydar · September 14, 2011, 01:19:39 AM

BTS and TITL are great songs, but I find FFH to be not up to the same quality for me. It's still a good song though.

The Silent Cody · September 14, 2011, 01:51:11 AM

TITL is my favourite ballad from ADTOE now, it has that Another Day vibe which I love and first verse and chorus are just beautiful. BTS is just behind, I think that Jordan solo on this one is one of most spacious moment in DT carrer, it just draws pictures in your mind what is quite cool

FFH... hm, don't clicked yet, my least favourite moment from the album for now.

tri.ad · September 14, 2011, 02:35:43 AM

TITL and BTS are my favourites, and they are fighting a raging battle for the third place of my ADTOE ranking. FFH is very nice as well, but can't quite keep up with the other two.

Generally, these songs are, in my opinion, the best ballads DT has put out in a long time.

Orion1967 · September 14, 2011, 06:03:32 AM

TITL is becoming the most listened to song on my iPod. The overall musicality, the tone of the guitars, the synth and piano, the chord progressions, James' singing.

Almost brings tears to your eyes it is such a beautiful song.

BTS is also one of thier best works yet.

FFH, while a very good song, and head and shoulders above other bands is not really one of the best that DT has done. IMHO probably the weakest song on the album.

Gysten · September 14, 2011, 08:11:56 AM

I love ballads, Disappear is one of my top on SDOIT. And Far From Heaven is right behind BITS and BAI, and BTS is not far after that.

? · September 14, 2011, 08:31:46 AM

I really think the ballads on ADTOE are some of the best they've ever written! On the last few albums the ballads were among my less liked songs but this time they've really done their best to make them sound good.

Infinite Cactus · September 14, 2011, 08:36:20 AM

I love them. I'd say they rank something like this.

1.Far From Heaven
2.Beneath The Surface
3.This Is The Life

hefdaddy42 · September 14, 2011, 08:38:24 AM

I like all three, but I like BTS and TITL better than FFH.

Guitalguy · September 14, 2011, 08:39:02 AM

Strong tunes, loving all of them. The flow of this album is really nice, you never get tired of any of the elements because they've really thought through the flow and the feel of the album in total. The ballads and the heavier tunes are in perfect balance.

Jaffa · September 14, 2011, 12:25:04 PM

I feel comfortable calling Beneath the Surface my favorite DT ballad.

This Is The Life is pretty awesome, too. I especially love the intro. I'd like it even better in the song was called 'This Is The Life Everlasting', so that the abbreviated title could be TITLE. But, oh well.

Far From Heaven is a very pretty song, but it hasn't quite clicked with me. It's very nice and I'd never skip it, but I probably would never listen to it outside of the context of the album either.

Overall, I think ADToE is VERY strong in the area of ballads.

News:

The ballads of ADTOE