Your Controversial Opinions on DT

[TheCountOfNYC]

I like the medleys of other band's songs (like the Big Medley) and Instrumedley is really well constructed for a 12 minute "look what we can do" part of the concert. I'm not a fan of Schmedley Wilcox. Any one of those songs on their own would have been a more satisfying show closer.

[SeRoX]

Today I came across Stained Glass bootleg which from 98 FII tour.
https://youtu.be/TfIejrYCqWM

I don't understand why DT stopped doing this unplugged concept. In this bootleg James sounds amazing. I hope in the near future they'll give a shot.

[pg1067]

Today I came across Stained Glass bootleg which from 98 FII tour.
https://youtu.be/TfIejrYCqWM

I don't understand why DT stopped doing this unplugged concept. In this bootleg James sounds amazing. I hope in the near future they'll give a shot.

It's not like it was a regular thing.

[SeRoX]

Who said it was a regular thing? It is what they did from time to time in the past and I hope they'll do it again at least once.

[gzarruk]

They had an acoustic segment of the show for the ADTOE tour, and it was different and very cool for them to do. It's more likely they bring back that kind of element than the full unplugged show format.

[pg1067]

Who said it was a regular thing? It is what they did from time to time in the past and I hope they'll do it again at least once.

Writing "I don't understand why DT stopped doing this unplugged concept" implies that it was something more than a one-off thing.

[Rathma]

Kevin Moore

[Kotowboy]

Dunno if i've said this already but...


.. Dream Theater are a far superior band to RUSH.

[gzarruk]

.. Dream Theater are a far superior band to RUSH.

I completely agree, but I'm not sure someone like JP would say the same

[Setlist Scotty]

Are they superior to Rush in some ways? Sure. But the same can be said the other way around, too. And DT *far* superior to Rush? I think not.

[TAC]

Are they superior to Rush in some ways? Sure. But the same can be said the other way around, too. And DT *far* superior to Rush? I think not.

Yeah, that's a far cry.

[Architeuthis]

Dunno if i've said this already but...


.. Dream Theater are a far superior band to RUSH.

NOT!   
Rush only had three people putting out just as big of a sound as DT.   Sure, John Petrucci is a superior guitar player than Alex, but Alex's creativity and sound make up for it.  Jordan is a real pianist and keyboard player and Geddy uses them for more soundscapes, but he also sings and plays complex bass lines at the same time. Neither Portnoy or Mangini are superior to Neil Peart in any way.
I'm sure DT are more accomplished musicians as a whole, but Rush is just as much of a powerhouse band as DT but with only three members.

[DarkLord_Lalinc]

Dunno if i've said this already but...


.. Dream Theater are a far superior band to RUSH.

Nice.

I like DT far more, but in the overall impact they had on the music scene as a whole they will always be miles ahead of DT.

But then again, I enjoy DT's music much more but that's just a matter of taste. I love Rush, but if I could only take the discography of either to a desert island to live for the rest of my days I'd take DT in a heartbeat.

[Architeuthis]

Dunno if i've said this already but...


.. Dream Theater are a far superior band to RUSH.

Nice.



I love Rush, but if I could only take the discography of either to a desert island to live for the rest of my days I'd take DT in a heartbeat.

Dang,  that would be a tough choice as both are my favorite bands. 🤔

[pg1067]

Are they superior to Rush in some ways? Sure. But the same can be said the other way around, too. And DT *far* superior to Rush? I think not.

This x 1000

[Kotowboy]

Let me just say that I've not heard a single RUSH song that's made me go " Ahhhh. Now I get it ".

[JLa]

Today I came across Stained Glass bootleg which from 98 FII tour.
https://youtu.be/TfIejrYCqWM

I don't understand why DT stopped doing this unplugged concept. In this bootleg James sounds amazing. I hope in the near future they'll give a shot.

What a great show!

[Architeuthis]

Let me just say that I've not heard a single RUSH song that's made me go " Ahhhh. Now I get it ".

Then you probably never will. 
I've heard a few people say the same thing about Dream Theater. 

[Dream Team]

Rush decided to make pop rock for 15 years, which to me is the biggest tipping point.

[darkshade]

Let me just say that I've not heard a single RUSH song that's made me go " Ahhhh. Now I get it ".

Have you heard all their albums from 1976-1982?
If so, then not much else you can do.

