Along for the Ride Discussion Thread

[soulburner]

I really, really like this song. I must complain about the production, though. I understand it's on Soundcloud and that alone makes it not sound too good, but all the brickwall limiting, clipping, pumping and whatever is not important. I can got used to the snare drum sound, too. The thing that made me scratch my head and think about what I just heard is... the soft, mellow intro has the same loudness as the later part with the whole band playing. That's overcompression too. There should be a difference between acoustic guitar with some keys and heavy guitars, drums and bass. The song has pretty much the same loudness throughout which killed any emotional effects it could have aside from the melody and lyrics.

HDTracks or I'll be very, very angry and sad.

But I love this song... and this fact causes a problem. If I can't stand the production so much... I could simply not buy the album. But I love the band and I like what I've heard so far, musically, and it sucks even more.

[LKap13]

Enjoying the song.

Opening riff sounds a bit like SymX's Candlelight Fantasia 

[LKap13]

Indeed, as the distorted guitar kicks in, SX's When All is Lost can be recalled

[Ben_Jamin]

Really great song. Its got nice atmosphere. The guitar harmony, and jlbs background vocal solo is top notch, I hope he decides to sing that live while JP sings the main vocal melody.

I do agree JLB sounded underwhelming,

Damn those orchestrations, reminds me of the end of BAI and Another Day, it was good.

Overall,  its a good ballad that I feel is placed at the right spot on the album.

[Meatrose]

I like it a lot actually. It's growing on me.

I don't have a problem with the drum sound. Sure, it's not perfect in my opinion but I absolutely love it when the guitar and the drums jump in for the second verse. I also don't have a problem with Jordan's lead sound and I enjoy this solo more than the one in BTS. The one thing I would have wished for is a more exciting vocal melody for the chorus but it's still a really good ballad that's going to fit in perfectly right before Illumination Theory.

[LKap13]

On first impression, it's a very strong song. The keyboard solo does feel to be a bit "pointless" -- I'm not sure it adds anything to the song.

[MoraWintersoul]

lolwut

ahahahahha brilliant

I like the Moog, and the amount of stuff going on; the lyrics appear to be fine as well. I'm not as sold on the vocal lines and the orchestration, but this is better than any ADTOE ballad easily.

Better than Beneath The Surface? Highly unlikely.

I like BTS a little better then the other two ADTOE ballads, but mostly it's about the lyrics (best JP lyrics in the last five years) and Jordan's solo, musically and melodically it's a bit too bright and happy in a way I don't like. AFTR has more stuff going on and it feels better to me. FFH and TITL, however, have barely any redeeming values.

I'm a miserable human being and you can shoot me

[Shadow Ninja 2.0]

Well, I wasn't planning anything so serious, but if you insist...

[Marion Crane]

I like this one a little more than Beneath the Surface.  I don't really count Far From Heaven, and I thought This is the Life was garbage

[JRuless]

like the quality of the dutch stream on https://www.lustforlifemagazine.nl/
with my Sennheiser HD380 reference headphone it sounds much clearer than the Soundcloud.

Something different from DT to my ears for years!

[ronrule]

I'm not sure James does really exciting, or what I might call "acrobatic", vocal melodies anymore. My theory is that acrobatic vocal melodies are a Petrucci thing and when James has a significant role in writing them he tends to take the easiest path through the woods that is DT's instrumentation. They aren't bad, they just don't take many risks or jump back and forth between different registers. I think they'd probably describe this as more mature songwriting with a cohesive through-line. Or "soaring."

[Naikon]

Anyone got backup link? Cant listen to it here in Sweden

[Tomislav95]

First listen - good sounding popish song, nothing wrong about it. It's good but I can't compare it to ADTOE ballads, they are too different.
Intro reminded me to TKH.

[nicbor87]

Anyone got backup link? Cant listen to it here in Sweden

The original link is blocked here in Germany, this one works:
https://www.grammy.com/news/grammycom-exclusive-first-listen-dream-theater

[MoraWintersoul]

Observation concerning the solo remarks: most of what a solo adds to a song is, well, a solo. There have been immaculately-composed solos in the history of rock music that served as climaxes and pinnacles and tear-inducing pieces, but these are more generally an exception than a rule. I think it's more about how the song around the solo is composed than anything else, to be honest - not every song can have a spectacular "release".

not to say I don't like solos, most of the music I listen to has 'em, but not every solo can be Hotel California.

[Naikon]

Anyone got backup link? Cant listen to it here in Sweden

The original link is blocked here in Germany, this one works:
https://www.grammy.com/news/grammycom-exclusive-first-listen-dream-theater

Cant listen there either, looks like some kind of server is down

[OsMosis2259]

After three listens, I like it. It seems like the right choice for a second single and is put in the good place within the album.

[nikatapi]

like the quality of the dutch stream on https://www.lustforlifemagazine.nl/
with my Sennheiser HD380 reference headphone it sounds much clearer than the Soundcloud.

