JR's 'Notes On a Dream' Interview (merged thread)

antigoon · May 12, 2009, 06:42:37 PM

I bought the mp3 tracks online. I just got done with Through Her Eyes. I thought it was fantastic, and I was surprised how restrained he was, given his tendencies. We'll see how the rest of the record turns out.

BlobVanDam · May 12, 2009, 07:23:45 PM

Quote from: rumborak on May 12, 2009, 06:24:44 PM
Hmm, samples didn't do much for me. I thought they sound all way too similar.

rumborak

Well I suppose an all piano album is probably gonna sound that way. If you've enjoyed any of his piano albums though, this is probably his best. He's more restrained on this and focused more on melody. That's not to say it doesn't have the usual JR style, but it is more focused on this, and there are many sections where instead of overplaying he just plays it very straight up with a lot of dynamics.

hefdaddy42 · May 12, 2009, 07:24:39 PM

I just watched the 3 interviews. Fantastic stuff. JR is probably the coolest member of DT. Can't wait to hear this stuff.

razorsedge · May 12, 2009, 07:35:32 PM

Quote from: BlobVanDam on May 12, 2009, 07:23:45 PM
Quote from: rumborak on May 12, 2009, 06:24:44 PM
Hmm, samples didn't do much for me. I thought they sound all way too similar.

rumborak

Well I suppose an all piano album is probably gonna sound that way. If you've enjoyed any of his piano albums though, this is probably his best. He's more restrained on this and focused more on melody. That's not to say it doesn't have the usual JR style, but it is more focused on this, and there are many sections where instead of overplaying he just plays it very straight up with a lot of dynamics.

i agree, i really like his focus on these recordings. jordan is so great. what a talent, man.

Adami · May 12, 2009, 07:57:33 PM

Sounded random. The only one that bore any resemblence to the original is Hollow Years.

reneranucci · May 12, 2009, 08:30:39 PM

Quote from: rumborak on May 12, 2009, 06:24:44 PM
Hmm, samples didn't do much for me. I thought they sound all way too similar.

rumborak

I agree. Those short bits are difficult to relate to the original songs...

Spacebar. · May 12, 2009, 08:34:42 PM

how do we know how many people have bought the CD yet?? i have to wait for my credit card holder(mom) to get home before i can purchase this album - DAMMIT...i hope i don't lose out

BlobVanDam · May 12, 2009, 10:46:16 PM

Quote from: reneranucci on May 12, 2009, 08:30:39 PM
Quote from: rumborak on May 12, 2009, 06:24:44 PM
Hmm, samples didn't do much for me. I thought they sound all way too similar.

rumborak

I agree. Those short bits are difficult to relate to the original songs...

I haven't heard the samples, but they do sound like the real songs. Some songs have entirely different bits, or are arranged differently, but all of them contain the familiar sections. I know Another Day starts with a whole section that has nothing to do with Another Day but is such a nice piano piece in its own right.

Sixtease · May 13, 2009, 12:58:33 AM

Hey guys, do you think the CD will be available elsewhere than JR's online store? They want my credit card number over an unsecure channel, which doesn't really make me very happy. :-|

BlobVanDam · May 13, 2009, 01:34:40 AM

Quote from: Sixtease on May 13, 2009, 12:58:33 AM
Hey guys, do you think the CD will be available elsewhere than JR's online store? They want my credit card number over an unsecure channel, which doesn't really make me very happy. :-|

First of all, apparently it's not insecure, it's just that the secure site is loading within the frame of JR's site, so it is secure, it just doesn't appear that way in the url bar. Second of all, it will eventually be available through iTunes and some other things. You can check on his forum where he posted about it.

Sixtease · May 13, 2009, 01:39:28 AM

Quote from: BlobVanDam on May 13, 2009, 01:34:40 AM
First of all, apparently it's not insecure, it's just that the secure site is loading within the frame of JR's site, so it is secure, it just doesn't appear that way in the url bar. Second of all, it will eventually be available through iTunes and some other things. You can check on his forum where he posted about it.

Well, the frame where the credit card number input is included goes to https://musictoday.com/StoreService/StoreResponse . Since it's not https, I wonder where the security comes from... Sending stuff over plain HTTP is visible to all who care to peek AFAIK.

perfey · May 13, 2009, 01:59:04 AM

I will definitely get this. I just hope that the big retailer sites in Europe (like CDON in Sweden) begin to sell it too.

BlobVanDam · May 13, 2009, 02:54:37 AM

Quote from: Sixtease on May 13, 2009, 01:39:28 AM
Quote from: BlobVanDam on May 13, 2009, 01:34:40 AM
First of all, apparently it's not insecure, it's just that the secure site is loading within the frame of JR's site, so it is secure, it just doesn't appear that way in the url bar. Second of all, it will eventually be available through iTunes and some other things. You can check on his forum where he posted about it.
Well, the frame where the credit card number input is included goes to https://musictoday.com/StoreService/StoreResponse . Since it's not https, I wonder where the security comes from... Sending stuff over plain HTTP is visible to all who care to peek AFAIK.

I'm just going by what I read on mp.com, and someone said it was secure, so I was just repeating that. Don't shoot the messenger

ariich · May 13, 2009, 11:33:40 AM

Quote from: BlobVanDam on May 13, 2009, 02:54:37 AM
Quote from: Sixtease on May 13, 2009, 01:39:28 AM
Quote from: BlobVanDam on May 13, 2009, 01:34:40 AM
First of all, apparently it's not insecure, it's just that the secure site is loading within the frame of JR's site, so it is secure, it just doesn't appear that way in the url bar. Second of all, it will eventually be available through iTunes and some other things. You can check on his forum where he posted about it.
Well, the frame where the credit card number input is included goes to https://musictoday.com/StoreService/StoreResponse . Since it's not https, I wonder where the security comes from... Sending stuff over plain HTTP is visible to all who care to peek AFAIK.

