DreamTheaterForums.org Dream Theater Fan Site
Dream Theater => Dream Theater => Topic started by: cramx3 on July 06, 2022, 07:15:59 PM
-
Tomorrow is the 30th anniversary of the release of Images and Words. My all time favorite album by any band. Just figured it deserved a shout out :yarr
I had to check setlist.fm but they haven't played most of these songs since the 25th anniversary tour 5 years ago. Here's a clip of the end of Learning to Live from the last show of the 25th Anniversary tour https://twitter.com/Cramx3/status/1544850934777495554 (https://twitter.com/Cramx3/status/1544850934777495554)
-
My first album of the band, crazy I discovered them 30 years ago and is the only one I've been following consistently since then. Many bands I've followed in waves that come and go but DT has been the only one I've followed throughout.
-
Just found this. Great interview.
https://youtu.be/nGUEZLXscbc (https://youtu.be/nGUEZLXscbc)
-
Wow! Great day in music history.
-
Just found this. Great interview.
https://youtu.be/nGUEZLXscbc (https://youtu.be/nGUEZLXscbc)
Awesome video, I could listen to John talk for hours, he speaks so well and is calm and composed.
-
Happy birthday to my favourite (Dream Theater) album :)
:birthday:
-
Unreal to think that the time that passed between the release of the album and them playing it full for the 15th anniversary (first date ever of the 2007/8 world tour), is the same time that passed since that gig and now!!!
Happy birthday Images and Words, you deserve all the praise and adoration you got over the years :metal :hefdaddy :metal
-
I had it at #2 in my DTF Top 50 albums of all time and it was only knocked out by the childhood #1 band Van Halen. I think it's my most collected album of all time too - I never really bother with buying the same album more than once (just this and Van Halen I in various guises) but I have I&W on CD, cassette and 4 or 5 different collectible vinyls
In my view it's as close to a perfect album as it gets and they never really got close to matching it when it comes to my taste......which is no insult to them as they set the bar so damn high.
-
The ending of Learning to Live is my favorite musical moment, nothing comes even close to it, it's just perfect.
I'll give the album a spin today :metal
-
The album that opened my ears to a whole new world of music. Thanks Dream Theater!
-
It wasn't my first DT album. That would be Octavarium, but a girl who lived on my floor in college found out I was just starting to listen to DT and she let me borrow her Images and Words CD and it was then that I wanted to do a full deep dive into DT and them becoming one of my favorite bands. I just had to see that I&W 25th anniversary tour 3 times when I finally had opportunities to see the album in full.
-
I've told this story before, but I remember hearing PMU for the first time on the radio. Southern California's metal station in the late '80s was still on the air in '92, but it was sputtering with the advent of grunge. One of my friends tipped me off about the song, so I was making a concerted effort to listen for it. Finally, it came on and I was blown away.
I harkened back a few years earlier. Sometime in 1989, while Operation: Mindcrime was still popular, MTV had a little snippet about "bands you might also like if you like Queensryche." They mentioned Fates Warning, Crimson Glory and Dream Theater. I went to the local "underground" record store and immediately found No Exit by Fates Warning. I bought it and was immediately hooked. Either at the same time or soon after, I found a Crimson Glory album, but I didn't buy it because I was put off by the masks and the singer calling himself "Midnight." Try as I might, though, I never found anything by DT. I'm guessing that the distribution channels for WDADU resulted in it not making it to the west coast.
After several months, I forgot about DT until...late October 1991. Fates Warning releases the Parallels album featuring, on one song, "background vocals . . . by James Labrie courtesy of Dream Theater." So they do exist! I looked again, but still nothing, until the summer and PMU comes on the radio. FINALLY, I found this band.
I bought I&W immediately and played the shit out of it. A few months later, I learned that DT would be playing at a small club near me (a club where my own band had played a couple years ago and which is now a "gentlemen's club"). My friend and I were right up front (not a difficult thing given the size of the club). They opened with Metropolis and gunned through several tracks from I&W before pulling out Ytse Jam. What is this? Oh...there's another album?! Gosh...that drum solo sounds almost exactly like Neil Peart on Exit...Stage Left. Another Hand/The Killing Hand. Holy crap! And then closing the set with Learning to Live.
