Along for the Ride Discussion Thread

[XB0BX]

Is it possible that the reason for the continued loudness is that Petrucci and crew listen to the mix on a world-class sound system in the studio, thereby distorting their idea of the way the mix will sound to the masses?

The first thing they teach you about recording is to listen to your music on the crappiest speaker you can find. If you can make it sound good on that, it'll sound good on anything.

[(nothing)]

Is it possible that the reason for the continued loudness is that Petrucci and crew listen to the mix on a world-class sound system in the studio, thereby distorting their idea of the way the mix will sound to the masses?

The first thing they teach you about recording is to listen to your music on the crappiest speaker you can find. If you can make it sound good on that, it'll sound good on anything.

Lolwut?!

Replace "crappiest speaker you can find" with "decent studio monitors" and that might be closer to the truth

Checking your mixes across systems is a different story.

[ResultsMayVary]

After these too singles I'm not happy about the sound. I thought that with ADTOE the took a step into right direction dynamic wise, but they've seem to have taken a step back towards the compression of SC.  This is way too compressed. There's absolutely no difference in volume/impact between the acoustic intro and the rest of song. Thus resulting in weak and small overall sound.

Remember you are listening to a stream of a song and the CD version will be a lot better than a stream, which are notoriously compressed to hell to begin with.

[Dark Castle]

In my opinion the notion that loud albums sound better on cheap headphones and laptop speakers is mostly a myth. There's some truth to it but the line has been crossed a long time ago. A good mix should sound good on any device.

I'm not talking about making it loud, I'm saying that a good mix engineer knows how to make it sound good on any device, and a good mix engineer also knows what your customer wants to hear.

[Tis BOOLsheet]

Can someone recommend a really great sounding mix that is musically comparable to AFTR?

[DarkLord_Lalinc]

Familiar to DT fans? Check any post-Lightbulb Sun Porcupine Tree/Steven Wilson mix. That's a quick reference that comes to mind. Amazing mixes.

[Lark the Starless]

I've listened to AFTR about 4 times and it's not doing much for me....

Reminds me a bit of TITL from ADTOE (which, funnily enough, is my least favorite song from that album).

I'm sure it'll grow on me once I listen to the full album and experience it as a whole.

So far, TEI > AFTR.

[gmillerdrake]

Is it possible that the reason for the continued loudness is that Petrucci and crew listen to the mix on a world-class sound system in the studio, thereby distorting their idea of the way the mix will sound to the masses?

The first thing they teach you about recording is to listen to your music on the crappiest speaker you can find. never talk about recording!! If you can make it sound good on that, it'll sound good on anything.

Jeez.....you're gonna get our club in trouble.

[mabowe]

I think we're getting "punked" with this. Why would they ever bury those backing vocals so deep?  They are amazing! And yes I have an amazing system to listen to this on.,

[Marion Crane]

I gotta say....as a DT fan of close to 20 years, I don't know of I've ever listened to a song this much first day since The Glass Prison first leaked. I've probably listened atleast 15 times so far. I am in love with this song. Is it perfect? No. Could the drums sound better? Absolutely. Is it possible we are all putting the drums under a microscope because this is MM's first true go round with DT? Most likely.

We all heard new DT music today. We didn't get to yesterday. Let's just all appreciate that.

[Implode]

I just listened to it one time, and I don't want to burn it out so I won't be repeating it at all.

I thought it was OK.   I don't get the people saying "most memorable chorus since X"...it was catchy, but I think DT's been doing that for a long time.   And I thought Beneath the Surface was a *FAR* better ballad.    I did notice that the solo was nearly identical, which was a bit off-putting. 

Seriously never got how some people hate BTS, I think it may be my *all time* favorite DT ballad...up there with TSCO anyway.    This new was is a bit more typical.    Other than it was a bit more "noisy" and not as subdued. 

I'll give it a couple more listens after the album comes out.   It was good but not *OMG* good.   I'm still excited for the new album.

You put it perfectly. Agreed on everything.

