to SFAM fans...

lumpy33 · October 09, 2011, 08:30:34 PM

just curious as to whether or not the "SFAM is d.t.'s best album" fans out there have been listening to d.t. since the beginning or not. it's my guess that if you've been a fan since I&W, then I&W is your favorite album. i've been listening to the band for 20 years, and i can't imagine them ever releasing an album as good as I&W, but i wonder if i'd feel that way if i discovered the band in say, the early 2000's or something.
note: not hating on SFAM at all. i love it and think it's one of their better releases. i guess i'm just trying to pinpoint where all of the "top of the mountain" admiration for it comes from.

darkshade · October 09, 2011, 08:33:55 PM

I discovered them in 2003, and SFAM has never been in my top 3. Perhaps top 5. I always felt like the highs were not as high as on other albums, though it never hit lows as low as other albums either. Similar to ADTOE, but I feel like that one hits higher highs still.

The admiration for it comes from the fact that it was their "comeback album" of sorts, and might be why I don't connect to it as much as others as I wasn't a fan yet at that time in 1999.

yorost · October 09, 2011, 08:42:37 PM

Fan from somewhere around 1997. I love Scenes far more than Images, but Awake and Train of Thought both edge it out as my favourites.

TheGreatPretender · October 09, 2011, 08:44:53 PM

Yeah... SFAM was my first DT album. Still, I&W was my fourth DT album, and it became a close second. The one major thing that puts SFAM ahead is the way it all comes together as one nice package. Recurring themes, the overall flow of each song. It really feels like one long journey. Which is most likely because it's a concept album. Whereas I&W just feels like a collection of songs. It could be a mixtape.

BlobVanDam · October 09, 2011, 09:00:00 PM

I rank SFAM as a close second behind SDOIT as their best album. I've been a fan since early 2003 (with SDOIT).

I rank IaW as 3rd, but it's not on the same level as SFAM and SDOIT for me as a whole album experience, despite how great every song on the album is. Hard to explain.

Dark Castle · October 09, 2011, 09:02:56 PM

Fan since 2008, first album I listened through being BC:SL, then I & W. SFAM is my favorite as it feels like their strongest effort to me, although I still love I & W

TheGreatPretender · October 09, 2011, 09:03:44 PM

I think the vast majority of people will prefer the first album they heard, unless that particular album was overall underwhelming, and even then... The thing is, usually the first album you hear, that's what it starts representing the band's sound to a person. So they end up going, "That's the way the band should sound." So in that respect, the most fair thing one can do is listen to a song from each album, before deciding what the band "Should be". But who really cares? SFAM is the holy grail of all albums.

FlyingBIZKIT · October 09, 2011, 09:04:32 PM

The first album I heard was Systematic Chaos. Now it's easily my least.

serrano · October 10, 2011, 12:47:53 AM

I first heard I&W back in late '92. I loved it and i still love it but i still think that SFAM is their masterpiece. I use to hear I&W more, just because i prefer to listen to SFAM nonstop from Regression to Finally Free and it needs more time. This is the only album that after years i still lisen to as a whole, on I&W i skip tracks deppending on the mood.

I&W 10/10
SFAM 11/10

TheGreatPretender · October 10, 2011, 01:02:45 AM

Quote from: serrano on October 10, 2011, 12:47:53 AM
I first heard I&W back in late '92. I loved it and i still love it but i still think that SFAM is their masterpiece. I use to hear I&W more, just because i prefer to listen to SFAM nonstop from Regression to Finally Free and it needs more time. This is the only album that after years i still lisen to as a whole, on I&W i skip tracks deppending on the mood.

I&W 10/10
SFAM 11/10

Bertielee · October 10, 2011, 01:16:46 AM

Fan since 1993 and neither SFAM or I&W are at the top for me : Awake is.
I love SFAm, but for me, on it, the guys are trying too hard : they knew people wanted this album and they did it.
I can't find any of the originality I find on Awake or SDoIT for that matter.
So it would be : Awake, I&W, ToT, SDoIT, SfaM for me.

B.Lee

obscure · October 10, 2011, 01:40:00 AM

definitely one of my favourites!

serrano · October 10, 2011, 02:03:04 AM

I have to add, that when I first knew that SFAM was going to be a concept album and the second part to Metropolis, my expectations were as high as they could be, even more than now with ADTOE, so high that I also had the feeling that it could be a big disappointment since I did not like FII that much.
But then...

