425's Top 50 Dream Theater Songs v. Singularities

[ThatOneGuy2112]

One of DT's finest crafted songs. The intro and outro are just too good.

Regarding the lyrics, yeah they're cheesy as hell, but when I listen to it, I end up adding my own further interpretations and unspoken verses  on how the music and events in the story relate to each other. I don't really force that either, it's just something that happens.

[Outcrier]

One of DT's finest crafted songs. The intro and outro are just too good.

Yeah, they're good while Another World or Razor's Edge are fantastic (For DT).
The problem is the rest, it drags down the whole song and that's what makes me don't even put the song in my top 50.

[Shadow Ninja 2.0]

Great song, one of my favorites.

Also, I thought that you'd already included Octavarium, but since I noticed that you haven't, I expect to see it make an appearance.

[Outcrier]

What? I'm sorry, I love A Change of Seasons, but it hardly flows naturally. Maybe compared to the likes of Light Fuse and Get Away, but compared to The Count of Tuscany? I'm sorry, but I don't see it.

What? Are you out of your mind   
Well, i won't discuss that 

[Shadow Ninja 2.0]

I also disagree, ACOS is amazing, though it took a while to grow on me.

[Lucien]

A loooonnnnggg time for me.

[Crow]

The best epic that I don't consider top-50, if nothing else 
But ehh. I probably just don't get it. It's a good song but not one I return(ed) to often like 8vm or ACOS.

[ThatOneGuy2112]

One of DT's finest crafted songs. The intro and outro are just too good.

Yeah, they're good while Another World or Razor's Edge are fantastic (For DT).
The problem is the rest, it drags down the whole song and that's what makes me don't even put the song in my top 50.

The entire song is fantastic. Probably not as great as 8V or ACOS, but for me, the intro and outro are definite highlights to the track and are among the best DT moments. Ever.

[Tom Bombadil]

Wow, this is exactly where I had TCOT, so no complaints from me

[Laughingplace56]

3/3 for my second list

I had it at #4, just one under IT. I love them both, but IT gets the edge over TCOT for me. It's a gorgeous song though. The shining star of a mostly meh album.

I'm guessing 8VM is #2 and then maybe BAI at #1 which would be ludicrous IMO, but could be something else 

[425]

I love ACOS, but not on the top 10 or 20 level, and not enough to make me think that every transition in there flows naturally either...

Also, I thought that you'd already included Octavarium, but since I noticed that you haven't, I expect to see it make an appearance.

Probably you saw it in my album rankings, since I posted it two days ago as my #3 album.

[jakepriest]

TCOT flows a hundred times more naturally than ACoS. It's also a better song overall. 

[Crow]

Yeah, if nothing else TCOT does flow pretty well. Can't fault it for that, which is probably why I rank it higher than most of their epics.

[425]

Octavarium

5. Octavarium

I suppose this is kind of an obvious choice, but it's just SUCH A GOOD CHOICE.








2. Octavarium

A perfect sphere colliding with our fate
This story ends where it began



Images:
This is one of my very favorite Dream Theater songs. Every moment of music in this track is simply astounding, and the whole thing is actually better when taken as a singular, 24-minute composition. All the instrumentalists and songwriters deserve to be commended for writing such a masterpiece. James LaBrie is also one of the stars of this track, as he demonstrates his flexibility on the transition from Someone Like Him to Intervals. He hits the right tone for each part of the song, and that’s always been one of my favorite things about him.

An odd thing to mention is that this is one of those songs where I feel the music resembles the album art. This is most especially true of the intro and the part before the verses of Full Circle.

My favorite aspect of Octavarium, however, is the fact that the song is a massive buildup. It essentially follows the plot arc of a story, musically. Someone Like Him is the exposition, Medicate and Full Circle are rising action, Intervals is the climax and Razor’s Edge is the resolution. I simply adore how perfectly Dream Theater executed 19 minutes of buildup that make half a minute of music into one of the best half-minutes of music of all time, and then wrapped everything up with a bow on a gorgeous symphonic rock conclusion. This song is perfect.

I. Someone Like Him:
The intro to this epic is probably the best thing that Jordan has ever done.  The buildup of this song begins in the intro, and Jordan’s methodical choosing of melodies to play slowly on the continuum and lap steel guitar are absolutely necessary to the rest of the track. Not to mention that the section is just beautiful in itself. 2:40-3:17 is a particularly gorgeous section because it’s just musically gorgeous and it also develops one of the main themes of the song.

