Make a Dream Theater single disc Mix-CD

[erwinrafael]

If you would make a single Mix-CD for Dream Theater that would suit your tastes perfectly, how would you imagine it would be?

For me, this is how it would look like (my current phone playlist going to and from work):

Dystopian Overture
The Gift of Music
Peruvian Skies
Trial of Tears
The Mirror
Misunderstood
Scarred
Surrounded
Our New World
Breaking All Illusions

Running time: 1 hour 18 minutes and 5 seconds

I basically broke it into three sections each punctuated by a 10min+song. The middle section is sort of the "angry DT", and the last section the uplifting DT. 

You can see that I like a lot of the recent stuff.

[Enigmachine]

If you would make a single Mix-CD for Dream Theater that would suit your tastes perfectly, how would you imagine it would be?

For me, this is how it would look like (my current phone playlist going to and from work):

Dystopian Overture
The Gift of Music
Peruvian Skies
Trial of Tears
The Mirror
Misunderstood
Scarred
Surrounded
Our New World
Breaking All Illusions

Running time: 1 hours 18 minutes and 5 seconds

I basically broke it into three sections each punctuated by a 10min+song. The middle section is sort of the "angry DT", and the last section the uplifting DT. 

You can see that I like a lot of the recent stuff.

If I were you I'd knock one of the songs off to put Lie following The Mirror or remove The Mirror as well. Having it on its own means it ends really abruptly even though it does have a real ending, just at the end of Lie.

[bosk1]

Make a Dream Theater single disc Mix-CD

No.

In all seriousness, DT is such a diverse band, and their songs are so long that it would be a fruitless endeavor and would ultimately come off as being fairly arbitrary.

[mike099]

If you would make a single Mix-CD for Dream Theater that would suit your tastes perfectly, how would you imagine it would be?

For me, this is how it would look like (my current phone playlist going to and from work):

Dystopian Overture
The Gift of Music
Peruvian Skies
Trial of Tears
The Mirror
Misunderstood
Scarred
Surrounded
Our New World
Breaking All Illusions

Running time: 1 hours 18 minutes and 5 seconds

I basically broke it into three sections each punctuated by a 10min+song. The middle section is sort of the "angry DT", and the last section the uplifting DT. 

You can see that I like a lot of the recent stuff.

Great mix tape.  I do not have an input for my ipod so I make cd's a lot.

[erwinrafael]

If I were you I'd knock one of the songs off to put Lie following The Mirror or remove The Mirror as well. Having it on its own means it ends really abruptly even though it does have a real ending, just at the end of Lie.

I used to think that, then I got used to it just like the ending to Pull Me Under.

In all seriousness, DT is such a diverse band, and their songs are so long that it would be a fruitless endeavor and would ultimately come off as being fairly arbitrary.

Yeah, this actually is just something I love doing because it approximates my commute time going to and from work. I am breaking the loop of having TA all the time since its launch.

[bosk1]

Okay, fine.

The metal mix tape:
Bridges In The Sky
Forsaken
The Mirror
Constant Motion
A Nightmare To Remember
The Glass Prison
Metropolis, pt. 1

The prog rock mix tape:
On the Backs of Angels
Behind the Veil
Lines in the Sand
Along for the Ride
Learning To Live
Trial of Tears
Octavarium 


Note:  Titles are not meant to be strictly be "genre," but just in general as to the "feel" of each of those two disks.
Note2:  I approximated track running times, so one or both could possibly run slightly over.

[KevShmev]

1.   "6:00"
2.   "Caught in a Web"
3.   "Innocence Faded"
4.   "A Mind Beside Itself: I. Erotomania"
5.   "A Mind Beside Itself: II. Voices"
6.   "A Mind Beside Itself: III. The Silent Man"
7.   "The Mirror"
8.   "Lie"
9.   "Lifting Shadows Off a Dream"
10.   "Scarred"
11.   "Space-Dye Vest"

[SebastianPratesi]

I wouldn't know where to start, although I do like doing this sort of things, especially because I make mixtapes for friends frequently.
Anyway, some ten years ago, a guy I knew told me he wanted to listen to some Dream Theater and Mars Volta (because he didn't know their music). So, I gave him a CD consisting of this:

1. Six Degrees Of Inner Turbulence (42:04)
2. Cassandra Geminni (32:30)

[erwinrafael]

1.   "6:00"
2.   "Caught in a Web"
3.   "Innocence Faded"
4.   "A Mind Beside Itself: I. Erotomania"
5.   "A Mind Beside Itself: II. Voices"
6.   "A Mind Beside Itself: III. The Silent Man"
7.   "The Mirror"
8.   "Lie"
9.   "Lifting Shadows Off a Dream"
10.   "Scarred"
11.   "Space-Dye Vest"

Works for me.

