Another top 50 thread v. son_ov_hades

[son_ov_hades]

Apparently I can't keep a schedule at with these updates.  I'm an extremely disorganized person in real life too haha. So I'm just gonna keep these coming as much as I can.

#46 Lie



One of the first attempts by the band to write a straight forward metal song, Lie is fairly simple by Dream Theater standards. The mid 90s was the time of grunge and Pantera, Awake seems to have a degree of the latter but next to none of the former. This song and The Mirror show Petrucci and Portnoy especially had been paying close attention to the Abbott brothers, and of course they do Pantera better than Pantera .

The first thing that always strikes me when listening to this song is LaBrie's awesome vocals. His usual powerful screams and high notes are found nowhere in Lie instead we are treated to a different side of James, a lower pitch and darker sounding James. I wish he would sing like this more often. The chorus finds him in classic mode with nice belted out lines. The intro riff that bleeds in from The Mirror is so heavy, maybe the heaviest riff Petrucci has ever played that is actually good(unlike that garbage in The Dark Eternal Night). Kevin Moore's keyboards take a real backseat in this song, but if you listen hard enough you can tell why they are completely necessary and add a lot to the melody. Petrucci's short shred solo fits the the song so well and is a great example of not overplaying. The longer solo later is great too. All in all a very well constructed song that might be higher on my list if I did all over again.


#45  To Live Forever



The first time I ever heard To Live Forever was when I happened to see the Live In Tokyo VHS. Yes this was before it was released on DVD and the tape was slightly warped which altered the pitch a bit at times. All the sudden a song that I'd never even heard of came on, and despite the horrible quality of that particular tape I recognized what a great song To Live Forever was. Later I tracked down a copy of the Lie CD single and got to hear the wonderful studio version of the song. Maybe because of the first time I heard it, but the Live In Tokyo version is the best and thus gets the place on my list.

This is a more mellow and almost pop song compared to most of the discography, but that is not a bad thing. One thing that I always loved about this song is how much clean guitar we hear. Petrucci is crystal clear and his tone is just perfect. The back and forth solo/harmony part between guitar and keys is so cool, I could listen to Moore and Petrucci duel for hours. The extended jams and solos from Live In Tokyo just make this song that much better. It would be really great if they played this song again like they did on the last tour.

[Tom Bombadil]

Both very good songs, although I'd have To Live Forever much higher.

[jakepriest]

Great update.
Lie is probably DT's best live song I have to say. It was definitely the highlight of their concert in Prague this year. 

I can't agree with this update 100% though and that's just because you said that I won't see TDEN on this list.

[Outcrier]

Nice update.

[Crow]

Lie is the worst Awake song, but the worst Awake song is still pretty damn  good 
I don't really even remember what TLF sounds like, I don't listen to it much and have never found it too strong when I have listened to it.

[jakepriest]

Lie is the worst Awake song, but the worst Awake song is still pretty damn  good 

Voices says hello.

[Evermind]

Nah, Voices is good at least because of "thought disorder, dream control" part.

I can't even name my least favourite Awake song. Probably Lie too, or maybe IF.

Solid update, anyway.

[Laughingplace56]

Lie is the worst Awake song, but the worst Awake song is still pretty damn  good 

Voices says hello.

Innocence Faded says "Hey what about me?"

and TDEN not being on the top 50 is a good thing. It's a good, fun song, but nowhere near top 50 material.

I love Lie when paired with The Mirror more than i do as a standalone song, but i still really like it as its own song. Very groovin and fun. The mini drum solo with that riff being played on the keyboard and JP playing that ridiculous solo is the best part of either song.

To Live Forever didn't make my top 50 along with Lie, but I do really like it and only first heard it off the Happy Holidays download. The intro on that version is absolutely amazing though. GREAT groove to open the song that's not on the single version. If I redid my list it may have made it.

[jakepriest]

Innocence Faded is in the top half of Awake. A seriously underrated song.

[son_ov_hades]

the worst Awake song is still pretty damn  good 

I agree, Awake is such a masterpiece. But the worst Awake song is Scarred, which I still like a lot and just missed this list.

To Live Forever didn't make my top 50 along with Lie, but I do really like it and only first heard it off the Happy Holidays download. The intro on that version is absolutely amazing though. GREAT groove to open the song that's not on the single version. If I redid my list it may have made it.

The version on the holiday album is awesome! I was so happy they included it, good to know they haven't forgotten about such a wonderful song. If you haven't heard the Live In Tokyo version I highly recommend it, the one from When Dream And Day Reunite with Charlie and James trading off lines is awesome too.

[son_ov_hades]

Sorry for the double post, but here we go.