The full band intro is a massive moment that sets the epic tone for the later sections of the song while developing the main Octavarium theme (which is the same as the Medicate theme). Then, they take it back down again to continue this slow build they’ve been creating. John’s acoustic guitar and the flute solo lead well into the vocal section of Someone Like Him. James’s voice is simply beautiful on this part. This is one of many instances on this track alone of him hitting the right tone just perfectly. Though this section is very slow, it never gets boring thanks in large part to James, and it succeeds at building tension for the rest of the song. I also love how they get into a rock section briefly before returning to quiet James and then right into John Myung’s Medicate bass riff.

II. Medicate (Awakening):
As I just said, that bass riff. So much Myung. Then there’s Jordan setting up some beautiful melodies before James comes back in, again assuming an incredible tone that is perfect for the section. The chorus of this section is simply gorgeous, again I must mention James James James sounding so beautiful. The section goes excellently right into Full Circle.

III. Full Circle:
That damn Moog solo. Jordan is such a prog rock god. This solo is probably his best ever. It is so well written and so well placed. I love the way it picks up the energy. We’ve had two solid movements of build up, now it’s time to set sail. This is the section that most vividly resembles the album art to me. Jordan’s bleep ble blee ble boops under the verses are a perfect touch to complement James’s (again) excellent vocals. Mike also sounds top-notch on this chorus, I love the texture he brings to it. The instrumental section after the vocal part is done is another one of those excellent Dream Theater instrumental sections, one of the very best, actually. Every part is very well done and the section works together as a whole. The whole thing is even better in the context of the overall build up, because everything they play can be seen as a tease of building to a climax. This whole part just feels that way. It’s building so much tension in preparation for the final release that we know must come (unless they decided to pull a The Great Debate, which fortunately they didn’t).

IV. Intervals:
This bit is just killer. It is THE ultimate climax (and best moment in Dream Theater history). The slow build, Root to Octave. Oh my god. These guys are so perfect. James and Mike. Oh my god. The best part: “INNOCENT VICTIMS OF MERCILESS CRIMES”







Oh, and I never would forget...








TRAPPED INSIDE




THIS


OCT


A


VAR


I




UUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUM

Whee…. do dee do dee do

V. Razor’s Edge:
Do dee dee dee dee do duh DUM!

Mike Portnoy is such a versatile drummer. I love the way he drums under these more symphonic sections. And I love the symphonic section. The orchestral part is incredibly beautiful leading into and out of the last verse (which James delivers perfectly). Then John Petrucci takes it away. This is what music is meant to be like. John Petrucci playing such an epic solo with an orchestra playing such an epic outro. This is the meaning of life itself. This is… OCTAVARIUM.



And there’s one song I like more. So...

Words:
Screw the words. When the music is this perfect, screw the words.

But these are very good lyrics, actually. True, they don’t form a single narrative, but they do surround a single concept which works well with the music (which has distinct scenes that flow effortlessly into and out of each other. The first two sections are simply excellent. The lyrics have the emotion intended by their respective authors and depict it well. Full Circle is more on the eccentric side, but fitting enough with the musical stylings of the section, a great homage to DT’s influences (except Owen Wilson wtf) and fun to sing. Intervals is a return to lyrical brilliance, both for the brief song descriptions and for the idea of having Mike speak the numbers, Root to Octave, underneath James’s singing. Razor’s Edge is an eloquent conclusion to the theme. Overall, the lyrics to this song aren’t winning prizes, but it simply does not matter because the music is so perfect.





Album 1. Images and Words



Images and Words is, of course, my favorite Dream Theater album and current favorite album ever. The main reason for this (that puts it above all other DT albums) is the magnificent positivity, optimism and benevolence put into every song of the album. Only WDADU comes close in mood, and IAW simply outclasses that one compositionally by several orders of magnitude. Every one of these songs is just so beautifully benevolent, both musically and lyrically, while also being brilliant composition. This is one of those albums that’s not just once in a decade, but once in a career, and perhaps even once in a genre. In  my mind, this work represents the pinnacle of progressive music. This is why you saw all eight tracks make my top 50, with two being placed in my top 10 and four more in my top 20. I just love this album start to finish so much. It is a masterpiece.









EDIT: I'm curious... Are most of you uncertain as to what's coming or do you have a strong guess? D'y'all think I'm about to make waves or make a more conventional selection?

[Crow]

Breaking All Illusions is the only reasonable guess I have left. I honestly don't see what else it could be but I'm prepared to be surprised. I think there's a reason you skipped over it in your ADToE writeup, though~

[Outcrier]

This is one of those albums that's not just once in a decade, but once in a career, and perhaps even once in a genre. In  my mind, this work represents the pinnacle of progressive music. This is why you saw all eight tracks make my top 50, with two being placed in my top 10 and four more in my top 20. I just love this album start to finish so much. It is a masterpiece.