[Madman Shepherd]

Let me just say that I've not heard a single RUSH song that's made me go " Ahhhh. Now I get it ".

Then you probably never will. 

Not true. Happened to me about 7 years ago. Thankfully just in time to catch them on their last tour. I still don't worship them. In some ways I feel they're like Iron Maiden. Excellent band. Legends? Absolutely. Are there better bands out there? Yes, many.

[Setlist Scotty]

Let me just say that I've not heard a single RUSH song that's made me go " Ahhhh. Now I get it ".

Then you probably never will. 

Not true. Happened to me about 7 years ago. Thankfully just in time to catch them on their last tour. I still don't worship them. In some ways I feel they're like Iron Maiden. Excellent band. Legends? Absolutely. Are there better bands out there? Yes, many.

Good to know. What finally made them "click" for you?

[HOF]

I'm the opposite - I do like medleys, especially when they're really well constructed. The Instrumedley is one of the best ones, IMO. DT has had some good ones. Schmedley Wilcox was good, altho it didn't flow quite as smoothly during some of the transitions. But one thing I thought that was cool regarding that medley was that MP took all the semi-epic closing songs and put them all together.

I always liked the way the Metropolis/Learning to Live/The Crimson Sunset medley on Once in a Livetime.

[adastra]

Here is something controversial for you to chew on!

I was listening to "Cleaning Out the Closet" in my car yesterday.
I would love to hear Dream Theater make more songs like Don´t Look Past Me,  Where Are you Know, The way it used to be, Speak To me etc.
The almost "poppy" sound and more "simpler" mainstream-radio-friendly songs sound so refreshing after listening to mostly heavier songs from DT.

I have to say that Cleaning out the closet is pretty much my top 5 DT albums (even though, not a official studio recording)

What do you guys think?

[MirrorMask]

I always liked the occasional "easy" song from DT. Forsaken, I Walk Beside You, heck, even You Not Me for what it is are all good. I wouldn't want them to turn so soft but yeah, the occasional Speak to Me on every album is more than welcomed.

[adastra]

I always liked the occasional "easy" song from DT. Forsaken, I Walk Beside You, heck, even You Not Me for what it is are all good. I wouldn't want them to turn so soft but yeah, the occasional Speak to Me on every album is more than welcomed.

I also like You Not Me! I Think it is a great song. 
Also, I Walk Beside You is probably one of my top5 favourite DT songs 

[Trav86]

I always liked the occasional "easy" song from DT. Forsaken, I Walk Beside You, heck, even You Not Me for what it is are all good. I wouldn't want them to turn so soft but yeah, the occasional Speak to Me on every album is more than welcomed.

I agree 100%

[Stadler]

Here is something controversial for you to chew on!

I was listening to "Cleaning Out the Closet" in my car yesterday.
I would love to hear Dream Theater make more songs like Don´t Look Past Me,  Where Are you Know, The way it used to be, Speak To me etc.
The almost "poppy" sound and more "simpler" mainstream-radio-friendly songs sound so refreshing after listening to mostly heavier songs from DT.

I have to say that Cleaning out the closet is pretty much my top 5 DT albums (even though, not a official studio recording)

What do you guys think?

Not controversial to me; I happen to agree with you (I'm a big fan of "Cover My Eyes" as well). 

[pg1067]

Here is something controversial for you to chew on!

I was listening to "Cleaning Out the Closet" in my car yesterday.
I would love to hear Dream Theater make more songs like Don´t Look Past Me,  Where Are you Know, The way it used to be, Speak To me etc.
The almost "poppy" sound and more "simpler" mainstream-radio-friendly songs sound so refreshing after listening to mostly heavier songs from DT.

I have to say that Cleaning out the closet is pretty much my top 5 DT albums (even though, not a official studio recording)

What do you guys think?

I don't think this is a controversial opinion on DTF where a lot of folks also like COTC.  I've expressed my opinion about those songs many times.  In short, I think none of those songs are any better than average and most are WELL below average.  I have no problem with "simpler," "radio-friendly" songs.  DT has plenty of those that I love, but the COTC songs didn't make it on an official release for a good reason.

[TAC]

  DT has plenty of those that I love, but the COTC songs didn't make it on an official release for a good reason.

Hah! I've said the same thing, but they definitely made a mistake leaving Raise The Knife off.

Where Are You Now sounds like some awful Tate-ryche song.

[pg1067]

they definitely made a mistake leaving Raise The Knife off.

