Dream Theater's most beautiful ballad.

[mariner]

The Spirit Carries On by a country mile.

Yes sir!  Wholehearted agreement on this.

[MrBoom_shack-a-lack]

Yea I have to agree with spirit carries although the sax alt. version of Through her eyes. 

[vtgrad]

Lifting Shadows and This is the Life take the cake, and share it, for me. 

This is the Life has a very personal tie for me because my father passed in 2012 (actually yesterday was the 9th anniversary) and he had a habit of saying "this is the life isn't it son" when we would sit on the beach.  Year after year, from the early 90s through our final family trip in 2011 he would say that to me.  BIG song for me personally.  I had the chance to thank JP in-person for those lyrics in DC in 2012.

Plus the solo is all kinds of David Gilmour and kicks me in the a$$ when I play it (or try to )

[nattmorker]

I have to go with:

Disappear
Begin Again
Wither
Beneath the surface

in that order.

[Wim Kruithof]

There are some gorgious favorites passing along in here. With Beneath the Surface being my number one pick, Goodnight Kiss would be a close second. And Lifting Shadows Off a Dream, Hollow Years (Budokan version) and Anna Lee aren't far off eather.

I remembered the first time I heared Out of Reach, it blown me away and I got the feeling it will age very well.

[Adami]

So with everyone gushing over it, I'm giving This is the Life another shot.


The music between the drums kicking in and the vocals starting is nice. The rest? I am just not connecting with it at all. Music seems by the numbers and lyrics just are not very interesting to me. I get the nice sentiment, but I guess I just don't care for how they're written? I dunno. Clearly just not a song for me.

[romdrums]

For me, it's Space Dye Vest.  After that, I'd go:

Beneath the Surface
Disappear
Out of Reach
Wait for Sleep

[hacko]

I might get some flak, but legit Hollow Years.

[DoctorAction]

I love The Spirit Carries On solo and vibe but it's kept from my top ballads list by the super-plain lyrics.

"I'm writing this song"

"What's it about?"

"The big stuff. You know. Where we come from. Why we're here. Where we go when we die."

"Ooo. That is big stuff. Show us your lyrics, then.... *reads* ...Ah. Right."

[Ben_Jamin]

I love The Spirit Carries On solo and vibe but it's kept from my top ballads list by the super-plain lyrics.

"I'm writing this song"

"What's it about?"

"The big stuff. You know. Where we come from. Why we're here. Where we go when we die."

"Ooo. That is big stuff. Show us your lyrics, then.... *reads* ...Ah. Right."

That's not why it's written though.

It's Nicholas contemplating those questions, and pondering about the how's and why of Victoria dying young, and him having these dreams of a past life. It's where Nicholas comes to accept that there is more out there, and Victoria comes to him saying to move on now and live your life as Nicholas. It's like a soul coming to terms with itself and it's past life by accepting it's death. And now, Nicholas is not frightened of dying anymore (which "Frightened of dying" is a great sort of lyrical nod to Pink Floyd and the quote from Dark Side of The Moon, "I am not frightened of dying. Why should I be everyone has to go sometime.") and says "If I die tomorrow, I'll be alright because I believe, that after we're gone, the spirit carries on." Which when you finish the album and the ending gets revealed, those lyrics become a dark foreshadow.

[DoctorAction]

Yeah, it's part of the story, sure. And I like the "safe in the light that surrounds me" part but those early sections are really clunky, imo.

[dvargas]

Space-dye Vest
Disappear
Eve
Far from Heaven

[Lowdz]

The Beautiful Agony section of a Nightmare To Remember for me, then Goodnight Kiss.

[Wim Kruithof]

I think the universe of DT "ballads" is as follows:

Another Day
Wait for Sleep
The Silent Man
Lifting Shadows off a Dream (?)
Hollow Years
Anna Lee
Through Her Eyes
One Last Time (?)
The Spirit Carries On (?)
Disappear
Vacant
The Answer Lies Within
Repentance (?)
Wither
This is the Life
Far from Heaven
Beneath the Surface
Along for the Ride
-- a bunch of songs on TA --
Out of Reach

Someone else can fill in the TA songs, but did I otherwise miss any?

Out of those songs, my top 5, in no particular order, are probably Wither, Along for the Ride, One Last Time, Hollow Years, and Lifting Shadows.

If "beautiful" means something other than "favorite," I'm not sure I totally appreciate the distinction.

I do miss Best of Times. And you do not consider Goodnight Kiss and Solitary Shell as stand-alone-ballads, but those from Scenes From a Memory are involved...to me there isn't much different.

[pg1067]

I do miss Best of Times. And you do not consider Goodnight Kiss and Solitary Shell as stand-alone-ballads, but those from Scenes From a Memory are involved...to me there isn't much different.

It didn't occur to me to parse the sections of SDOIT, but yeah, Goodnight Kiss should be on the list (as does Space-Dye Vest).  I don't think either Solitary Shell or Best of Times is a ballad.

[gborland]

Another Day.

First time I saw DT at the Cathouse in Glasgow, back in 1993, and I was standing right at the front mere INCHES from JP while he ripped out that beautiful, gorgeous solo. That has cemented it for me as the greatest ballad in the universe.

[Elite]

If I could choose Space-Dye Vest, it's easily that one.

If not, then probably either The Spirit Carries On or Lifting Shadows off a Dream.

