One thing I've noticed about I&W

[alexofsweden]

I've noticed that I&W has an overall positive feeling/parts that other DT albums lacks (except maybe SDOIT), examples: 

Pull Me Under: ok, it's mostly dark.

Another Day: has an overall happy feeling.

Take The Time: mostly the whole song, happy chorus...the unison solo!!

Surrounded: mostly positive

Metropolis: The unison solo around (5:50)  and maybe the whole prog part sounds "happy" even though it's mostly chromatics and in minor.

Under A Glass Moon: the intro,the solo and all the prog parts.

Learning To Live: The intro sounds kinda happy even if it's in minor, the unison party right before the "re-wait for sleep" parts kicks in.

After I&W follows a very dark Awake, ACOS is mostly dark..FII & SFAM is also a bit dark...then SDOIT returns to some "positive" elements...TOT do have to say it? Etc etc...
How come I&W is the only album that has so much positive vibes? Does it reflect how the band was feeling at the time? How about the other albums, can u hear in the overall vibe of the albums how they where feeling at the time?

Please discuss


(Dunno if this as been discussed here at forum before, if so...sorry...and pardon my spelling)

[wasteland]

I would say melancholic in a positive way. Which is way better than an album with a stright positive vibe, in my opinion.

[Vajra]

I've always thought the same as well. I&W definitely has a very uplifting mood that very few metal albums/songs have. It's a very heavy album when you really listen to it, but it manages to not appear dark, which I think is a very creative triumph that the band was able to pull off.

Reminds me of Metallica's cover of "Whiskey In The Jar" a very heavy song, but definitely a positive sounding one. Also JP's "Glasgow Kiss".

[Aniland]

"Another Day" as uplifting and happy? Ehh, the lines of talking somebody down from the idea of killing themselves makes it seem uber dark, especially with the sax solo and LaBrie screaming underneath it.

[Mr. Beale]

Yeah it is a pretty upbeat record overall, which does bring a unique vibe. Never really thought of it in that way.

*apperciates I&W* 

[alexofsweden]

"Another Day" as uplifting and happy? Ehh, the lines of talking somebody down from the idea of killing themselves makes it seem uber dark, especially with the sax solo and LaBrie screaming underneath it.

Well, the music has an positive vibe over it...didn't talk about the lyrics

[Heretic]

Yeah I've always thought that the album had an overall feeling of positiveness. It's something that makes the whole album feel almost mystical whilst listening to it, I dunno.

Interestingly enough, I got that same feeling while listening to the Breaking All Illusions snippet, though, so perhaps we'll see some of that same positive vibe on ADTOE. 

[alexofsweden]

Interestingly enough, I got that same feeling while listening to the Breaking All Illusions snippet, though, so perhaps we'll see some of that same positive vibe on ADTOE. 

Totally agree on that!!!

[Ħ]

I definitely agree that IAW is their happiest album.

[SnakeEyes]

I only find "Take the Time" to be "happy" sounding. 

Pull Me Under isn't positive at all.  LOL 

Another Day is about JP's father having cancer.  That's not positive. 

Take the Time (already addressed that)

Surrounded isn't really "positive," either.  It's just very major sounding.  But, the lyrics aren't .... "happy."

Metropolis is about Remus and Romulus, the two brothers who fight over the city.  That's not happy, either.  LOL

Under a Glass Moon is about a street lamp and rain.  That's just bizarre. 

Wait for Sleep is about someone trying to deal with the death of a loved one and looking at his or her picture.  That's not a happy thought. 

Learning to Live is about someone who has AIDS learning to deal with living with the disease.  That's not happy. 

So yeah, I disagree. 

[Adami]

I only find "Take the Time" to be "happy" sounding. 

Pull Me Under isn't positive at all.  LOL 

Another Day is about JP's father having cancer.  That's not positive. 

Take the Time (already addressed that)

Surrounded isn't really "positive," either.  It's just very major sounding.  But, the lyrics aren't .... "happy."

Metropolis is about Remus and Romulus, the two brothers who fight over the city.  That's not happy, either.  LOL

Under a Glass Moon is about a street lamp and rain.  That's just bizarre. 

Wait for Sleep is about someone trying to deal with the death of a loved one and looking at his or her picture.  That's not a happy thought. 

Learning to Live is about someone who has AIDS learning to deal with living with the disease.  That's not happy. 

