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Dream Theater => Dream Theater => Topic started by: Dave_Manchester on September 22, 2017, 06:46:20 PM
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It's weirdly liberating to be able to talk with passion about this band again (I'm an MP Forum refugee, let's leave it at that), and the chat in the SoA thread about DT's songs, sharing opinions on them, has reminded me how fun it is to share thoughts on the band. They were, and still are, such an important part of my musical life. But so as not to clog up that thread with too much DT talk, I've come over to this part of the forum.
If this has been done a thousand times before on here (as I'm sure it has) then I apologize, and mods please feel free to delete this, I'm still working my way through the many topics here and seeing what has been done already. But if it stays up, then here's what I'm keen to hear about - you have 160 minutes to play with (the maximum capacity of 2 CDs). You've been asked by the band's label to make a double compilation album which you think shows off the brilliance of this band (a bit like their 'Greatest Hit' compilation, but you don't need to worry about what was actually a 'hit'). You can draw from every track they've ever released, and bear in mind it's going to be an actual release, so think about how the songs flow. Here's mine:
Disc One:
A Change of Seasons
Speak To Me
Eve
In The Name of God
Metropolis
The Count of Tuscany
(About 77 minutes)
Disc Two:
A Trial of Tears
Home
Misunderstood
Stream of Consciousness
Breaking All Illusions
Octavarium
(About 79 minutes)
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Disc 1
Metropolis 9:32
Scarred 10:59
Lines In The Sand 12:05
This Dying Soul 11:04
Breaking All Illusions 12:25
Octavarium 24:00
80 min
Disc 2
The Gift Of Music 4:00
Take The Time 8:21
Through My Words/Fatal Tragedy 7:51
Endless Sacrifice 11:24
The Killing Hand (Marquee) 10:46
Disappear 6:45
Learning To Live 11:30
The Count Of Tuscany 19:16
79 min
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I accidentally closed out of my text document with the times I was editing so whatever. Hopefully these fit the time restrictions, but I was in the middle of rearranging the track orders... tried to do roughly chronological order with some liberties
Disc 1
6:00
Under A Glass Moon
A Change of Seasons
Space-Dye Vest
Trial of Tears
The Dance of Eternity
The Spirit Carries On
Disc 2
Octavarium
The Glass Prison
Goodnight Kiss
Solitary Shell
Constant Motion
Three Days
Beneath The Surface
Our New World
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Octavarium so far the only track to make all tracklists. If I remember correctly it won the last DTF survivor. Weird thing about this song (and album), I really wasn't very keen on it when it first came out, minus that end solo, but I've since come to think of it as the definitive Dream Theater song.
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I think it's their best written song.
You know what song is perfectly written? This Is The Life. I'm not saying it's near my favorite, but I believe it's the perfect song.
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Octavarium is the band's magnum opus in my opinion. It defines prog epic, it has everything I love about Dream Theater, and it's masterfully composed with so many little nuggets and musical references within, it's just plain fun to listen to. Every member gets at least one moment in the spotlight and once it gets going it just never lets up. 8V was the first DT album I actually got a physical copy of, and it's the only one I have signed by any member of the band (Mike Portnoy).
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Octavarium is the band's magnum opus in my opinion.
I agree.
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How about
Metropolis
Speak To Me
Through My Words
Fatal Tragedy
A Change of Seasons
Hells Kitchen
War Inside My Head
The Test that Stumped Them All
The Count of Tuscany
Disc2
As I Am
Solitary Shell
About to Crash
Our New World
Lifting Shadows off a Dream
The Dance of Eternity
The Spirit Carries On
In the Name of God
Octavarium
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Disc One
1) Metropolis Pt. 1: The Miracle and the Sleeper (9:32)
2) The Looking Glass (4:53)
3) Constant Motion (6:55)
4) Lines in the Sand (12:05)
5) Caught in a Web (5:28)
6) The Spirit Carries On (6:38)
7) A Change of Seasons (23:09)
Runtime - 68:40
Disc Two
1) Afterlife (5:26)
2) Wither (5:26)
3) Breaking All Illusions (12:25)
4) Disappear (6:46)
5) Stream of Consciousness (11:16)
6) Our New World (4:12)
7) Octavarium (24:00)
Runtime - 69:31
Total Runtime - 138:11
I made sure to include one song from each album and of course you can't have a compilation of Dream Theater's greatest songs without their first epic. I felt that ending each disc with an epic was the way to go, and ACoS and 8vm were the two logical choices. Also, Disappear going into Stream of Consciousness was my way of trying to duplicate the amazing transition from Vacant into SoC while still keeping it to one song per album.