I wouldn't know where to start, although I do like doing this sort of things, especially because I make mixtapes for friends frequently.
Anyway, some ten years ago, a guy I knew told me he wanted to listen to some Dream Theater and Mars Volta (because he didn't know their music). So, I gave him a CD consisting of this:

1. Six Degrees Of Inner Turbulence (42:04)
2. Cassandra Geminni (32:30)

Your friend must have had a great deal of patience listening to 30+ minute epics. 

[SebastianPratesi]

Your friend must have had a great deal of patience listening to 30+ minute epics. 

He actually had a wide taste in music - he listened to lots of different things. I haven't seen him in a long time, though, so I don't know what he liked the most in that CD.

Nowadays, when making mix CDs of a band, I try a little harder, and pay attention to details. For instance, I try to include songs with different styles/moods, and if possible, one song per album. I also choose songs with lyrics by every lyricist. That's pretty much what I did for a couple of friends last year.

For a while, I've been practicing my guitar playing along with a DT playlist. So, if I have to make a single CD mix, it would be something like this:

1. In The Presence Of Enemies pt.1
2. Another Day
3. The Looking Glass
4. New Millenium
5. Stream Of Consciousness (the first DT piece I decided to learn, when I was 16)
6. Take Away My Pain
7. Learning To Live
8. Behind The Veil
9. A Nightmare To Remember (absolute favourite to play along with)

[pcs90]

OK, I know this is sort of cheating because some songs are shorter, but oh well...if I was going to make a compilation to introduce someone to DT, and I didn't really know that person's musical preferences, it'd probably look something like this:

Breaking All Illusions 12:25
Surrender To Reason 06:33
I Walk Beside You (from score) 04:10
Misunderstood (removed the random drum part before verse 2 and shortened the end) 06:32
These Walls (starts directly on JP's riff) 06:37
Chosen 04:32
The Bigger Picture 07:40
Dystopian Overture 04:51
Beneath The Surface 05:26
Our New World 04:12
Illumination Theory (shortened the string part and cut the ambient section) 15:46

[SebastianPratesi]

This 55-year-old man with whom I work grew up listening to Yes and Pink Floyd. Also, he used to play bass. Some of our shared time we talk about bands and albums - he tells me stories of the shows he went to in the '70s and '80s, so I have fun working together with him.

Anyway, he doesn't know about Dream Theater, so I decided to make him a mixtape of this:

1. A Life Left Behind
2. Moment Of Betrayal
3. Repentance
4. Breaking All Illusions
5. The Best Of Times
6. Along For The Ride
7. Behind The Veil

It's (a few seconds shy of) an hour long, and it features what I think are some cool Yes-ish and Floyd-ish moments from the last 10 years. I'm not sure how much heavy metal he likes in his music, so I tried keeping it as minimum as possible (which is hard when you are trying to choose 12 minutes of each album). It also has this cool symmetric aspects to it, so the math geek in me is proud of what I achieved.

I'll see what he thinks of it.

[chaossystem]

This 55-year-old man with whom I work grew up listening to Yes and Pink Floyd. Also, he used to play bass. Some of our shared time we talk about bands and albums - he tells me stories of the shows he went to in the '70s and '80s, so I have fun working together with him.

Anyway, he doesn't know about Dream Theater, so I decided to make him a mixtape of this:

1. A Life Left Behind
2. Moment Of Betrayal
3. Repentance
4. Breaking All Illusions
5. The Best Of Times
6. Along For The Ride
7. Behind The Veil

It's (a few seconds shy of) an hour long, and it features what I think are some cool Yes-ish and Floyd-ish moments from the last 10 years. I'm not sure how much heavy metal he likes in his music, so I tried keeping it as minimum as possible (which is hard when you are trying to choose 12 minutes of each album). It also has this cool symmetric aspects to it, so the math geek in me is proud of what I achieved.