We hung out in the parking lot waiting for the guys to come off the tour bus. Everyone except Kevin did so. They were really cool and signed my I&W CD booklet (I got Kevin to sign sometime on one of the subsequent legs of the tour). Stealing from David St. Hubbins on the Hear 'n' Aid video, when talking about Yngwie Malmsteen, I told JM his playing made me want to repurpose my bass as a coffee table. He sheepishly responded, "well...I've been playing a long time." What he should have said was, "yeah, well...I guess those 6 hours a day of practice paid off!"
And here we are THIRTY years later. Fuck. Thirty years before I&W, the Beatles didn't exist, and now it's been the same amount of time since I&W. Damn!
-
Definitely one of the pivotal musical events of my life. I first heard Pull Me Under on the radio in 1992, and it was all over.
-
Definitely one of the pivotal musical events of my life. I first heard Pull Me Under on the radio in 1992, and it was all over.
The same for me as well.
-
Fan for 30 years. :hat
-
Fates Warning releases the Parallels album featuring, on one song, "background vocals . . . by James Labrie courtesy of Dream Theater." So they do exist! I looked again, but still nothing, until the summer and PMU comes on the radio. FINALLY, I found this band.
That's how I discovered DT as well! :tup. I found the cassette in August of 1992, and I remember listening to it on a walkman on my Grandparents' front porch. Side A was cool and all, but when the auto reverse kicked in and brought up Side B, it was all over. Once Met I kicked in, I was on the ropes, and by the time of the intro of UAGM, I was out for the count. I instantly listened to it again, and again, and then the Walkman ate the cassette. I was crushed, because my Dad was driving down to take me to see ELP in Cleveland and Detroit that week, and I really, really, really wanted to play him that tape, because I knew it was the next leap forward in progressive music, and I thought my Dad would get a huge kick out of it. Alas, the record store I bought the cassette from didn't have another copy of I&W. The back half of I&W is still one of my favorite 30 minutes of music ever made.
-
An absolute game changer of an album for sure!
-
Definitely one of the pivotal musical events of my life. I first heard Pull Me Under on the radio in 1992, and it was all over.
The same for me as well.
Yep....same here. It's crazy to think that it's been 30 years!!
-
The album that opened my ears to a whole new world of music. Thanks Dream Theater!
Same here. My first prog rock album. Fan since it came out.
-
A perfect album. Probably my favorite album ever. A magical culmination of five musicians. They grew as songwriters and musicians over the years. And the production got better on later albums. But man, there is just something special about this one that can never be duplicated.
-
In my view it's as close to a perfect album as it gets
I think this sums up I&W when it comes to music in general. it stacks up against anything IMO.
-
Great story by pg1067. I envy the people that were around when the album came out. :tup
-
pg1067's intro to DT sounds very similar to mine, only I didn't hear about them until spring/summer of 1993. Same circle of bands, too - Crimson Glory (Transcendence is still an album I spin somewhat regularly), Fates Warning (other 'Favorite Band' ever) and DT.
Really hard to believe I was a wee 15 year old when I first heard this band. They've been a major component to what would eventually become the soundtrack of my life, for lack of a better way to say it. So many thanks to this band for keepin' on - 29 years later (for me) and I'm still waiting for new DT on release day.
-
Definitely one of the pivotal musical events of my life. I first heard Pull Me Under on the radio in 1992, and it was all over.
The same for me as well.
Put me in that group too. Loved it then, love it now.
-
Bought I&W, I think, sometime around September of 1992. In discussing music with my buddies at the time, someone had mentioned seeing this review on a magazine. A band that sounded like a mix of Metallica, Rush and Yes (or something), and an album that was a masterpiece. Fifteen year old-me knew Metallica, but not Rush and/or Yes. I was intrigued enough that when I saw the CD at my local store I went for it (hadn't seen the video for Pull Me Under, so I went in 100% blind).
Needless to say, my musical journey was changed forever ;D I think it's fair to say it's still my #1 favorite album of all time. It prompted lots and lots of additional musical discoveries (including Rush, of course, who proceeded to be my my favorite band). But even after discovering some of DT's "forefathers", which had an influence on the way they sounded, I&W firmly stayed on top.