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Disc 1 :
1. Two Far
2. Another Day
3. Take the Time
4. Surrounded
5. Metropolis pt. 1
6. Under A Glass Moon
7. Learning to Live
8. Eve
9. A Change of Seasons
Disc 2 :
1. Don't Look Past Me
2. Light Fuse and get Away
3. Lie
4. Goodnight Kiss
5. Solitary Shell
6. Scarred
7. Hell's Kitchen
8. Trial of Tears
9. A Vision 89'
10. Finally Free
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^^ Nothing at all from beyond Six Degrees? Nothing wrong with that, I just find it interesting.
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Overture 1928
Strange Déjà Vu
Pull Me Under
Surrounded
Metropolis
Wait For Sleep
Erotomania
The Enemy Inside
Hollow Years
Solitary Shell /
About To Crash /
Losing Time (ends at 5:40)
Sacrificed Sons
Ytse Jam
Ant Odyssey
Presence of Enemies (pt 1)
Through My Words /
Fatal Tragedy
Never Enough
Misunderstood (abrupt end at 8:08)
As I Am
This Is The Life
Constant Motion
Breaking All Illusions
The Spirit Carries On (Score)
The Razor's Edge (Score)
Thank you, New York! (JLB and MP after 'Metropolis' from Score)
[my self made 'best of DT' is four discs....and some of my favorites are not listed here, so don't be too cruel with any comments ;)]
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Disc 1 :
1. Two Far
2. Another Day
3. Take the Time
4. Surrounded
5. Metropolis pt. 1
6. Under A Glass Moon
7. Learning to Live
8. Eve
9. A Change of Seasons
Disc 2 :
1. Don't Look Past Me
2. Light Fuse and get Away
3. Lie
4. Goodnight Kiss
5. Solitary Shell
6. Scarred
7. Hell's Kitchen
8. Trial of Tears
9. A Vision 89'
10. Finally Free
Interesting selection. Not sure I've heard any of the Majesty Demo songs, other than Another Won on Score. May have to rectify that.
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Metropolis pt. 1 9:32
The Dance of Eternity/ 6:14
One Last Time 3:47
About to Crash 5:51
In The Presence of Enemies pt. 1 9:00
The Road to Revolution 3:35
Bridges In The Sky 11:01
Raise The Knife 11:40
Only A Matter of Time 7:34
To Live Forever (Huntington, NY, 7-19-2012) 6:09
Total: 1:14:20
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Blind Faith 10:21
These Walls 7:36
Endless Sacrifice 11:24
Chosen 4:32
A Mind Beside Itself 20:26
Surrounded 5:30
The Count of Tuscany 19:16
Total: 1:19:04
Was hard...had to cut a couple songs I really wanted in both sets.
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Was hard...had to cut a couple songs I really wanted in both sets.
Me too. Killed me to cut Disappear and Hell's Kitchen.
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Was hard...had to cut a couple songs I really wanted in both sets.
Me too. Killed me to cut Disappear and Hell's Kitchen.
Yeah same here with Disappear. But the 2nd set actually flows pretty well.
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I tried, guys, but it can't be done :lol
DT has so much amazing material on their catalog that, no matter how hard I try, I cannot make it without including too many epics or long songs.
