I am the Evil Top 50

[Ruba]

Home and The Mirror are pretty much where they should be, but ACOS is too low.

I mean great batch.

[iamtheeviltwin]

Now we venture into the top 10.

10 - Beneath the Surface

• Final Score: 9.50
• Plating: 5
• Originality: 4
• Taste: 10.0

Deep Thoughts:
Ballads have always been one of the showcases in the Dream Theater catalog from Images and Words and on.  The band does them right as far as I am concerned, evidenced by how many are in my top 50.  This song takes that form to a new level.  When I got to the closer on A Dramatic Turn Of Events, I found myself tearing up and enthralled by this sparse and hopeless track, and when it was over I sat and absorbed the magnificence of the close to the album.  There is more emotion packed into this one song than many artists achieve over a career.  The combination of Jordan's atmospheric keys and Petrucci's subdued playing gives LaBrie the room to shine as he breathes life into the lyrics.  The introduction of the "heartbeat" during Jordan's solo around the 3:30 mark begins the build up that culminates in the spine tingling octave shift at the 4:30 mark.

9 - Caught in a Web

• Final Score: 9.50
• Plating: 5
• Originality: 5
• Taste: 9.0

Deep Thoughts:
For the longest time this was my favorite track on Awake.  It showcases everything that makes Awake a spectacular album.  Dark and aggressive music, soaring and expressive LaBrie vocals, playful and deep lyrics, and a strong and complex musical arrangement.  It is a shorter song by Dream Theater standards, but it is tightly written, performed flawlessly, and showcases the band's signature sound without the fluff and bloat of many of their more epic tracks.

8 - Misunderstood

• Final Score: 9.5
• Plating: 5
• Originality: 5
• Taste: 9.0

Deep Thoughts:
This is the only song in the top 20 or so of my list that I would consider a "grower" as it has slowly worked its' way into my top 10.  I always enjoyed the lyrics and the great LaBrie performance, but was put off by the strange instrumental passages in the middle and end of the song, especially the "dying elephant" (as my son called it) segment starting at about the 7:40 mark.  I have come to appreciate those other elements of the song and understand how they enhance the overall story and mood of the song.  These instrumental passages were also an interesting attempt by the band to reach outside their comfort zone and features the most unique Petrucci solo in the band's discography.  The subtle playing throughout most of the piece highlights all of the players in the band and builds on the masterful lyrics, which might be Petrucci's best.

[Pols Voice]

BTS and CIAW are awesome choices!

[?]

Beneath the Surface!

[Unlegit]

Decent songs, but interesting to seem them this high.

[BlobVanDam]

I like CIAW and Misunderstood, so it's nice to see them get recognition, although I don't think I'd place them so high. Misunderstood is amazing though.

And I don't like BTS. DT's recent major key stuff is lacking edge, and the pitch correction kills the vocals. It ends ADTOE with a whimper.

[senecadawg2]

Beneath the Surface in the top 10? 

[Pols Voice]

Beneath the Surface in the top 10? 

It's actually more common than you might think. I believe this is the 5th time it's been ranked in the Top 10 (don't ask how I know this).

[iamtheeviltwin]

Just four more to go after this update.   

7 - Voices

• Final Score: 9.50
• Plating: 5
• Originality: 4
• Taste: 10.0

Deep Thoughts:
Over time this top 10 song has made it's move past Caught In A Web as the best track on Awake for my money.  It is a song that has marvelous atmosphere, Moore's delicate piano, LaBrie's breathlessness lows and powerful highs, and pretty damn good lyrics to top it off.  Overall the song is softer than much of the album and hearkens back to Images & Words more so than any of the other songs on the album.  It is a well constructed and never feels bloated and has a great Petrucci solo to fill out the package.

6 - Sacrificed Sons

• Final Score: 9.50
• Plating: 5
• Originality: 4
• Taste: 10.0

Deep Thoughts:
I can think of few "9/11" songs that have held up as well as this one.  It is emotional, never cheesy, and has meaning far beyond the events of 9/11 on which it is framed.  As someone who was glued to the television shortly after the first tower was hit, watched the second impact, the toppling of the towers, all while trying to keep a library full of high school students from falling apart, 9/11 is a visceral moment in my life.  This song has captured those moments for me.  The emotive lyrics convey the feelings of the day itself, while the instrumental section often leads me think about the conflicts since.  A powerful song that just recently fell out of my top 5.

