Poll

Pick your top 5 "must have" releases

The Majesty Demos 1985-1986
When Dream and Day Unite Demos
Images and Words Demos
Awake Demos
Falling Into Infinity Demos
Train Of Thought Instrumental Demos
The Making of Scenes From A Memory
The Making of Falling Into Infinity
Los Angeles, California 5/18/98
Tokyo, Japan 10/28/95
When Dream And Day Reunite (CD or DVD)
Old Bridge, New JERSEY - 12/14/96
New York City 3/4/93
Bucharest, Romania 7/4/02 (DVD only)
Santiago, Chile 12/6/05 (DVD only)
Master Of Puppets
The Number Of The Beast
Dark Side Of The Moon (CD or DVD)
Made in Japan
Uncovered 2003-2005

Author Topic: What are your 5 ESSENTIAL Ytsejam releases?  (Read 9310 times)

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Offline bosk1

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What are your 5 ESSENTIAL Ytsejam releases?
« on: February 24, 2016, 08:54:32 AM »
The Ytsejam "Official Bootlegs" series has not really been discussed much on the forum for a long time, so I thought it might be a good opportunity to revisit the subject and point out the existence of these gems for newer forum members who might not be aware.

Your mission is simple:  If you could have 5 and only 5 of these releases, what would they be?  Feel free to post your picks with or without explanation.  The poll will only allow up to 5 votes, but if you want to post that you "must have" more than 5, go for it and tell us why.  I will post my picks and some discussion in a bit.
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Re: What are your 5 ESSENTIAL Ytsejam releases?
« Reply #1 on: February 24, 2016, 09:01:08 AM »
For me, the "Director's Cut" of FII is the definitive version, and the only one I really listen to (of the two).  After that, I just picked the live releases (though I could easily have picked the Made In Japan and Dark Side covers as well).

Offline BlobVanDam

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Re: What are your 5 ESSENTIAL Ytsejam releases?
« Reply #2 on: February 24, 2016, 09:04:46 AM »
Santiago Chile - This is one of my favourite DT gigs to watch ever. The vibe of the show is cool, JLB is in top form, and it's a great setlist. A perfect complement to the Score show.

FII demos - While I personally have zero interest in the dropped tracks and think the studio album is superior in every possible way, it's something everyone should at least check out and have for the collection, plus the Metropolis Pt 2 demo is a must.

Bucharest - Not the best production values, and JLB is sounding rough around the edges at this point in time, but the setlist is excellent, and it's worth having a document of this tour since we have no official DVD.

IaW demos - It's interesting to hear these classic songs in such early stages, with and without vocals. So raw and full of energy.

WDADRU - Again, I don't have much interest in the songs themselves, but it's much better than the studio version, plus there's the novelty of Derek and Charlie, and the commentary alone justifies this purchase.
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Offline bosk1

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Re: What are your 5 ESSENTIAL Ytsejam releases?
« Reply #3 on: February 24, 2016, 09:11:13 AM »
My top 5 (not in any kind of rank order):

-The Majesty Demos 1985-1986:  There are definitely other releases I enjoy listening to more.  But prior to this being released on Ytsejam, these demos were definitely one of the "DT holy grail" items.  These songs and snippets for the most part cannot be heard anywhere else, and they are such an important part of the band's history that I had to include them.

-Falling Into Infinity Demos:  As I said in another thread, this is also a must-have.  My other post:  "This double CD set includes the original forms of the songs that were eventually reworked for the album, as well as those that did not make the cut.  That includes the early instrumental demo of Metropolis pt. 2.  Detailed liner notes from Mike Portnoy describe in detail what the band was going through during this period of their history and how the band almost broke up."  There are great songs and versions of songs that cannot really be gotten anywhere else, so this definitely falls into the "essential" category for me.  I would be shocked if this did not finish in the top 5 overall and make most people's lists.

-When Dream And Day Reunite:  Not perfect versions of these songs, but you get the entire WDADU album with James.  That is reason enough to own it.  Plus, the encores with Charlie and Derek take it over the top.  And as if that weren't enough, the band commentary on the DVD is perhaps the best they have ever done (with the possible exception of the commentary on Metropolis 2000).  As with the FII demos, I would be shocked if this were not a top 5 finisher overall.

