bosk1's BOTTOM 50 DT songs v. well this is different

[hefdaddy42]

bosky, kudos on a very interesting take on this concept.  Although some of your choices are mind-boggling.   

[Perpetual Change]

TDS has an awesome intro. It really is a shame the song falls so far downhill after the first half.

[bosk1]

I think once I get to the midpoint, I'll do a short "intermisssion" and post my top 10 list before starting the bottom 25.  Or maybe I'll wait until just before doing the bottom 10. 

[nicmos]

I think TDS is so good, it's easily in my top 20, despite the fact that I hate the last minute of it.  Everything else about it is awesome.  Favorite on TOT.

[KevShmev]

The problem is, I'm such a DT fanboy that we won't get anything resembling a "scathing review" until we get WAY down near the bottom, probably around Hell's Kitchen or so.  Oops--I've said too much!   

That kind of epic fail could cause the forum to implode.

[bosk1]

GET OUT!

[AngelBack]

If POW is not in the bottom 5 I'll consume my head covering.

[Ħ]

Good batch of terrible songs there.

[bosk1]

Good batch of terrible songs there.

GET OUT!

[bosk1]

I'm jealous of Milena posting like 8 songs at a time in her top 50 thread, so I'ma post some more today.

19.  Endless Sacrifice - I'm a pretty ardent defender of DT's instrumental sections.  For the most part they are really cool.  The one in Endless Sacrifice is fairly cool as well.  BUT IT HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH THE REST OF THE SONG WHATSOEVER.  It feels completely disjointed and kills the awesome mood the lyrics and music work up so beautifully.  I just feel like this song suffers from split personality disorder.  And for a band whose signature is taking disjointed musical passages and somehow making them work together, I'm not sure what exactly goes wrong with this song.  I just know it doesn't work for me.  This song is two awesome songs that have no business being together.  ...but I have to say, it does SLAY live.

20.  Anna Lee - I like this song.  I really do.  It's just that there are so many other songs I like more or would rather listen to more often than not.  I really hope they bring this out live again someday.  This is on my short list of bucket list songs.  If they ever bring it out, and I am not there to see it, I REALLY hope it gets filmed.  This song is almost criminally underrated.

21.  Just Let Me Breathe - Opinions on this song seem to be all over the place.  It didn't really jump out at me until LSFNY.  But there are a lot of cool things going on with the music, and the lyrics are just ace.  Nice criticism of the mid-'90s music industry without going over the top.  Fairly late in the history of dt.net/bb, there were a review thread where users would suggest songs, and me and one other user would write reviews.  This was the first song I reviewed, and I remember a lot of people were surprised by my very favorable review of the song and 7/10 rating.  Wish I could remember all the points I made.  Anyhow, to return to my fanboyism, how cool is it that we are now so far down the list that there are only 28 songs in the entire DT catalog that I like less than this song, and I still consider it a 7/10?  Yeah.  That cool. 

[TAC]

19.  Endless Sacrifice - I'm a pretty ardent defender of DT's instrumental sections.  For the most part they are really cool.  The one in Endless Sacrifice is fairly cool as well.  BUT IT HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH THE REST OF THE SONG WHATSOEVER.  It feels completely disjointed and kills the awesome mood the lyrics and music work up so beautifully.  I just feel like this song suffers from split personality disorder.  And for a band whose signature is taking disjointed musical passages and somehow making them work together, I'm not sure what exactly goes wrong with this song.  I just know it doesn't work for me.  This song is two awesome songs that have no business being together.  ...

Umm..

  ...but I have to say, it does SLAY live.

OK then. There ya go!

[Another_Won]

20.  Anna Lee - I like this song.  I really do.  It's just that there are so many other songs I like more or would rather listen to more often than not.  I really hope they bring this out live again someday.  This is on my short list of bucket list songs.  If they ever bring it out, and I am not there to see it, I REALLY hope it gets filmed.  This song is almost criminally underrated.

You lost me here.  I can say that there are few, if any, DT songs I don't like at all but this is one of them.  I know some people like it which is fine, but not me.  IMO this should've been in your top/bottom 5.

[Ħ]

good

ew

ew

[TAC]

I'm not saying it sucks or that I don't like it, but Anna Lee is not even on my DT radar.

[LieLowTheWantedMan]

My 10 least favourite DT songs:

10. Another day
9. Hollow Years (FII version - the LaB version kicks ass)
8. Constant Motion
7. Light Fuse and Get Away
6. Disappear
5. The Ones Who Help to Set the Sun
4. This Dying Soul
3. You Not Me
2. Status Seeker

And my all time worst DT song:

1. Prophets of War

We're not a match  .

You bolded everything but the best songs on that list.

[bosk1]

Gettin' ready for some controversy in the not too distant future.  But for now...

22.  Overture 1928 - A pretty cool piece of music that I enjoy considerably.  But at the end of the day, it's just an overture.  It does its job and does it well, it is well written, and it's fun to listen to.  Not much more to say than that.

