DreamTheaterForums.org Dream Theater Fan Site
Dream Theater => Dream Theater => Topic started by: emtee on June 08, 2022, 06:48:17 AM
-
I'm talking about truly loving the entire album with no skipping of songs.
For me it's Awake. SFaM and SDoIT come very close but don't quite make the cut.
-
A View From The Top Of The World.
-
Such a good question!
I 'like' virtually everything they've released. Hell, when I did my run-thru a few months back, I even gave The Astonishing a full spin.
But love? I mean, I can count on two hands the people in this world I truly LOVE.
I'm tempted to say DOT, but there's defintily moments on that album I never need to hear again.
I'd like to say ADTOE, but I only LOVE 7 of those 9 songs.
So, I guess that takes me back to Octavarium, which I truly LOVE from front to back.
Wow, has it really been that long?
-
Awake for me.
I love FII but it has You Not Me, Burning My Soul, and Just Let Me Breath. SFAM has the fruity “Through” tracks.
-
When listening to an album, I normally listen to the entire album, even tracks I don't care for all that much.
I also never expect to like every single song on any album by anyone. That's an awfully high bar.
Having said that, the last DT album that I legitimately like every song on the album is probably Train of Thought.
-
Such a good question!
I 'like' virtually everything they've released. Hell, when I did my run-thru a few months back, I even gave The Astonishing a full spin.
But love? I mean, I can count on two hands the people in this world I truly LOVE.
I'm tempted to say DOT, but there's defintily moments on that album I never need to hear again.
I'd like to say ADTOE, but I only LOVE 7 of those 9 songs.
So, I guess that takes me back to Octavarium, which I truly LOVE from front to back.
Wow, has it really been that long?
Me too.
-
ADTOE for me.
-
I'd say SDOIT.
-
A View From The Top Of The World.
-
The Astonishing
-
D/T for me. I really, really like View, but Invisible Monsters drags it down just a little in my opinion.
-
Depending on how high the threshold is for "love," it would probably be either DT12 or ADTOE for me. Invisible Monster stops it from being AVFTTOTW, a lot stops it from being DOT, and I'm just not enthusiastic enough about all of The Astonishing to choose it.
On DT12, I enjoy every song, but there are some that I'm not all that enthusiastic about liking (Behind the Veil, The Looking Glass).
On ADTOE, I'm enthusiastic about most of the songs, and still have a good time with stuff like BMU,BMD.
If we set the bar really high, where I have to be completely enamored with every song, then it's SFAM. ToT is at around the level of ADTOE because of HTF.
-
I'm talking about truly loving the entire album with no skipping of songs.
For me, "loving" the album and not skipping songs don't connote anywhere close to the same thing.
I haven't listened to View enough to love it, but I don't think it'll get there.
Definitely not DOT. I find Paralyzed and FITL a bit ponderous, don't care for R137, and find AWE and PBD just average.
TA? :lol :lol :lol
DT12 - Not a bad song on the album. I certainly wouldn't skip anything, but I certainly don't "love" Enigma Machine.
ADTOE? I don't like LNF and never got into the ballads other than BTS.
BC&SL? The only songs I really want to listen to are Wither and TCOT (and sometimes TSF)
SC is full of duds, including DT's all-time worst album track.
Octavarium comes close, but it has IWBY and Never Enough
TOT has HYF, and I don't really care for TDS
SDOIT has TGD, which is a bottom 5 song, and Disappear is BORING.
SFAM is probably as close as it gets.
-
I'm talking about truly loving the entire album with no skipping of songs.
For me, "loving" the album and not skipping songs don't connote anywhere close to the same thing.
I haven't listened to View enough to love it, but I don't think it'll get there.
Definitely not DOT. I find Paralyzed and FITL a bit ponderous, don't care for R137, and find AWE and PBD just average.
TA? :lol :lol :lol
DT12 - Not a bad song on the album. I certainly wouldn't skip anything, but I certainly don't "love" Enigma Machine.
ADTOE? I don't like LNF and never got into the ballads other than BTS.
BC&SL? The only songs I really want to listen to are Wither and TCOT (and sometimes TSF)
SC is full of duds, including DT's all-time worst album track.