So yeah, I disagree. 

While I agree the lyrics are generally not happy, the actual music is very much often triumphant or upbeat.

[SnakeEyes]

Oh yeah, the music has an upbeat sound, I guess.  I thought we were discussing the themes of the songs. 

[LieLowTheWantedMan]

I always thought Under a Glass Moon was about JP proposing to his wife. I don't know why.

[SnakeEyes]

^  

Nope, street lamp..... rain..... JP in his car.... pen and paper.    

LOL  

edit..

Forgot CRACK. 

[SystematicThought]

"Another Day" as uplifting and happy? Ehh, the lines of talking somebody down from the idea of killing themselves makes it seem uber dark, especially with the sax solo and LaBrie screaming underneath it.

Where does the song mention talking a guy down from killing himself?

[SnakeEyes]

"Another Day" as uplifting and happy? Ehh, the lines of talking somebody down from the idea of killing themselves makes it seem uber dark, especially with the sax solo and LaBrie screaming underneath it.

Where does the song mention talking a guy down from killing himself?

It doesn't.  Shut up, Ani.....

I mean....

It's really about JP's dad and cancer. 

[Ħ]

Maybe the lyrical content of the songs is dark, but the music is generally bright.

[alexofsweden]

The lyrics may be dark...but I was talking about the music and how they play their instruments.

[?]

^  

Nope, street lamp..... rain..... JP in his car.... pen and paper.    

LOL  

edit..

Forgot CRACK. 

"I don't like street lamps that much, but I had a pen and some paper, so what the fuck."

On topic, I find I&W rather uplifting, despite the fact that some songs have dark lyrics. I've always found Another Day sad and melancholic; both music and lyrics.

[BlobVanDam]

One reason I love IaW so much is because it's so upbeat, or as I think of it, a sense of "fun". Even though lyrically the themes of a song like Metropolis might not be positive, that instrumental is just so energy and so upbeat. And Take The Time is just good fun the whole way through.

[The Presence of Frenemies]

I think a lot of it has to do with the drastically different production. JP's guitar tones are super-clean, many of the drums are triggered and have that synthetic, dancey sound, and Moore's keyboard tones are also pretty light-sounding. Add in LaBrie's tenor voice and there's really nowhere the music sounds "dark." On Awake, Moore gets moodier, LaBrie goes into lower registers, Portnoy's kit sounds more acoustic, and most notably, JP's guitar gets a much grungier, almost industrial sound.

It was just the production of that whole hair metal era. Between IW and Awake, the music landscape changed a lot, and that was no longer in fashion, so the producers tried to portray DT as a moodier band to fit in with the trends.

[darkshade]

Interestingly enough, I got that same feeling while listening to the Breaking All Illusions snippet, though, so perhaps we'll see some of that same positive vibe on ADTOE. 

I wouldn't be surprised; especially as it would carry over the "silver linings" theme from BC&SL (nuggetz!). The Best of Times and The Count of Tuscany had some of their lighter/happiest moments since SDoIT.

[Chrissalix]

On Images and Words the music just sounds fun. The funk section in TTT, DAT unison in LTL, the solo in UAGM, I could go on! Most of the music on I&W just sounds optimistic and triumphant, something they didn't get back until SFAM and haven't really tapped into since with the exception of The Count of Tuscany.

LaBrie's vocal performance helps this too. He was an absolute monster on this album. Lyrically the album is really introspective but LaBrie's delivery is so good you just wanna scream along even though you know you'll never hit DAT f# or the second verse in TTT. it's rare that you can say this, but LaBriesus' vocal performance on that album is a highlight of the entire album and really adds to the upbeat feel. Although he was good on Awake, he never really replicated the quality of his work on I&W. Every song has a memorable vocal line here, even the under appreciated ones like Surrounded (the flow in the light to dark bit is insane!) and Wait for Sleep (which is sung like a lullaby) which I think helps the mood become a little more optimistic.

Basically, Images and Words is the bollocks.

[The Presence of Frenemies]

Although he was good on Awake, he never really replicated the quality of his work on I&W.

You know, I love Images and am nowhere near as keen on Awake as many DTF users, but I have to disagree with this. Awake's vocals are far more dynamic. The I & W vocals tend to be very high-pitched on the fast songs or very soft and moody on the ballads, but in Awake, you get all that plus a lot of interesting lower-register aggressive stuff. It's funny, because later on, Portnoy would be pushing the band in this "tough guy" direction for which he claimed James didn't work, but it's like he forgot James ever sung Lie, Scarred, or Caught In A Web.