23.  Status Seeker - This is a fun little song.  It also took awhile to grow on me.  It's not as fun and adventurous as standard DT material, and somewhat sticks out like a sore thumb on WDADU as the blatant attempt to include something mainstream that could resemble a single.  But while I don't go out of my way to listen to it, I always find myself enjoying it when it's on.  I doubt I ever would have really given this song a chance if not for James performing it on WDADRU, so I am thankful that they did.  Much like Only A Matter Of Time, I really like the upbeat keyboards on the intro.  I also like the very upfront bass, with keyboard and guitar just setting the atmospher in the background early in the verses.  The vocal melodies are also quite good.  It's easy to see why this song gets so much flak, but there is a lot to enjoy.

23.  Caught In A Web - I used to absolutely abhor this song, one of the big reasons being Kevin's awful, out-of-tune-sounding keyboard patch, which just grates on me and drags the song down.  The mix on Awake also leaves the guitar and bass sounding very muddy.  But having been able to look past that, there are a lot of really cool things going on in this song.  It is one that I can finally say I like despite its flaws.  I am really looking forward to hearing it on the upcoming live DVD, and I was bummed they skipped it both times through my town last tour.

[wasteland]

A batch of songs I moderately like. I suggest checking 1993 performances of Status Seeker, if you havn't already. James sounds KILLER there. 

[?]

A batch of songs I moderately like.

Same here, no mindblowing masterpieces but all the 3 were good enough to be in my top 50.

[Ħ]

I agree with your former self that CIAW is indeed abhorrent.

[wasteland]

Another Awake song I used to dislike before hearing it performed in 2012. The ADTOE tour accomplished much indeed.

[bosk1]

In case people start to think this has died, it hasn't.  I'm slammed at work for the next few days, so I'm holding off until I can take my time and type out good descriptions.  Stay tuned...

[Another_Won]

In case people start to think this has died, it hasn't.  I'm slammed at work for the next few days, so I'm holding off until I can take my time and type out good descriptions.  Stay tuned...

we should see something soon?  maybe this week?

[hefdaddy42]

Looking forward to it, boss.

[bosk1]

Okay, I'm back.  Last week's schedule was just brutal through Thursday, and then once it was over, I took some much-needed time off.  So...on with the show.

24.  Status Seeker - This song gets a lot of grief, and I have to say that while I was once on that bandwagon, I think the grief if undeserved.  It's an upbeat, fun little song, and one where Charlie's vocals actually fit the song.  The song structure is relatively simple, and that's fine.  If they tried to do too much with this song, I doubt it would have elevated the song.  It's just fine as is.  Not the best song on WDADU by any stretch, but it's a fun listen, and I enjoy it whenever it's on.  The bass line during the verses is nice and moves the song along.  The vocal melodies are interesting and well-thought out (which isn't the case for some of the songs on this album).  I don't know--it just works.

25.  Wither - I never really got all the gushing over this song when Black Clouds came out.  There is certainly nothing wrong with the song, but it never really excited me all that much either.  I like the subject matter.  And it is tightly written and has nice atmosphere.  I can't really put my finger on anything that really strikes me as a negative.  In fact, I can't even really say I dislike anything about the song.  But there are just so many other songs in the DT catalog that I prefer.

26.  Honor Thy Father - Parts of this song are stellar.  And that's nothing in the song that I would consider bad.  It just feels disjointed.  It is just SUCH an angry song that I personally find that all the prog-ness of the changes and different parts seems to clash with the angry metal-ness of the song.  This is one song where I feel like the prog side and the metal side of DT are fighting against each other rather than working together with one another.  But then again, when I'm in the mood for that kind of thing, this song hits the spot. 


Given the long break, I'll have more up shortly...

[Ruba]

Status Seeker is great, but I like your write-up.

HTF and Wither would find themselves from my bottom 50.

[Zydar]

Status Seeker!

[Perpetual Change]

I really, really hate Honor Thy Father. I liked it musically, until I realized what it was about. There's just something so disarming about such a hateful song written by someone who's main lyrical contribution to DT has been a saga of songs about learning humility and forgiveness, that I can't take it seriously. For me, HtF is right up there with "Never Enough" in the "Never Again" category.

Which is a shame because musically it is really, really good.

[mikaelslover]

Okay, I'm back.  Last week's schedule was just brutal through Thursday, and then once it was over, I took some much-needed time off.  So...on with the show.

24.  Status Seeker - This song gets a lot of grief, and I have to say that while I was once on that bandwagon, I think the grief if undeserved.  It's an upbeat, fun little song, and one where Charlie's vocals actually fit the song.  The song structure is relatively simple, and that's fine.  If they tried to do too much with this song, I doubt it would have elevated the song.  It's just fine as is.  Not the best song on WDADU by any stretch, but it's a fun listen, and I enjoy it whenever it's on.  The bass line during the verses is nice and moves the song along.  The vocal melodies are interesting and well-thought out (which isn't the case for some of the songs on this album).  I don't know--it just works.