I'll see what he thinks of it.

If I was going to make a single-disc mix consisting of songs taken only from the last three albums for a prog fan who is around my age or a little older, it might go something like this:

1) The Looking Glass
2) Outcry
3) Dystopian Overture
4) The Gift of Music
5) Along for the Ride
6) When Your Time Has Come
7) Enigma Machine
8) The road to Revolution
9) This is the Life
10) 2285 Entr'acte
11) Moment of Betrayal
12) Heaven's Cove
13) On the Backs of Angels
14) Surrender to Reason

78:55

[fischermasamune]

If I was going to make a single-disc mix consisting of songs taken only from the last three albums for a prog fan who is around my age or a little older, it might go something like this:

1) The Looking Glass
2) Outcry
3) Dystopian Overture
4) The Gift of Music
5) Along for the Ride
6) When Your Time Has Come
7) Enigma Machine
8) The road to Revolution
9) This is the Life
10) 2285 Entr'acte
11) Moment of Betrayal
12) Heaven's Cove
13) On the Backs of Angels
14) Surrender to Reason

78:55

Wow. I have the impression everything you write belongs to the unpopular opinions thread.
No offense.

[Crow]

1. 6:00
2. Caught in a Web
3. Innocence Faded
4. Erotomania
5. Voices
6. The Silent Man
7. The Mirror
8. Lie
9. Lifting Shadows off a Dream
10. Scarred
11. Space-Dye Vest

[erwinrafael]

As I said in the other thread, I had blast doing single disc playlists using three-album clusters. So here are the four playlists I made

AWAKENING (edited)

Metropolis Pt 1
Peruvian Skies
Wait for Sleep
The Mirror
Scarred
Surrounded
ToT
ACOS

THE GOLDEN AGE

Overture 1928
Strange Deja Vu
Through My Words
Fatal Tragedy
As I Am
SoC
SDOIT

IMPERFECT CIRCLE

ITPOE Pt 1
TCoT
These Walls
8VM
ITOE pt 2

OUR NEW WORLD

Dystopian Overture
TGoM
TitL
BitS
Chosen
BtV
BAI
ONW
IT

[SebastianPratesi]

1.   "6:00"
2.   "Caught in a Web" etc.

1. 6:00
2. Caught in a Web etc.

Wow, Awake seems to be getting a lot of love around here!

As I said in the other thread, I had blast doing single disc playlists using three-album clusters. So here are the four playlists I made

AWAKENING

Metropolis Pt 1
CIAW
Peruvian Skies
The Mirror
Scarred
Surrounded
ToT
ACOS

THE GOLDEN AGE

Overture 1928
Strange Deja Vu
Through My Words
Fatal Tragedy
As I Am
SoC
SDOIT

Great seeing some love for those 2 songs! Train Of Thought was my first DT album, and "Stream Of Consciousness" has been my favourite since the first listen - so much different stuff going on in that piece.

[KevShmev]

Wow, Awake seems to be getting a lot of love around here!

Well, it is their best album.

[erwinrafael]

Agree. Especially in terms of pacing of the songs, balance, having a definite character, etc.

[Enigmachine]

Agree. Especially in terms of pacing of the songs, balance, having a definite character, etc.

I thought TA was your favourite?

1. The Astonishing (I never thought I would listen to a two-hour album almost twice a day everyday for two weeks)


2. Awake

[erwinrafael]

Agree. Especially in terms of pacing of the songs, balance, having a definite character, etc.

I thought TA was your favourite?

1. The Astonishing (I never thought I would listen to a two-hour album almost twice a day everyday for two weeks)


2. Awake

Yes. But I was commenting in the context of a single-disc album. Hehehe. If it's double disc, TA wins.

[SkiFiX]

.

