Distant Memories - New live release

[jadiggerdt]

Only listen to the audio yet but the mix is great and i love the drum mix. Well very much compressed and its a shame that the audience is totally gone but looking forward to watch the bluray tomorrow.James is probably little to much overdubbed some times but its ok. Love nightmare 

[Ben_Jamin]

Listened to the first set.

ITPOE pt.1 is excellent. Way better than the one on Chaos in Motion. Mangini and LaBrie are great on this one.

I agree although I'm still a bit miffed at its inclusion. I remember in concert thinking, "Whoa, they're going to do the whole song?" Then getting distracted thinking, "If they only do part 1 that's going to be kind of lame," but I guess it does actually kind fit ok leading into Pale Blue Dot.

Then on the recording hearing how good they sound and getting pissed all over again that they don't play Part 2.

Man, I hate to sound like a whiny fan but damn it, let be a little whiny especially since I have mostly good things to say about this release!

I hear you on that. I was all "Damn, it'd be cool if they would've done the whole thing"

[The Realm]

ITPOE and Nightmare are great. Any chance they were included as they are potentially easier vocally? Especially ITPOE.

On most of the more difficult higher register Scenes stuff I find James wailing too much. It is over the top he has turned difficult vocal lines into a monotonous one vowel sound with no pronunciation. You can't actually understand a word. He still sounds great in the mid range vocal lines though.

[SeRoX]

It's just plain bad. No live feeling. I didn't enjoy. Even that "one last time" section in Finally Free singed by audiences sounds like studio recording. To me this is not a sign of a amazing post production. This a failure.

DT is my all time favourite band. I hope this DVD doing OK for the rest of the fans.

[geeeemo]

Well, I am in the camp that is waiting until mid-December for my copy. (artbook edition).  And I was gonig to wait to listen until I received it. But after hearing
great reviews (mostly - but that would be par for the course) and especially for Nightmare - I had to give a listen. Just the first 2 songs.  Nightmare did not disaapoint!
And ya, the JLB scream made me smile!   Also little differences in the guitar and keyboard that were really interesting and good! Fun like the original, but not
exactly the same.  What I love about live renditions!  I actually listen to DT live more than the studio stuff. 

[erwinrafael]

Loved it when the audience sang the harmony to the guitar solo of Fall Into The Light.

Mangini's drum aolo in Finally Free will be divisive. He is really pushing it with the polyrhythmic stuff. 😁

[cramx3]

Loved it when the audience sang the harmony to the guitar solo of Fall Into The Light.

Mangini's drum aolo in Finally Free will be divisive. He is really piahing it with the polyrhythmic stuff. 😁

Not surprising considering people's thoughts during the tour.  I personally wasn't a fan the two shows I saw, it felt too much but was hoping by the time of the last show, he might have refined it to be more enjoyable.

[TAC]

I actually listen to DT live more than the studio stuff. 

As do I, mostly due to the great bootlegs they have. But I never listen to LALP or BTFW.




Sadly this was a listen before I buy release. But the good news is that I'm through Barstool Warrior, and this sounds way more organic than the last two live albums. I love that you can clearly hear Jordan.

It's going on my list to Santa!!

[erwinrafael]

Loved it when the audience sang the harmony to the guitar solo of Fall Into The Light.

Mangini's drum aolo in Finally Free will be divisive. He is really piahing it with the polyrhythmic stuff. 😁

Not surprising considering people's thoughts during the tour.  I personally wasn't a fan the two shows I saw, it felt too much but was hoping by the time of the last show, he might have refined it to be more enjoyable.

For me, too much, playing to the edge of what is acceptable is what prog is about. You should watch drum solos during jazz concerts, those are even way crazier. 

[devieira73]

I liked a lot this album (only heard it on Spotify). The instruments are clear, they sound really beautiful and somewhat just a bit raw - at the point. The performances of Mike, Johns and Jordan are stellar. I like more when the crowd isn't too loud during the songs - I just like better the live albums this way, so I really like its mix. It seems a more real crowd reaction in a DT show to me (even more when they are seated). I'm not the best person to judge if the vocals are auto-tuned etc, but at least, they do sound like James performing it live and it has its flaws, no doubt.
That Mangini's drum solo on Finally Free is clearly the moment of his free soloing in the show (very different from the more "complementary to song" soloing from the studio version) and I think he really does something very unique here. His soloing kind of goes back and forth between crazy fills and crazy grooves, very original IMO.

By the way, nice video of the unboxing of the deluxe edition:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KrDGSnsodHc

[dparrott]

Is there a way to purchase an mp3 download from Europe?  With the Euro > USD exchange rate it's much cheaper.  I tried it on amazon.de but it's complicated with the payment methods.

[Puppies_On_Acid]

Is it just me or does James sound terrible here. His annunciation is horrible and that vibrato he uses in the higher notes is annoying. I guess I can credit it to him getting older, I guess.

[erwinrafael]

I love how having a full pre-Mangini album played straight through by Mangini brought out what Mangini brought to the table.

He brought METAL. Lots of metal.

