Official DT Top 50 Thread Mark II (bss4life15 up now - starting page 79)

[Nekov]

I  take away my pain

[Zydar]

I love it too, Nekov.

[Nekov]

I love it too, Nekov.

Is that why you love doing blow? Because it takes away your pain?

[Zydar]

[Ben_Jamin]

As I said when I began, I'm combining songs that are counterparts

15. Vacant/Stream of Consciousness

      I can't listen to these apart from another, as both enhance each other. Together, these create a really interesting story. The subject in Vacant is in a coma, the loved one is there letting them know they are here for them, the sadness is nicely portrayed by the cello and JLB's warm vocals, the choir is the cherry on top. In SoC, it's describing the journey of the person in the coma. A musical description of their anguish. The reprise of the Vacant melody, makes me see the person becoming aware but still in the transition, The way it ends makes me suggest they struggle but suddenly become conscious again. JM's bass work alone is why I enjoyed this when I first heard it on Live At Budakon, the engery they had made it more better, it's also got lots of groove. (sidenote: Thanks to Zydar is now the SoC dance)

14. This Is The Life
 
        With so much going on in my own personal life, when ADTOE came out and this song played I instantly loved it. Everything is calm and makes me feel at ease. JLB's last chorus is amazing, great work by him, you can feel he's singing with passion. I enjoyed they decided to do another ballad song on this album, as I feel they really shine in that department, especially if they mix it in with some heavy. This has a nice blend of both.

13. Beneath The Surface

        I like the water drop rhythm in the beginning, and how different this song sounds. It's something fresh that I've wanted, a nice acousticy song. JR chose perfect patches to complement the guitar, JLB's vocals are nice as well. It has a Final Fantasy vibe throughout the whole thing, like watching the end credits of one of the games. When the timpani comes in, is a nice addition to this song. I would love to hear this live with a symphony one day.

12. A Mind Beside Itself

         Here is the crazy story of an erotic schizo. Erotomania begins with an uneasy keyboard tone and chord choice. MP isn't bad either, His drum fills and cymbals shine through in the mix and blend in nicely with the guitar tone. 2:24 - 3:05 has some great keys by KM, especially the last 30 seconds of that section, it's that right there that gives Awake its charm, the entire tone of the band. Voices begins and its weird to listen to by itself, because it feels like a second part. Anyways, JLB here shows his amazing range, and sustain. Such misfortune the food poisoning had to happen. This happens to be the only DT lyrics that I have trouble figuring out. In the 2nd chorus KM's keyboard sounds like its crying, a scream thats silent. The Silent Man, Still don't know what it's about but its a nice ending to this suite. A calm acoustic only style song that has great harmonies at the end.

11. Space Dye-Vest

        KM's swan song. I'm glad they left it on, because it captures the essence of the Awake sessions, once you read into it. The samples add a nice mood under the  already sad, depressing atmosphere. It's as if he isolated himself, and just sits in the dark watching TV not coming to one channel to watch, you can hear the tv switch sounds, as well as the static. The organ is a nice choice for that part where the dad yells at his son. Since I enjoy ambiance stuff, this was a real surprise when I first heard Awake. One day I was looking at my dads cd's and he had this, I popped it in and when this song came on, The atmosphere is what spoke to me, it put me into a nice calm mood everytime I listen to it. I personally think this is a hard song to replicate live, as their's a lot going on to create that same feel.

[SomeoneLikeHim]

All good songs, allthough none that I place so high. Nice to see some love for the best song on Awake 

[MoraWintersoul]

All good songs, allthough none that I place so high. Nice to see some love for the best song on Awake 

Tell me you're thinking of SDV?

[SomeoneLikeHim]

All good songs, allthough none that I place so high. Nice to see some love for the best song on Awake 

Tell me you're thinking of SDV?

You know it

[MoraWintersoul]

You know it

*brings chocolate, plays SDV*
*cries*

[Pols Voice]

Stream of Consciousness and Beneath the Surface.

[Nekov]

SDV and AMBI are great songs and deserve a high place. The other ones I'd rank them much lower probably

[senecadawg2]

Nice to see a couple ballads here...

[54_diplomats]

Great picks there especially Space Dye Vest. AMBI is awesome though I don't like Voices as much as most people do. The first half of the song is freakin amazing but idk what it is about the second half that drags it down for me, still a great song though. I don't really like Beneath the Surface so it wouldn't make my list.

[Zydar]

Ben_Jamin: You're welcome

[Scorpion]

All of them are great, but I'd never consider V/SOC or AMBI to be one song, but oh well.

Especially nice to see some love for BtS. 

[Ben_Jamin]

Ben_Jamin: You're welcome

I was listening to the tracks and it was the only thing on my screen while I was writing. It synched up perfectly and I had a good laugh.

[BlobVanDam]

SDV and BTS are hugely overrated imo, but the rest are good picks, even if you are cheating by naming combinations of songs instead of individual songs.

[Scorpion]

SDV and BTS are hugely overrated imo, but the rest are good picks, even if you are cheating by naming combinations of songs instead of individual songs.

I wouldn't call SDV overrated - there are as many people that find it utterly boring as there are fans, from the impression that I've gotten.

[MoraWintersoul]

SDV and BTS are hugely overrated imo, but the rest are good picks, even if you are cheating by naming combinations of songs instead of individual songs.

I wouldn't call SDV overrated - there are as many people that find it utterly boring as there are fans, from the impression that I've gotten.

A lot more of them than fans, actually.

[Ben_Jamin]

SDV and BTS are hugely overrated imo, but the rest are good picks, even if you are cheating by naming combinations of songs instead of individual songs.

Then ACOS and Metropolis would've been lower, and that would've just been mean.

