Two best songs on the album: "Beneath the Surface" and "Far From Heaven"

[SnakeEyes]

All in my opinion, of course.  These are the two best written songs on the album and some of the best stuff DT has ever written. 

[theseoafs]

Incorrect.

[Tis BOOLsheet]

i agree. but i sorta think of it as one song kinda, even though its 2 tracks. sorta like how wait for sleep and learning to live can be thought of as one piece. top notch stuff though, thats for sure.

EDIT: my bad i completely misread this post. read "far from heaven" and the word "and" and i automatically assumed you meant far from heaven and breaking all illusions. next time i should actually read something before agreeing with it. i couldn't disagree with you more. beneath the surface is good but not the best. far from heaven only carries significant wait when it is paired with breaking all illusions.

[The Letter M]

i agree. but i sorta think of it as one song kinda, even though its 2 tracks. sorta like how wait for sleep and learning to live can be thought of as one piece. top notch stuff though, thats for sure.

EDIT: my bad i completely misread this post. read "far from heaven" and the word "and" and i automatically assumed you meant far from heaven and breaking all illusions. next time i should actually read something before agreeing with it. i couldn't disagree with you more. beneath the surface is good but not the best. far from heaven only carries significant wait when it is paired with breaking all illusions.

Wait... I hope you meant "Breaking All Illusions" and "Far From Heaven", because "Beneath The Surface" isn't in anyway connected to "Far From Heaven".

-Marc.

[Tis BOOLsheet]

i agree. but i sorta think of it as one song kinda, even though its 2 tracks. sorta like how wait for sleep and learning to live can be thought of as one piece. top notch stuff though, thats for sure.

EDIT: my bad i completely misread this post. read "far from heaven" and the word "and" and i automatically assumed you meant far from heaven and breaking all illusions. next time i should actually read something before agreeing with it. i couldn't disagree with you more. beneath the surface is good but not the best. far from heaven only carries significant wait when it is paired with breaking all illusions.

Wait... I hope you meant "Breaking All Illusions" and "Far From Heaven", because "Beneath The Surface" isn't in anyway connected to "Far From Heaven".

-Marc.

yeah thats what i meant. i edited my initial post. i just assumed he meant those two when i saw "far from heaven" and the word "and." its good to actually read posts lol

[SnakeEyes]

Breaking All Illusions is awesome, but I personally consider the other two better songs. 

[Tis BOOLsheet]

Breaking All Illusions is awesome, but I personally consider the other two better songs.

thats sorta like saying you think wait for sleep is better than learning to live. 

[SnakeEyes]

And, what would be wrong with that?

edit..

Is there some DT handbook that says fans HAVE to like Learning to Live more than Wait for Sleep?

[Tis BOOLsheet]

And, what would be wrong with that?

edit..

Is there some DT handbook that says fans HAVE to like Learning to Live more than Wait for Sleep?

there's nothing technically wrong with that although i cant fathom anyone having that preference lol. to each his own.

[SnakeEyes]

There's nothing technically wrong or in any other way, either.   

[BlobVanDam]

I don't agree that they're the best on the album, but I take no issue with the opinion that they are.
They're both well written ballads. Personally I've never understood the mental block some people have ranking shorter songs over longer ones. I think some of their shorter songs are amazing.

[SnakeEyes]

That.  ^

[Jaffa]

Beneath the Surface is one of my favorites on the album.  Far From Heaven, not so much.

[Ħ]

Two best songs are OTBOA and BTS...maybe Outcry.

[The Silent Cody]

BTS and FFH are nice ballads, BTS is better for me because of great JR solo which I loved from the first hearing. FFH is... nice just that My two favorites are LNF and BITS.

[Pols Voice]

Beneath the Surface is the best song on the album. It really affects me emotionally. Far From Heaven is very good, but I'd rank it seventh.

[Phantasmatron]

All in my opinion, of course.  These are the two best written songs on the album and some of the best stuff DT has ever written. 

I'd agree completely if you'd said Breaking All Illusions instead of Far from Heaven.  I agree with what you've said about FFH showcasing JLB and JR well, but I just don't feel it's as strongly written as Beneath the Surface.  So the two songs that have stuck out for me the most are Beneath the Surface and Breaking All Illusions.

[SnakeEyes]

Yeah.... I understand the Breaking All Illusions argument.  This isn't the main reason why I like it, but Far From Heaven is cool because, in my opinion, it's the first piano/ vocal song since Wait for Sleep that keeps its quality all the way through.  It doesn't get boring, it doesn't drag, it's very well written, much like Wait for Sleep. 

[namgalsipsclar]

I don't agree that they're the best on the album, but I take no issue with the opinion that they are.
They're both well written ballads. Personally I've never understood the mental block some people have ranking shorter songs over longer ones. I think some of their shorter songs are amazing.

Yeah I agree, songs like Surrounded and Disappear are some of my all time favourites

[Jamesman42]

Is there some DT handbook that says fans HAVE to like Learning to Live more than Wait for Sleep?

Yes, it's called The Comprehensive Guide to Dream Theater: How to Make This Book Never Open Again.