I love the whole atmosphere of IW much more than that of Awake, but I certainly don't think that's a James thing. And hey, he even has another "big note" on Awake with the Innocence Faded F5.

Certainly, the IW vocals are incredible, but I find them more one-dimensional than Awake's, when you take the albums as wholes.

[Chrissalix]

Although he was good on Awake, he never really replicated the quality of his work on I&W.

You know, I love Images and am nowhere near as keen on Awake as many DTF users, but I have to disagree with this. Awake's vocals are far more dynamic. The I & W vocals tend to be very high-pitched on the fast songs or very soft and moody on the ballads, but in Awake, you get all that plus a lot of interesting lower-register aggressive stuff. It's funny, because later on, Portnoy would be pushing the band in this "tough guy" direction for which he claimed James didn't work, but it's like he forgot James ever sung Lie, Scarred, or Caught In A Web.

I love the whole atmosphere of IW much more than that of Awake, but I certainly don't think that's a James thing. And hey, he even has another "big note" on Awake with the Innocence Faded F5.

Certainly, the IW vocals are incredible, but I find them more one-dimensional than Awake's, when you take the albums as wholes.

Awake is in his top 3 performances IMO, after I&W and SFAM. I guess I'm just really not a fan of LaBrie's lower register, more gruff vocals or Awake's darker tone. I'm gutted we'll never know how he would have sounded if he hadn't have had the vocal accident.

[John94]

I guess you could say I&W goes from light to dark, dark to light, light to dark, dark to light.

[hefdaddy42]

I guess you could say I&W goes from light to dark, dark to light, light to dark, dark to light.

[7thHanyou]

I guess you could say I&W goes from light to dark, dark to light, light to dark, dark to light.

I&W is certainly their brightest album, and I also love its atmosphere (something When Dream and Day Unite had as well).

As for the lyrical themes, they're not that dark, actually.  Oh yes, they deal with some pretty pivotal, dark moments, but they're often about overcoming those moments in a positive way.  The only exception is Pull Me Under...but everything that follows is so positive that I think its darker themes are not as enduring as the positive-sounding ones.

And yes, I'm including Another Day.  To me, it's about making the most of what you're given.

I've always thought Innocence Faded, in spite of its name, followed very much in the vein of the positive-sounding I&W songs...probably why it's my favorite track from Awake.  I don't think DT has been entirely negative since then, either...Octavarium had some positive lyrics and an uplifting sound in several songs, balanced with some darker ones.  "Root of All Evil," "The Answer Lies Within," "I Walk Beside You," and even the title track to an extent can be quite positive.  But yeah, Dream Theater tends to favor the darker stuff.  This isn't a problem, just a stylistic choice.

[MetropolisxPt1]

The colors of the cover accurately express the tone of this album.

[BRGM]

I can't say that I find the UAGM intro to be happy? I think it's pretty much the darkest moment on that disc.

[alexofsweden]

I can't say that I find the UAGM intro to be happy? I think it's pretty much the darkest moment on that disc.

It's actually played in major

[hefdaddy42]

I can't say that I find the UAGM intro to be happy? I think it's pretty much the darkest moment on that disc.

[Ħ]

I can't say that I find the UAGM intro to be happy? I think it's pretty much the darkest moment on that disc.

It's actually played in major

Yeah seriously.

The intro to UAGM is really lame in the context of the album.  Whenever I hear it, I just think "Time to skip the song".  But live, it's very majestic.

[BlobVanDam]

I can't say that I find the UAGM intro to be happy? I think it's pretty much the darkest moment on that disc.

It's actually played in major

Yeah seriously.

The intro to UAGM is really lame in the context of the album.  Whenever I hear it, I just think "Time to skip the song".  But live, it's very majestic.

It's not straight major though. The end of the riff has a flattened 2nd, and once the band kicks in, the riff is all the root, the flattened second, and the minor 7th. That's a very typical metal note choice. So it's metal, but with an upbeat twist with that major third part way through. That's what I personally love about it. It gives it that almost video gamey sound of being upbeat without being overly "happy". I think it's cool.

[BRGM]

Maybe it is kinda happy at first, but once the band kicks in I think it gets kind of aggressive.