Well, DT have a couple of "those albums made once in a career" 

8V is my fav DT song so but from my perspective, things are gonna get weird the time your 1º song comes.

[Lucien]

Well, I doubt it will be as surprising as my #1 was.

[425]

Unless I pull out Cover My Eyes. Or Another Won.

Well, DT have a couple of "those albums made once in a career" 

8V is my fav DT song so but from my perspective, things are gonna get weird the time your 1º song comes.

Well, yes. I suppose at least SFAM, 8VM (IMO) and Awake also fall into that category.

And

[Crow]

My #1 was predictable as all hell but having a #2 nobody would've guessed was good enough I hope.
Though at the moment my #2 and #3 are switched I think. Maybe.

[425]

Yeah, looking back at your thread, your #2 was pretty insane. And I didn't think your #1 was too too predictable. I would put it no higher than the second tier of obvious choices (the first tier being basically LtL, 8VM, ACOS). And I definitely understand about things switching places—it's so hard to really come up with a solid "I like this song better," so rankings are always an approximation. Hell, tonight I came just inches away from moving Octavarium up to #1, but I thought about my #1 and decided that right now I like it just a hair better.

[Shadow Ninja 2.0]

Great choice. Can't argue with it.

[Outcrier]

Well, yes. I suppose at least SFAM, 8VM (IMO) and Awake also fall into that category.

I would say SDOIT but you already detonated the album 

[Laughingplace56]

4/4 AND I said it'd be #2 yesterday

This is my favorite from them so I'll take it at #2

I'm calling Breaking All Illusions as #1, though I don't see how that is even close to their best 

[425]

Well, yes. I suppose at least SFAM, 8VM (IMO) and Awake also fall into that category.

I would say SDOIT but you already detonated the album 

Ha! Yes, that I did.


Actually, I like the album, but there are just some songs on it that I don't really like too much (TGD, Disappear) and then there's the Misunderstood outro that kinda ruins one of the four that I do like, which leaves me with just three, and I only love TGP and SDOIT and only some of the time (like with something like 8VM I'm either in the mood for it in which case I love it or not in the mood for it in which case I'm mostly apathetic towards it; but with TGP and SDOIT, as well as Blind Faith, if I'm not in the mood for them I end up questioning why I ever liked them in the first place). Still it's NOT A BAD ALBUM since SDOIT+TGP is like half the album and then there's Blind Faith that I like and TGD which is actually good when I listen to it though in some ways frustrating (no effing climax!), to the point where I rarely go out of my way to hear it. Then Disappear and Misunderstood have aspects that annoy me to the point where I don't like often to listen to them (high-pitched keyboards on Disappear, outro on Misunderstood), but when I'm in a mood not be annoyed by all those things, I tend to like the songs.

All this to say, as I'm sure I've said before, that I do think it's a good album, like all the DT albums, but it barely beats out FII as the spottiest album of their career for me and is the only one that I really never listen to start to finish.

[Tom Bombadil]

Great picks for both 8VM and I&W. Honestly have no idea what your #1 will be so I'm excited to find out.

[Crow]

My #1 is outside of the super-predictable tier yeah but with how much I love Awake and how much I gush over the song always I think everyone saw it coming by the time my top 10 started :B
As for my list. I think 30 through 11 were all so very close that one song (Finally Free) was able to jump from 27ish to 14 in a short period of time. And then 5 through 1 I really all consider the #1 songs because there's sooo little difference between how much I love each of them.
Ranking songs is hard when there's a lot of good ones, haha.

[Sacul]

I'd say Lifting Shadows off a Dream, The Best of Times or The Root of all Evil.

[Lucien]

If it were TRoAE I would be very surprised.

[Shadow Ninja 2.0]

I honestly can't see it being anything but Breaking All Illusions.

Now he's probably going to pick something else just to spite me.

[Outcrier]

I love ACOS, but not on the top 10 or 20 level, and not enough to make me think that every transition in there flows naturally either...

Maybe i was trying to say ACOS "feels" like a epic, taking the listener into a journey (cheesy, i know).

[425]

I'd say Lifting Shadows off a Dream, The Best of Times or The Root of all Evil.

lolwutno





This choice for #1 came to be in that place only very recently. My top 10 has undergone a lot of revisions since I made the list and even as I've been posting it. One thing was a constant for most of the time, though: Learning to Live was my number one. It was the first song from Dream Theater that I had ever truly loved, and even as I became familiar with the rest of the band's discography, Learning to Live was my true love.