[commanderbob]

It's kinda funny......these are the only 2 DT songs that I had to force myelf not to skip on the initial spin.  The 2 worst songs they have ever done, by a mile.  I didn't even have that much trouble with TALW.  I just pretend that ADTOE only has 7 songs and that makes it my fav DT album since Awake.

[FlyingBIZKIT]

Beneath The Surface: 1st

Far From Heaven: 6th

[Mladen]

Beneath The Surface: 2nd

Far From Heaven: 7th

[Jirpo]

It's kinda funny......these are the only 2 DT songs that I had to force myelf not to skip on the initial spin.  The 2 worst songs they have ever done, by a mile.  I didn't even have that much trouble with TALW.  I just pretend that ADTOE only has 7 songs and that makes it my fav DT album since Awake.

What, seriously? Thats a very interesting point of view.

[wasteland]

Is there some DT handbook that says fans HAVE to like Learning to Live more than Wait for Sleep?

Yes, it's called The Comprehensive Guide to Dream Theater: How to Make This Book Never Open Again.

You must now write this book 

[Zydar]

Two best songs on the album? Breaking All Illusions and Bridges In The Sky.

Edit: Forgot BITS 

[DT2003]

I like Beneath the Surface and Far From Heaven, but they are nowhere near the best songs on the album.

[ddtonfire]

1) Beneath the Surface
2) Breaking All Illusions

[IdoSC]

1) Beneath the Surface
2) Breaking All Illusions

^ This

[Plasmastrike]

Two best songs on the album:
1) Breaking All Illusions
2) Lost Not Forgotten

Though, I have to agree with the OP that the ballads are top-notch. No meandering, just pure focus on the songs themselves and the melodies.

My only complaint, since this is a message board and all, is that they could have developed the outro to Beneath The Surface in a more unique way.

[ibosmiley]

I don't agree that they're the best on the album, but I take no issue with the opinion that they are.
They're both well written ballads. Personally I've never understood the mental block some people have ranking shorter songs over longer ones. I think some of their shorter songs are amazing.

This x 100.

Same goes for some of their "radio friendly" songs.  Some seem to automatically strike them up as inferior.  A song doesn't have to be 20 minutes of non stop prog insanity to be good.

[bosk1]

All in my opinion, of course.  These are the two best written songs on the album and some of the best stuff DT has ever written. 

Personally, I disagree.  BUT, I have to say, I love that this thread could even be started.  Generally, while there are definitely some strong DT ballads, for me personally, I almost always rank their short ballads near the bottom on their respective albums.  Not that I dislike them.  But usually, to me at least, the heavier songs always feel a cut above the ballads.  This album is different.  In fact, I was just commenting to someone over the weekend that this is the first album where I feel like all the short ballads are so strong that all three of them easily contend with the heavy, more epic tracks on the album.  I still can't even rank the songs on this album because they are all so strong.  I hate to sound like a gushing fanboy who just likes everything, but this is the first time I have ever felt that a DT album was so evenly and consistently strong from start to finish. 

[coffees for closers]

All in my opinion, of course.  These are the two best written songs on the album and some of the best stuff DT has ever written.

I love those songs as well, best slower tunes since Silent Man. I would add This is The Life in there as well. As far as the best well for me it depends on the day.

[The Letter M]

All in my opinion, of course.  These are the two best written songs on the album and some of the best stuff DT has ever written. 

Personally, I disagree.  BUT, I have to say, I love that this thread could even be started.  Generally, while there are definitely some strong DT ballads, for me personally, I almost always rank their short ballads near the bottom on their respective albums.  Not that I dislike them.  But usually, to me at least, the heavier songs always feel a cut above the ballads.  This album is different.  In fact, I was just commenting to someone over the weekend that this is the first album where I feel like all the short ballads are so strong that all three of them easily contend with the heavy, more epic tracks on the album.  I still can't even rank the songs on this album because they are all so strong.  I hate to sound like a gushing fanboy who just likes everything, but this is the first time I have ever felt that a DT album was so evenly and consistently strong from start to finish.

I feel the same way, to be honest. All the songs are at least 9/10, top-tier songs, so ranking is pretty difficult for me, but I do quite enjoy the fact that the ballads are so strong and well written. They were getting better, IMO, as "Wither" was a step above anything on SC, so they've definitely tightened up on their short-ballads writing.

And actually, if FII had the original demo version of TAMP, then I'd say FII also contends with having strong ballads (TAMP, HY and AL...yes, I love "Anna Lee").

-Marc.

[commanderbob]

It's kinda funny......these are the only 2 DT songs that I had to force myelf not to skip on the initial spin.  The 2 worst songs they have ever done, by a mile.  I didn't even have that much trouble with TALW.  I just pretend that ADTOE only has 7 songs and that makes it my fav DT album since Awake.

What, seriously? Thats a very interesting point of view.

Yep.  Beneath The Surface and Far From Heaven don't exist in this dojo.  Now that I think about it, they might be the first songs I've ever taken off my DT playlist on the computer.  We'll see how they fare while I'm working with it on shuffle.