Octavarium comes close, but it has IWBY and Never Enough
TOT has HYF, and I don't really care for TDS
SDOIT has TGD, which is a bottom 5 song, and Disappear is BORING.
SFAM is probably as close as it gets.
Dude, you are a bitch! :lol :lol
-
Wait...what? Which part?
Not necessarily disagreeing, but I need to know why! :lol
-
Wait...what? Which part?
Not necessarily disagreeing, but I need to know why! :lol
The bolded! :lol
For me, "loving" the album and not skipping songs don't connote anywhere close to the same thing.
I haven't listened to View enough to love it, but I don't think it'll get there.
Definitely not DOT. I find Paralyzed and FITL a bit ponderous, don't care for R137, and find AWE and PBD just average.
TA? :lol :lol :lol
DT12 - Not a bad song on the album. I certainly wouldn't skip anything, but I certainly don't "love" Enigma Machine.
ADTOE? I don't like LNF and never got into the ballads other than BTS.
BC&SL? The only songs I really want to listen to are Wither and TCOT (and sometimes TSF)
SC is full of duds, including DT's all-time worst album track.
Octavarium comes close, but it has IWBY and Never Enough
TOT has HYF, and I don't really care for TDS
SDOIT has TGD, which is a bottom 5 song, and Disappear is BORING.
SFAM is probably as close as it gets.
Other than that, we're in total agreement! :lol
-
Probably Awake. Scenes is close but I've gotten so sick of TSCO.
-
Probably Awake. Scenes is close but I've gotten so sick of TSCO.
Me too.
-
When listening to an album, I normally listen to the entire album, even tracks I don't care for all that much.
I meant to add to my earlier post that I agree with this. To me, an album is a complete artistic statement, and when I'm listening to an album, I want to listen to the full album. Much like how I don't skip chapters in a novel or scenes in a movie.
That's not to say I don't sometimes pick and choose individual songs, but for me that's a different "mode" of listening than album listening, which is straight through.
-
I used to he a hard core, tried and true full album guy...no matter what. But now I'm old and I've heard some albums multiple hundreds of times and when a "meh" song comes on, I skip it nowadays.
-
Distance Over Time.
If it weren't for Transcending Time I would say AVFTTOTW except there are moments in some other songs I don't love necessarily but instead just really really like.
-
I guess it would be the self-titled, with a caveat: I love The Astonishing but I skip the NOMACS tracks and a couple others. Doesn’t really count when you like 25 of the songs.
-
Loved = SDOIT
The last 2 albums are somewhere between liked and loved.
-
Probably Six Degrees.
-
Probably SFAM and Six Degrees. I could probably include ToT there as well.
Very interesting question because Six Degrees Disc 1 would be my favorite DT album if it was a standalone album. My favorite DT album is Awake but I guess I played it so many times that it's hard for me to go back and listen to it.
-
I really like all of DOT. And View bar IM. But not quite loved.
Loved front to back? Six Degrees.
-
A View From The Top Of The World.
Same here. There's only a small section of the title track that doesn't do much for me, but other than that I listen to it front to back and love it.
-
A View From The Top Of The World.
💯
-
SFAM (and I & W)
-
A View From The Top Of The World.
Same here. There's only a small section of the title track that doesn't do much for me, but other than that I listen to it front to back and love it.
There’s sections of that song that bother you more than sections of IM or TT?
-
I think it has to be Octavarium for me. Although I might skip some of the songs now, when it was released I played every second of every song and loved it.
Awake, SFAM and SDOIT are also strong contenders.
-
A View From The Top Of The World.
Same here. There's only a small section of the title track that doesn't do much for me, but other than that I listen to it front to back and love it.
There’s sections of that song that bother you more than sections of IM or TT?
Pretty much. I love Transcending Time and Invisible Monster start to finish. The section in the title track isn't that long, I think it's the prechorus that's done twice. somehow the vocals and keys playing at the time don't jive much. I don't hate it but it's just something that takes me out for a bit.
-
When listening to an album, I normally listen to the entire album, even tracks I don't care for all that much.
I also never expect to like every single song on any album by anyone. That's an awfully high bar.
Having said that, the last DT album that I legitimately like every song on the album is probably Train of Thought.
