TPOF's Overly Wordy Top 50

[Lucien]

If it's space-dye vest...

[Shadow Ninja 2.0]

Space-Dye Vest is totally worthy of being number 1. Probably wouldn't be mine, though.

[Lucien]

When I get around to making my Top 50, everyone will guess what my #1 is only to be COMPLETELY baffled by what it actually will be

[Shadow Ninja 2.0]

No! Not.....RAW DOG!!!!???!?!?!?!

[Lucien]

No! Not.....RAW DOG!!!!???!?!?!?!

I don't think that will even be on the list. However, if it is, I'll call it Dream Theater's version of By-tor and the Snow Dog

[Shadow Ninja 2.0]

Hmmm... Well then, I await your list.

[The Presence of Frenemies]

Raw Dog is not my #1 either.

[Lucien]

Raw Dog is not my #1 either.

[Shadow Ninja 2.0]

Raw Dog is not my #1 either.

I am disappointed, but not surprised.

You haven't had Learning To Live yet, so that's a possibility. Also, The Great Debate and Surrounded.

Or, for something really unexpected, Through Her Eyes.

[Lucien]

Raw Dog is not my #1 either.

I am disappointed, but not surprised.

You haven't had Learning To Live yet, so that's a possibility. Also, The Great Debate and Surrounded.

Or, for something really unexpected, Through Her Eyes.

#3.) Learning To Live


Ummmm....

[Shadow Ninja 2.0]

Ohhhhhh.......

[Lucien]

And for something REALLY unexpected...









Through My Words.

[GasparXR]

Ohhhhhh.......

Maybe you meant Breaking All Illusions.

[Shadow Ninja 2.0]

Damn it, guys!













....I need to pay closer attention to what I'm reading

[425]

Also he had Surrounded at #24.

[Shadow Ninja 2.0]

Well, then he just can't have a number one! All the good ones are taken!

[Lucien]

I will either be VERY surprised or not surprised at all.

[?]

Space-Dye Vest is totally worthy of being number 1.

QFT.

[Scorpion]

ItNoG is amazing and completely deserving of such a high spot. It was the first DT song that I heard and it hooked me - not instantly, but slowly and surely, so that might have something to do with appreciation though.

Also much love for the other picks! Ministry is great and gets far, far too much hate, though I wouldn't rank it quite this high, but it's aweseom nevertheless to see some appreciation.

[Ruba]

If it's space-dye vest...

FTFM.

ACOS is much better than Octavarium IMO, and having ITPOE in your top 5 is great, it's my number one, and an underrated track.

[Dream Team]

I&W with 7 songs in the top 25, gotta love that. It also easily won the album poll.

[MoraWintersoul]

If it's space-dye vest...

Fixed it for me

[Sycsa]

See, I'm in the same boat as TPOF. I enjoy every part of SDOIT, except for the Overture and Losing Time, but due to their vastly different moods and the lack of transitions in most cases, I find it very hard to listen to it in one sitting. I prefer listening to parts of the song - aside from WIMH/TTTSTA, which belong together, they all work as standalone pieces very well, even better than in the context of Six Degrees (the song).

I completely agree with this. I hate it when people talk about Six Degrees like it's one song. It's not. It's fine to listen to in one sitting, but each part is its own song, and I think of them as individual DT songs. And they generally work better on their own than with their transitions, save for WIMH.

It is, whether you think it works as one or not. It is a song. Personally, I have never once listened to it in sections, only as a whole (and it's my #1 or #2 DT song, so that's a lot).

While it's futile to argue whether SDOIT is a song or not (if the band says it is, then it is), I still have to mention two things:
- they always play War Inside My Head and The Test independently
- most of the transitions aren't smooth, especially About to Crash (reprise). If that doesn't sound like the start of an independent song, nothing does.
For me, SDOIT is more of a concept album and just a tad bit more of a single song than SFAM or the 12SS.

[BlobVanDam]

1. They've played sections of ACOS in the same manner (see OIALT).
2. They play it in sections because otherwise they simply would never get to play it at all, being FORTY TWO MINUTES and all.

But semantics aside, I don't really care what it's classified as, whether it's a suite, or a song, I still consider it among the very best music the band has ever written.

[Elite]

A couple of guesses for your #1:

- Space-Dye Vest
- Misunderstood
- The Great Debate

If it's the latter, I'll love you.

[The Presence of Frenemies]

#1.) The Killing Hand

Probably couldn't have called this one, right?

Let me get something out of the way: I'm not really talking about the album version (though that version does show the song's potential). It is the live versions with James that really show how truly huge The Killing Hand is.

It's not so much James himself--well, in the '92-'93 versions, it is, as he delivers the most mindblowing performance of his career on the track. But it says something that he struggled through the song post-accident and it was still incredible, thanks to reworked instrumentation. That's not one, but two different versions that each are tremendous--I can't think of another DT song that succeeded so profoundly in two different arrangements.

The best thing about The Killing Hand is how much it packs into an eight-minute runtime. There are verses upon verses upon verses, and all sorts of instrumental breaks too. The arrangment feels so much more epic in scope than a lot of DT's longer tracks, because the musical journey is so much more intricate. And even though there are so many different feels in there, it all feels natural together.

James' vocals on the '93 era version are obviously a huge highlight, and the instrumental work from all four members also shines brightly (How great is the unison before the final verse?!). JP also adds that huge solo in the middle of the final verse in the '96 version that's one of his absolute best.

Overall, this song showcases all five members at the height of their musicianship, while having the most interesting, inventive, and satisfying arrangement they ever came up with. Underproduced, undersung album version aside, this song shines brighter than any other DT highlight when given a treatment that brings out its full potential.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hope you all enjoyed the list! I enjoyed bringing it to you.

[Shadow Ninja 2.0]

 




Never saw that coming! Great song, though. I've really enjoyed this list, good job! :

[BlobVanDam]

Well as far as WDADU songs go, I'm not going to rage too hard, especially as you're going by the IaW era JLB versions, which are about as good as WDADU gets.

Can't say I agree with it, but definitely an interesting and unexpected choice!

[?]

Never saw that coming! Great song, though. I've really enjoyed this list, good job! :

[Lucien]

Wow.

[nobloodyname]

Oooh, I like your choice. Very unexpected. Good tune (although I refer to the original rather than the Reunite version with JLB wailing all over it).

[Dream Team]

Great choice. Love the beautiful WDADRU version as well as Marquee.

To your other point, it would be great to have some short prog songs on the new Dream Theater. It seems lately that anything shorter than 8 minutes is the ballad or metal number. Would love to see them pack some prog craziness into a 4 to 6 minute arrangement.

[Elite]

I almost thought of adding that to my list of expected songs, nice choice!

[Lucien]

Great choice. Love the beautiful WDADRU version as well as Marquee.

To your other point, it would be great to have some short prog songs on the new Dream Theater. It seems lately that anything shorter than 8 minutes is the ballad or metal number. Would love to see them pack some prog craziness into a 4 to 6 minute arrangement.

Like The Dance of Eternity?

[Meatrose]

Posted in the wrong thread. Feel free to remove the post. :3