The one thing Dream Theater (DT12) lacks

[Prog Snob]

The solo in BAI is easily his best on the CD.

[j]

No way! Many of JP's all time best solos have been post-SDOIT, including As I Am, Octavarium (Razor's Edge), TMOLS outro, TBOT, and TCOT, showcasing his ability to perfectly blend melody, shred, and expression. Also mostly showing that he thrives at outro solos.
A lot of these are almost universally considered among his very best, even when the songs themselves aren't highly regarded.

Those are all good solos, but I don't consider any of them among his best.  My favorite of those is probably the TCOT outro, but even that isn't quite there IMO.

Personally I find the BAI solo to be hugely overrated. I enjoy that style, but he's done it before in much better and more memorable solos.

I admit, I was stretching to find recent solos I'd rank with Petrucci's all-time greatest ones.  I actually agree he's done that style better before, but I like that solo better than any other on BC&SL, ADTOE, or DT12.

-J

[As I Am]

Easiest question to answer ever.......the great drumming of MP

[Zook]

I agree with Kev that this album lacks any *top-tier* Petrucci solos.  However, and I realize this probably belongs in the controversial opinions thread, I would actually extend that to almost every album back to SDOIT.  For me, the only ones post-SDOIT that come close to that upper echelon are maybe ITPOE Pt. 1, Repentance, or Breaking All Illusions.

No way! Many of JP's all time best solos have been post-SDOIT, including As I Am, Octavarium (Razor's Edge), TMOLS outro, TBOT, and TCOT, showcasing his ability to perfectly blend melody, shred, and expression. Also mostly showing that he thrives at outro solos.
A lot of these are almost universally considered among his very best, even when the songs themselves aren't highly regarded.

Can this even be called a solo? It's just the same melody repeated over and over.

[BlobVanDam]

I agree with Kev that this album lacks any *top-tier* Petrucci solos.  However, and I realize this probably belongs in the controversial opinions thread, I would actually extend that to almost every album back to SDOIT.  For me, the only ones post-SDOIT that come close to that upper echelon are maybe ITPOE Pt. 1, Repentance, or Breaking All Illusions.

No way! Many of JP's all time best solos have been post-SDOIT, including As I Am, Octavarium (Razor's Edge), TMOLS outro, TBOT, and TCOT, showcasing his ability to perfectly blend melody, shred, and expression. Also mostly showing that he thrives at outro solos.
A lot of these are almost universally considered among his very best, even when the songs themselves aren't highly regarded.

Can this even be called a solo? It's just the same melody repeated over and over.

I'd consider it a solo. It's a prominent JP lead that is entirely the focal point of that section of the song, it has variations with each repetition, and constantly changes key to keep the progression interesting. I don't think the repetition really alters its definition.

[Zook]

That's all it is though. Repetition. People calling it one of JP's best solos really baffles me.

[GasparXR]

That's all it is though. Repetition. People calling it one of JP's best solos really baffles me.

The key to it's repetition, is the variations it goes through. Same thing with the Take the Time outro solo. It varies a little more, but it's the same idea.

[ddtonfire]

I think the guitar soli in Illumination Theory is fantastic and it makes my jaw drop every time I hear it. That and the call-and response in the beginning of The Bigger Picture are the stand-out solos from this album.

[rumborak]

While we're on the topic of solos, Jordan's solos in The Enigma Machine are sadly the worst he's ever put on a record IMHO.

[theseoafs]

Can this even be called a solo? It's just the same melody repeated over and over.

I'd consider it a solo. It's a prominent JP lead that is entirely the focal point of that section of the song, it has variations with each repetition, and constantly changes key to keep the progression interesting. I don't think the repetition really alters its definition.

It's pretty unquestionably a solo.  A solo is just a moment where a particular instrument is the thing you're supposed to be focusing on.  Solos can be repetitious and aren't required to be technically impressive (just look at any of Kurt Cobain's solos).

[Cable]

No way! Many of JP's all time best solos have been post-SDOIT, including As I Am, Octavarium (Razor's Edge), TMOLS outro, TBOT, and TCOT, showcasing his ability to perfectly blend melody, shred, and expression. Also mostly showing that he thrives at outro solos.
A lot of these are almost universally considered among his very best, even when the songs themselves aren't highly regarded.

Those are all good solos, but I don't consider any of them among his best.  My favorite of those is probably the TCOT outro, but even that isn't quite there IMO.

