Dream Theater Overrated/Underrated Songs and Albums?

[OnTheBacksofAngela]

What DT songs and albums do you think are overrated/underrated ?

Images and words
Pull me Under: Overrated. Didn't appeal to me as much.

Metropolis Part 1: Tad overrated.

Under a glass moon: Come on people. Petrucci's solo is good, but not his best. Pretty overrated.

Wait for sleep: Underrated

Awake
Voices, Lie, and the silent man are underrated. No overrated songs.

FII
Lines in the sand is a bit overrated. Take away my pain and Anna lee is underrated.

[Marion Crane]

This thread is definitely overrated

[OnTheBacksofAngela]

 

[Bertielee]

What DT songs and albums do you think are overrated/underrated ?

Images and words
Pull me Under: Overrated. Didn't appeal to me as much. GO AWAY!!!

Metropolis Part 1: Tad overrated. WHO do you think YOU are?

Under a glass moon: Come on people. Petrucci's solo is good, but not his best. Pretty overrated. WTF?!?

Wait for sleep: Underrated Prrrrrrrrrr....

Awake
Voices, Lie, and the silent man are underrated. No overrated songs. Now, I LOVE you!

FII
Lines in the sand is a bit overrated. Take away my pain and Anna lee is underrated. We can agree except for TamP, which is not good imho

correction in bold 

Overrated song : The Best of Times : bad song, except for the solo (what a treat!).

Overrated album : Octavarium, the first DT album I began skipping tracks on.

B.Lee

[MirrorMask]

The weird thing about underrated and overrated things is... who determines what is rated properly and what is not? because, in the end, saying something is overrated means that you don't like it as much as the majority does, and that something is underrated is that you like something the majority doesn't.

DT are diverse enough to have something that appeals to different and various tastes so there will always be people liking things that others dislike and viceversa.

[425]

Overrated:

• The Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence album. Most people on this forum rank it among the band's top albums, while it is my least favorite. I do enjoy it, but I do not understand the high level of praise it receives.
• The A Mind Beside Itself suite, just slightly.
• The Glass Prison. Already said SDOIT the album, but TGP needed to be mentioned again.
• Fatal Tragedy. This is probably the most unremarkable full song on SFAM besides Through Her Eyes, but it gets a ton of praise.
• The Mirror, again, just slightly.
• The ending of Misunderstood
• A Change of Seasons, just slightly.
• The Root of All Evil, just slightly.
• Surrender to Reason
• Raw Dog

Underrated:

• Train of Thought
• Stream of Consciousness—by far the best instrumental and probably a top 20 song
• Falling Into Infinity
• Hollow Years
• Take Away My Pain
• You Not Me
• Black Clouds & Silver Linings
• Only a Matter of Time, by a ton—this is a top 25 DT song for me.
• One Last Time
• The first half of Misunderstood
• These Walls
• In the Presence of Enemies, Part II
• The Ministry of Lost Souls
• On the Backs of Angels—this is actually one of the best songs on ADTOE, really only behind BAI, FFH and maybe Outcry
• Build Me Up, Break Me Down
• The Bigger Picture
• Eve

[lovethedrake]

Underrated:    Fatal Tragedy... greatest instrumental section of all time and just killer song all around.   DT's greatest track
                       
                     Shattered Fortress:  Sure it repeats themes from previous albums but the ending is amazing.

                      Anna Lee: Gorgeous Power Ballad from start to finish

                      Behind the Veil Guitar Solo-   One of JP's best and leads back into the song with that killer blues breakdown



Overrated:      Every single song on Octavarium.  Although I love the title track I still think its vastly overrated.

                     Every single song on Systematic Chaos, especially ITPOE Pt 1 and 2.

                     All of ADTOE

[Train of Naught]

Underrated:   Anna Lee: Gorgeous Power Ballad from start to finish

                     



Overrated:      Every single song on Systematic Chaos, especially ITPOE Pt 1 and 2.                 

lol

[Marion Crane]

Illumination Theory. Easily he most overrated thing they've ever done IMO

[chaossystem]

This thread is definitely overrated

This POST is over-rated!