Funnily enough, I had never realized the release date was July 7th. That's my wife's birthday :) I guess it's fitting...although when I mentioned it to her yesterday (as I was reading posts celebrating the 30th anniversary), she didn't seem to care all that much :biggrin:
-
I've told this story before, but I remember hearing PMU for the first time on the radio. Southern California's metal station in the late '80s was still on the air in '92, but it was sputtering with the advent of grunge. One of my friends tipped me off about the song, so I was making a concerted effort to listen for it. Finally, it came on and I was blown away.
I harkened back a few years earlier. Sometime in 1989, while Operation: Mindcrime was still popular, MTV had a little snippet about "bands you might also like if you like Queensryche." They mentioned Fates Warning, Crimson Glory and Dream Theater. I went to the local "underground" record store and immediately found No Exit by Fates Warning. I bought it and was immediately hooked. Either at the same time or soon after, I found a Crimson Glory album, but I didn't buy it because I was put off by the masks and the singer calling himself "Midnight." Try as I might, though, I never found anything by DT. I'm guessing that the distribution channels for WDADU resulted in it not making it to the west coast.
After several months, I forgot about DT until...late October 1991. Fates Warning releases the Parallels album featuring, on one song, "background vocals . . . by James Labrie courtesy of Dream Theater." So they do exist! I looked again, but still nothing, until the summer and PMU comes on the radio. FINALLY, I found this band.
I bought I&W immediately and played the shit out of it. A few months later, I learned that DT would be playing at a small club near me (a club where my own band had played a couple years ago and which is now a "gentlemen's club"). My friend and I were right up front (not a difficult thing given the size of the club). They opened with Metropolis and gunned through several tracks from I&W before pulling out Ytse Jam. What is this? Oh...there's another album?! Gosh...that drum solo sounds almost exactly like Neil Peart on Exit...Stage Left. Another Hand/The Killing Hand. Holy crap! And then closing the set with Learning to Live.
We hung out in the parking lot waiting for the guys to come off the tour bus. Everyone except Kevin did so. They were really cool and signed my I&W CD booklet (I got Kevin to sign sometime on one of the subsequent legs of the tour). Stealing from David St. Hubbins on the Hear 'n' Aid video, when talking about Yngwie Malmsteen, I told JM his playing made me want to repurpose my bass as a coffee table. He sheepishly responded, "well...I've been playing a long time." What he should have said was, "yeah, well...I guess those 6 hours a day of practice paid off!"
And here we are THIRTY years later. Fuck. Thirty years before I&W, the Beatles didn't exist, and now it's been the same amount of time since I&W. Damn!
Great post! I was just looking back and apparently, I discovered the album in 1993 and not 1992 when it came out. One of my friends had this tape he got from either Malaysia or Singapore, can't remember where exactly and it was a compilation of Slow Rock songs and this one had Another Day as the 2nd song on the B-side. This was on Vol. 5
I found someone on Ebay selling the tape! (https://www.ebay.com/itm/184356534790), though the one I listened to was those clear plastic cassettes. Another Day stood out amongst all those tracks as it was stylistically so different than a typical ballad. It had a sax solo, killer guitar solo and double-bass parts which fascinated me endlessly at the time.
I had started listening to a ton of Metal in late 91 and all of 92 so was discovering a ton of music mostly Hard Rock, Heavy Metal and Thrash, so double bass in my mind at the time was only for Thrash and to hear it on Another Day was wild.
I then happened to see the album in a music store, the store let you open CDs and try them out on a CD player with headphones and listened to Pull Me Under and was just immediately hooked. I bought the album on cassette and was completely blown away at all the styles the album had. Still such an amazing album, and holds an extremely special part in my life.
-
Good album. Didn't hear it in 1992. But I heard Metropolis Pt. 1 on a friend's request in the late 90's and that definitely changed the entire trajectory of my musical journey. Not my fav DT album, but I like and enjoy every song on it.
-
I was driving home from Michigan to Kentucky after spending the summer marching Drum & Bugle Corps. Driving down I-75 through Cincinnati, the I heard "Pull Me Under" on the local Z-Rock affiliate station, and cranked up the radio. Luckily the DJ mentioned the name of the band after the song. The next day I went to Cut Corner Records, just off the University of Kentucky campus and bought Images & Words.
-
I spun the album last night for the first time in awhile. And while I like the studio versions of these songs, I feel like every song on IAW is elevated in the live setting, be it from their 92/93 tour (as heard on the NYC show), or the various live albums since then, I feel like every song from IAW just hits higher levels when it's played live.
