Derek Sherinian Appreciation Thread

[MoraWintersoul]

Everyone really should grab a copy of Oceana. It's absolutely brilliant.

Yesyesyesyesyes.

[ColdFireYYZ]

Everyone really should grab a copy of Oceana. It's absolutely brilliant.

And yeah, the best DT keyboardist. FII, for all it's faults, has some of their more intersting guitar/key interplay.

I just put Oceana on. Its the only solo album of his that I own (other than Quantum by Planet X). Its brilliant.

[darkshade]

Oceana is my favorite Derek solo album. The mix of prog metal and jazz-fusion is great, with the latter style being more more predominant than on previous DS albums. Has a Jeff Beck/Jan Hammer Group vibe to it. All his albums are great though.

As far as Planet X goes, Moonbabies was my first exposure to him, even though I had been a DT fan for a few years, I hadn't checked out Falling Into Infinity yet. That album (Moonbabies) is insane, and the follow-up Quantum is even more amazing.

[Kotowboy]

IMO :

Jordan > Derek > Kevin.

[ColdFireYYZ]

IMO :

Jordan > Derek > Kevin.

I agree with this. I thought I was the only one who ranked Derek higher than Kevin (not that Kevin's bad, he's just my least favorite of the 3).

[Ħ]

Both of the albums he is on are terrific. He really adds a lot and doesn't detract anything at all. I honestly prefer him to Kevin.

[MoraWintersoul]

When it comes to just playing, the no.1 KM fangirl on DTF also ranks Derek above Kevin.

I feel like talking in first person.

Edit: Fuck, that was supposed to be third person. I should really just get back to writing and not come out of my hole until I'm done.

[7thHanyou]

IMO :

Jordan > Derek > Kevin.

This is the exact opposite of my list.

Part of the reason my top five favorite Dream Theater albums are their first five is because, while I don't mind Rudess' playing, it's very easy for me to trail off and lose focus on the music.  I'm not a musician, so to me, a lot of what he plays is just noise.  On the other hand, Moore was great at contributing to the atmosphere of a song and I never felt like Sherinian wandered too far off point.

I really don't know how much of this is Rudess' fault, and I do, after all, like SfaM and parts of Octavarium, SDoiT (the song), and ADToE.  But Sherinian and Moore hold my attention consistently.

[olliemedsy]

I still wander what the object the won't be named is, that they talk about on FYIAL   

[MoraWintersoul]

I still wander what the object the won't be named is, that they talk about on FYIAL   

You're not the only one

[ricky]

appreciated. he had some really cool ideas and riffs on fif and acos.

[rumborak]

Anybody who appears in a Wayne's World movie is pretty damn close to the top of the cool list.

And actually, I just watched the clip and it took me several rewatches to recognize him in it. Damn does he look different with long hair.

[Orbert]

Excellent!

I didn't realize he was in Alice's band in that movie.

[Cedar redaC]

That's him in the middle next to Alice Cooper right?

[YtseJamittaja]

wow, I really can't recognize him!

[BlobVanDam]

Anybody who appears in a Wayne's World movie is pretty damn close to the top of the cool list.

And actually, I just watched the clip and it took me several rewatches to recognize him in it. Damn does he look different with long hair.

For all 5 seconds of the movie you actually see him, from what I recall. I remember when I found it, I rewatched it and kept an eye out for him. You don't really see him close up in the concert footage, then you see a brief shot of him sitting down backstage.

[MoraWintersoul]

I recognized him instantly.

[rumborak]

Anybody who appears in a Wayne's World movie is pretty damn close to the top of the cool list.

And actually, I just watched the clip and it took me several rewatches to recognize him in it. Damn does he look different with long hair.

For all 5 seconds of the movie you actually see him, from what I recall. I remember when I found it, I rewatched it and kept an eye out for him. You don't really see him close up in the concert footage, then you see a brief shot of him sitting down backstage.

In this clip

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o5FT3IGXtAk

I'm pretty sure he's the guy holding the champagne glass at 0:24.

[BlobVanDam]

Anybody who appears in a Wayne's World movie is pretty damn close to the top of the cool list.

And actually, I just watched the clip and it took me several rewatches to recognize him in it. Damn does he look different with long hair.

For all 5 seconds of the movie you actually see him, from what I recall. I remember when I found it, I rewatched it and kept an eye out for him. You don't really see him close up in the concert footage, then you see a brief shot of him sitting down backstage.

In this clip

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o5FT3IGXtAk

I'm pretty sure he's the guy holding the champagne glass at 0:24.