-Old Bridge, New JERSEY - 12/14/96:  Although it took me awhile to warm to FII, I am a sucker for that era.  Not the cleanest performance, but a lot of fun.  From my other post:  "I believe this is one of the "fix for '96" shows, where the band took a break from the writing/recording process to just get out and play some songs for the fans who were basically just sitting around wondering if and when we were ever going to get a new DT album (Setlist Scotty will likely correct me if my memory is inaccurate here).  At this show, in addition to some great renditions of songs from I&W, Awake, and parts of A Change of Seasons, you also get some early takes on some of the Falling Into Infinity songs in a live setting.  Perhaps the rarest gem on this set is the live version of Caught In A Web.  This is a completely different version of the song, and you can clearly hear how parts of this version of the song eventually grew to become New Millenium."

-Bucharest, Romania 7/4/02:  Six Degrees is my favorite DT album, and the title song is my favorite DT song.  This was a fantastic live set from that tour that features a lot of material from this album, and solid performances of other DT songs as well.   


Honorable mentions and other comments:

-Master Of Puppets:  This and the Dark Side of the Moon cover set were close to making the cut, and it was hard not to include them.  This is not the best version of Master of Puppets, and not even the best DT version.  But it is incredibly fun.

Dark Side of the Moon:  Terrific cover.  Just a joy to watch or listen to.  If I could pick one, I would be hard pressed to choose between CD and DVD.  The CD is great because of all the bonus material.  The DVD is great because of the different bonus material and because you get to see the emotion pour out of the guys as they perform this landmark album.

New York City 3/4/93:  Good show.  I would imagine it will make the top 5 overall.  But I just feel like the things it does best have been mostly done by other releases, so despite being really good, it falls pretty far down my rankings.

Uncovered 2003-2005:  I had been drooling over the thought of this being done for YEARS before they finally compiled and released it.  But while good, it fell a bit short for me, probably because the recording quality and performance quality is all over the map.  But still highly enjoyable.

Los Angeles, California 5/18/98:  Listening to this, I feel so bad for the band.  It was clearly meant to be a historic show, but the performance is just SO off.  Not even Ray Alder and Bruce Dickinson guest spots save this show.  Cool to have in the collection, but very little replay value.

Images and Words Demos:  One of the neatest things about having this is hearing the different singers other than James.

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Offline DarkLord_Lalinc

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Re: What are your 5 ESSENTIAL Ytsejam releases?
« Reply #4 on: February 24, 2016, 09:15:34 AM »
In no particular order:

1. Falling into Infinity Demos. - So amazing! It's great to listen to the album songs in their raw form and rare classics like Raise the Knife in their original form. This is DT in one of their biggest creative sparks, and I can see why they benefited from the outside production. There were a lot of ideas, but lots of them were not quite there yet. Having Burning My Soul and Hell's Kitchen being two separate songs is one of those decisions I can only applaud.

2. Bucharest, Romania. - I still maintain that World Tourbulence has had the best setlists out of any DT tour... One amazing song after another for 3 hours non-stop. Also, I think the band were at their live flexibility peak at this moment (the impro jams, blasting covers out of nowhere, radical changes to the setlist every night, etc.). This concert is an excellent documentation of that tour, the setlist is one of DT's all-time best, JLB is not a bad shape and Petrucci just kicks it out of the park.

3. New York, 93. - Sheer power and youth. I think this is an extremely important show because it served as the great-grandfather of the Evening With format, and it shows. They sound young, energetic and flawed in certain points; but all of those aspects make of this show a truly magical experience.

4. Old Bridge, NJ. - I've always loved this one because of what it represents. The band just wanted to get out there and play some tunes for their fans, they weren't at their most stable point musically and personally but they literally went out there and played some shows just for the fun of it. That's something modern DT lacks IMO (and any other big band), given they're so caught up in a cycle of album promotion and strict touring cycles. I love JLB's performance on this one (Lines in the Sand, anyone?) and there are some really rare performances in here; songs in their original form, etc.