Now I have the urge to spin that NYC 93 show later on!
-Marc.
-
Definitely one of the pivotal musical events of my life. I first heard Pull Me Under on the radio in 1992, and it was all over.
The same for me as well.
Put me in that group too. Loved it then, love it now.
This is me joining the group with hef, Joe and Bill. :hat :hat
I have a short list of albums that were life-changing as far as my musical trajectory went as a fan of music, and Images and Words is on that list. 30 years later, it is still amazing from start to finish. The lyrics, the music, the production, everything is spot-on. I wouldn't change a thing about it. :hefdaddy :hefdaddy
-
I was just looking back and apparently, I discovered the album in 1993 and not 1992 when it came out.
I've always said 1992, and I'm pretty sure I heard Pull Me Under several times in 1992 and took note of it. But I think I probably bought the album in early 1993 if I had to guess. I just don't recall specifically when it started getting airplay. But I remember hearing it quite a few times and really digging it, and then picking up a copy.
-
I was just looking back and apparently, I discovered the album in 1993 and not 1992 when it came out.
I've always said 1992, and I'm pretty sure I heard Pull Me Under several times in 1992 and took note of it. But I think I probably bought the album in early 1993 if I had to guess. I just don't recall specifically when it started getting airplay. But I remember hearing it quite a few times and really digging it, and then picking up a copy.
My brother gave it for me for Christmas 1992. I'll never forget that. I remember telling him about Pull me Under (and he may of heard it on the radio himself), then he surprise me with the CD for Christmas. I think I wasn't even aware they had a full album out at that point.
-
As I had mentioned during my roulette (which I've neglected, as I noticed recently but anyway), I/W was my gateway into DT as well, although that happened much later than for most of us here, in 1998, when I was 8. At the time, DT were one of the most out there bands that I've ever heard (I didn't discover Frank Zappa yet, but once I did, I could easily connect the dots as it were. DT were partially responsible for my discovery of him), the instrumental sections during Met1 were a brain chopper for me at the time. Needless to say, DT were in my (and my father's) life from that point on.
(Oi, Stadler, how about me getting back to my roulette then? Any objection? :D I'd do it though, seriously.)
-
I am not sure a new album had ever had an impact on my the way I&W did. After seeing them in June of '92, I couldn't wait for their album to be released. Then I see that they're coming to Boston in October...then again in December!! I have never fallen for a band like I did with Dream Theater.
I thought...this was the music Rush should be making. It had the progressiveness of late 70's Rush, the power of Iron Maiden, and the vocals of Helloween. Perfection.
In 1992, I was really worried about where my favorite bands were headed. I was out of college and wondering if there would ever be a new band that would interest me.
I wore my tape out. I think I played it non stop for a year.
I also remembered thinking, how could they follow this up? Where would they be in 5 years, in ten years?
They would become the soundtrack to my adult life.
-
I didn't first hear the album until halfway between its release and now - so 2007. I think DT were my first real foray in to this type of music and I&W wasn't actually something that immediately grabbed me, I guess I needed a little time for it to simmer and get my head round it. Looking at my Last.fm, early on I was mainly listening to the album they had just released - Systematic Chaos; the first DT album I actually heard - Octavarium; and the one that became my early favourite - Train of Thought.
It wasn't until the next year that I really began to appreciate I&W, though early on I seem to recall mainly being interested in Metropolis. Eventually I came to realise just how special the whole album is, it overtook ToT as my #1 DT album and then also my favourite album by anyone, with my 2 favourite songs of all time in LTL and Metropolis.
Just a phenomenal piece of art.
-
Just found this. Great interview.
https://youtu.be/nGUEZLXscbc (https://youtu.be/nGUEZLXscbc)
Oh, I had missed this one...Thanks for sharing, this was a great watch!
-
They would become the soundtrack to my adult life.
Same here my friend, soundtrack to my life for sure.
-
I am loving these stories!
As I recall, and it's a bit fuzzy, in 92/93 my friend gave me I&W. He was always trying to introduce me to new music (new meaning new to me, not necessarily hot off the presses). When grunge was taking over my part of the world, he was giving me King Crimson, Priest, Rush, and then DT to listen to. The way I remember it, I knew Pull Me Under from the radio without knowing who the artist was, so my first thought was "oh yeah, I know this song, finally I know who sings it!" The rest of the album blew my mind, and I listened to it incessantly. It represented everything about music I was getting in to at the time.