Regression:
So here we go, the long awaited record. Strange way to start it, but what is actually strange when we are talking about DT?
Overture 1928:
Familiar sounds, nice. Mr. Jordan Rudess welcome, please stay as long as you wish!

Strange Deja-Vu:
If your feet do not start to move on their own you are lying. Oh FII, you are so forgotten right now. This JR...

Through My Words:
I'm not actually into ballads, but well placed and great combination JR and James.

Fatal Tragedy:
Slow but building up, if this one does not create tension you guys are going to disappoint me. Narrating style... ...kind of King Diamond meets Rush and have a threesome with Metallica (strange parents, lovely child)... ...instrumental section... I know you are going to kill my neck on the live shows

. I expect some soli now (I play guitar and normally I don't care for keyboards)...

...JR, you are the man, my first keyboard hero ever!! But WTF?

What was that Mr. Petrucci, was that even playable? And this ending!!!!

Holy crap, how can this even beat my expectations?

Cruithne · October 10, 2011, 02:18:37 AM

I've been a fan since mid-'93 when I was lent I&W by a friend.

SFaM is about even with I&W for me.

Phoenix87x · October 10, 2011, 03:14:57 AM

SFAM is the first DT album I ever bought, back in 2001 and then 4 years later I bought Images and Words.

Upon first listen, Images and Words became my favorite.

legenden1 · October 10, 2011, 04:21:57 AM

I got into DT in 1992 and although I truly love I&W and Awake I still find SFAM a tiny bit better. The melodies are outstanding, the closing three songs is among the best I´ve heard from ANY band.

ZirconBlue · October 10, 2011, 06:35:02 AM

I've been a fan since '92, but I&W comes in second behind Awake, for me. SFaM is 3rd or 4th depending on how I feel about FII on a particular day.

TAC · October 10, 2011, 06:57:14 AM

Been a fan since Mid 92.
I&W..#1
SFAM..#2

Podaar · October 10, 2011, 07:27:14 AM

I've been a fan since '93 and while I listen to and enjoy all the DT catalog I can say unequivocally that Six Degrees is my favorite.

My current second is a tie between A Dramatic Turn of Events, Scenes from a Memory and Awake.

Images and Words, for me, is in a very close 3rd tier to those listed above and is on equal footing with A Change of Seasons, Train of Thought, and Falling Into Infinity depending on my mood.

Full disclosure; I'm probably biased toward the more heavy side of Dream Theater since I've always been a metal fan first and a prog fan second. Thus, every song on I&W is great but it always felt a bit light-weight to me and I'm much more likely to pop in Awake when I feel like I need a classic DT experience.

[edit]

Oh we were talking about SFAM, weren't we. Forgive me I'm old.

Yes SFAM is just below my favorite and just above I&W probably because it feels more complete, consistent and less 'poppy'. Besides Portnoy's drum roll fest at the end is still mind-blowing to this very day!

[/edit]

bosk1 · October 10, 2011, 07:30:53 AM

Quote from: lumpy33 on October 09, 2011, 08:30:34 PM
just curious as to whether or not the "SFAM is d.t.'s best album" fans out there have been listening to d.t. since the beginning or not. it's my guess that if you've been a fan since I&W, then I&W is your favorite album. i've been listening to the band for 20 years, and i can't imagine them ever releasing an album as good as I&W, but i wonder if i'd feel that way if i discovered the band in say, the early 2000's or something.
note: not hating on SFAM at all. i love it and think it's one of their better releases. i guess i'm just trying to pinpoint where all of the "top of the mountain" admiration for it comes from.

I consider it their second best. But like you, I've been a fan since I&W. And yet, I rank SFAM ahead of I&W. Even though I had been a fan since 1992, SFAM was the album that really blew me away and made me reevaluate music.

Jaq · October 10, 2011, 07:36:07 AM

Been a fan since I&W, but SFAM is my favorite DT album with I&W second. I'm a total sucker for concept albums, for one thing, and SFAM just find the band at probably their most inspired and explosive musically; JR's arrival made everyone step up their game big time. I&W is a classic, but SFAM is one of my desert island albums.

serrano · October 10, 2011, 07:44:16 AM

If i had to go to a desert island and could only take 1 album, i would probably kill my island mate so i could take both I&W and SFAM

BlobVanDam · October 10, 2011, 07:47:35 AM

Quote from: serrano on October 10, 2011, 07:44:16 AM
If i had to go to a desert island and could only take 1 album, i would probably kill my island mate so i could take both I&W and SFAM

That's not how it works. If you kill him, you only have the capacity to carry the one album. You'd have to somehow force him to carry the other album for you. And that may require being his as......... well never mind, what I'm saying is that there may be sacrifices for you to have both IaW and SFAM. Is that really an agreement you're willing to make? That sex scene in Home will haunt you forever. Let's just leave it at that.

open your eyes, serrano

Liberation · October 10, 2011, 07:52:50 AM

Been a fan since 2006 and the first album I heard was Octavarium. SFAM was second and it's my all-time favourite album, but I love the _entire_ DT discography (including less popular stuff like Systematic Chaos), and while I think this is an incredibly difficult achievement, I do not deny the possibility that they might actually release an even greater masterpiece in the future.