5. Uncovered 2003 - 2005. - "Woa, DarkLol" some of you might say, and here's why I picked this one: The cover series (for me) are often hit and miss. Master of Puppets was pretty meh (JLB was not born to sing Metallica, and Rudess just can't match the feel of having two guitar players), Dark Side of the Moon was awesome and Made in Japan was pretty good as well... but that's about it. These albums are extremely influential in DT's sound as we all know, but the songs played in Uncovered 2003 - 2005 cover a far more ambitious spectrum of influence and sound. Diary of a Madman was amazing, Mother Father was unexpected but great, Death on Two Legs is a long overdue Queen cover, etc.  Also, this album has the only 'official' documentation of DT's tour with Queenscryche back in 2003 with Won't Get Fooled Again. This one feels like such a special compilation it took the 5th place.
« Last Edit: February 24, 2016, 09:27:44 AM by DarkLord_Lalinc »
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Offline TAC

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Re: What are your 5 ESSENTIAL Ytsejam releases?
« Reply #5 on: February 24, 2016, 09:17:46 AM »
Santiago Chile - This is one of my favourite DT gigs to watch ever. The vibe of the show is cool, JLB is in top form, and it's a great setlist. A perfect complement to the Score show.

Yes, absolutely. This is my favorite Ytsejam release. Love the small rig. Feels like Zeppelin.


Bucharest-Love the DVD and since there is no live CD/DVD from this tour, this is it. Amazing venue too.

WDADRu- This has replaced the Charlie version completely. Love these songs and you get James' version. Vocally a little uneven, but the band is in top form.

NYC 3/4/93- Great I&W era show. I feel like this is way underrated amongst the masses. Never hear any chatter about it. While many wish they could've seen them on that tour, I'm surprised there isn't any more love for this.

Made In Japan- BY FAR, my favorite Cover Album. The band delivers a truly loose, but inspired set. I feel like this marries all that's best in DT, as opposed to the other Cover Albums, that basically focus on one facet of the band.
would have thought the same thing but seeing the OP was TAC i immediately thought Maiden or DT related
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Re: What are your 5 ESSENTIAL Ytsejam releases?
« Reply #6 on: February 24, 2016, 09:20:24 AM »
One of DT's biggest loses with MP's departure was the loss of the continuity in Ytse Jam releases. I recall MP saying he was preparing a BC&SL tour Ytse Jam Release by the time he left the band, so that's a bummer.

Happy Holidays 2013 is amazing in all aspects, but that's just an album we've gotten in almost 6 years of the new DT. We were so spoiled back then.
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Online DragonAttack

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Re: What are your 5 ESSENTIAL Ytsejam releases?
« Reply #7 on: February 24, 2016, 10:01:49 AM »
I would have voted for 'Cleaning Out The Closet', but looking at the web site, I see that it isn't listed.  A great fan club release, and worth it for others to locate.  I always learn something on this site.

fwiw:  Take all these songs (minus your least favorite 'To Live Forever' version), add the 'Change of Seasons' title track at the end, and it makes for one damn good disc.

Top 5: 
Train of Thought inst demos....I don't listen to the studio versions of Honor Thy Father or This Dying Soul, but I'll listen to these versions. ITNoG and Vacant are terrific.
Santiago....great setlist, great sound, and a hyper 20,000 group of fans
Bucharest....disc 2 of Six Degrees is one of my favorite discs of any band...
Dark Side of the Moon DVD.....for too many reasons
FII demos....finally got it two years ago, worth it just for the 'Hell's Kitchen' solo included in 'Burning My Soul', as well as the hundred other reasons that get mentioned in various threads.
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Offline hefdaddy42

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Re: What are your 5 ESSENTIAL Ytsejam releases?
« Reply #8 on: February 24, 2016, 10:05:16 AM »
Plenty of them are cool/fantastic/whatever, but for me there are only 3 that are "must-haves":

When Dream And Day Reunite on DVD
The Falling Into Infinity Demos
The Majesty Demos
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Offline Dream Team

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Re: What are your 5 ESSENTIAL Ytsejam releases?
« Reply #9 on: February 24, 2016, 10:08:48 AM »
Bucharest - as someone already mentioned one of the all-time great set lists PLUS 8 bonus tracks! Amazing. Still the only source for TGP and TGD.

WDADRU - I love this album, and the enhanced arrangement of TKH is glorious. Either DVD or CD.

Santiago - nothing I can add, great show

'93 CD - pre-injury JLB, nuff said

Uncovered - close call between this and DSotM, both showcase the band outside their usual milieu

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Re: What are your 5 ESSENTIAL Ytsejam releases?
« Reply #10 on: February 24, 2016, 10:46:41 AM »
-The Majesty Demos 1985-1986:  There are definitely other releases I enjoy listening to more.  But prior to this being released on Ytsejam, these demos were definitely one of the "DT holy grail" items.  These songs and snippets for the most part cannot be heard anywhere else, and they are such an important part of the band's history that I had to include them.

