Does DT Not Care "WDADU" enough?

[chrisbDTM]

I'll break it down like this: SC's lows are some of the lowest lows of the band's careers, and its highs are easily the weakest highs of any DT album to date. 

Constant Motion and Forsaken are two of their lowest lows ever, IMO, but I know you won't agree, so there ya go.

I can't speak for others, obviously.  But I personally want to thank you for these two posts.  You have just conclusively proven that drugs indeed impair one's judgment.

those opinions aren't really that controversial..

[Vivace]

In Systematic Chaos' case, I would have picked The Dark Eternal Night and Repentance as the worst two songs. Constant Motion is actually pretty decent and Forsaken is probably my second favorite after TMOLS. I can tolerate The Dark Eternal Night but Repentance I tend to just skip once the song itself is over.

[bosk1]

I agree with Blob a bit.  The songwriting is a mess at times, and the playing is nowhere near on par with where they would grow to just by Images & Words.  But while I agree with the direction of Blob's opinion on the album, I find it overstated and exaggerated for my taste.  Overall, it's still a good album that, despite some flaws and rough edges, has mostly pretty good songs (vocals and production notwithstanding--I'm not defending those two areas at all).  The biggest problem I have with the album is Kevin.  Not his playing--I thought that was fine.  But his vocal melodies and lyrics are just a complete trainwreck.  Still, the only songs on the album I don't really care for are Afterlife and TOWHTSTS.  Otherwise, I'm happy to hear pretty much any of these songs in a set list.  And I'm glad the band keeps going back to this album to dig one or two songs out on most tours.

[chrisbDTM]

i wish they played all of WDADU for the LATM cd. james OWNS a fortune in lies and the killing hand on it. i would probably like WDADU way more if I had that to listen to. charlie didnt cut it

[Implode]

I find it overstated and exaggerated for my taste.

That's actually a good description of its problem for me. I think they tried a little bit too hard on songs like The Killing Hand. I like the song, but the "Look! We're proggy! This is our epic song about future stuff! And time travel! 2112!" comes through very clearly.

[KevShmev]

I wish we had gotten good live versions of Only a Matter of Time and Light Fuse and Get Away from the '92/'93 tours.  I still have an old bootleg called Milan 1993, which has Only a Matter of Time, but the quality on that song isn't that good (the volume, strangely, drops down on that song).

[TheGreatPretender]

In Systematic Chaos' case, I would have picked The Dark Eternal Night and Repentance as the worst two songs. Constant Motion is actually pretty decent and Forsaken is probably my second favorite after TMOLS. I can tolerate The Dark Eternal Night but Repentance I tend to just skip once the song itself is over.

But even in the case of Dark Eternal Night, like it or not, you can't deny that it's something different and far from generic.

What I don't understand about SC hate is that I hear people complain about how the past few of DT's albums have all sounded the same (which is a statement that I fundamentally disagree with), but then complain about how the songs on SC don't feel like "Dream Theater". I'm sick of all you hypocrites.

[chrisbDTM]

while i dont agree with those statements, they dont contradict eachother totally to make someone a hypocrite

[TheGreatPretender]

while i dont agree with those statements, they dont contradict eachother totally to make someone a hypocrite

I was just quoting A Change Of Seasons.

[chrisbDTM]

oh i know



anyway i put SC low on my album ranking but its miles ahead of WDADU anyway. charlie is just, well charlie. it does sound like a majesty record, with I&W being the first full fledged DT album

[TheGreatPretender]

Which, really, it was. I've heard a lot of bands whose debut albums sounded very different from the rest of their work. And even if a few of the core elements for those bands were the same, there were still quite a few other integral elements that made them sound very different and Dream Theater are no exception. And the thing is, yes, often certain things that made the band popular, or just things that people love about the band are missing from the first album. It's understandable for many reasons.

Another thing about WDADU, the actual songwriting, the music, DT hadn't found their sound yet. They were on the right track, and Ytse Jam, I think is the closest they got. But honestly, most of the songs on the album, great as they sounded, had a very strong Fates Warning vibe to them, and MP has admitted that in the liner notes of Awaken The Guardian 2005 edition. But if you listen to Images and Words, and the rest of their stuff from there on out, I honestly can't think of a single song about which I can say, "Yeah, this sounds like Fates Warning".

[KevShmev]

Except that I&W wasn't their debut; WDADU was.  You can dress it up all you want with reasons why, rationalizations, etc., but WDADU was the band's debut album, and the fact that music still gets played from it 23 years later, shows that the band at least thinks some of it is still good enough to play. 

[SeRoX]

WDADU > SC + BC&SL (Aside from production)

Period.

[BlobVanDam]

Opening track of SC >>>>> WDADU

[SeRoX]

 

[Ħ]

SC and BS&SL are out of WDADU's league.

[Scorpion]

BC&SL, yes. SC, no.

[snapple]

SC and BS&SL are out of WDADU's league.

Your arrogance blinds you

[Implode]

Your nostalgia is your weakness.

[TheGreatPretender]

Your arrogance blinds you

So what you're saying is that... If you prefer WDADU to SC, you're a part of the Dark Side? The side that ends up losing in the end?

[snapple]

I'm saying H is being a little arrogant punk, but in a fun, Star Wars way

[Ħ]

I'm an arrogant punk because I think two albums are better than a third? OK.

[snapple]

I'm an arrogant punk because I think two albums are better than a third? OK.

and you're not getting the joke. i understand its your opinion, but i'm projecting it like fact like you

[IdoSC]

I like how every WDADU thread ends up in discussion about Systematic Chaos

Controversial DT albums...seems like a perfectly logical connection

[Progmetty]

It's not one of the blunders of the world so it's okay if they do not care enough
The only song I can stand from WDADU is Ytse Jam, which I absolutely love and always makes my top 20 list. I haven't listened to the rest of the album in years.

[Ruba]

Right but they only play specific songs: Afterlife, Fortune In Lies and Ytse-Jam for years. They stopped playing The Killing Hand years ago.

It's debatable WDADU is weak or not. Production wise, YES but its lyrics and musics are absolutely amazing.

The played The Ones Who Helped to Set the Sun outside WDARU in 2004 a couple of times, but yes, I have the same feeling. I've read JM interview from 1997 where he said that he doesn't listen to WDADU very often. Maybe DT just don't appreciate the album as much as some of the fans do.