I thought this was their debut - I wasn't on any mailing lists, didn't read music magazines, I knew nothing about these guys that wasn't in the liner notes. When I saw they released a follow-up, I thought "there is no way they can top that last album." I was happily proven wrong.
I know DT did not start in the early 90s, but of all the "favorite" bands I've had in my life, they are the only one I've been with from the early stages.
-
I can remember my older brother introducing me to DT with I&W in 93/94, when I was in jr high school. I can remember Metropolis being the first thing he made me listen to. He played guitar and I played drums growing up, so he would provide a unique perspective to me on things to listen for in songs. I can still remember to this day about him telling me about their song structures - to where it felt like they never played the same thing for more than 4 4-measure segments (outside of choruses); songs were constantly evolving. And if there was a song for example where verse 1 and verse 2 were similar musically, MP would usually play each with different drum rhythms/patterns, again to add to his point that there wasn't a lot of repetitiveness. I don't know why, but his analysis has always stuck with me over the years with this album. It took a few listens for it all to sink in for me, but man when it did, it changed the trajectory of my musical journey for the rest of my life.
Thank you DT for giving us this gift. Hard to believe it's been 30 years already.
-
The funny thing? On the first listen to the record, I was like "this is everything I love about music; it's Rush (the prog and subject matter) meets Iron Maiden (the heavy) meets Journey (the vocals)! But that drummer needs to chill!" HAHAHA. He's now in my Mt. Rushmore of favorite musicians of all time (Blackmore and McCartney are there too; I'm struggling to single out one for the fourth).
-
The funny thing? On the first listen to the record, I was like "this is everything I love about music; it's Rush (the prog and subject matter) meets Iron Maiden (the heavy) meets Journey (the vocals)! But that drummer needs to chill!" HAHAHA. He's now in my Mt. Rushmore of favorite musicians of all time (Blackmore and McCartney are there too; I'm struggling to single out one for the fourth).
Has to be Neal Morse, of course! Or Geddy Lee..
-
Heard Pull Me Under on the radio in my mom's car as she was driving me home from school, so it was sometime in the Fall. Had this unusual 80s metal vibe to it. Asked for images & Words for Christmas 1992, so that was the first time I heard the full album.
-
The funny thing? On the first listen to the record, I was like "this is everything I love about music; it's Rush (the prog and subject matter) meets Iron Maiden (the heavy) meets Journey (the vocals)! But that drummer needs to chill!" HAHAHA. He's now in my Mt. Rushmore of favorite musicians of all time (Blackmore and McCartney are there too; I'm struggling to single out one for the fourth).
Portnoy is definitely on my Mt. Rushmore as well. I think it would be James Hetfield, Paul McCartney, John Petrucci, and Mike Portnoy.
-
The funny thing? On the first listen to the record, I was like "this is everything I love about music..."
It wasn't quite like that for me, but similar. It felt like I&W was everything my tastes had been moving toward, and happened along at the exact right point in the timeline, and became the logical next step of my musical journey.
-
The funny thing? On the first listen to the record, I was like "this is everything I love about music; it's Rush (the prog and subject matter) meets Iron Maiden (the heavy) meets Journey (the vocals)! But that drummer needs to chill!" HAHAHA. He's now in my Mt. Rushmore of favorite musicians of all time (Blackmore and McCartney are there too; I'm struggling to single out one for the fourth).
Has to be Neal Morse, of course! Or Geddy Lee..
I was giving this some thought over the weekend - my lawn takes about three hours to mow haha - and I figured it was one of Phil Collins, Gene Simmons, Dave Murray or Chris Squire. it also dawned on me, how cool would a band of Paul McCartney, Ritchie Blackmore and Mike Portnoy be?
-
Just found this. Great interview.
https://youtu.be/nGUEZLXscbc (https://youtu.be/nGUEZLXscbc)
This is great. Thanks for sharing!
-
I&W is for me, a completely perfect album. No song disrupts the flow of the album, not a single section of them doesn't fit, not a single band member is out of their place, not a single line that leaves you confused or a single moment that takes you out of the experience. All of them at the height of their talents. Every single part of this album, from its cover to the final note in Learning to Live, is exactly where it should be. It is, for me, one of the best albums of all time. Masterpiece!
