*Official* A View from the Top of the World discussion thread

[KevShmev]

Despite JP's brief moment of too much excitement (shred) in his solo , I love Transcending Time and feel it is a top 2 song from this record along with Awaken the Master.

[Stadler]

Despite JP's brief moment of too much excitement (shred) in his solo , I love Transcending Time and feel it is a top 2 song from this record along with Awaken the Master.

TT is actually my favorite song on the record (though the title track is close).

[Kram]

Despite JP's brief moment of too much excitement (shred) in his solo , I love Transcending Time and feel it is a top 2 song from this record along with Awaken the Master.

TT is actually my favorite song on the record (though the title track is close).

It's my second to least favorite on the album (Invisible Monster) - but that doesn't mean it's bad or I don't like it, I just like the others better.  But I share Kev's opinion on the solo for sure.  That's one spot, IMO, he should've "reigned it in" a bit if you will..

[TheBarstoolWarrior]

I wonder if the reason why the TT solo is the way it is has to do with its predecessors: Barstool Warrior and Looking Glass are similar style songs but their solos are same tonality and 'safer' I guess. Maybe he wanted to try something new? I agree it sounds a bit out of place as does the shift to minor in general.

[Architeuthis]

I like the randomness of the shredding part of that solo. It seems that he was having some fun in the studio. Either that or voicing some frustration through his guitar. Whatever way, it's awesome! 

[KevShmev]

Despite JP's brief moment of too much excitement (shred) in his solo , I love Transcending Time and feel it is a top 2 song from this record along with Awaken the Master.

TT is actually my favorite song on the record (though the title track is close).

It's my second to least favorite on the album (Invisible Monster) - but that doesn't mean it's bad or I don't like it, I just like the others better.  But I share Kev's opinion on the solo for sure.  That's one spot, IMO, he should've "reigned it in" a bit if you will..

I chalk it up as one of their "we just can't help ourselves but to shred" moments.  They have a lot of those. 

[crystalstars17]

In competition as my favorite DT DVD.

Same, if you mean its competitor is Score ✨

[Glasser]

I made a DT Live mix to fit on 1 CD for the car. I called it " 5 Live". I'm going to do a double Live CD mix next. I enjoy it, what can I say.

1) Lines In The Sand. (Chaos In Motion)
2) Scarred. (Chaos In Motion)
3) To Live Forever. (A Dramatic Tour Of Events)
4) The Count Of Tuscany. (A Dramatic Tour Of Events)
5) Illumination Theory. (Breaking The Fourth Wall)

[Dream Team]

In competition as my favorite DT DVD.

Same, if you mean its competitor is Score ✨

Right. I mean, Live Scenes is awesome (that setlist!) and my original favorite but the production values are sorely lacking and James wasn't at his best (he nailed ACOS though). I also love Luna Park (another great setlist) but JP's guitar is too dominant in the mix.

[Stadler]

I made a DT Live mix to fit on 1 CD for the car. I called it " 5 Live". I'm going to do a double Live CD mix next. I enjoy it, what can I say.

1) Lines In The Sand. (Chaos In Motion)
2) Scarred. (Chaos In Motion)
3) To Live Forever. (A Dramatic Tour Of Events)
4) The Count Of Tuscany. (A Dramatic Tour Of Events)
5) Illumination Theory. (Breaking The Fourth Wall)

That's a pretty damn good playlist. 

[gzarruk]

At one point I started a live DT project where I chose my favorite live version of every DT song to make a big playlist with them. I really hope to finish it at some point soon, but there's too many versions to check out

[crystalstars17]

In competition as my favorite DT DVD.

Same, if you mean its competitor is Score ✨

Right. I mean, Live Scenes is awesome (that setlist!) and my original favorite but the production values are sorely lacking and James wasn't at his best (he nailed ACOS though). I also love Luna Park (another great setlist) but JP's guitar is too dominant in the mix.

I would rank them Score, Breaking the Fourth Wall, and Luna Park, in that order.

[Awaken]

I made a DT Live mix to fit on 1 CD for the car. I called it " 5 Live". I'm going to do a double Live CD mix next. I enjoy it, what can I say.

1) Lines In The Sand. (Chaos In Motion)
2) Scarred. (Chaos In Motion)
3) To Live Forever. (A Dramatic Tour Of Events)
4) The Count Of Tuscany. (A Dramatic Tour Of Events)
5) Illumination Theory. (Breaking The Fourth Wall)

This may be the only DT song where I almost ALWAYS skip the album version.  Live or nothing at all for me when it comes to Lines in the Sand. 

[hefdaddy42]

I made a DT Live mix to fit on 1 CD for the car. I called it " 5 Live". I'm going to do a double Live CD mix next. I enjoy it, what can I say.