5 - Breaking All Illusions

• Final Score: 9.75
• Plating: 5
• Originality: 5
• Taste: 9.5

Deep Thoughts:
Of the four mini-epics on A Dramatic Turn Of Events, this song best captures the prog elements that are at the core of the signature Dream Theater sound.  Lyrically it isn't Myung's best work, but it was refreshing to finally have the "missing" songwriter come back into the picture and show that he can still delivery mystic and poetic lyrics.  The instrumental section in this song is a prog showcase that I feel is only eclipsed by one other song in the band's repertoire.  Like the rest of A Dramatic Turn Of Events the band seemed to make a concerted effort to keep their instrumentals tight, focused, and inventive.  It is one of the areas where I feel the band is reaching back to their roots and broke away from the trend for bloated instrumental sections that culminated in songs like The Ministry of Lost Souls and In The Presence Of Enemies pt 2.  While the newness of the album might have biased my opinion a bit, this song has been a fan favorite from release and I think will be in many fans top 5 or 10 for years to come.

[BlobVanDam]

None of them would make my top 50 (that's right, take a drink.... actually, Voices would probably be in the low end somewhere), but I like 'em all, and they're all uncontroversial choices, so nothing in there to rage about.

[Unlegit]

Breaking All Illusions and Voices are great. Sacrificed Sons is a nice song, but not anything special.

[senecadawg2]

I agree with unlegit.

[Ruba]

Voices is great!

[iamtheeviltwin]

Last 3 songs before the final pick.  Out of these three, I'm sure one of them is no surprise this high on a top 50 list, the other two may be head scratchers for some.

4 - The Dance of Eternity

• Final Score: 9.75
• Plating: 5
• Originality: 5
• Taste: 9.5

Deep Thoughts:
What A Change Of Seasons is to epics, The Dance Of Eternity is to prog-metal in general.  The most complex and intricate piece of music that Dream Theater has ever done and it does it without ever devolving into complete self-serving nonsense.  This instrumental tells a story in itself and combines the musical elements from the rest of the album in interesting ways.  I have always seen the ragtime segment as Jordan's announcement to the Dream Theater world that "I'm the keyboardist, I'm here to stay, suck it up and learn to live with it".  This song also represents the height of Portnoy's technical drumming, combining almost all of his tricks and techniques into one place before he fell into many of the bad habits that mark his later drumming for the band. It was no surprise that the band felt like this song was critical for the new drummer auditions.  The only thing keeping this song from scoring perfect is the lack of vocals, I just can't in good conscious give it a 10 when it only features 4 of the 5 members of the band.

3 - Octavarium

• Final Score: 9.75
• Plating: 5
• Originality: 5
• Taste: 9.5

Deep Thoughts:
I know that I said Seasons was Dream Theater's most consistent epic, even so this is the band's best epic.  It starts with a love letter to Pink Floyd and moves through a highly intricate musical structure that takes the concept of full circle and integrates it in a way many neo-classical composers wish they had thought of first.  While each lyrical piece of the song represents a different idea, they are all related by the thematic full circle element.  This song is also the culmination of an album that may not be a "traditional" concept album, it was done as a whole musical construct.  Octavarium also features one of my favorite lyrical word-plays in the Full Circle section.  While there are some low points in this song, the heights are higher than almost any other work in their catalog.  The homage to Pink Floyd (my favorite band who is not Dream Theater) and hearkening back to the roots of prog in general, both lyrically and musically, seals this song's fate as one of my all time favorites.  Bonus points for the song ending with a "French Horn" patch, the greatest brass instrument of all time.

2 - Bridges in the Sky

• Final Score: 10.00
• Plating: 5
• Originality: 5
• Taste: 10.0

Deep Thoughts:
The fourth and greatest of the mini-epics on A Dramatic Turn Of Events, Bridges launched itself to the top of my list the first moment I listened to the song.  I have several discs of Tibetan "throat-singing" so I never had the reaction to the guttural sounds in the opening that others seemed to have (WTF is the *burp*).  The intro of the song from throat singing to Gothic choir, lays out the mystical theme of the song's vivid imagery that explodes when the guitar comes ripping onto the scene.  Besides the atmosphere of the song what catapults it above the other three on A Dramatic Turn Of Events is that this song is not only apologetically prog, but as one of the hardest tracks they have done since Train of Thought is also apologetically metal.  It is hard and driving in a way that recalls both Awake and Train of Thought, but never gives up those complex song and time changes that mark the prog genre.  Any song that makes me want to head bang and that I can also sit back and pick apart the intricate musical composition is a winner in my book.  Jordan has always shown that he is a virtuoso, but on A Dramatic Turn Of Events he showed that he could capture the kind of atmosphere and mood setting that was the hallmark of Moore's time with the band.  Those elements are showcased well on this song from the opening and throughout.  Only one thing keeps this song from being my number one...