[Ben_Jamin]

I'm really warming up to the moog solo intro. JLB's vocals are great now I listened more closely to his parts. Mike Mangini is excellent and JP's solo is great. I really enjoy the chugging riff and the vocal melody under it. The abrupt ending is a bit weird but I can get used to it within the context of the album.

[atmyne]

I'm getting the vibe that this is another big fan splitting album. But now that DT have more fans than ever, and more people than ever are expressing their opinion over the internet, the disdain for this album will be far more prominent, so fans shouldn't get so uptight that people are talking smack about these singles (and the album when it comes out) and just judge the music for themselves first.
Both songs have sounded pretty good to me so far, especially considering that they are singles. I don't mind the drums or synths etc. at all. Haters gonna hate.

[LTE3]

I really like this song's length. It's a little longer than your standard ballad, but not so long that it becomes repeating/boring. It would have made a great little section in an epic.

I would love to be banned

What were not allowed any jokes or humor on the forum?

[Shadow Ninja 2.0]

wut

[adastra]

After couple of listens I have to say that I love this song!
I dont know anything about drumsounds , but IMO  there's nothing wrong with the drums xD  they sound great!
But I have to say that the keyboard solo is as shit as it gets.   IMO JR should have played the same solo but with piano ur sumthing It stands out too much.. Doesn't even feel like it was meant to be there.

[LTE3]

Drums sound nothing like I&W or any album for that matter. It is weird it's as if Mangini didn't even use cymbals. I have an excellent system with high end headphones and really no hi hat is evident at all, most cymbal hits are in audible and the snare sounds like a deadened tom. WTF I hope it is just this song and or recording.

[theanalogkid7]

All the complaining about this single, and even TEI to an extent.... It reminds of this song I heard one time.  Something about it being never enough... I don't know, I forget.   

[Dacling]

The song definitely has it's flaws but I think we should all stop for a second. Is this literally the happiest sounding song DT has ever written? I am trying to think bank and nothing comes to mind as being this happy at least.

[Theme Dreater]

Best part is definitely Myung, IMO. Other than that, I'm pretty underwhelmed and unimpressed. Maybe it'll grow on me though, TEI sure did. I wish Richard Chycki hadn't told MM how to tune his snare drum...it's really not sitting well with me on TEI or AFTR.

[chwik]

JP from the interview with Grammy:

Some fans expressed concern when my recent report on the new album mentioned how the new songs were more catchy. Do you think they worry that the new music won't be the same thing that they originally fell in love with?
"I think it's really hard to describe music without alienating somebody. You can say that this album sounds a lot heavier, and people would say that sucks. Some people might be really happy about that. Or you could say it's a lot more melodic, and people could get mad like you said. To me, that mentality where it's one or the other drives me nuts. To give you an example as a guitar player, there has always been this argument, like these two sides where guitar players can only be technical or play with feeling, it's one or the other. But to me that makes no sense whatsoever. My favorite guitar players have both. Just because you have developed the craft on your instrument doesn't mean that you don't have the ability to be expressive emotionally on that instrument, or vice versa. Just because something is melodic or catchy doesn't mean that it doesn't have depth and substance and progressive sensibilities. Just because something is very technical or heavy doesn't mean that it's not melodic. You know what I mean? To me, it's not one or the other. That's part of the progressive spirit, that's part of the spirit of Dream Theater — we try to keep all of those elements in mind when we write."

I totally agree with this. This is why I really like Dream Theater. You get the whole emotional spectre in their catalogue.

[Bolsters]

That's a fucking good answer.

[Moor]

In case someone is interested here is the lyrics (that may contain mistakes):

At this moment words fail me
And my vision's unclear
Blind to the truth
Like hands reaching out in the darkness

I can't stop the world from turning around
Or the pull of the moon on the tide
But I don't believe that we're in this alone
I believe we're along for the ride
I believe we're along for the ride

Through the gift of surrender
I'm embracing the fight
Breaking the code
There's clarity on the horizon

I can't stop the world from turning around
Or the pull of the moon on the tide
But I don't believe that we're in this alone
I believe we're along for the ride
I believe we're along for the ride

I will not live under a shadow of fear
Never be crippled by chaos and doubt
Fall prey to your madness