I feel TBOT absolutely slays and is a top tier solo. While I don't totally think the others are the top JP (other ones from same albums are for me though), they are still great and better IMO than a lot of his output.   

[CharlieDominietzsche]

If you want to hear terrible production, put on ADTOE - I really love the music on that album, but the production values are objectively terrible.   DT12's initial digital release sounded pretty hot, but even with that flaw it was vastly superior sounding to ADTOE

There's no such thing as objectively terrible.

[Dark Castle]

Uhm.. Yes there is, especially with music production.

[CharlieDominietzsche]

Uhm.. Yes there is, especially with music production.

OK, then you need to define some type of metric by which to objectively measure the quality of music production. Good luck finding one which doesn't boil down to individual preferences and subjective value judgements.

[GasparXR]

Uhm.. Yes there is, especially with music production.

OK, then you need to define some type of metric by which to objectively measure the quality of music production. Good luck finding one which doesn't boil down to individual preferences and subjective value judgements.

This.

[Dark Castle]

I would love to know the person who thinks it's a good thing that the drums are buried in the mix, or that any instrument being buried is a good thing. Look, ADToE is one of my favorite DT albums, but the production is very lacking, and has it's share of problems.

[GasparXR]

I would love to know the person who thinks it's a good thing that the drums are buried in the mix, or that any instrument being buried is a good thing. Look, ADToE is one of my favorite DT albums, but the production is very lacking, and has it's share of problems.

There likely is a person out there who likes the mix. I'm not one of them, but I can't say with ANY amount of certainty that you're opinion is somehow objective because it seems to be the most common, at least around here, regarding the mix.

[Prog Snob]

I would love to know the person who thinks it's a good thing that the drums are buried in the mix, or that any instrument being buried is a good thing. Look, ADToE is one of my favorite DT albums, but the production is very lacking, and has it's share of problems.

There likely is a person out there who likes the mix. I'm not one of them, but I can't say with ANY amount of certainty that you're opinion is somehow objective because it seems to be the most common, at least around here, regarding the mix.

That has been a constant criticism since the day the album came out.  I'm not too sure why some people still seem surprised by it.

[ariich]

I would love to know the person who thinks it's a good thing that the drums are buried in the mix, or that any instrument being buried is a good thing. Look, ADToE is one of my favorite DT albums, but the production is very lacking, and has it's share of problems.

It's always sounded fine to me, and yes it is a matter of judgement. You've decided that the drums being up front is an important criteria (seemingly the most important for some reason) of quality, and are judging against it. Me, I never had a problem with that, and the drums are even clearer in the HD version.

Something being low in the mix is not objectively bad, unless it was a mistake. Same with anything in music and the arts.

[Dellers]

I would love to know the person who thinks it's a good thing that the drums are buried in the mix, or that any instrument being buried is a good thing. Look, ADToE is one of my favorite DT albums, but the production is very lacking, and has it's share of problems.

It still sounds miles better than DT12, even with the relatively low drums. While ADTOE isn't perfect it does sound pretty good. DT12 sounds nothing but harsh, and I strongly disagree with a lot of choices on the record. The bass is mixed terribly for instance. While Myung is more audible in some songs than usual, it hardly sounds like he's playing on a bass. The bass sounds harsh and seems to lack bottom, which isn't a good thing in an already harsh sounding album.

[BlobVanDam]

I would love to know the person who thinks it's a good thing that the drums are buried in the mix, or that any instrument being buried is a good thing. Look, ADToE is one of my favorite DT albums, but the production is very lacking, and has it's share of problems.

It still sounds miles better than DT12, even with the relatively low drums. While ADTOE isn't perfect it does sound pretty good. DT12 sounds nothing but harsh, and I strongly disagree with a lot of choices on the record. The bass is mixed terribly for instance. While Myung is more audible in some songs than usual, there is pretty much no bass sound at all. The bass basically lacks the bass frequencies from what I can hear, which isn't a good thing in an already harsh sounding album.

Even on the CD version I would probably disagree, but on the HDTracks version, I definitely disagree. DT12 is a pretty good sounding album overall, and aside from TEI, is well mixed too. My main gripe is that snare drum sound, but I've never liked low snares, so that's personal preference.
ADTOE honestly doesn't sound mixed at all to me. It sounds like a rough demo recording, with no production at all. The guitars are boomy and muddy, everything's bone dry, and the drums are flat and weak with no highs, and mixed too low. I'd actually go as far as saying that sonically speaking, I'd easily rank it last among their albums, except for maybe WDADU.