Same here. I think Octavarium is probably last classic album in my mind. But I like Train of Thought a little more. Everything after that has something about it I’m not a fan of.
-
SFAM. Every album after that has at least one "meh" track for me.
-
SFAM. Every album after that has at least one "meh" track for me.
Yeah, but SFAM has Home, which naturally meh is an anagram of.
-
SFAM. Every album after that has at least one "meh" track for me.
Yeah, but SFAM has Home, which naturally meh is an anagram of.
:o
-
I could probably include ToT there as well.
Same here. ToT comes really close.
-
SFAM. Every album after that has at least one "meh" track for me.
Yeah, but SFAM has Home, which naturally meh is an anagram of.
You're a crazy person.
-
Thinking about how I felt about each album at the time I first heard it, I might be A Dramatic Turn of Events. I really wanted that album to knock it out of the park, and it delivered. Before that I would say Awake.
-
SFAM. Every album after that has at least one "meh" track for me.
Yeah, but SFAM has Home, which naturally meh is an anagram of.
it's actually not, because in order for that to be a given, you'd need every letter of Home and recombine it. (no o in meh.) But back to the question at hand, A View. (DT12 and Dramatic Turn before that)
-
I spun DOT today and man, I can come very close to saying I love it end to end. Not quite but almost. It might be my favorite overall JP performance though. His tone, riffs and solos are all brilliant.
-
AVFtTotW
-
I'm not much of a skipper, if I put on an album, I'll normally listen to it all. If I'm being kind of strict with the definition of 'love', then the answer is probably Train of Thought. I&W and Scenes are probably the only other albums I'd have in the same category and those are 3 of my top 4 DT albums.
If the question was 'like' instead of 'love', then most of their discography would be included :lol
-
SFAM. Every album after that has at least one "meh" track for me.
Yeah, but SFAM has Home, which naturally meh is an anagram of.
it's actually not, because in order for that to be a given, you'd need every letter of Home and recombine it. (no o in meh.) But back to the question at hand, A View. (DT12 and Dramatic Turn before that)
TAC probably learned what an anagram is, wrongly, from the Rush song "Anagram (For Mongo)", where Neil uses parts of words to make other words ("There is no safe seat at the feast / Take your best stab at the beast").
As for the topic at hand, I'd say AVFTTOTW was the last one I loved front-to-back. I was really blown away by it, more so than DOT. Before that, I'd say ADTOE comes close, as I really dug into that one when it was released, and up to that point, I really loved pretty much every new DT album since I had discovered them (before Octavarium came out). Yes, I even enjoyed SC and BC&SL, both quite a bit, though I could understand why some fans didn't at the time. In retrospect, there does seem to be a sense of stagnation during that period just up to Portnoy leaving the band, both musically and lyrically, which was a big reason why MP wanted the band to take a break (to recharge their creative batteries).
Then of course, he left and they release ADTOE, which felt like a return to form (though for some fans, they literally returned to the form of songs they had written nearly twenty years prior). Either way, before DT12, I really loved every single new album they released, but then DT12, TA and DOT came out and they didn't blow me away very much, not like they used to. Maybe my tastes had slowly changed and drifted away from Dream Theater's brand of progressive metal, but DT12 didn't really hit me with every song. I'd say I liked most of it, but there were some less-than-stellar moments on it. Then TA came out and I've made it known that I've never really dug that much at all, and rarely ever listen to it. Then DOT came out and I liked it a lot more than their previous two albums, maybe even a bit more than ADTOE, and in the year or two after DOT released, I found myself going back to it quite a bit.
And now with AVFTTOTW and its seven songs, I've gotta say, I really loved it all. Probably their best album in the last 10 years/since Mangini joined. I really hope they carry this momentum forward as they get set for writing their 16th album. Hard to believe they are this far into their career and are still capable of making amazing music!
-Marc.
-
SFAM. Every album after that has at least one "meh" track for me.
Yeah, but SFAM has Home, which naturally meh is an anagram of.
Ironically so since Home is a top 10-15 DT song.
-
But, he doesn't like Power Windows, so yeah...
-
I love power windows. I remember the days when you had to roll them up. Was a bitch to open the passenger side window while driving.