25.  Wither - I never really got all the gushing over this song when Black Clouds came out.  There is certainly nothing wrong with the song, but it never really excited me all that much either.  I like the subject matter.  And it is tightly written and has nice atmosphere.  I can't really put my finger on anything that really strikes me as a negative.  In fact, I can't even really say I dislike anything about the song.  But there are just so many other songs in the DT catalog that I prefer.

26.  Honor Thy Father - Parts of this song are stellar.  And that's nothing in the song that I would consider bad.  It just feels disjointed.  It is just SUCH an angry song that I personally find that all the prog-ness of the changes and different parts seems to clash with the angry metal-ness of the song.  This is one song where I feel like the prog side and the metal side of DT are fighting against each other rather than working together with one another.  But then again, when I'm in the mood for that kind of thing, this song hits the spot. 


Given the long break, I'll have more up shortly...

Gettin' ready for some controversy in the not too distant future.  But for now...

22.  Overture 1928 - A pretty cool piece of music that I enjoy considerably.  But at the end of the day, it's just an overture.  It does its job and does it well, it is well written, and it's fun to listen to.  Not much more to say than that.

23.  Status Seeker - This is a fun little song.  It also took awhile to grow on me.  It's not as fun and adventurous as standard DT material, and somewhat sticks out like a sore thumb on WDADU as the blatant attempt to include something mainstream that could resemble a single.  But while I don't go out of my way to listen to it, I always find myself enjoying it when it's on.  I doubt I ever would have really given this song a chance if not for James performing it on WDADRU, so I am thankful that they did.  Much like Only A Matter Of Time, I really like the upbeat keyboards on the intro.  I also like the very upfront bass, with keyboard and guitar just setting the atmospher in the background early in the verses.  The vocal melodies are also quite good.  It's easy to see why this song gets so much flak, but there is a lot to enjoy.

24.  Caught In A Web - I used to absolutely abhor this song, one of the big reasons being Kevin's awful, out-of-tune-sounding keyboard patch, which just grates on me and drags the song down.  The mix on Awake also leaves the guitar and bass sounding very muddy.  But having been able to look past that, there are a lot of really cool things going on in this song.  It is one that I can finally say I like despite its flaws.  I am really looking forward to hearing it on the upcoming live DVD, and I was bummed they skipped it both times through my town last tour.

he hates status seeker so much he includes it twice

[bosk1]

he hates status seeker so much he includes it twice

If you think I "hate" that song, you didn't really read what I wrote.  But, yeah, thanks for pointing out that I messed up the list.  Just goes to show how rushed I was when I did the last one before I took the little break.  Looks like that's where I made the numbering mistake.  Anyhow, it's fixed now.  Should make more sense.

[bosk1]

Since we're getting back on track anyway...  Next 3:

27.  The Ytse Jam - Nothing "wrong" with this song at all, so any assumption that I dislike it by having it rank so low isn't really accurate.  But again, I tend to rank instrumentals a bit lower.  This is a classic.  But it is also raw in the sense of showing that the band were still young and figuring out how to make their formula work.  This song works, but has some rough edges.  Definitely a great live song.

28.  Blind Faith - Instrumentally, there are some truly standout moments.  Jordan's piano break, for example, is breathtaking.  But some of the instrumetation feels kind of...just "there."  And the lyrics do nothing for me.  This is a very rare example of lyrics detracting from a song that otherwise might rank as much as 20 spots or so higher.

29.  The Dance of Eternity - This instrumental really brings the "wow" factor.  All the amazing instrumental gymnastics that DT had previously been known for were taken to a previously unprecedented level here.  And the tie-ins and just sick tweaking of Metropolis pt. 1 and other SFAM references are really cool.  In the context of the album, TDOE is a nice break in the story and a clever way of moving the story forward without the use of lyrics.  But as a standalone song, I find that the replay value has faded over the years.  Even in a live setting, I would much prefer almost any other DT instrumental.

[Onno]

Oh wow. Blind Faith is way too low IMO. The others are okay. About your previous update: Status Seeker would probably have been even lower in my list.

[Perpetual Change]

I've seen a few complaints about the Blind Faith lyrics, but I could never really figure out what was wrong with them. I have no idea what the song is about, but the words sound good to me.

[Marion Crane]

Oh wow....Blind Faith is a top 5 song for me.  Mainly because of the lyrics and instrumental section

[Scorpion]

Alright, I understand Ytse Jam and Dance of Eternity, but such a low placement for Blind Faith honestly leaves me baffled. It's a Top 10 song for me and my favourite song off of Six Degrees, easily. It's amazing musically and I really like the lyrics as well; on top of that, the song has a certain atmosphere that makes it unique in DT's catalogue.

Oh well, each to their own, I suppose.

[bosk1]

It definitely is unique, but that doesn't necessarily make it "good."  I just don't like it.  It is ranked only that high because of some quality instrumental parts, such as the aforementioned piano break.  Otherwise, definitely a lower tier song for me.