[Enigmachine]

The term overrated is overrated (and overused). I've never liked that term. I also wouldn't say anything DT has made has been overrated, but I think the stretch from SC to D12 has been underrated.

[chaossystem]

In all seriousness, I think a thread like this is a good way to air views that don't normally get aired. I would like to begin by saying that my opinion of When Dream and Day Unite is probably the opposite of most people on here, in that I think the album overall is somewhat UNDER-rated, but The Killing Hand usually looks to be OVER-rated.

[bosk1]

I disagree.  We have these kinds of threads all the time, and all they mean is:  User X subjectively likes Song A; therefore, song A is "underrated."  User X subjectively dislikes Song B; therefore, Song B is "overrated."  It just becomes nothing more than a meaningless exercise in "I like this song; therefore, others should like it more than they do," and "I don't like this song; therefore, others should like it less."

[King Postwhore]

This thread is overrated.

[ThatOneGuy2112]

I disagree.  We have these kinds of threads all the time, and all they mean is:  User X subjectively likes Song A; therefore, song A is "underrated."  User X subjectively dislikes Song B; therefore, Song B is "overrated."  It just becomes nothing more than a meaningless exercise in "I like this song; therefore, others should like it more than they do," and "I don't like this song; therefore, others should like it less."

Overrated and underrated are, at the end of the day, meaningless buzzwords. They're words that I'm sure I've been at fault for using in the recent past and continually strive to weed out of my vocabulary every day.

Nothing new or insightful is being said when they're tossed around. Really the only difference between using them and simply stating "I like/dislike X" is that now you're calling the general consensus into question.

[fischermasamune]

In my experience, personal tastes vary, and so do the perception of popularity of songs. So lists of underrated/overrated songs tend to change easily. About one year ago I did a top 50 list with Trial Of Tears and ACOS not in the top 40, but now they've grown a lot on me. Some have lost part of their magic.

[IDontNotDoThings]

I disagree.  We have these kinds of threads all the time, and all they mean is:  User X subjectively likes Song A; therefore, song A is "underrated."  User X subjectively dislikes Song B; therefore, Song B is "overrated."  It just becomes nothing more than a meaningless exercise in "I like this song; therefore, others should like it more than they do," and "I don't like this song; therefore, others should like it less."

Overrated and underrated are, at the end of the day, meaningless buzzwords. They're words that I'm sure I've been at fault for using in the recent past and continually strive to weed out of my vocabulary every day.

Nothing new or insightful is being said when they're tossed around. Really the only difference between using them and simply stating "I like/dislike X" is that now you're calling the general consensus into question.

I've never really understood this argument. Sure, saying something is overrated or underrated doesn't prove anything & it isn't a valid argument. However, this isn't what the words are trying to convey. Just like saying something is good or bad, overrated & underrated are subjective terms, used to convey an opinion, so if you're going to dismiss the terms just for being subjective, then by the same logic, the words good, bad, like, dislike, agree or disagree are also meaningless buzzwords. Just because it isn't used to make a point doesn't mean the words are completely valueless & can't be used to express an opinion.

& at the end of the day, that's kind of what we're all here to do anyway...

[ThatOneGuy2112]

I think my main problem with these terms is in the latter part of my post. It's that you're calling into question the general consensus and the opinions of others. That's the part I find so meaningless. I much prefer that someone present their thoughts to me first and foremost what they are, not what someone else thinks. You're trying to tell me you like/dislike X, Y, or Z. Cool, just tell me why you think that way, I'm not particularly concerned with what someone else thinks at the moment. Sure, you can observe and acknowledge what the popular opinion might be if you like, but when "overrated" and "underrated" are used, it gives it a "me vs them" sort of connotation to it and very often it just comes off as snobby.