-
Probably Train of Thought....but......I possibly could say DT12. Along for the Ride is the only slight blemish but it's still a decent enough song.
-
I love power windows. I remember the days when you had to roll them up. Was a bitch to open the passenger side window while driving.
(https://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u308/haroo27/gifs/Dwarf_rages.gif)
-
AVFTTOTW
-
I really really really really liked ADTOE, but the last album I truly loved was 8VM.
-
3 albums have no skips for me.
A View
ADToE
And Scenes - my favorite album ofnall time.
-
I would say I love all of their albums as a whole (with the exception of D/T and WDADU), but the only two DT albums I can say I truly love every song on are A View and 6DOIT. A View was a return to greatness for the band imo, reaching highs they haven’t hit for me since ADToE/DT12. On 6DOIT, TGP, BF, TGD, and Misunderstood are all in my top 20, Disappear has a beautifully haunted vibe that I love, and the title track is a great composition with so many high notes. It will forever be one of my biggest disappointments with the band that they don’t play more of disc 1 live.
Albums that come very close to joining 6DOIT:
ToT (my only gripe with this album is SoC. The slower middle section kills the momentum for me and goes on entirely too long)
I&W (Another Day is just not for me)
Awake (Innocence Faded has some great melodies and music, but the overall cheesy feel of the song drags it down for me)
-
Honestly, it is A View From the Top of the World. They just got it right on every song. Before that, I would have to go with either Octavarium or SDOIT.
-
Have to go with Awake.
I might throw in A Dramatic Turn of Events. A very consistent album.
-
Have to go with Awake.
I might throw in A Dramatic Turn of Events. A very consistent album.
That’s definitely perseverance, Awake is 28 years ago but you’re still here :tup.
-
Have to go with Awake.
I might throw in A Dramatic Turn of Events. A very consistent album.
That’s definitely perseverance, Awake is 28 years ago but you’re still here :tup.
"Love front to back" and "truly loving every song" are extremely high bars. I consider Rush my favorite band of all time, but in the time since I discovered the band (around 1982), they NEVER put out an album about which I would say those things.
-
Have to go with Awake.
I might throw in A Dramatic Turn of Events. A very consistent album.
That’s definitely perseverance, Awake is 28 years ago but you’re still here :tup.
"Love front to back" and "truly loving every song" are extremely high bars. I consider Rush my favorite band of all time, but in the time since I discovered the band (around 1982), they NEVER put out an album about which I would say those things.
Exactly- despite my belief that Awake was the creative high water mark of the band they still have MANY worthwhile and enjoyable albums. SFAM through 8VM was an incredible run.
-
The last album I listen back to back is: AVFTTOTW - this one is my top 4 DT albums. Even Invisible Monster, which by itself it's still just OK, but in the context of the album it makes perfect sense.
Prior to this album:
- ADTOE:
- Scenes
- I&W
Almost made the list:
- ToT: vacant is not a bad song but still one I skip often as I listen to ToT for the heavy riffs.
- SDOIT: never cared for misunderstoon too much aside from the reverse solo.
- Awake: Lifting Shawdows has never clicked with me in the last 20+ years. Otherwise it's a perfect album. (I know, I know)
-
Definitely AVFTTOTW.
Before that it was the self titled, and before that is 8V, which I still consider to be their finest album.
-
I hadn’t listened to AVFTTOTW in quite a while and I decided to do a DT discography run through a couple of weeks ago. I gotta be honest. The last five albums haven’t held up for me as well as they have in the past. I’ve said before that they have a consistent quality, but man there just isn’t as much of the excitement in there as in the earlier albums. Even BCSL, which I was never a fan of from the day it was released, now feels refreshing compared to the albums that followed it. That’s something I’ve never thought until recently.
-
For me it would be Awake, Scenes, 6 Degrees and Black Clouds. Black Clouds has just a few songs but the album really contains the crystallization of DT's music form up to that point. The songs were different enough to offer a diverse experience and they felt epic but not just for the sake of it.
-
Truthfully, The Astonishing, and then maybe Octavarium.