[BlobVanDam]

Interesting choices.

TDOE will certainly be a controversial choice here. I think it's a lot better than most here, although I don't rank it too highly.
Octavarium is a safe one, and nothing more needs to be said there.
And BITS is probably my favourite off ADTOE. Great heavy track.

[Scorpion]

TDOE is great. I disliked it for a while but it's been growing on me a lot, though I would never place it this high all the same. Interesting choice though and I enjoyed your write-up.

BITS is another great selection, one of my favourites off of ADTOE.

[iamtheeviltwin]

Interesting choices.

TDOE will certainly be a controversial choice here. I think it's a lot better than most here, although I don't rank it too highly.
Octavarium is a safe one, and nothing more needs to be said there.
And BITS is probably my favourite off ADTOE. Great heavy track.

Heh, made it through a Blob post without a "Not in My Top 50" 

For those that like to see the lists and want to speculate here is my list minus the Top Song:

50   Vacant
49   Wait for Sleep
48   Anna Lee
47   You Not Me
46   One Last Time
45   Fatal Tragedy
44   The Answer Lies Within
43   I Walk Beside You
42   Beyond This Life
41   Overture 1928
40   Repentance
39   The Count of Tuscany
38   Raise the Knife
37   Build Me, Break Me Down
36   Prophets of War
35   Endless Sacrifice
34   The Great Debate
33   Space Dye-Vest
32   Pull Me Under
31   The Root of All Evil
30   Wither
29   Finally Free
28   Panic Attack
27   These Walls
26   In the Name of God
25   Outcry
24   6:00
23   Lost Not Forgotten
22   Peruvian Skies
21   Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence
20   Take Away My Pain
19   Forsaken
18   Lifting Shadows Off a Dream
17   Lie
16   On the Backs of Angels
15   Learning to Live
14   As I Am
13   Home
12   The Mirror
11   A Change of Seasons
10   Beneath the Surface
9    Caught in a Web
8    Misunderstood
7    Voices
6    Sacrificed Sons
5    Breaking All Illusions
4    The Dance of Eternity
3    Octavarium
2    Bridges in the Sky

[BlobVanDam]

Heh, made it through a Blob post without a "Not in My Top 50" 

I believe two of them actually would be in my top 50. Is that a new PB?



*pleasedon'tbescarredpleasedon'tbescarredpleasedon'tbescarred*

[Rattlehead]

Could it be Metropolis? 

And nice list by the way, I like your format and have enjoyed following it.

[Unlegit]

3 great songs. Great to see The Dance of Eternity this high.

[wasteland]

I don't know if seeing Blob's reaction to Scarred #1 would compensate the heartwrecking pain that would befell on me for seeing Metropolis out of a Top 50.

[BlobVanDam]

I don't know if seeing Blob's reaction to Scarred #1 would compensate the heartwrecking pain that would befell on me for seeing Metropolis out of a Top 50.

Hey, I thought we were pals!

[wasteland]

I don't know if seeing Blob's reaction to Scarred #1 would compensate the heartwrecking pain that would befell on me for seeing Metropolis out of a Top 50.

Hey, I thought we were pals!

But we are! We just disagree on 60% of what's DT related It's cool that nature put us on the far sides of this world, actually! Opposite charges work in strange ways...

[Scorpion]

I'm pretty sure that it is neither. He's said that he finds Metropolis overrated, and he called Voices his favourite off of Awake, so pay attention!

I'm kinda drawing a blank on his number one, to be honest... The Glass Prison, maybe? (Oh god I hope not)

[Lolzeez]

Trial Of Tears is my guess. No way he can have "You Not Me" higher. Same could go for Lines In The Sand but that song isn't as loved as ToT...

[Rattlehead]

I'm pretty sure that it is neither. He's said that he finds Metropolis overrated, and he called Voices his favourite off of Awake, so pay attention!