I am not shattered
Out of the ashes I rise
Knowing that nothing is stronger than faith
Finding hope in our hopeless lives

I can't stop the world from turning around
Or the pull of the moon on the tide
But I don't believe that we're in this alone
I believe we're along for the ride

I can't stop the world from turning around
Or the pull of the moon on the tide
But I don't believe that we're in this alone
I believe we're along for the ride
I believe we're along for the ride
I believe we're along for the ride

[Moor]

The song is awesome !
In 4 and a half minutes DT managed to deliver us (i) beautiful guitar work (the acoustic intro is magical and the distorted guitar reminded me a lot of Cynic), (ii) very deep and touching lyrics, (iii) awesome ELP moog solo with a great bass backing, and (iv) some emotional moments such as the 2nd "I believe we're along for the ride" and the bridge.

I can also feel some I&W vibes. I am kind of confused with the drums sound! I have never heard such drums sound on a DT song  .

[Nel_Annette]

Wait, Along For The Ride is a song?!  I've honestly been assuming it was the name of a DT documentary. I don't know why.

I've... not really been paying attention to the build up to this album. 

[Outcrier]

It's the name of the tour too 

[aurorablind]

I´ve been listening to this song about 10 times now.

Im not very fond of the sound of the drums, but i´ve started to get used to it.

Some things i want to point out:

- The song is really good! From a songwriting-standpoint, it´s very well arranged, and catchy as hell.
- The people who say this isn´t technical enough are stupid. For a ballad, it´s technical as hell, but tastefully executed.
- Drum-sound aside, i love the drumming on this song. At first i thought it was a bit "over the top", but it´s in fact very musical. Mangini is a master at complementing the other instrumentalists in a song. He articulates different key-aspects of every instrument. Im certain that this album will be the best drum-album DT has done sine 6DOIT.
- James is a bit reserved, but he sings his heart out. Im personally a bigger fan of his midrangy/mature-voice than his wailing.
- The bass sound and playing during the keyboard-solo is just perfect.
- The keyboard-solo was a bit odd at first, but i like it much better now. I love vintage moog-sounds, and i don´t get why people complain that the same sound was used on BTS. Jordan used the same solo-patch for his entire Kurzweil-period (SFAM, 6DOIT, TOT), so why do people complain that he uses the same sound on TWO songs?

The things i don´t like so much:
- For the third time - The drums are way much "in your face" and the cymbals kind of get lost in the mix. I would have liked a more organic drum sound.
- The vocals sound a bit artificial at times.
- Im not sure if i like when Mangini doubles the time on the last chorus. The rest of the band doesen´t follow him, and it stands out as a bit wierd.

I give this song 4/5. I probably like TEI better, but this is a good song, and one of the better ballads they have done in a while.

 

[LieLowTheWantedMan]

I really like this song's length. It's a little longer than your standard ballad, but not so long that it becomes repeating/boring. It would have made a great little section in an epic.

I would love to be banned

What were not allowed any jokes or humor on the forum?

That happens if you have your censor on in your options. If you turn it off it'll appear normally.

[noxon]

Just as a sidenote; i realized recently that most (all?) of the listening parties were using the 5.1 mix when they showcased the CD.

[Meatrose]

It seems so. We got to listen to the 5.1 mix in Stockholm. Back then I could only evaluate the differences between the mixes on The Enemy Inside since that was the only song that I had heard before but the difference was pretty big. James' vocals were a lot clearer in the 5.1 mix.

[cyberdrummer]

Yeah I also heard the 5.1 mix.

I can't be bothered to read all 9 pages that I missed overnight, but I'll just address the point I've seen made a few times about MM not bringing anything new to DT drumming: just wait...

[Aquila Chrysaetos]

OK song. Nothing special. Definitely got a TITL and BTS vibe. Hopefully the album is better than the two singles.

After two listens this is my conclusion as well.

[RodrigoAltaf]

What does TITL stand fir again?

[BlobVanDam]

What does TITL stand fir again?

This Is The Life (ADTOE). We really do take our acronym knowledge for granted.

[Zydar]

I don't know if this has been answered already, but will this one also be purchased and downloadable through iTunes?