1) Lines In The Sand. (Chaos In Motion)
2) Scarred. (Chaos In Motion)
3) To Live Forever. (A Dramatic Tour Of Events)
4) The Count Of Tuscany. (A Dramatic Tour Of Events)
5) Illumination Theory. (Breaking The Fourth Wall)

This may be the only DT song where I almost ALWAYS skip the album version.  Live or nothing at all for me when it comes to Lines in the Sand.

See, I've never heard a live version that I like better than the original studio recording.

[Jamesman42]

Budokan Hollow years has made the FII version unlistenable to me.

[crystalstars17]

To each there own, I'm well aware of that. But a common dislike here on DTF is the album lacking diversaty. And that I can't understand... There is so much in this album to enjoy and it covers the wide spectrum of Dream Theater definitely, I would say. There is heavy metal with Awaken the Master, there's that positive-vibe Transcending Time... The Alien and Invisible Monster are more easy to the ears, more mainstream-oriented and there is that absolute epic. Within this epic the ballad is hidden (cello-part) and Sleeping Giant is as complex as Dream Theater can be, due to it's build-up. There is that familiar Awake-sound, but stylistically total different.

The only two albums which could be point out as lack of diversaty are Train of Thought (heavy metal) and The Astonishing, which completely covers the other side of their spectrum. But A View is totally a classic in their discography, for me.

Agreed. It's become my second favorite of all time behind Images and Words. Transcending Time is my least favorite song on it but not to the point where I skip it. The title track is my favorite (I absolutely LOVE that cello part, it's brilliant), followed by Answering the Call, then Invisible Monster and The Alien (tied).  I've been kind of obsessed with this album again recently, it's just so great.

[Wim Kruithof]

It's become my second favorite of all time behind Images and Words. Transcending Time is my least favorite song on it but not to the point where I skip it. The title track is my favorite (I absolutely LOVE that cello part, it's brilliant), followed by Answering the Call, then Invisible Monster and The Alien (tied).  I've been kind of obsessed with this album again recently, it's just so great.

A View is absolutely a favorite of mine, from the very first listen. But with Dream Theater I have many favorites. I've known the band for six years or so now and in these years, I've spend hours and hours on their discography. Falling Into Infinity is most likely my least favorite, but even that 's gorgious. I just can't spin a vinyl which starts with New Millennium and You Not Me. It's close to awful way to start a record.

Transcending Time is so uplifting that it influences my mood everytime. I can't help it, smiling while I'm driving my car or riding the bike. And there is not one song in their entire discography that comes even close... and still it's 'Dream Theater' all-over.

[crystalstars17]

Transcending Time is so uplifting that it influences my mood everytime. I can't help it, smiling while I'm driving my car or riding the bike. And there is not one song in their entire discography that comes even close... and still it's 'Dream Theater' all-over.

I can't disagree with you that it's very uplifting. Maybe it'll grow on me.

[Glasser]

Transcending Time is so uplifting that it influences my mood everytime. I can't help it, smiling while I'm driving my car or riding the bike. And there is not one song in their entire discography that comes even close... and still it's 'Dream Theater' all-over.

I can't disagree with you that it's very uplifting. Maybe it'll grow on me.

That song would've fit on I&W or Awake. I love it!

[Dream Team]

I made a DT Live mix to fit on 1 CD for the car. I called it " 5 Live". I'm going to do a double Live CD mix next. I enjoy it, what can I say.

1) Lines In The Sand. (Chaos In Motion)
2) Scarred. (Chaos In Motion)
3) To Live Forever. (A Dramatic Tour Of Events)
4) The Count Of Tuscany. (A Dramatic Tour Of Events)
5) Illumination Theory. (Breaking The Fourth Wall)

This may be the only DT song where I almost ALWAYS skip the album version.  Live or nothing at all for me when it comes to Lines in the Sand.

See, I've never heard a live version that I like better than the original studio recording.

Probably because live versions don't have Pinnick is why many prefer them. Very polarizing.

[Stadler]

I made a DT Live mix to fit on 1 CD for the car. I called it " 5 Live". I'm going to do a double Live CD mix next. I enjoy it, what can I say.

1) Lines In The Sand. (Chaos In Motion)
2) Scarred. (Chaos In Motion)
3) To Live Forever. (A Dramatic Tour Of Events)
4) The Count Of Tuscany. (A Dramatic Tour Of Events)
5) Illumination Theory. (Breaking The Fourth Wall)

This may be the only DT song where I almost ALWAYS skip the album version.  Live or nothing at all for me when it comes to Lines in the Sand.

See, I've never heard a live version that I like better than the original studio recording.

Probably because live versions don't have Pinnick is why many prefer them. Very polarizing.

That's it for me. Pinnick ruins that song for me.