-
The funny thing? On the first listen to the record, I was like "this is everything I love about music; it's Rush (the prog and subject matter) meets Iron Maiden (the heavy) meets Journey (the vocals)! But that drummer needs to chill!" HAHAHA. He's now in my Mt. Rushmore of favorite musicians of all time (Blackmore and McCartney are there too; I'm struggling to single out one for the fourth).
Has to be Neal Morse, of course! Or Geddy Lee..
I was giving this some thought over the weekend - my lawn takes about three hours to mow haha - and I figured it was one of Phil Collins, Gene Simmons, Dave Murray or Chris Squire. it also dawned on me, how cool would a band of Paul McCartney, Ritchie Blackmore and Mike Portnoy be?
I was just re-reading this.. why ISN'T it Neal Morse? I probably have more material with him than any other artist not named "Portnoy" or "Garcia" (I have a shit ton of Grateful Dead live recordings).
-
The funny thing? On the first listen to the record, I was like "this is everything I love about music; it's Rush (the prog and subject matter) meets Iron Maiden (the heavy) meets Journey (the vocals)! But that drummer needs to chill!" HAHAHA. He's now in my Mt. Rushmore of favorite musicians of all time (Blackmore and McCartney are there too; I'm struggling to single out one for the fourth).
Has to be Neal Morse, of course! Or Geddy Lee..
I was giving this some thought over the weekend - my lawn takes about three hours to mow haha - and I figured it was one of Phil Collins, Gene Simmons, Dave Murray or Chris Squire. it also dawned on me, how cool would a band of Paul McCartney, Ritchie Blackmore and Mike Portnoy be?
I was just re-reading this.. why ISN'T it Neal Morse? I probably have more material with him than any other artist not named "Portnoy" or "Garcia" (I have a shit ton of Grateful Dead live recordings).
Dude - I'm telling you it HAS to be Neal Morse. He's definitely on mine, and I consider him one of the greatest song writers of all time period!
-
I&W is for me, a completely perfect album. No song disrupts the flow of the album, not a single section of them doesn't fit, not a single band member is out of their place, not a single line that leaves you confused or a single moment that takes you out of the experience. All of them at the height of their talents. Every single part of this album, from its cover to the final note in Learning to Live, is exactly where it should be. It is, for me, one of the best albums of all time. Masterpiece!
I agree with this 100%.
-
Unreal this record is 30. I didn't find out about Dream Theater until 1996. That summer, in fact. A buddy had just discovered DT with A Change of Seasons, so he played me that. Then Awake, and I was hooked. I picked up I&W after that, and loved the album from the get-go. It became my favorite and still is, a hair above Awake.
Funny thing is, I can't believe I never saw DT on MTV. I remember why - I was such a Queensryche junkie, and I just was so busy with school in the early 1990s that I never really focused on much else. But to find this other incredible band, right in my backyard, blown away. And Images and Words was at the forefront of my fandom.
For me, I&W is the band's flawless record. From top to bottom, it's amazing. Never tempted to skip a single track. One of my favorites of all time and desert island disc.
-
The funny thing? On the first listen to the record, I was like "this is everything I love about music; it's Rush (the prog and subject matter) meets Iron Maiden (the heavy) meets Journey (the vocals)! But that drummer needs to chill!" HAHAHA. He's now in my Mt. Rushmore of favorite musicians of all time (Blackmore and McCartney are there too; I'm struggling to single out one for the fourth).
Has to be Neal Morse, of course! Or Geddy Lee..
I was giving this some thought over the weekend - my lawn takes about three hours to mow haha - and I figured it was one of Phil Collins, Gene Simmons, Dave Murray or Chris Squire. it also dawned on me, how cool would a band of Paul McCartney, Ritchie Blackmore and Mike Portnoy be?
I vote Chris Squire or Phil;-)
-
Jeez...I need to log in more often.
This was the album that did it for me. I was into all sorts of stuff at that time hovering around 'progressive rock' like Rush, Queensryche, etc., but the second I heard Images and Words, it was the music that was inside my soul all along and was like mother's milk. Typing this I harken back to a small venue in Atlanta when I saw the original lineup live and the whole album performed live (mid/late 1990s?) and I can see the guitar solos from basically 8ft away, all of them larger than life producing the music that to me is the soundtrack of my soul. Hell, my feet are drumming the double bassing while I'm typing this just remembering all the time I spent in high school doing that with my feet for 8hrs a day.