These things change. Learning to Live was slipping for me for a while. I still adore the song, but I came to admit some areas where it isn't as strong as other songs. The more I listened through my top 10, the more right another song felt as my top choice.



I finally made this decision a couple of weeks ago. My father isn't a Dream Theater fan, but he's a music fan and particularly a guitar fan who has liked the Dream Theater I've played for him. I decided, therefore, to watch a Dream Theater DVD with him. This song was one of the last songs on the DVD. When we were about 2/3 of the way through the song, he told me that it was by far his favorite of the ones we had seen. I realized right then that it is my favorite, too. My favorite of all the band's catalog.


Let me introduce... Those who guessed my #1 correctly...

Breaking All Illusions is the only reasonable guess I have left.

I'm calling Breaking All Illusions as #1

I honestly can't see it being anything but Breaking All Illusions.

Yes, yes and yes. There is no better choice in all the world than this one: Breaking All Illusions.











1. Breaking All Illusions

With the sun in place, there’s a test of faith
Streams of thought awaken



Images:
This masterpiece opens with an excellent guitar intro, one of John’s finest, that leads into this excellent rising section driven by John, Mike and Jordan. I love when the chorus melody comes in at around 0:50 in the opening instrumental only to have the band return to the intro melody. Then, there’s that Myung bass bit. Beautiful. And James comes in oh so delicately to hit that opening verse. The sample fits quite tastefully as a transition over that bass riff into John Petrucci’s gorgeous playing and James’s perfect singing on the next verse. The song then effortlessly moves into a soaring section thanks to Jordan and James.

The song then jumps into a more energetic section, and James and Jordan again prove themselves to be all-stars by providing the power behind the next verse. The chorus almost sneaks up on me, but it’s a very good chorus, so I’m quite happy with that surprise. The instrumental section begins with several sections that are more energetic than, say, Learning to Live. I love all the themes that they develop all the way into to the quieter section. Very excellent Dream Theater instrumental section.

Then, the band takes it down a bit and gets into a nice, quiet groove.







And John Petrucci just breaks all our illusions.







Holy mother of god. This is why this song is better than its little brother Learning to Live (well, this and the first couple of verses). This is why this is the best Dream Theater song of all. Every note is perfectly chosen. This solo is just gorgeous. I love when the music picks up again, still under John’s solo. The fast section of the solo lives up to the slow section and leads beautifully into Mangini’s drum groove and the final energetic instrumental section, during which time Jordan just does what Jordan does best, because his keyboard stuff is awesome.

Then there’s THAT RIFF. One the best riffs ever. 9:51. Oooh. Just. Who are these guys and how are they so good? Jordan gives a keyboard break then more THAT RIFF. Then more Jordan and more John and more John and more John and more John and then HOLY GOD JAMES PERFECT ENTRANCE. He nails the second chorus. Then the finale. So good. The symphonic bit on the outro is an especially great touch to wrap up this masterpiece.

Words:
Well, it’s John Myung. It’s hard to pick favorite Myung lyrics, but these belong right up there with the best of them. These invoke a slightly higher amount of mystical imagery than his earlier ones, which isn’t precisely my favorite thing, but he does it so well that it doesn’t matter to me. And that message. Oh my. Honestly, I thought DT had left the genuinely uplifting stuff behind after Octavarium. Parts of this album hinted at it, but I didn’t really expect the stuff to come back in full force except for one factor: John Myung. As I’ve said repeatedly, I love this positive, uplifting stuff, lyrically. This is perhaps the best instance, the best set of general life wisdom from DT. It gives the impression of being a Learning to Live written by someone who has spent 20 more years actually learning to live, which, of course, is exactly what it is. All the words and the message of this song ring true for me and are dear to my heart, and I’ll remember them throughout my life as I embark on the journey that life is, and break all illusions.

[Shadow Ninja 2.0]

Well, as I said in my first post in this thread:

inb4 BAI is number 1.

[Outcrier]

So you cheated on Learning to Live with BAI 

3. The Count of Tuscany
2. Octavarium
1. Breaking All Illusions

Two songs that i wouldn't even put in my top 50 together with 8V, which we both have near the same spot

But talking seriously, they are the most overrated DT songs ever imo.

[425]

Well, as I said in my first post in this thread:

inb4 BAI is number 1.

I bought that for about 5 seconds after I went back to your initial post.  I was seriously impressed until I saw the edit time!

So you cheated on Learning to Live with BAI 

Learning to Live and I were happy together for quite a while, and we still have a very strong friendship, but Breaking All Illusions and I are soulmates. 

[Sacul]

lolwutno

I wanted to try something different than BAI  . Interesting choice, it almost made my top 50. Musically it's awesome, but somehow it gets me bored.