Will probably try it again later today or tomorrow and will post the results asap :biggrin:
Very interesting thread, Dave_Manchester :tup
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Disc 1
Solitary Shell (5.47)
Learning to Live (11.30)
Metropolis (9.32)
As I am (7.47)
Hell's Kitchen (4.16)
Breaking All Illusions (12.25)
Along for the Ride (4.45)
The Spirit Carries on (6.38)
The Count of Tuscany (19.16)
Disc 2
Our New World (4.12)
Trial of Tears (13.06)
Illumination Theory (22.17)
Misunderstood (9.32)
These Walls (7.36)
Octavarium (24.00)
Damn that was hard, mainly for the tracks you need to cut. I am work so I had to trust track length from Wikipedia so I hope they are accurate.
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I finally did it! I went through a few different versions of this "best of" album. First, I just tried to fit some of my favorite song from each album, but I couldn't get them to fit and the flow wasn't good. Then, I tried splitting their catalog in half, considering the chronological order, and got both 80 min discs, but something wasn't quite right about them. So, I ended up making a softer/proggier disc and a heavier one. I chose at least 1 song from each album, so the whole catalog is represented here. I also wanted to make sure the flow was the best possible with these songs, and I think it works very well!
Also, since there's already a Greatest Hits album released, I tried to avoid using the songs that appeared there, with the exception of Peruvian Skies, since I couldn't find a FII song that I liked better on the 5/6 minute range.
Disc 1 (softer):
Dystopian Overture
The Gift of Music
Metropolis
Through My Words
Fatal Tragedy
Blind Faith
Peruvian Skies
Outcry
Octavarium
Disc 2 (heavier):
In The Presence of Enemies (full song)
A Fortune in Lies
Honor Thy Father
Behind The Veil
Voices
The Count of Tuscany
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The Disc 1:
The Glass Prison 13:52
Fatal Tragedy (edit) 6:02
Peruvian Skies 6:43
The Dark Eternal Night 8:53
The Mirror (edited with the ending of Lie) - 8:00
This Dying Soul 11:27
The Bigger Picture 7:40
A Life Left Behind 5:49
Learning to Live 11:30
Time 79:57
Disc 2
A Nightmare to Remember 16:10
Lifting Shadows Off A Dream 6:05
Under a Glass Moon 7:03
Beyond This Life 11:22
Ytse Jam 5:42
Our New World 4:12
Octavarium 24:00
Beneath the Surface 5:26
Time 80:00 exactly
This is not even a "best of" to me. Not by a long shot. This is just "a collection" that looked like it flowed well and represented everything. I could just as easily make a completely different collection that would be just as cool with little to no repeats.
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Thats a really awesome list.
I wonder if I should try again. Because it'll be different than my other one.
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That's a pretty good list, jammindude
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The feedback is the greatest compliment I could ever receive. Thank you.
I've literally been making "mixes" for 35 years. You eventually get a feel for it.
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The feedback is the greatest compliment I could ever receive. Thank you.
I've literally been making "mixes" for 35 years. You eventually get a feel for it.
I've been doing the same thing since high school. I have a cd case full of mix cds I made. I've got a good sense of flow now thanks to making them.
When I made my list I just started with one song, and worked from there.
edit:
I decided to re-do my first disc, because I really don't like it's flow. :facepalm:
The Root of All Evil 8:26
Far From Heaven 3:56
The Spirit Carries On 6:38
Trial of Tears 13:07
Scarred 10:59
Misunderstood 9:33
The Bigger Picture 7:41
Eve 5:26
Stream of Consciousness 11:16
Total....1:16:58
I really love this one. It just flows so nice and smooth.
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You know what's so brilliant about that mix? There are certain songs that *normally* should never be separated. Normally, I never ever include LtL on a mix CD without Wait for Sleep. In the case of the mix I made, I really hit a time constraint wall and it killed me to cut Sleep. But you can get away with it sometimes if you have a song that ends on the perfect mood and atmosphere so that it blends perfectly where the "missing piece" is.