What an awesome album that if you listen to today's current rock bands, you hear the influences right and left. This album and this band has left a mark and a legacy that goes beyond just us the fans, and that's super cool imo.
-
I only heard the album a couple of times before I saw DT in Seattle for the first time. It was at the Paramount theater, and introduced as a rising star show. The tickets were only ten dollars. I was completely blown away at how good this band is and have been hooked ever since. Galactic Cowboys opened up.
I'm pretty sure this was in 1993.
-
I can remember my older brother introducing me to DT with I&W in 93/94, when I was in jr high school. I can remember Metropolis being the first thing he made me listen to. He played guitar and I played drums growing up, so he would provide a unique perspective to me on things to listen for in songs. I can still remember to this day about him telling me about their song structures - to where it felt like they never played the same thing for more than 4 4-measure segments (outside of choruses); songs were constantly evolving. And if there was a song for example where verse 1 and verse 2 were similar musically, MP would usually play each with different drum rhythms/patterns, again to add to his point that there wasn't a lot of repetitiveness. I don't know why, but his analysis has always stuck with me over the years with this album. It took a few listens for it all to sink in for me, but man when it did, it changed the trajectory of my musical journey for the rest of my life.
Thank you DT for giving us this gift. Hard to believe it's been 30 years already.
Wonderful story! Thanks for sharing :tup
Again, I had never heard of the band until I went to see them open for Queensryche in '03, only to be surprised that DT was headlining that particular night. Bought 'Six Degrees' the next day, jumped out of my seat at the Brian May guitar segment in 'Misunderstanding', fell in love with the title track, and within a month finally bought I&W. The weakest song I'd rate 8/10, the rest all 10s! And that percussion by the often standing 'camel' ;) behind the drum kit that was up front on the stage that night blew me away yet again.
Then I purchased 'Awake', and then......
-
...until I went to see them open for Queensryche in '03...
omg, this was always one of my dream lineups--dammit, I hate that I missed a show like this! QR was awesome when I saw them live where they played the entire Operation Mindcrime in one single set with massive video screens adding to the story. I forgot who was opening for them, if anyone. If it would have been DT I would have been disappointed with QR. :biggrin:
-
I only heard the album a couple of times before I saw DT in Seattle for the first time. It was at the Paramount theater, and introduced as a rising star show. The tickets were only ten dollars. I was completely blown away at how good this band is and have been hooked ever since. Galactic Cowboys opened up.
I'm pretty sure this was in 1993.
I was at that show! I had already been a huge fan for a few months by the time that show was announced. And since I was the only one locally who knew who they were, I was the only one in line when the tickets went on sale. So I was row A seat 1 dead center.
EDIT - Mike noticed that I was the ONLY person in the audience who was singing along to Status Seeker…so he personally handed me a drum stick when the show was over. (Lost it in a move ages ago….which still breaks my heart)
-
Great to read all your stories of introductions to Dream Theater.
I must say Images & Words was an album I did not listen to as often as some of the others for a really long time, but their last tour to Australia (that wasn't cancelled) was for the 25th Anniversary of Images & Words where for the second half of the concert they performed the whole album, (I went to both Sydney and Melbourne concerts) and I have fallen in love with the album, and it has a regular rotation in the car.
I first heard of DT on a Steve Vai website forum in about 2003 or so when a lot of people were mentioning they were going to a concert. Then Train of Thought was the first release I purchased, saw JP in G3 in Melbourne with Joe Satriani and Steve Vai, at the end of 2006, DT first toured Melbourne on a really hot January day at Festival Hall back in 2008. Been a big fan ever since.
Crazy how fast time goes, I wish I had heard of them back when they were first on the scene like a lot of you guys, but then I really would have been pretty pissed off waiting all that time for them to tour Australia.
I am really glad JP came out to Australia with G3 or we might never have had them tour here.
-
EDIT - Mike noticed that I was the ONLY person in the audience who was singing along to Status Seeker…so he personally handed me a drum stick when the show was over. (Lost it in a move ages ago….which still breaks my heart)
I love this! Mike has always been so good to the fans.