[425]

Nothing new or insightful is being said when they're tossed around. Really the only difference between using them and simply stating "I like/dislike X" is that now you're calling the general consensus into question.

But see, calling the general consensus into question is exactly the point. "A Change of Seasons is slightly overrated" is a fairly good way for someone to express that they like ACOS, but do not understand/do not agree with the very high rating given to it by the consensus of a certain group.

It does provide some level of nuance and novelty to talk about the general consensus. If you asked me whether I like ACOS, my answer would be an easy yes. I would probably say I love it, that it's a great song. But I would have a reservation: I think there are 25-35 better Dream Theater songs, while most people on this forum, who would also say that they love it and that it's a great song, probably do not. So the very fact that I disagree with that consensus view is a new and marginally insightful way of talking about the particular song in question, because it's not just "why do you/don't you like it" but "why don't you think it's a top song" or something to that effect.

I don't know, I don't think overrated/underrated is a huge deal, but I disagree with the idea that it should be totally thrown out as a valid topic of discussion.

[The Stray Seed]

Take away my pain [...] is underrated.

Totally agree. Must be one of their most underrated, and I just love it. I always picture myself on the seashore, playing with small stones on the edge of the water, just like those that were on the booklet. I was 17 when I got my copy of Falling Into Infinity, I remember myself staring at those pictures while listening to the song for the first time. I cried, and as the tears touched my mouth I felt the taste of the sea. It was such a warm and heartfelt sensation... must be because of my deep love for the sea. But I really do think that the waves can take my pain away. Wash it away from my mind, and restore the peace within as they come back at me.

[IDontNotDoThings]

Take away my pain [...] is underrated.

Totally agree. Must be one of their most underrated, and I just love it. I always picture myself on the seashore, playing with small stones on the edge of the water, just like those that were on the booklet. I was 17 when I got my copy of Falling Into Infinity, I remember myself staring at those pictures while listening to the song for the first time. I cried, and as the tears touched my mouth I felt the taste of the sea. It was such a warm and heartfelt sensation... must be because of my deep love for the sea. But I really do think that the waves can take my pain away. Wash it away from my mind, and restore the peace within as they come back at me.

I'm not saying you're wrong for liking Take Away My Pain, however, you're wrong for liking Take Away My Pain.

[425]

Take Away My Pain is a pretty good song. The arrangement as it is on the final album is a little odd, but it's still very good.

[lovethedrake]

Take Away My pain has one of the best bridges of a dream theater song.   "These final years... etc leading into the guitar solo is great.

[BlobVanDam]

Take Away My pain has one of the best bridges of a dream theater song.   "These final years... etc leading into the guitar solo is great.

Nice bridge, and a KILLER solo that is underrated (or at least overlooked), most likely due to being in a song that a lot of people don't like or listen to much. It took a long time the song to click with me because of the odd vibe, but I really like it.

[Rodni Demental]

Well, now that we all agree on the meaning and implications of calling something overrated/underrated. I will say that When Dream and Day Unite and Black Clouds & Silver Linings are totally underrated. And Images & Words, totally overrated - it's a great album but only as good as most of their other albums.   

[pcs90]

Under a glass moon: Come on people. Petrucci's solo is good, but not his best. Pretty overrated.

Oh come on, that solo is amazing. It's not his best ever, but I'd probably put it in my top 10 JP solos easily. The lyrics are pretty odd, but I think the main reasons UAGM is rated highly so often are the guitar solo and overall vibe of the song...
I agree with the rest of your IW list though, I don't even like PMU to be honest. Metropolis is cool but I rarely listen to it either. Without a doubt the 2 most played songs from IW for me are Learning to Live and Take the Time.

[Cable]

Underrated = WDADU.

[vazquez]

Overrated - Mike Portnoy and Kevin Moore
Underrated - John Petrucci and James LaBrie

Oh, sorry... songs and albums... my mistake... 

Underrated - The B-sides of Falling Into Infinity
Overrated - 6DoIT