#44  Another Won




By far the oldest song on my list, having been written in 1985. Or maybe it was 86? The original version from the Majesty Demos showcases a young band with immense potential. The sheer complexity of the instrumental parts is very impressive, and in 1985 almost no one was playing like this. Was anyone playing extreme intricate, blazing fast unisons in the mid 80s? I don't think so. It is very apparent that the band in their early days were pure Rush worship, and that is far from a bad thing. The best version of this song is obviously from Score though. The youthful hope and potential is also coupled with slightly sloppy, or should I say underdeveloped playing. 20 years later the band was much more accomplished as musicians and thus played everything much tighter. The other huge improvement is the addition of LaBrie singing instead of Chris Collins. Collins' Geoff Tate wannabe vocals are okay, but LaBrie made the song his own and thus sound a lot more like the Dream Theater we've grown to love over the decades. They should bring back more songs from the demos, with subtle improvements they could all be great songs like what hear on this version.



#43  Bombay Vindaloo




The third non album track in a row, I guess I don't like the studio albums that much. Live At The Marquee is Dream Theater's best live album by a mile. Sure its much shorter than Once In A LIVEtime or Live Scenes From New York or Score. It certainly has much less fanfare and hype than all the other live albums as well, but what we get here is a band at their absolute peak as a live act. What I would do to have been able to see them in 92/93. Bombay Vindaloo is a song that the band played only a few times on tour and never recorded in the studio, which is a real shame. More a jam than a true written song, it features a lot of improvised parts that show off each member of the band(sorry LaBrie). From the soft bass opening to the huge crescendo at the the end, the song keeps building and becoming ever more powerful. There is a distinct Middle Eastern/South Asian type of vibe throughout which makes Bombay Vindaloo stand out among Dream Theater instrumentals, hell no other song they've ever done sounds like this except for maybe the beginning part of Home. I'm just grateful this moment of brilliance was captured on Live At The Marquee.

[jakepriest]

Not really a fan of Another Won, and I've never heard of the second track. 

[Crow]

Lie is the worst Awake song, but the worst Awake song is still pretty damn  good 

Voices says hello.

the worst Awake song is still pretty damn  good 

the worst Awake song is Scarred

Also I legitimately have never heard either of these so, no comment. Blah.

[GentlemanofDread]

Another Won is a very good pick, IMO, especially the version on Score.

And Bombay Vindaloo is too low

[son_ov_hades]

Also I legitimately have never heard either of these so, no comment. Blah.

Not really a fan of Another Won, and I've never heard of the second track. 

How can both of you be big enough fans to join and post on a fan forum but not have heard Live At The Marquee?!?! It is seriously their best live album you need to check it out.

[Crow]

Because I don't listen to live albums of any band?
I listened to Score like once when I was just getting in to the band. That's the only live release of theirs I've heard.

[son_ov_hades]

  I don't understand...like at all. I mean yeah some live albums suck, like Chaos in Motion, but to deprive yourself of fantastic performances makes no sense to me at all.

[jakepriest]

I only watch live DVDs. I don't listen to live versions just for the music if I can listen to the studio version. 
I'd rather watch the Chaos in Motion DVD than listen to a live album.

[son_ov_hades]

Wow...I'm seriously baffled by both of you.

[jakepriest]

The only live versions I can understand listening to are songs that are performed differently from the studio version. Hollow Years, In The Name of God outro, Beyond This Life etc.

[Outcrier]

Lie is the worst Awake song, but the worst Awake song is still pretty damn  good 

Voices says hello.

the worst Awake song is still pretty damn  good 

the worst Awake song is Scarred

Also I legitimately have never heard either of these so, no comment. Blah.

Yeah, next will be "Learning to Live" is the worst song of IAW, Trial of Tears/Lines in the Sand are the worst of FII 

[jakepriest]

Lines in the Sand is easily in the bottom half of FII. Not the worst, but definitely prefer most songs to it.

[Outcrier]

Bah, i should have kept quiet, this is getting worse.

[Crow]

I prefer the crisper sound of a studio performance to the rougher sound of a live performance. Concerts are nice if you're there in person but otherwise couldn't give a damn.

[Sacul]

Lines in the Sand is easily in the bottom half of FII. Not the worst, but definitely prefer most songs to it.

[son_ov_hades]

Get ready for a song that is "WAY TOO LOW ZOMG" and another live version that no one listens to apparently. 