[Awaken]

I made a DT Live mix to fit on 1 CD for the car. I called it " 5 Live". I'm going to do a double Live CD mix next. I enjoy it, what can I say.

1) Lines In The Sand. (Chaos In Motion)
2) Scarred. (Chaos In Motion)
3) To Live Forever. (A Dramatic Tour Of Events)
4) The Count Of Tuscany. (A Dramatic Tour Of Events)
5) Illumination Theory. (Breaking The Fourth Wall)

This may be the only DT song where I almost ALWAYS skip the album version.  Live or nothing at all for me when it comes to Lines in the Sand.

See, I've never heard a live version that I like better than the original studio recording.

Probably because live versions don't have Pinnick is why many prefer them. Very polarizing.

exactly, at least for me. 

[JLa]

I think my main gripe with A View... is that I don't like The Alien. At all. It's an insta-skip for me. The other tracks are quite good actually, but skipping the opener every time kind of ruins the mood. 

Sleeping Giant and the title track are my favorites. All in all a solid effort, somewhere around 6-7/10?

[TAC]

I think my main gripe with A View... is that I don't like The Alien. At all. It's an insta-skip for me. The other tracks are quite good actually, but skipping the opener every time kind of ruins the mood. 

I mean, I still like Train Of Thought and Awake.

[JLa]

I think my main gripe with A View... is that I don't like The Alien. At all. It's an insta-skip for me. The other tracks are quite good actually, but skipping the opener every time kind of ruins the mood. 

I mean, I still like Train Of Thought and Awake.

Hah! As I Am and 6:00 are both 10/10 tracks for me. 

[Wim Kruithof]

Pull Me Under is not that much of an opener as well... but Falling Into Infinity completes this genre. Only the real die-hards can keep the spirit groovin', after skipping both track #1 and #2.

[Architeuthis]

I think my main gripe with A View... is that I don't like The Alien. At all. It's an insta-skip for me.

Wow, I love The Alien!  Pure high energy prog metal right out of the gate. 
It must not be a very good song though because it won a grammy.  So mainstream!  😁

[nobloodyname]

I'm sure we all feel the same way about Better than You by Metallica

[Glasser]

Pull Me Under is not that much of an opener as well... but Falling Into Infinity completes this genre. Only the real die-hards can keep the spirit groovin', after skipping both track #1 and #2.

I thought this said "Failing Into Infinity" which is funny but I love the album. My only gripe is there are too many ballads, good ballads, just one too many.

[TheOutlawXanadu]

I have been listening to this album a lot over the past couple of days, and holy cow, it really does sound amazing. The quality of the recordings, the sound engineering, and the mix as well are generally just great.

One thought I did have though... Every once in a while, you'll hear some faint piano in the background or some other cool sound that's not nearly as loud as the guitars. Even though this album sounds great, I do wonder if it could've been unlocked further by letting more instruments shine in the mix from time to time. It makes sense that the guitars are usually front and center considering JP is the producer, but I'd personally love if the keyboards in particular were dialed up.

A good example of this is actually I Walk Beside You from almost 20 years ago (geez). The live recording of the song on Score features the piano a lot more prominently, which is why I prefer that version of the song. I feel like there would be some potential for that kind of thing here as well.

[faizoff]

I was just listening to it in passing yesterday and it immediately jumps out how good this album sounds. I echo everything TheOutlawXanadu said, it's a great listening experience overall.
Going to have to re-listen to figure out the keyboards being hidden being referred to.

[WilliamMunny]

I was just listening to it in passing yesterday and it immediately jumps out how good this album sounds. I echo everything TheOutlawXanadu said, it's a great listening experience overall.
Going to have to re-listen to figure out the keyboards being hidden being referred to.

I'll echo both of you guys!

It's funny–I don't consider AVFTOTW a top-tier album, but I thoroughly enjoy listening to it, and have revisited it often over the past couple of years. In fact, it's probably gotten more repeated play than any other Mangini-era album (save ADTOE).

[Stadler]

I was just listening to it in passing yesterday and it immediately jumps out how good this album sounds. I echo everything TheOutlawXanadu said, it's a great listening experience overall.
Going to have to re-listen to figure out the keyboards being hidden being referred to.

I love that; hearing things buried in the mix.  Sometimes I feel like they should be higher, but I sort of like the puzzle nature of it all.

[Deadeye21]

This album keeps slipping further and further down my rankings. I really don't care for it.

[Trav]

I'm kinda feeling that way too. Yes, it sounds great. It's easy on the ears and makes for an enjoyable listen. And I listen to it quite often. But are the songs really as good as stuff they've done in the past? Well....not really. Not to me anyways. Really every album post-ADTOE kinda lacks character. There are exceptions. But there aren't many.