The love for that song here on DTF swells every so often, so I go back to check it out once in a while and always come away wondering what I'm missing that everyone else sees.  If they had placed To Live Forever and Don't Look Past Me in a different spot during the I&W&B tour, it would have been a perfect time for a piss break.

[hefdaddy42]

Here is something controversial for you to chew on!

I was listening to "Cleaning Out the Closet" in my car yesterday.
I would love to hear Dream Theater make more songs like Don´t Look Past Me,  Where Are you Know, The way it used to be, Speak To me etc.
The almost "poppy" sound and more "simpler" mainstream-radio-friendly songs sound so refreshing after listening to mostly heavier songs from DT.

I have to say that Cleaning out the closet is pretty much my top 5 DT albums (even though, not a official studio recording)

What do you guys think?

Not controversial to me; I happen to agree with you (I'm a big fan of "Cover My Eyes" as well).

All of this.

[TAC]

they definitely made a mistake leaving Raise The Knife off.

The love for that song here on DTF swells every so often, so I go back to check it out once in a while and always come away wondering what I'm missing that everyone else sees.  If they had placed To Live Forever and Don't Look Past Me in a different spot during the I&W&B tour, it would have been a perfect time for a piss break.

To Live Forever is a piss break wherever it is placed in the setlist.


The Score version of RTK is so much stronger than what they recorded in the FII sessions, but even that version would be preferable to a lot of what made it to FII.



Oh, and I love Cover My Eyes, for the record.

[DTA]

Raise The Knife is the worst song from the entire FII sessions imo...the vocal melody is beyond bland. Speak To Me is probably my favorite from the entire FII session and I wish it would've made its way onto the album. I know a lot of people rank the album pretty low, but it's the most creative period in the bands history and the diversity in sound between songs is incredible.

[bosk1]

Here is something controversial for you to chew on!

I was listening to "Cleaning Out the Closet" in my car yesterday.
I would love to hear Dream Theater make more songs like Don´t Look Past Me,  Where Are you Know, The way it used to be, Speak To me etc.
The almost "poppy" sound and more "simpler" mainstream-radio-friendly songs sound so refreshing after listening to mostly heavier songs from DT.

I have to say that Cleaning out the closet is pretty much my top 5 DT albums (even though, not a official studio recording)

What do you guys think?

I don't think this is a controversial opinion on DTF where a lot of folks also like COTC.  I've expressed my opinion about those songs many times.  In short, I think none of those songs are any better than average and most are WELL below average.  I have no problem with "simpler," "radio-friendly" songs.  DT has plenty of those that I love, but the COTC songs didn't make it on an official release for a good reason.

Yeah, I agree that it isn't really "controversial."  As you say, a lot of folks here like those songs, myself included.  But putting it in a "top 5" ranked against DT's studio albums is definitely a minority opinion.  That's a pretty strong take. 

But I also think the opinion that they were left off the album "for a reason," and the obvious implication that they are "inferior" to all songs that made the cut is a bit too strong and assumes some things that may or may not actually be true.  Getting into obviously subjective territory here, but I think this would probably be close to the consensus if you could ask a lot of people:  while perhaps none of those songs feel quite as strong as the ones that have come to be "classics," a good many of them are at least as strong as the less-liked songs from the album, and a lot of people would probably feel that a number of them are right up there with the "middle-of-the-road" FII album tracks as well.  I know that would hold true for me.  I don't reach for those songs often.  But when I do, I enjoy them.  And I have to say, I enjoy most of them more than I enjoy some of the songs that made the album.  The thing is, if you could throw all the songs from that era into a pot and ask 100 fans to pick whichever ones they liked best to come up with a single album, you would probably get a ton of variation.  And if I had to guess, I would think that most versions would  be liked about as much as the album we got, give or take a small margin.  I know that for me, if I could sub out a few of the album tracks for a few of the extras that didn't make it, FII would be a "better" album, as far as I'm concerned. 

At the end of the day, I think it's cool that the fans even got access to these songs.  DT doesn't really have a long list of singles with b-sides.  But these songs are kind of the equivalent.  And seen as such, I think they easily stand up as well as any band's non-album rarities, which is to say that there are some that don't feel album quality, some that feel like they could easily have made the cut if the decision was made on a different day, and the rare gem or two that have become somewhat cult-favorites.  And, again, it's pretty cool that we even have these.