I'm kinda drawing a blank on his number one, to be honest... The Glass Prison, maybe? (Oh god I hope not)

Oops  Yeah I could see it being TGP.

[senecadawg2]

Wild to see Dance of Eternity in a top 5, and even more wild to possibly see Metropolis outside of a top 50

[Sycsa]

4 - The Dance of Eternity

• Final Score: 9.75
• Plating: 5
• Originality: 5
• Taste: 9.5

Deep Thoughts:
What A Change Of Seasons is to epics, The Dance Of Eternity is to prog-metal in general.

I'm with you on this one, I was listening exclusively to classic prog for more than half a decade and TDOE was the only DT song I could really enjoy and appreciate for all those years. It was also the bridge through which I finally got into the DT boat.

[iamtheeviltwin]

@Sycsa - TDOE is such a complex piece of music, I really enjoy listening to it.  I think sometimes the complexity of it makes it a little off-putting even for die-hard DT fans.  Most people like it, but it never seems to rate that high in people's lists.

@Wasteland, @Blob - Well both of you don't have to worry about Scarred or Metropolis being #1 because it is in fact:

1 - The Spirit Carries On

• Final Score: 10.0
• Plating: 5
• Originality: 5
• Taste: 10.0

Deep Thoughts:
While I am a fan of the metal and proggier elements of DT, I think my list I has shown that lyrics, emotion, and their softer (ie Ballads) side will win the day.  The Spirit Carries On is the song that combines the best of those elements.  It starts with my two favorite things...Piano and LaBrie's breathy voice.  What is delivered by that voice are the most positive and inspirational lyrics Dream Theater has ever written.  The song is relatively straight-forward with all members of the band playing flawlessly and showing that despite what some say about them they can all play subtly, expressively, and emotionally.  The homages to Pink Floyd are a boost to the overall ranking of the song.  This is a song that I feel is accessible to anyone who appreciates rock music and has been a good way to draw some friends who are more "classic rock" oriented into Dream Theater.  Whenever this song comes on, I get a nice warm feeling and I can't help but sing along.  I know that it doesn't often make it to the top of top 50 lists, but it is quite obvious from the crowd reaction and the fact the band has included it on multiple live recordings that they consider this song to be one of their signature songs, along with Pull Me Under and Metropolis pt 1.  So I feel quite comfortable placing this song as #1.

Thanks for reading my list, ya'll rock.   

P.S - I know there are several fan favorites that didn't make my top 50...rest assured that most of them (Scarred, Metropolis pt 1, ITPOE, TGP, UGAM, ToT, etc) didn't miss the cut by that much.  I am a bit of a DT "homer" and my rankings are pretty positive overall...only about the bottom 10 or songs I ranked are "bad" and only the stuff from The Majesty Demos era includes items I will never deliberately listen to.

[BlobVanDam]

Wow, that's an unexpected choice! I do consider TSCO one of the best songs on SFAM, but I don't rank any song from SFAM all that highly individually (even though I rank the album #2). TSCO might be the highest, although I think it would still be just outside my top 20. Excellent song though.

Considering how played this song is live, I think some people would consider it overrated, however I'd consider it underrated if anything. That solo is killer, and the Floyd vibe is done really well here without being overbearing, and it's just a good accessible song with a lot of strong melodies.

An interesting list indeed! I enjoyed this one.

[MoraWintersoul]

That song is totally worth of being #1. Wowzers, really nice choice.

[Pols Voice]

You put You Not Me above a lot of fan favorites, which takes guts. Kudos for your unique opinions! I tend to love ballads too. The Spirit Carries On is a great number 1.

[Destiny Of Chaos]

Great list and great job!

[Lolzeez]

Woah. You surprised me.

[iamtheeviltwin]

@Lolzeez - I was surprised no one thought of TSCO actually.  I thought I had laid enough hints throughout my list what some of my favorite things were and TSCO hits all of those points.

@Pols - No guts needed.  I was a DT fan for years before I ever logged online and read what the common wisdom was.  I only found out about the trouble surrounding the release of FII within the past 4-5 years.  Long after I had made up my mind about the album.  Same reason I rate some songs like Never Enough higher than many...I was not around for the drama and never felt slighted by the song.    Sometimes I think it is easy to lose the "common fans" perspective when we spend a lot of time hanging around boards and talking with other "super" fans.  The echo chamber effect can be strong.