SFAM sounds so heavy with Mangini on the drums. He may be playing Portnoy's parts but the way he hits it, the velocity, the footwork, it is SO metal.

Now I am wishing that we had an official record of his Images and Words playthrough.

[LTE777]

Say what you want about James singing (Ill defend JLB all day), but damn that scream at 3:54-3:56 in Finally Free - far out.  He's def got some steam in the pipes still and wonder what a DT song would sound like with this type of screaming throughout.

[DreamerTV]

It's just plain bad. No live feeling. I didn't enjoy. Even that "one last time" section in Finally Free singed by audiences sounds like studio recording. To me this is not a sign of a amazing post production. This a failure.

DT is my all time favourite band. I hope this DVD doing OK for the rest of the fans.

Not to disrespect your opinion - not at all - but wether you like it or not, the way MM plays and the way he's mixed is what makes this sound way more live than anything they've put out since Chaos in Motion.

[ReaperKK]

Is it just me or does James sound terrible here. His annunciation is horrible and that vibrato he uses in the higher notes is annoying. I guess I can credit it to him getting older, I guess.

I was listening to the album yesterday and my thoughts where the same, not James' best release.

[adastra]

I really really liked the Blu-ray! The way it sounded, the camerawork, the lightning. Top notch!
The setlist wasn't my favourite, but I can live with that.
I was a little bit worried about Labries performance , but found it very good. There were couple hickups but nothing earth shattering. Solid performance.
The ending of Finally Free wasn't my cup of tea. Sounded terrible!  Sorry. Imo the drumming didn't fit at all and ruined the ending.
But yeah, very good performance from the whole band and a solid release. Really enjoyed watching it!
I also bought the 4LP edition but haven't tries it yet.

[WilliamMunny]

Alright, after two full listens (first time I've done that since Budakon!), I have come to the following conclusions (which seem to be in line with the majority of this board so far)

James - I think he sounds amazing...and not just for his age. Are there a couple of cringe moments? Sure. But There's a handful of definitive performances here as well (Nightmare immediately comes to mind)

JP, JM, JR - All in top form. As others have already mentioned, there's a 'looseness' here that only comes with hard-earned chemistry. These guys have obviously found a groove together.

Mangini - eh, never gonna be my cup of tea, but he's obviously a brilliant player that does little to detract from the older material. Admittedly, I'm a MP fanboy, but, at this point, it is what it is...and if he makes the band happy, then that makes me happy.

Setlist - It's cool. I don't know that any of the scenes cut edge out the 'Live Scenes' release, but as a document of this band circa 2020, I am beyond please:)

[Ben_Jamin]

Is it just me or does James sound terrible here. His annunciation is horrible and that vibrato he uses in the higher notes is annoying. I guess I can credit it to him getting older, I guess.

I was listening to the album yesterday and my thoughts where the same, not James' best release.

When has he ever enunciated well...

[Ben_Jamin]

You know what I love about Mangini...

Mangini actually plays the fills and then some, that MP never bothered to learned to play. It's really noticeable in ANTR and ITPOE. MY god, that Blast Beat. MP wishes he could do that in ANTR.

[Madman Shepherd]

Is it just me or does James sound terrible here. His annunciation is horrible and that vibrato he uses in the higher notes is annoying. I guess I can credit it to him getting older, I guess.

I was listening to the album yesterday and my thoughts where the same, not James' best release.

When has he ever enunciated well...

heh, my thoughts as well. In that Talk is Jericho podcast they even made a joke about having more vowels in the high parts or something along those lines (I barely caught it and didn't rewind).

Here's the deal. Everything is subjective, right? I think James sounds great but I also try to be as objective as possible. Is his enunciation a bit problematic? Sure. His his vibrato a bit much? Sure. Both of those things can be attributed to the difficulty of the vocals along with the length of the show. So if it isn't your cup of tea, I get it. I don't mind either of those things enough for it to affect my enjoyment.  But I gotta say, trying to be as objective as possible, I don't see how anybody could say that this is a bad performance.

[hunnus2000]

Is it just me or does James sound terrible here. His annunciation is horrible and that vibrato he uses in the higher notes is annoying. I guess I can credit it to him getting older, I guess.

I was listening to the album yesterday and my thoughts where the same, not James' best release.

When has he ever enunciated well...

heh, my thoughts as well. In that Talk is Jericho podcast they even made a joke about having more vowels in the high parts or something along those lines (I barely caught it and didn't rewind).

Here's the deal. Everything is subjective, right? I think James sounds great but I also try to be as objective as possible. Is his enunciation a bit problematic? Sure. His his vibrato a bit much? Sure. Both of those things can be attributed to the difficulty of the vocals along with the length of the show. So if it isn't your cup of tea, I get it. I don't mind either of those things enough for it to affect my enjoyment.  But I gotta say, trying to be as objective as possible, I don't see how anybody could say that this is a bad performance.

Someone on this board once wrote that JLB had the hardest job in the band and I couldn't agree more. Sure his voice sounds strained on certain evenings but it doesn't take away from my enjoyment. Geddy Lee's voice vastly different towards the end but I loved every minute of their presentation. I wonder if he has a vocal coach?

