Here's my attempt at stirring up a discussion that's a little bit different. I'm sure this is old hat for some of the old fogeys here, but I'm also sure that it's something that hasn't been talked about for awhile. What do you think about Derek's fit with Dream Theater? Here's my take:
There's a lot of discussion about whether Dream Theater's output was better with Jordan Rudess or Kevin Moore at the keys, but I think the potential the band had with Derek is often understated. For one, his contributions on Falling Into Infinity are spectacular, and they can hardly be construed as the weak point of the album. Secondly, he has a great personality, and brought a lot of humor and character to the band. Finally, he's basically what I see as the perfect mix between Kevin and Jordan. Unlike Kevin, Derek can be flashy and jam out when required. However, Derek also has an amazing sense of atmosphere, which can be heard on Trial of Tears and Lines in the Sand. I will say, however, that Jordan also has an amazing sense of atmosphere, except that he's hardly utilized as such and is often buried in the mix when he does play that way.
There's at least a couple reasons why he didn't work. Here are some that I've come up with:
1.) His personality. Obviously, while he brought a lot of character to the band, he also lived a “rock star” kind of lifestyle which sort of went against Dream Theater's otherwise “family man” band expectation.
2.) His live performance. From listening to boots and stuff, it's pretty easy to tell that Sherinian's handling of Dream Theater's work was kind of sloppy. Kevin Moore wasn't the greatest live player, either, but as Dream Theater became a band increasingly known for displaying their chops it became necessary to get someone a little bit more reliable.
3.) He was a scapegoat. After the critical failure of FII, fans outlashed against Derek. This was partly because he had big shoes to fill, obviously, but I think it was also due to the fans not really understanding the inner mechanics of the band. His personality, again, was also a little bit of a turn-off to the fans.
Here's a couple reasons why I think he could work now:
1.) For some reason, I don't see his personality as being a huge issue anymore. For one, he seems a lot less flamboyant than he did back in the day. Secondly, all the guys in Dream Theater seem to be going for a much more “rock and roll” image nowadays, and I could see Derek pulling that off pretty well.
2.) His live performance has improved immensely. This should be pretty obvious. Anyone who's kept up with his post DT career-- or at least listened to WDADRU-- knows that he's improved exponentially since he was canned. I don't think he'd have a problem pulling off most of Dream Theater's stuff now, except for maybe Jordan's most challenging parts.
3.) Fans simply don't hate FII as much as they used to. That, and Jordan's already become such a scapegoat that I don't see how Derek would make things any worse.
Now, I'm not proposing that Dream Theater sack Jordan and go back to Derek. I don't think that would ever happen, unless Jordan couldn't continue with Dream Theater for some reason. And, even then, I wonder how willing Derek would be to join back, or whether the other guys in Dream Theater would ask him to join at all.
What I am proposing, however, is for the DTF community to imagine what Dream Theater would sound like if Derek were still at the keys.
As far as I'm concerned, Dream Theater would be much more convincing as a “contemporary” prog-metal act with Derek on the keys. Something about Rudess seems to “age” the band (not HIS age, because he's not really that much older than DT's oldest member, LaBrie), simply because in interviews and promos and so on he doesn't seem nearly as willing or interested in heavy music as the rest of the guys, who all seem pretty much in agreement that Dream Theater should continue to sound contemporary. But I'm not sure I'd want to trade in Rudess' prog credentials for Derek's flair. Right now, I'm convinced that if not for Jordan, Dream Theater would have fallen way out of the realm of “progressive” on the last two albums.
Remember, this is completely hypothetical. A way to have some fun, I guess, musing over what Dream Theater would/could be with Derek still at the keys. It's not meant at all to slight any of the current or past members, especially Jordan, who, I hope, if he manages to read this, will not be offended by us talking hypotheticals about the person Dream Theater could have married before they got cold feet.