You say that, but it's slap bang in the middle of the current set! A live set's not exactly the same as an album order, but DT12 almost went live with Illumination Theory as track two, which I don't think would have worked, but I think it's interesting how far it got. Black Holes and Revelations was originally scheduled with Knights of Cydonia first and Take A Bow last - which seems completely ludicrous to me, but it was absolutely the plan, and like Knights of Cydonia, I wonder if Trial of Tears might only sound innately final because we've heard it at the end of an album for seventeen years. Like I said, I'm still not quite picturing it, but I like the idea of the album slowly warming up, rather than gradually shedding its grit, and I think Trial of Tears would work well at the beginning of that particular album. Something like...
1. Trial of Tears
2. Take Away My Pain
3. Cover My Eyes
4. Peruvian Skies
5. Raise the Knife
6. Just Let Me Breathe
7. Hollow Years
8. Hell's Kitchen
9. Lines in the Sand
Sort of feels a bit more balanced. Almost mirrors, one side to another. Clear Side A and Side B, too - something I seem to remember Mike Portnoy regretted not quite achieving. Ahhh, I don't know. I quite like messing with structure. Context can change a lot. Half the appeal of Overture 1928 is the promise of adventure to come. I think, if FII is sometimes hard work, that's more to do with the order the music happens in than the songs themselves. The Dream Theater canon could always use a couple more songs like Anna Lee, just... not necessarily all at the same time.
It's just something to fiddle about with.