I'm just going by what I read on mp.com, and someone said it was secure, so I was just repeating that. Don't shoot the messenger

*shoots*

Jamariquay · May 13, 2009, 11:56:10 AM

*guts and skins*

Nick · May 13, 2009, 02:02:16 PM

Quote from: Jamariquay on May 13, 2009, 11:56:10 AM
*guts and skins*

*draws and quarters*

RobD · May 13, 2009, 02:45:07 PM

*feasts on the entrails*

...

...

wait that was too far, wasn't it?

razorsedge · May 13, 2009, 03:04:48 PM

my mouth is watering over the grand escapement. its everything i want out of a jordan piano piece.

BlobVanDam · May 13, 2009, 08:21:57 PM

Wow, I sure got brutalized while I was gone

ariich · May 14, 2009, 12:24:51 AM

Fortunately razorsedge made a vague attempt to keep the thread on track.

BlobVanDam · May 14, 2009, 12:57:07 AM

Well good luck to him!

Sixtease · May 14, 2009, 03:55:27 AM

By the way, I posted a complaint on JordanRudess.com and Mr. Rudess replied and today the thing was on https with a verified certificate. I'm really impressed.

hefdaddy42 · May 14, 2009, 08:46:13 AM

JR is cool like that.

ReaPsTA · May 15, 2009, 12:29:38 PM

I listened to Speak to Me, which was really cool. I liked Collision Point too. His cover of Hollow Years is really nice so far.

I like Rudess's approach to covering The Answer Lies Within, a very piano driven song, doing it better than the original recording.

The only thing I'm not too keen on with this album is when Rudess gets into really big ascending and descending melodies. They don't have the flow that his ideas have.

hefdaddy42 · May 23, 2009, 03:01:08 AM

Got it. Loving it.

That is all.

Spacebar. · May 23, 2009, 03:50:05 AM

Quote from: hefdaddy42 on May 23, 2009, 03:01:08 AM
Got it. Loving it.

That is all.

For now.

Until the 19th of June

Rich Wilson · May 31, 2009, 07:30:48 AM

Just for info - taken from my blog (www.richwilson.blogspot.com )

I really can't recommend this album enough. I hope the review doesn't read like a press release, as that wasn't the intention, but this album is simply stunning.

JORDAN RUDESS

"Notes From A Dream"

Jordan Rudess has released an album of his own piano interpretations of Dream Theater songs, and it's mightily impressive stuff. Sifting through the DT back-catalogue and selecting the more mellow tracks, he has re-arranged them and added his own startling flourishes to them. Probably the most notable feature of the album is that he has retained those instantly recognisable melodies from such tracks as 'Hollow Years', 'The Silent Man' and 'The Answer Lies Within' yet arranged them in such a way that they have almost taken on a new and mesmerising identity.

When Jordan is writing and perfoming with Dream Theater, his work is mind-blowing enough. But you have to remember that he is a classically trained performer. And although he unquetionably adores his DT "day job", he also clearly has a insatiable desire to continue to write and perform on the piano. Album's such as 'Notes From A Dream' are merely a reminder of that other half of his musical identity. The melding of the two facets of his work is simply stunning and one that deserves to be heard by a larger audience than just DT fans. Any lover of classical music, would, if they rise above any snobbery against a musician who has made his name in the prog rock field, see the virtues of his work. And there are plenty of comparisons that can be made in the classical world, with tracks like 'Through Her Eyes' having a style that can accurately be described as Dream Theater meets Rachmaninov. It really is that alluring. It would also be intriguing to see how the classical world would view his technique and creations, and I can only hope that a copy of his album has been sent to the likes of Gramophone or International Piano magazine for their appraisal. Such reviews could only be positive and would rightly allow a wider audience access to an album that is elegant, adventurous and the work of a modern day genius.

blackngold29 · May 31, 2009, 07:51:25 AM

Ha, I just saw the Wilson review on my RSS feed and was going to post it, but you beat me to it! Can't wait to get this album.

perfey · May 31, 2009, 02:51:57 PM

Nice review Wilson, I agree with you on that he "arranged them in such a way that they have almost taken on a new and mesmerizing identity." I listened to Notes some days ago and I fully enjoyed it, have to listen to it more though to let it sink in.

ReaPsTA · May 31, 2009, 03:43:53 PM

I really like his versions of Hollow Years, Speak to Me, and The Answer Lies Within.

wasp2020 · May 31, 2009, 04:07:21 PM

I love that intro to Another Day. Like, a lot.

The whole album is pretty damn great.

Nick · June 02, 2009, 01:17:33 PM

Got my CD and poster in today, looking forward to hearing it.

The Letter M · June 02, 2009, 02:03:05 PM

I got my CD and poster in today as well! I figured I'd say that I did so more people might expect to see theirs when they come home from work today (or tomorrow).

I already had the digital copy when I bought the physical one a few weeks ago. I still love the artwork and I love JR's message on the tray below the CD. Very nice and very classy, Mister Rudess! Kudos!

-Marc.

Nick · June 02, 2009, 03:30:33 PM

I love him naming the band members and by James you have (the pirate).

Also, thanks are given to some Robert Medina fellow, this is surely a sham!

Spacebar. · June 02, 2009, 06:30:35 PM

Pics please for those of us unable to see it atm??

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JR's 'Notes On a Dream' Interview (merged thread)