[Chino]

Does Chosen count as a ballad?

I'll toss in Wither and The Answer Lies Within as well.

[Wim Kruithof]

It didn't occur to me to parse the sections of SDOIT, but yeah, Goodnight Kiss should be on the list (as does Space-Dye Vest).  I don't think either Solitary Shell or Best of Times is a ballad.

Interesting that you do not consider Best of Times a ballad. It is a slow hommage to love, therefore to me a ballad for sure. Solitary Shell is indeed a bit of doubtful, as is Space Dye Vest for me, due to it's dark tone overall.

[illusionist]

Through her Eyes is my favorite DT ballad.Always gets me emotional,and back in 2000 in my first DT live,i remember crying listening to it.
Another Day is another favorite too.
The spirit carries on.
Hollow Years.
The Answer lies within is a great song too,brings me back memories from '05.
Eve is one of my favorites too.
Hourglass from LTE also

[Mr.Mister]

Unpopular opinion: I love Anna Lee (And Derek's revisiting it in one of his solo albums).

DT has a surprisingly good catalog of ballads IMO - each one in ADTOE can be top 5 (ballads). TSCO is probably my favorite because of the story, the music, the album. It's no surprise it was one of the chosen songs for the drummer audition.

Does "Take Away My Pain" count?

Father in law passed away a few years ago and I can't listen to it without crying a bit...

I think so? another powerful one given the subject of the song. You can tell it was written from the heart.

[TheBarstoolWarrior]

I'll make a controversial pick: Out of Reach

Maybe not the very best, but it's up there for me.

[jayvee3]

I'll make a controversial pick: Out of Reach

Maybe not the very best, but it's up there for me.

Not controversial at all - it's a beautiful song and I agree, one of the very top echelon ballads they have done. Wonderful feeling and emotion.

I do think sometimes some are reluctant to rank the newer songs because they haven't spent as much time with them. And I feel this one slipped through a bit, as it was placed later in the album and wedged in between some monsters. But it is a phenomenal track, it's one I rarely skip, if ever...

[Elite]

If I could choose Space-Dye Vest, it's easily that one.

If not, then probably either The Spirit Carries On or Lifting Shadows off a Dream.

I often forget about everything ADTOE onwards, but it just occurred to me that Far From Heaven exists too and that's a beautiful track.

[Wim Kruithof]

Eve is one of my favorites too.

Sorry for asking, but which one is Eve?

[BeatriceNB]

Eve is one of my favorites too.

Sorry for asking, but which one is Eve?

This one: https://youtube.com/watch?v=DiayUWUhZSQ

And an interesting live rendition of it: https://youtube.com/watch?v=2qvzepI5JmQ

[Wim Kruithof]

Wow what a track, thank you... beautiful. Never heard Eve before but absolute a gorgious piece. Hope they'll put in on a Lost Not Forgotten Archives somewhere...

[jayvee3]

Wow what a track, thank you... beautiful. Never heard Eve before but absolute a gorgious piece. Hope they'll put in on a Lost Not Forgotten Archives somewhere...

Check out the "Cleaning out the Closet" fan CD. It has Eve, as well as some other great tracks, many from the FII era. Some really nice moments on that CD 👍

[BlacklistJones]

It's tough for anything to contend with "The Spirit Carries On". It's truly an emotional roller coaster that's attached to their greatest album, in my opinion.

For me though, the one that really tugs at my heartstrings, is "Disappear". It has this spiraling darkness to it, and the message feels very real - that sense of hopelessness and questioning without getting the answers that you really hope for. It comes across as someone being trapped, reaching for some sense of resolve that just isn't there.

Life isn't always a bouquet of roses, and Dream Theater really portrayed that well with this song. 

[pg1067]

Eve is one of my favorites too.

Sorry for asking, but which one is Eve?

This one: https://youtube.com/watch?v=DiayUWUhZSQ

And an interesting live rendition of it: https://youtube.com/watch?v=2qvzepI5JmQ

That live version with all of the spoken word bits was how I first heard the song.  I acquired a cassette of the 3/4/93 show back in '93 from someone on a *Prodigy message board.

[Wim Kruithof]

Check out the "Cleaning out the Closet" fan CD. It has Eve, as well as some other great tracks, many from the FII era. Some really nice moments on that CD 👍

I will do that for sure, thanks. Was it released as a bootleg also? Then perhaps it will be rereleased next year...

[pg1067]

Check out the "Cleaning out the Closet" fan CD. It has Eve, as well as some other great tracks, many from the FII era. Some really nice moments on that CD 👍

I will do that for sure, thanks. Was it released as a bootleg also? Then perhaps it will be rereleased next year...

The March 4, 1993 live show at the Limelight (the source of the second link in Beatrice's post) was released through YtseJam Records, so it will presumably be re-released through the "Lost Not Forgotten Archives" at some point.

[Wim Kruithof]

Thank you, that would be a vinyl for me for sure...

[tweeg]

Unpopular opinion: I love Anna Lee (And Derek's revisiting it in one of his solo albums).

I was unaware he revisited it. Do you know on which solo album?

[Trav]

Unpopular opinion: I love Anna Lee (And Derek's revisiting it in one of his solo albums).

I was unaware he revisited it. Do you know on which solo album?

Blood of the Snake. It's re-titled "Been Here Before". It's also done on the Portnoy Sheehan Macalpine Sherinian album.