Something different from DT to my ears for years!

Indeed the stream is much better. For those using Chrome, you can use Hola Unblocker which is an extension to bypass region restrictions.

[chrisbDTM]

i like it. pretty much textbook DT. lyrics are iffy

[theseoafs]

This song was alright.  It wasn't as immediately likeable as TEI but I have a feeling it'll translate better live.  The guys were really channeling Rush this time, which is pretty cool.

Gotta say that I really dislike the drum sound.  It worked alright for TEI, but here they just sound triggered and robotic.

[Ben_Jamin]

On first impression, it's a very strong song. The keyboard solo does feel to be a bit "pointless" -- I'm not sure it adds anything to the song.

Its good, I just don't like how abrupt it comes in.

I finally figured it out.....it reminds me of Back On The Ground.

[ResultsMayVary]

The drums don't bother me at all. I like that little guitar lead Petrucci does just after the two minute mark. And LaBrie's vocal solo towards the end is awesome. I like this song just as much as TEI at this point. Both receive thumbs up 

[Voices]

I am amazed. The song just brought tears to my eyes...it is really deep and beautiful, and also there's some heaviness in it, that makes the song shine. Dream Theater never disappoints me.

[The Stray Seed]

The drums don't bother me at all. I like that little guitar lead Petrucci does just after the two minute mark. And LaBrie's vocal solo towards the end is awesome. I like this song just as much as TEI at this point. Both receive thumbs up 

[wasteland]

The drums don't bother me at all. I like that little guitar lead Petrucci does just after the two minute mark. And LaBrie's vocal solo towards the end is awesome. I like this song just as much as TEI at this point. Both receive thumbs up 

I can't notice anything wrong with the drum sound. Looks like sometimes ignorance is bliss, would seem reading many posts here.

Also, the song is beautiful. Not as high as BTS in my ranking (very early ones, mind), but BTS is quite high, really.

[Naikon]

Nice song, I like it more than TEI! The only thing is that the drums sound a bit wierd in my ears, the snare sound doesnt fit. I expected the drums to be more laidback in this ballad.

[chrisbDTM]

there is some cool parts here and there. seems a bit of autopilot DT through most of it.


alot of hate going around for jordan's BTS lead sound. i dont mind it

[Zydar]

like the quality of the dutch stream on https://www.lustforlifemagazine.nl/
with my Sennheiser HD380 reference headphone it sounds much clearer than the Soundcloud.

Something different from DT to my ears for years!

Indeed the stream is much better. For those using Chrome, you can use Hola Unblocker which is an extension to bypass region restrictions.

Thanks!

[morkie]

Observation concerning the solo remarks: most of what a solo adds to a song is, well, a solo. There have been immaculately-composed solos in the history of rock music that served as climaxes and pinnacles and tear-inducing pieces, but these are more generally an exception than a rule. I think it's more about how the song around the solo is composed than anything else, to be honest - not every song can have a spectacular "release".

not to say I don't like solos, most of the music I listen to has 'em, but not every solo can be Hotel California.

This is so eloquently stated, thanks.

[GandL]

I like it very much, and get that ELP like Moog tone, beautiful.

About the toneeee of the drums, I tried 3 different headphones, with one of them it actually sounded good.

[?]

Nice song, I like it much more than TEI! My expectations for the album just got a bit higher I don't mind the BTS vibe at all, because that song is one of my favorite DT ballads ever.

[Meatrose]

Just listened to the dutch stream on a high end system and it sounds great.

[Hanz Gruber]

I like the song but for a Ballad it isn't as catchy as I hoped it would be.  I actually prefer "This is the Life" and Beneath the Surface over this one.

Even a middle of the road DT song is a good one though.  People keep mention Images and Words but this feels much more emotionless than something like Wait for Sleep, Surrounded, and Another Day. 

[T-ski]

The drums don't bother me at all. I like that little guitar lead Petrucci does just after the two minute mark. And LaBrie's vocal solo towards the end is awesome. I like this song just as much as TEI at this point. Both receive thumbs up 

I can't notice anything wrong with the drum sound. Looks like sometimes ignorance is bliss, would seem reading many posts here.

Also, the song is beautiful. Not as high as BTS in my ranking (very early ones, mind), but BTS is quite high, really.

just to compare drum sounds, listen to the original "Pull Me Under"... (triggered drum)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zC5XjT3shJ4

and the one re-recorded for the "Greatest Hit" album..... (not triggered drum)

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

the drum sound on "Along for the Ride" sounds dated, it's the sound a lot of DT wannabe's used in the 90's.  I personally don't care for it.

[chopperdudep]

Just wanna chime in saying that the Dutch stream sounds MUCH better. Still not redbook quality or anything, but it's an improvement over that soundcloud mess.

Also thanks to nikatapi for introducing me to Hola Unblocker!