Normally, I would never have SoC on a mix CD without having Vacant in front of it. Those two pieces are a part of the same whole and normally should not be separated. But putting Eve in front of it was a stroke of brilliance. I may have to steal that idea.
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You know what's so brilliant about that mix? There are certain songs that *normally* should never be separated. Normally, I never ever include LtL on a mix CD without Wait for Sleep. In the case of the mix I made, I really hit a time constraint wall and it killed me to cut Sleep. But you can get away with it sometimes if you have a song that ends on the perfect mood and atmosphere so that it blends perfectly where the "missing piece" is.
Normally, I would never have SoC on a mix CD without having Vacant in front of it. Those two pieces are a part of the same whole and normally should not be separated. But putting Eve in front of it was a stroke of brilliance. I may have to steal that idea.
Its funny, I didn't even snap about that.
But go for it man. Thats why I like making these. You should see a playlist I have of songs that somehow manage to flow nicely.
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Disc 1 - 77.3 minutes
Blind Faith
Learning to live
Lifting Shadows of a Dream
Surrounded
Erotomania
Voices
The Silent Man
Octavarium
Disc 2
SFAM
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It would be easy to just fill up the 160 minutes with songs from the three best albums (I&W, Awake, Scenes), but going for a nice mix of stuff from the best eras...
Disc 1
Take the Time
Surrounded
Metropolis
Erotomania
Voices
The Silent Man
The Mirror
Lie
Peruvian Skies
Through My Words
Fatal Tragedy
The Spirit Carries On
Disc 2
Misunderstood
Solitary Shell
In the Name of God
Bridges in the Sky
Far from Heaven
Breaking All Illusions
The Looking Glass
Surrender to Reason
Three Days
Ravenskill
Our New World
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6:00
Caught In a Web
Innocence Faded
Erotomania
Voices
The Silent Man
The Mirror
Lie
Lifting U2 Off A Dream
Scarred
Space Dye Vest
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This was surprisingly easy, actually.
CD 1:
1. On the Backs of Angels
2. Overture 1928
3. Strange Deja-Vu
4. Innocence Faded
5. Take the Time
6. Surrounded
7. Metropolis Pt. 1
8. The Silent Man
9. The Great Debate
10. The Spirit Carries On
(69 minutes total)
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CD2
1. The Root of All Evil
2. The Dark Eternal Night
3. Another Hand - The Killing Hand (Live at the Marquee)
4. Peruvian Skies
5. Vacant
6. The Test That Stumped Them All
7. A Change of Seasons
8. Space-Dye Vest
(74 minutes total)
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Disc One:
As I Am
The Mirror
Lie
The Looking Glass
Blind Faith
Bridges in the Sky
Under a Glass Moon
Disappear
In the Name of God
Disco Two:
In the Presence of Enemies Part One
Home
The Dance of Eternity
War Inside My Head
The Test That Stumped Them All
Metropolis Part I
Far from Heaven
Breaking All Illusions
Trial of Tears
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Disc 1
Overture 1928
Fatal Tragedy
Home
Lie
Lines in the Sand
Wait for Sleep
Learning to Live
A Change of Seasons
80 minutes
Disc 2
In the Presence of Enemies Pt1
The Glass Prison
Blind Faith
The Gift of Music
Chosen
Breaking All Illusions
Octavarium
79 Minutes
My plan wasn't initially to break it into disc1 of the older material and disc 2 of the newer, just selected most of my favorite songs and then when splitting them to make 80 minute discs they kind of came out that way.
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I finally got around to doing this:
Disc 1 - Light (1 hour 19 minutes 59 seconds)
Dystopian Overture
The Gift of Music
Peruvian Skies
Trial of Tears
Behind the Veil
Surrounded
Our New World
Breaking All Illusions
Illumination Theory
Disc 2 - Dark (1 hour 18 minutes 9 seconds)
Overture 1928
Strange Deja Vu
The Mirror
Misunderstood
Scarred
Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence