"Bookend" Album Pair

[Shine]

More polls!

Since most people think WDADU is pretty awful, and I&W is generally thought of as either the best or second best DT album, I wanted to see how they compared to the two more recent albums which are generally thought of as good but not necessarily as great as some of DTs earlier work.

Also, more polls because this is DTF and that's what we do here.

[Shadow Ninja 2.0]

I rank both WDADU and I&W over DT12, and probably ADTOE as well, so the choice is clear for me.

[bosk1]

most people think WDADU is pretty awful

No, not really.  As a whole, it is less liked than any other album, but I would not say that most people consider it "awful."

nd I&W is generally thought of as either the best or second best DT album

Nah.  I think you might find more people that put it in the #3 or #4 range than in the #1 or #2 spot. 


Anyhow, for me, I definitely went with ADTOE/DT12.  No contest.  WDADU is okay, but has some glaring flaws.  And while I&W is a landmark album and is very, very good, I have always thought it is a very inconsistent album.

[jammindude]

ADTOE is really good, but has slid a couple of spots down the list with age.   DT12 is aging well, and is one of the best DT albums I've ever heard.

WDADU is OK.  The production kills it, but the songs are amazing.   IAW deserves every bit of "legend" that is attached to it. 

This is really hard.  It's almost a dead heat.   Ranking the 4 would go like this:

IAW
DT12
ADTOE
WDADU

So does 1/4 balance out with 2/3?     I guess I'd give the nod to WDADU/IAW, but only just by the hair on JR's head. 

[bl5150]

ADTOE is really good, but has slid a couple of spots down the list with age.   DT12 is aging well, and is one of the best DT albums I've ever heard.

WDADU is OK.  The production kills it, but the songs are amazing.   IAW deserves every bit of "legend" that is attached to it. 

This is really hard.  It's almost a dead heat.   Ranking the 4 would go like this:

IAW
DT12
ADTOE
WDADU

So does 1/4 balance out with 2/3?     I guess I'd give the nod to WDADU/IAW, but only just by the hair on JR's head.

[TheGreatPretender]

Option #2. I'd rather take 2 consistently really good albums, than one amazing and one lackluster.

[The Letter M]

Option #2. I'd rather take 2 consistently really good albums, than one amazing and one lackluster.

Pretty much this. Despite the strengths of IAW, and a few good songs on WDADU, there's a lot more consistency on the last two albums, especially being that both albums have the same line-up, better production, more music, etc. etc.

-Marc.

[Rodni Demental]

I chose option 2, but not because WDADU brings down I&W. Just because I really like what the Band has been doing this decade so far. WDADU/I&W will always be special for what the are and represent, but ADTOE/DT12 demonstrates true musical evolution for the band and represents a culmination of expressive qualities of each players mastery of their instruments, and musical ideas over their entire career imo. So that gives the edge to ADTOE/DT12.

[Daso]

ADTOE is really good, but has slid a couple of spots down the list with age.   DT12 is aging well, and is one of the best DT albums I've ever heard.

WDADU is OK.  The production kills it, but the songs are amazing.   IAW deserves every bit of "legend" that is attached to it. 

This is really hard.  It's almost a dead heat.   Ranking the 4 would go like this:

IAW
DT12
ADTOE
WDADU

So does 1/4 balance out with 2/3?     I guess I'd give the nod to WDADU/IAW, but only just by the hair on JR's head.

Never has a post said the way I felt better.

[Tom Bombadil]

I&W is better than both ADTOE and DT12 combined. Throw in a decent album in WDADU, and the 1st option easily wins.

[BlobVanDam]

I&W is better than both ADTOE and DT12 combined.

That, even with their worst album included with it. IaW is the only one of these albums I rank top half of their discography.

[?]

I&W
ADTOE
WDADU
DT12

[kiwiclapton]

Group two,

[54_diplomats]

I&W is almost tied with Awake as my favorite album and I rank WDADU higher than both ADTOE and DT12. Easy choice. I'm surprised the poll is this close honestly.

[Onno]

DT12 is my #11 and WDADU is my #12, while I&W is easily in my top 3 DT albums and ADTOE is somewhere in the middle. Easy.

[CharlesPL]

1st Option

IAW
WDADU
DT 12
ADTOE

[krands85]

First option, even though it contains probably my least favourite album in WDADU. I&W easily elevates it above the other choice. ADTOE is my #3, but DT12 is somewhere in the lower half of DT's albums for me.

[aprilethereal]

Easy choice, since I rank both ADTOE and DT12 above WDADU and IAW.

And while I&W is a landmark album and is very, very good, I have always thought it is a very inconsistent album.

Exactly.

[son_ov_hades]

When Dream And Day Unite and Images And Words are phenomenal, A Dramatic Turn Of Events and Dream Theater are great but not even close to the same level.

[mirko_metal_88]

WDADU and I&W are 2 of my favourite DT albums....ADTOE is my least favoure (with BC&SL) so it's an easy choice

[mikeyd23]

Option #2. I'd rather take 2 consistently really good albums, than one amazing and one lackluster.

I'd agree with this.  The consistency found on the last two DT albums has been pretty great.  I&W is of course... I&W, but being paired with WDADU just brings that grouping down too much for me to vote for it over what I consider to be two excellent albums in DT12 and ADTOE.

[snapple]

Group one. Both fantastic albums.

[OsMosis2259]

ADTOE & DT12

[kirksnosehair]

I went with WDADU/I&W  because Kevin Moore 


No, but seriously, those two albums (especially I&W) have some of the most amazing music ever written, imo


That's not to say there is anything bad about ADTOE/DT12 - Both are definitely very good releases.  I prefer ADTOE in terms of songwriting, and I prefer DT12 in terms of the sonic presentation.


Now that I think about it more, I think nostalgia is a big factor in my opinion of these two pairs of discs. 


"Images & Words" is literally the album that introduced me to progressive metal.  Oh sure, I had dabbled a bit prior to that (Deep Purple, Fates Warning, Queensryche, etc) but I never thought of myself as a "prog fan"


But when I&W finally clicked, my entire concept of music shifted gears in a big way. 

[Sir Walrus Cauliflower]

I'm picking ADTOE and DT12. Not only are they consistently good, but they are consistently exceptional as far as I'm concerned. I&W is an exceptional album as well, but WDADU eliminates that as an option for me.

[KevShmev]

nd I&W is generally thought of as either the best or second best DT album

Nah.  I think you might find more people that put it in the #3 or #4 range than in the #1 or #2 spot. 

Hmmm, that could be an interesting poll...