[adastra]

I don't see how anybody could say that this is a bad performance.

I´m thinking the same! It was actually far better performance than I was expecting.

[Ben_Jamin]

Is it just me or does James sound terrible here. His annunciation is horrible and that vibrato he uses in the higher notes is annoying. I guess I can credit it to him getting older, I guess.

I was listening to the album yesterday and my thoughts where the same, not James' best release.

When has he ever enunciated well...

heh, my thoughts as well. In that Talk is Jericho podcast they even made a joke about having more vowels in the high parts or something along those lines (I barely caught it and didn't rewind).

Here's the deal. Everything is subjective, right? I think James sounds great but I also try to be as objective as possible. Is his enunciation a bit problematic? Sure. His his vibrato a bit much? Sure. Both of those things can be attributed to the difficulty of the vocals along with the length of the show. So if it isn't your cup of tea, I get it. I don't mind either of those things enough for it to affect my enjoyment.  But I gotta say, trying to be as objective as possible, I don't see how anybody could say that this is a bad performance.

Someone on this board once wrote that JLB had the hardest job in the band and I couldn't agree more. Sure his voice sounds strained on certain evenings but it doesn't take away from my enjoyment. Geddy Lee's voice vastly different towards the end but I loved every minute of their presentation. I wonder if he has a vocal coach?

I am sure he does, I am sure a lot of vocalists actually do whom are not classically trained or had any sort of Vocal Training, like took choir or sang in church.  The coach could help him get an idea of how to better control his voice as most aging vocalists have to change up their style to suit their current voice tone. Geddy could likely still hit those highs, but they may sound like shit and he can only do it like once a night.

With JLB, I feel he likes to experiment with different vocal styles and he utilizes them on the live tours. That's the difference I had noticed once MP left. JLB is more free to do whatever he wants to do vocally, and JP lets him because JP is not the vocalist.

Kind of funny how people don't want them to sound exactly like the studio. Yet, when JLB does this with his vocals, people want his vocals to be exactly like the album. But, don't get this way with the instruments.

I am starting to think they just don't really like JLB's tone.

[DarkLord_Lalinc]

Yeah, definitely people's biggest pick with JLB these days is his timbre. His voice has changed a lot, for sure, but he's still putting a hell of a show.

There are some vocal gems in this concert to me, for sure, like Beyond This Life or Nightmare to Remember.

[Herrick]

Is it just me or does James sound terrible here. His annunciation is horrible and that vibrato he uses in the higher notes is annoying. I guess I can credit it to him getting older, I guess.

I was listening to the album yesterday and my thoughts where the same, not James' best release.

I'm only a few songs in but I think he sounds really good.

Edit: I kind of wish they didn't even do Scenes for that tour but oh well.

[dparrott]

OK I broke down and bought the mp3.  Blending it in CD Architect.

Vocals are a bit high and thin on Through Her Eyes.  They sound fine in the heavy songs, but that really stood out to me.

TDOE was on point!!!  It kinda drifts off time toward the end, but the rest is good.

I love the loud snare sound, and how we can actually hear JR with the rest of the band!

[Jinx]

I've just watched the first disc (Blu Ray), just gone to put the 2nd disc in to watch Scenes aaaand.. disc cannot be read at all. So frustrating... 

[Peter Mc]

Finally getting around to watching the Blu-ray now. I'm enjoying it a lot, sits comfortably with their other polished live releases (i.e. not CIM or OIALT).  James sounds fine, don't care if he's been fixed, it still sounds live, he doesn't sound perfect.

Watching ITPOE and it reminds me of something that's embarrassing to admit as someone who would call themselves pretty much a superfan of this band.  When I was at the show, I had no clue what song ITPOE was until just before James came in. I was listening and enjoying the hell out of it but I couldn't figure out what song it was. Was just thinking, "I know this, what the hell is it?" It was my personal highlight of the show though, sounded amazing.

[cramx3]

Good to read all the positive reviews, makes me a bit upset that I bought the artbook and now have to wait longer.

[Peter Mc]

Can't you just cancel and buy it from another site? I had no problems getting the artbook from Amazon.

[Peter Mc]

Can't get over how small Hammersmith Apollo looks on this.  It's a pretty big theatre, over 3 and a half thousand seated or 5,000 if standing downstairs.  It looks tiny on this.

[Peter Mc]

Scenes remains a magical album and The Spirit Carries On is probably DT's finest achievement.  We all have our favourites (mine is Learning To Live) but I can't imagine anyone listening to TSCO and not enjoying it to some degree. It's their most successful melodic, accessible song attempt, pretty much perfection.

[PetFish]

Where am I supposed to buy the Blu-Ray?

Amazon is sold out and links from dt.net are just for streaming audio.

[goo-goo]

Where am I supposed to buy the Blu-Ray?

Amazon is sold out and links from dt.net are just for streaming audio.

https://www.lasercd.com/cd/distant-memories-live-london-3cd2-blu-ray