-
View! Even though I skip invisible monster but that's still my answer
-
On first listen, there was no DT album where I truly loved every single moment from beginning to end - not even Scenes From a Memory, which has been my favorite album, period, for over 22 years. A lot of that has to do with the fact that, in my early days as a fan, the proggy extended instrumental parts and solos did nothing for me - I was there for the drama, the recurring themes, the story telling (I had never heard a concept album before and was blown away that such a thing existed, and by how the songs all flowed seamlessly from one to the next).
My tastes have matured with time, and now I love all aspects of DT's sound. But there still has never been an album from them where every single moment hit the spot. But it doesn't matter. They are still my favorite band ever, and even with subjective imperfections, their albums are among the best music I have ever heard.
-
"Love front to back" and "truly loving every song" are extremely high bars.
True. But surprisingly (for me, anyway), DT did that repeatedly. All of the Mangini-era albums except The Astonishing (which I still love) do that. But given that fact, equally surprising is the fact that only one of the pre-Mangini albums, SFAM, clears that bar. Even Six Degrees and I&W, which are my #1 and #4 all-time, have songs I don't care for.
-
"Love front to back" and "truly loving every song" are extremely high bars.
True. But surprisingly (for me, anyway), DT did that repeatedly. All of the Mangini-era albums except The Astonishing (which I still love) do that. But given that fact, equally surprising is the fact that only one of the pre-Mangini albums, SFAM, clears that bar. Even Six Degrees and I&W, which are my #1 and #4 all-time, have songs I don't care for.
SFAM is probably the only DT album that clears the bar, and I could probably count on two hands all of the albums by any band that do it.
-
A dramatic turn of events.
-
A View From The Top Of The World.
-
Tough ask. Probably no album except I&W do I love front to back but I almost get there with the MM-era albums, minus TA. It is close though-- all these albums just have one maybe two songs that I do not love.
ADTOE would have been there if it weren't for Build Me Up.
DT12 is one of my favorites but I do not like Along for the Ride.
DOT is nearly there but I think FITL is just OK and I almost always skip it.
Maybe View is closest because the songs I thought were just OK at first have all grown on me. It's not my favorite MM era album but I think it just might be the most consistent for me, front to back. I can put View on and not touch the fast forward button though I do not get as much enjoyment from it as I do the other 3.
-
Train of thought
-
I love every song on A View From The Top Of The World, but as an album their self titled is way better in my opinion.
On a song basis, A View From The Top Of The World.
On a song and album basis, Dream Theater.
-
A Dramatic Turn Of Events.
Before that it was Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence.
-
Scenes from a Memory
Train of Thought
Octavarium
Images & Words
-
BCSL. Just listened to the whole thing, which I hadnt done in a very long time. I was either smiling, cryingnor headbanging :biggrin: :'( :metal
-
ADToE. Incredible album.
-
I'm talking about truly loving the entire album with no skipping of songs.
For me it's Awake. SFaM and SDoIT come very close but don't quite make the cut.
Agree almost completely. But replace SDoIT with The Astonishing.
-
Dream Theater, the self-titled.
The unfortunate truth is that many of these albums have at least one skippable track. Example: I love Octavarium, but I’d happily skip over Answer Lies Within and Never Enough. Six Degrees is a great album, but there are sections within the title track I could easily pass on. But the thing is, while I find The Looking Glass to be one of my least favourite songs in the DT catalog, it really holds its own on the album. Songs that were overlooked by the band are absolute gems too! It’s actually a great album, even though it didn’t rank that highly in the album rankings (actually, it’s my second from the bottom)
-
A View From The Top Of The World
-
A View from the Top of the World. It helps that it has, unlike The Astonishing, only few tracks.
-
That's a really high bar.
Images and Words
That's it. Awake and Scenes are close, but there are nitpicks I'd make on those records. But there are no nitpicks with I&W.
-
A Dramatic Turn Of Events.
Before that it was Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence.
Same for Herrick but My One True Love is Images and Words.
-
I don't love A View at all.
D/T is an amazing album that loses it's way about 2:30 into the last song.
Astonishing is an amazing album with one track I don't care for at all (Ravenskill).
But DT12 is a great collection of songs that I truly love. They should play more of this one.
Before that, it would be Octavarium.