[chaossystem]

When I made that previous playlist, I screwed up, mostly due to sleep deprivation. I was thinking of the OTHER thread, where the OP wanted a playlist made up of songs only from the last three albums. so...if I was going to make a single disc DT playlist for an older prog fan, and I wasn't sure if they liked metal, it might go something like this:

1) Only a Matter of Time
2) Surrounded
3) Space-Dye Vest
4) New Millennium
5) Overture 1928
6) Solitary Shell
7) Sacrificed Sons
8) Forsaken
9) This is the Life
10) Surrender to reason
11) When Your Time Has Come
12) Moment of Betrayal

I tried to be as inclusive as possible, and I DID include a couple of "heavier" songs so it would give the "noob" an idea of THAT side of their music.

[seasonsinthesky]

I have shittons of these, but this one works the best:
1. Beyond This Life
2. Misunderstood
3. In the Presence of Enemies, pt. 1
4. Blind Faith
5. Home
6. Lines in the Sand
7. Hell's Kitchen
8. Sacrificed Sons

They all segue directly because the key signatures are matched! Except "Misunderstood"/ITPOE and LITS/HK obviously, with the abrupt ends. About the only songs missing for my taste are ACOS and "The Count of Tuscany" – obviously no room left.

And regarding putting "The Mirror" on a disc without "Lie," that's easy – drop in the reprise of TM from the end of "Lie" like they arranged on Live Scenes!

[Enigmachine]

6. Lines in the Sand
7. Hell's Kitchen

They all segue directly because the key signatures are matched! Except LITS/HK

Why not just switch those two to their original sequence?

[chaossystem]

I have shittons of these, but this one works the best:
1. Beyond This Life
2. Misunderstood
3. In the Presence of Enemies, pt. 1
4. Blind Faith
5. Home
6. Lines in the Sand
7. Hell's Kitchen
8. Sacrificed Sons

They all segue directly because the key signatures are matched! Except "Misunderstood"/ITPOE and LITS/HK obviously, with the abrupt ends. About the only songs missing for my taste are ACOS and "The Count of Tuscany" – obviously no room left.

And regarding putting "The Mirror" on a disc without "Lie," that's easy – drop in the reprise of TM from the end of "Lie" like they arranged on Live Scenes!

WHAT is a "shitton?"

[Dream Team]

1. 6:00
2. Caught in a Web
3. Innocence Faded
4. Erotomania
5. Voices
6. The Silent Man
7. The Mirror
8. Lie
9. Lifting Shadows off a Dream
10. Scarred
11. Space-Dye Vest

That'd be really funny if Kev hadn't made the same joke like 3 posts above yours.

[Dream Team]

Leaving out ACOS for space purposes, it would include:

Breaking All Illusions
Under a Glass Moon
Only a Matter of Time
In the Name of God
A Life Left Behind
Ravenskill
The Great Debate
Beyond This Life
Surrounded

[seasonsinthesky]

6. Lines in the Sand
7. Hell's Kitchen

They all segue directly because the key signatures are matched! Except LITS/HK

Why not just switch those two to their original sequence?

I do like them as is, but since spending some cash on Jammit (and the vinyl, for that matter), I don't have to keep them together if I don't feel like it!

WHAT is a "shitton?"

Heh. I guess there's a temptation to pronounce it like "shittin?" I meant "shit ton" but got all Germanic about it and combined them.

[chaossystem]

I didn't know right away that you meant "shit ton" or "shit-ton" but after a while I thought "oh crap! (pardon the pun) THAT was what he meant!"

Also, I thought most people considered HK to be the INTRO to LitS. But I usually listen to them separately as well.

[bosk1]

No.  Most people view HK as a separate song (which it is) and actually like it (which I cannot understand).

[Enigmachine]

Yeah but it fades into LitS so smoothly, Giving the impression that both flow as one.

[The Hairy Man]

Nobody would include Eve??? 

[Train of Naught]

Eve bores me to death so I personally wouldn't.


Another Day
Peruvian Skies
Three Days
The X Aspect
The Mirror/Lie
This is the Life
The Dance of Eternity
Endless Sacrifice
Sacrificed Sons
Breaking All Illusions

Clocks in at pretty much exactly 80 minutes.

[TheCountOfNYC]

Afterlife
The Looking Glass
Constant Motion
This is the Life
Metropolis
The Dance of Eternity
Disappear
As I Am
A Rite of Passage
Caught in a Web
Peruvian Skies
Panic Attack
Our New World
A Change of Seasons