Mladen · October 10, 2011, 08:24:07 AM

I discovered DT in spring 2007 and I discovered SFAM about a year later, it was probably the fifth album I listened to. And it immediately became my favorite, getting a higher place than I&W and Awake, both of which I really liked.

serrano · October 10, 2011, 09:48:17 AM

Quote from: BlobVanDam on October 10, 2011, 07:47:35 AM
Quote from: serrano on October 10, 2011, 07:44:16 AM
If i had to go to a desert island and could only take 1 album, i would probably kill my island mate so i could take both I&W and SFAM

That's not how it works. If you kill him, you only have the capacity to carry the one album. You'd have to somehow force him to carry the other album for you. And that may require being his as......... well never mind, what I'm saying is that there may be sacrifices for you to have both IaW and SFAM. Is that really an agreement you're willing to make? That sex scene in Home will haunt you forever. Let's just leave it at that.

open your eyes, serrano

The thing with the sex scene... ...yes indeed. Thinking about it, the best record (for me) to take to an island would be a "50cent best of"
So i know why i would not want to come back to the "civilization"

Jaffa · October 10, 2011, 10:00:36 AM

Quote from: lumpy33 on October 09, 2011, 08:30:34 PM
i guess i'm just trying to pinpoint where all of the "top of the mountain" admiration for it comes from.

In my opinion, that admiration comes from the fact that the album is amazing. =D

Systematic Chaos was my first purchased Dream Theater CD. I still love SFAM.

Jarzombek · October 10, 2011, 10:34:24 AM

I'm a DT fan since 1998. I&W is my favorite, although SFAM is perfect too.

1. I&W
2. SFAM
3. Awake

Marion Crane · October 10, 2011, 10:37:38 AM

I discovered them with Falling into Infinity. SFAM is not only their best album, but the best album I've ever heard IMO. Flawless from start to finish.

Marion Crane · October 10, 2011, 10:41:48 AM

Quote from: serrano on October 10, 2011, 07:44:16 AM
If i had to go to a desert island and could only take 1 album, i would probably kill my island mate so i could take both I&W and SFAM

I would take SFAM, and if my island mate brought I&W, he'd find himself...swimming in a lake of faaahhh.

emtee · October 10, 2011, 10:43:00 AM

Fan since the release of I&W.

1)Awake
2) I&W
3) FII
4) SDoiT
5) SFaM

SFaM and SDoiT are both fantastic but they mark the beginning of me wanting to skip certain parts of songs or whole songs.
This trend has continued on every DT album since FII. Well, not including ACoS. But I don't really count that as a full fledged
release.

serrano · October 10, 2011, 11:20:44 AM

Quote from: emtee on October 10, 2011, 10:43:00 AM
Fan since the release of I&W.

1)Awake
2) I&W
3) FII
4) SDoiT
5) SFaM

SFaM and SDoiT are both fantastic but they mark the beginning of me wanting to skip certain parts of songs or whole songs.
This trend has continued on every DT album since FII. Well, not including ACoS. But I don't really count that as a full fledged
release.

So you do not skip any song on FII (You not ME, Burning my Soul...) and skip some songs or parts in SFAM

That's rather strange, but an opinion is an opinion, but still

emtee · October 10, 2011, 11:42:37 AM

Nope. Not even BMS. It's not long for the sake of being long and showcasing chops. It took a few years for FII to solidify into
a top tier album and at the time it really put me off of DT for a hiatius, but when I came back to FII I loved the whole thing.

bondrkm · October 10, 2011, 11:48:30 AM

I've been a fan since 93ish, SFAM is probably my favorite with I&W and Awake a close 2nd & 3rd. Of the newer releases, I'd say ToT is my fav.

jag66 · October 10, 2011, 11:48:49 AM

Been a fan since about 2001 when LSFNY came out. Got that and I&W first, and yup SFAM and I&W remain my favourite albums by them.

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