#42 The Glass Prison




After the superb Scenes From A Memory I was, like most fans, eagerly awaiting the follow up album. When Six Degrees Of Inner Turbulence finally came out this song gave us the first impression. I was immediately shocked, this was much heavier than I expected and had a lot of elements that were not present in Scenes From A Memory. The turntable surface noise at the beginning is something so nerdy and awesome that only Dream Theater would do it, wonderful way to bridge the gap between two albums. The opening riff is so heavy and nice to hear Petrucci play like this again, which he hadn't done since Awake. When the vocals kick in I'm reminded that this is one of the few times that I really like Mike Portnoy's vocals, they work so well here. Vocal effects make James sound kind of silly, but I don't mind too much. The keyboard work here before the chorus is ridiculous, this is what made me realize Rudess was here to stay. Then the song breaks down to the simple riff that is okay but fairly boring, but oh hey we're treated to a Limp Bizkit style DJ scratching a record! That's what I always wanted to hear on a Dream Theater song! Thankfully that part doesn't last long and the song picks up again. The instrumental part at the end of the song is where it really hits its stride and becomes great. Rudess and Petrucci trading off solos is one of my favorite things they do and The Glass Prison has one those best moments.



#41  Through Her Eyes




Scenes From A Memory is a perfect album, and I completely love every second of it. That said the best version of this beautiful song is without question from Live Scenes From New York. The additional intro with John Petrucci and Theresa Thomason is mind blowingly wonderful. Clearly they listened to The Great Gig In The Sky a few times, this is almost as great, and yes this is part of Through Her Eyes. When the song proper starts we have one of the best ballad's the band has ever done, everything about it works on so many levels. LaBrie really shines, as his voice is very much at the forefront and is the main vehicle for driving both the emotion and musical direction of the song. Petrucci's melodic David Gilmour like solo is perfect. The all of the sudden Mike Portnoy comes back on stage and shifts the song into a new gear and we get a wonderful improvised guitar solo. Absolutely beautiful song that is made even better by this stellar performance. 

[Laughingplace56]

#42 The Glass Prison

I...but....how.....WHAT

[Crow]

people have different tastes yo
anyways, I've actually heard the live version of Through Her Eyes for /reasons/ and I like Petrucci's solos in it but not much else since the rest of the song is still Through Her Eyes
and yeah TGP is too low, I don't consider it perfect but still, definitely not 41 DT songs better than it.

[jakepriest]

The Glass Prison is way too low. I mean. WAY too low.

I really like Through Her Eyes and think it's one of their best ballads (unlike most people on here) so I'm glad to see it on the list. 
And yes, the studio version is much better.

[son_ov_hades]

#42 The Glass Prison

I...but....how.....WHAT

Sorry, its just not that great of a song. Many better on Six Degrees.

[Sacul]

Scenes From A Memory is a perfect album, and I completely love every second of it.

Completely agree.
TGP is ok, I'm remaking my own top 50 and I have it at the same place. I fucking love Through Her Eyes (too low on the list ) but I haven't heard the LSFNY version. I should check it

[Outcrier]

The Glass Prison is way too low. I mean. WAY too low.

[son_ov_hades]

Scenes From A Memory is a perfect album, and I completely love every second of it.

Completely agree.
TGP is ok, I'm remaking my own top 50 and I have it at the same place. I fucking love Through Her Eyes (too low on the list ) but I haven't heard the LSFNY version. I should check it

I love Through Her Eyes too, it probably should be higher. You'll be happy to know that many Scenes songs are coming.

[Invisible]

There are just so many opinions on this thread that made me , HOW CAN ANYONE CALL THEMSELVES DT FANS AND NOT LISTEN TO LIVE AT THE MARQUEE?!?!??! I don't consider it the best live album, but it's a classic that it's a must-hear for everyone in DT world.

I don't find any song on any spot in this top 50 kind of threads to be controversial, except for You Not Me , other than that, I'm ok with any song on any spot.

I don't agree on most of your placement so far though , Vacant and Suck Our Cocks(MP reference, I don't mean to be offensive) are two completely different track, both awesome, but I still don't understand why so many people place them together aside from the fact that they have a similar part. By that standard a lot of DT songs could be paired together. Vacant is a beautiful heart-breaking song and Stream of Conciousness is a beast of an instrumental, heavy and guitar driven, I love them both but to pair them together is wrong imho.

Bombay Vindaloo is a cool jam, but wouldn't come anywhere near my Top 50. Lost Not Forgotten is too much Under A Glass Moon revisited for my taste.

Great to see To Live Forever and Lie on the list! Both great songs I haven't seen get that much love

I also agree on your placement of The Glass Prison, maybe I would put it a litte bit higher but I'm not sure. Actually, I'm not sure if it would make to my Top 50, come to think of it .

[Shadow Ninja 2.0]

There are just so many opinions on this thread that made me , HOW CAN ANYONE CALL THEMSELVES DT FANS AND NOT LISTEN TO LIVE AT THE MARQUEE?!?!??! I don't consider it the best live album, but it's a classic that it's a must-hear for everyone in DT world.

Haven't heard it. Probably not going to.