[Ben_Jamin]

Top 10 time


10. Scene Eight: The Spirit Carries On

     This song has great double meaning. Relating the story to the character, and using it to describe an afterlife. I love how it begins with JLB and JR on piano. Nice and calm, then the band kicks in gliding the piece along on a nice soothing wave. JM has some nice bass lines. What I enjoyed about this song is how soulful it is. It's got everything from Teresa Thompson doing soul ad libs, and the gospel choir making the sound richer and full. Live Scenes really captured that feeling live, the choir was the icing on the cake, and letting teresa do the part of victoria was a nice change. Overall, an excellent climax for the album, using the reprise of Regression is nice as it closes the book.

9. Eve

     I think this is the most beautiful soft piece DT has ever done. The mood of the piano and JP's guitar tone all make it become a song of Eve, the female. The way it's done makes me envision a beautiful woman standing in the water in moonlight bathing. One song I wish they'd bring back, but also one I know won't be the same without KM. To me, this is more emotional than SDV.  The samples in the live bootlegs are a nice addition as well. It becomes a story a grandpappy is telling his young grandson, about the beauty of the female.

8. Disappear

     My all time favorite ballad from my favorite album. The beginning sets the scene. Your outside, it's calm and overcast. Then you hear a scream, suddenly you see your loved one in pain, which is when the piano begins, its a sad circus. Then the hospital scene is set, as the loved one is speaking to God and the one in the bed. Soon, it gets more sad as the emotion rises in the music. Soon, your left with having to accept their going home. The music compliments it perfectly because it is the circus of life, and how suddenly one must accept death in the end. JLB has some amazing vocal moments in this song. His lower register suits it perfectly as I prefer the soft spoken parts of "I knew you were scared, you were strong I was trying"

[Nekov]

None of those would be close to my top 10

[Scorpion]

All of these are in my Top 20, and Eve is in my Top 10 as well. Such an under-appreciated song. 

[wasteland]

All those three songs have a dedicated spot in my heart. It's always beautiful to see them so high!

[BlobVanDam]

A ballad man? I love TSCO and Disappear, although neither would quite crack my top 10. Maybe top 20 though. I don't care for Eve at all though.

[Unlegit]

Wouldn't put TSCO or Disappear that high, but Eve is definitely top 15 for me.

[IdoSC]

A ballad man? I love TSCO and Disappear, although neither would quite crack my top 10. Maybe top 20 though. I don't care for Eve at all though.

Considering he mentioned that Disappear is his "all time favorite ballad", that means the other top 7 songs are presumably not ballads. In my opinion that's not making him a "ballad man" in any way considering this band had written a gazillion of ballads and there are only 2 in his top 10 songs, and maybe one mellow instrumental piece in Eve. No offense intended to anyone of course, each person has its own tastes.

Anyways, great batch imo. I appreciate Eve, and I love TSCO. Disappear is easily my favorite ballad from DT, and a serious competitor for my favorite ballad of all time (I just can't decide). Props!

[BlobVanDam]

A ballad man? I love TSCO and Disappear, although neither would quite crack my top 10. Maybe top 20 though. I don't care for Eve at all though.

Considering he mentioned that Disappear is his "all time favorite ballad", that means the other top 7 songs are presumably not ballads. In my opinion that's not making him a "ballad man" in any way considering this band had written a gazillion of ballads and there are only 2 in his top 10 songs, and maybe one mellow instrumental piece in Eve. No offense intended to anyone of course, each person has its own tastes.

I was only responding to that little batch! Placing TSCO and Disappear in the top 10 is probably higher than usual for a ballad considering how many usual longer proggier choices like ACOS, LTL, Metropolis etc that usually fill people's top 10, so it's nice to see someone who appreciates DT's ballads a bit more than average, even if Disappear at 8 is the highest.
Also, I said it with a question mark, so that totally gives me an out.

[Ben_Jamin]

7. The Count of Tuscany

     Got to love that opening acoustic intro. This intro is one of their finest, also one of JP's best solo's. I love the harmonies going on. The harmonics and the swoosh sound is my notification tone, as its perfect. JLB's vocal delivery, along with JP's lyrics are among the things I really enjoy, yes I don't mind the lyrics. I wouldn't want to be offered wine after hearing the story of soldiers dying in the wine barres, especially since he said "all the finest wines improve with age." The instrumental section is like him freaking out, thinking what the hell did I get myself into. Then as it gets calm so does he, I imagine someone sitting in the middle of a room with the moonlight, the only light, shining on him as he, having fear of the unknown, contemplates life. Then the silver lining, the count basically says "It's all good, I ain't gonna do a thing" From the swells everything is pure gold, I wonder if JR used the Chaos Pad? The woah's add a lot of emotion to the already epic ending, and I enjoy that he didn't go all high, just what the song called for.

6. Misunderstood

   Ahh, another chill laid back jam. What I love is the atmosphere, its like being in air watching everything around go by as you float in pure ecstasy. I love how each instrument, in the verses, all play off each other. The lyrics are great as well, with all this fame and everything, you still feel small and alone. It's saying I'm no god i'm just a regular human that can be a god, yet need gods grace. I can't put into to words how much I enjoy this song, it speaks to me in a certain way. I first heard it when I was in this situation, at my low. It uplifted my spirits and really helped so I hold it close. The ending describes trying to crawl out of the hole while it is being filled, dirt in your face, then you make it out.

[Scorpion]

Two good songs, but none that I would rank this highly, and certainly none that are better than Eve. 

[hefdaddy42]

Good stuff, good stuff.

[senecadawg2]

5 awesome songs!

[Naikon]

I really like your list! Count of Tuscany and Misunderstood are very high for me!

[Sycsa]

Are we seriously stretching these lists up to a month now?

[PROGdrummer]

I'll never understand what this forum likes about Misunderstood. It's a very poopy track.