And here I was thinking you were about to prove that I underestimated how much you saw of him, but it looks like I actually overestimated.

[rumborak]

That's why it took me so long to even spot him. First I needed to find out what he looked like in those days, and then find that microsecond he's on screen

[Ben_Jamin]

I think its unfair to compare him to KM and JR. He came at DTs lowest point, JLB got food poisoning, and his first album as a member wasn't handled well. If he had recorded an album with DT without that then we'd truly would've heard DS with DT.

[bl5150]

new project mentioned here

https://www.dreamtheaterforums.org/boards/index.php?topic=29408.msg1884323#new

[TheCountOfNYC]

It's really a shame that the only album he appeared on is considered one of their worst. The failure of FII wasn't his fault and his keyboard playing is one of the highlights of the album (ToT in particular is magical). I would love to hear where the band could have gone with him, although not at the expense of Jordan and SFAM. In the end, I'll still take Jordan and Kevin over him, but that's a testament to how great those two were/are for the band. Derek is still awesome. And let's not forget that he was the keyboardist who got the honor of playing on ACOS. So even though things didn't work out and his one album was a failure, he appeared on one of the most beloved pieces if not THE most beloved piece of music among DT fans.

[MrBoom_shack-a-lack]

He may not be as recognized as JR or financially set as the other DT guys but is he really underrated? He's played with some real legit artists and musicians. He certainly has a broader career than KM (absolutly nothing against KM just to be clear).

[Orbert]

While I realize that it's not as highly regarded as most of their other albums, I never considered Falling Into Infinity a failure.  Lots of good stuff on that album, and Derek's work on that album is what makes it different.

[goo-goo]

While I realize that it's not as highly regarded as most of their other albums, I never considered Falling Into Infinity a failure.  Lots of good stuff on that album, and Derek's work on that album is what makes it different.

Highly agree on this. I wish he would put out a new solo album...Not a fan of Joe Bonammasa's work or Billy Idol's (where Derek is playing most of the time) but I follow Derek's endeavors. Would love for Derek to play with a band like Chickenfoot.

[rumborak]

Same here. It's probably *the* album I feel randomly like listening to. Most other DT albums take a certain "commitment" to listen to, whereas FII has it down to a T to be both fluffy-light enough to randomly feel like it, and still be grade-A DT.

It's also the album with the biggest re-appreciation over the years on this forum.

[BlobVanDam]

I'm not much of a Derek fan, but I absolutely love FII more each time I listen to it, and it's one of my most listened to DT albums of recent times, especially with my current musical tastes.
So I don't consider the album a failure in any way, and I definitely don't blame DS for anything there. His simpler sounds and playing complemented that particular album well.

[orphaeusest]

Yes, Derek is not so appreciated among fans. This is understandable if we consider that he was a second choice. But I really love him and I have amazing memories about his period with DT. He brought a special energy in the band and this is not obvious because that period was really diffucult for the band (you know the story about Falling into Infinity, the argueness with the label and the risk of disband). He was truly mad and less people know the first scripture of Scenes from a Memory was his and not by Rudess. I would really be glad if he joined again for a show as in When Dream and Day Reunite. Also the way he was fired was rough, but of course he knew his role in the band. However, he still remains an important piece of DT and we will always remember what he left.

[Skeever]

Falling into Infinity is not a great album by any stretch, but Derek's contributions are fine. Live, though, he didn't seem to be able to handle the Moore material.

[rumborak]

That's an interesting comment. Because my opinion has always been that while DS did a good job at it, it's JR who just can't get the hang of it.

[Skeever]

JR overdoes it for sure, but Derek didn't seem to have the chops for some of it. His rendition of Scarred on Once in a Livetime is awful. Maybe he was just under-rehearsed?

[As I Am]

Most underrated keyboard player there is! Awesome and still to this day, my favorite DT keyboardist!

Bump to say it again!

[BlobVanDam]

JR overdoes it for sure, but Derek didn't seem to have the chops for some of it. His rendition of Scarred on Once in a Livetime is awful. Maybe he was just under-rehearsed?

I don't it was just being under-rehearsed, I don't think his performance ability was there at the time, and he seemed more interested in posing and dressing up than playing the music well. It's like he still thought he was with Alice Cooper or KISS.
JR did a far better job in his one-off show in 1994 than DS could manage after an entire tour with the band. It's really not surprising that things turned out as they did.

[orphaeusest]

If Falling into Infinity was a flop (but I like it, specially the demo version), is not Derek's fault. He did all his best and knew the situation. I like his intro in Lines in the Sand and Trial of Tears, for instance.