-Falling Into Infinity Demos:  As I said in another thread, this is also a must-have.  My other post:  "This double CD set includes the original forms of the songs that were eventually reworked for the album, as well as those that did not make the cut.  That includes the early instrumental demo of Metropolis pt. 2.  Detailed liner notes from Mike Portnoy describe in detail what the band was going through during this period of their history and how the band almost broke up."  There are great songs and versions of songs that cannot really be gotten anywhere else, so this definitely falls into the "essential" category for me.  I would be shocked if this did not finish in the top 5 overall and make most people's lists.

Images and Words Demos:  One of the neatest things about having this is hearing the different singers other than James.

I picked those three too, pretty much for the same reasons you talk about. I also picked the When Dream & Day Unite. I don't usually care about demos, but having a document of the very early years of the band's career (1985 to 1991) is amazing.

Finally, I picked the Train Of Thought demos. That was my first DT album.

I couldn't care less for live or cover CDs.

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Re: What are your 5 ESSENTIAL Ytsejam releases?
« Reply #11 on: February 24, 2016, 10:53:03 AM »
Only four stand out:

Dark Side-the fact that it was a surprise encore, and that they actually made it sound bigger than either incarnation of Floyd could really makes it wonderful.
Bucharest-As Blob said, that setlist is something else. And, the bonus stuff from the other show is just as excellent.
Old Bridge and Tokyo-Live shows from when I was most interested in their material.


Los Angeles, California 5/18/98:  Listening to this, I feel so bad for the band. It was clearly meant to be a historic show, but the performance is just SO off.  Not even Ray Alder and Bruce Dickinson guest spots save this show.  Cool to have in the collection, but very little replay value.
Was it? I assumed the guests were just covering for JLB who was clearly unable to perform. Was their some other significance?
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Offline bosk1

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Re: What are your 5 ESSENTIAL Ytsejam releases?
« Reply #12 on: February 24, 2016, 11:04:25 AM »
My understanding of the guests is that they were pre-planned to help make the show extra-epic.  It was recorded, and had been planned to be their live release, but they ended up scrapping the idea and later recorded Paris instead, presumably because the performance just ended up being so off. 
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Offline TAC

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Re: What are your 5 ESSENTIAL Ytsejam releases?
« Reply #13 on: February 24, 2016, 11:07:10 AM »
There has always been a perceived MP vs JLB conflict over the years. I have always felt this to be true and the release of the LA '98 show was one of the first Red Flags. There is no way that this release would not embarrass James, and MP had to know what he was doing.
I firmly believe this.
would have thought the same thing but seeing the OP was TAC i immediately thought Maiden or DT related
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Offline bosk1

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Re: What are your 5 ESSENTIAL Ytsejam releases?
« Reply #14 on: February 24, 2016, 11:16:14 AM »
Okay, but since they opted not to release it, how does that support that there was conflict?  Them deciding not to release it seems like the exact opposite.  You lost me.
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Offline noxon

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Re: What are your 5 ESSENTIAL Ytsejam releases?
« Reply #15 on: February 24, 2016, 11:47:07 AM »
It was released though, in the ytsejam series (which is what I assume TAC meant).

Offline TAC

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Re: What are your 5 ESSENTIAL Ytsejam releases?
« Reply #16 on: February 24, 2016, 11:50:03 AM »
Now you lost me.  ;D

Did you not buy it through a commercial outlet?

This show should've been buried. Just because they officially released Paris from this tour should've given MP even more reason to bury it.

This show was so embarrassingly  bad for James. On my first listen I was thinking WTF was MP thinking.
would have thought the same thing but seeing the OP was TAC i immediately thought Maiden or DT related
Winger Theater Forums........or WTF.  ;D
TAC got a higher score than me in the electronic round? Honestly, can I just drop out now? :lol

Offline djohns74

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Re: What are your 5 ESSENTIAL Ytsejam releases?
« Reply #17 on: February 24, 2016, 12:14:50 PM »
First choice for me was Number of the Beast, partly because I really enjoy the performance, but most importantly because it, somewhat ironically, is what got me into Iron Maiden in the first place (late bloomer, I know).  Very quickly, I thought "hey, this music is great, I ought to check out the original" and have been a Maiden fan ever since.  Bringing that history full circle was Maiden's Final Frontier Tour in the summer of 2010, with DT opening, which still stands as the best concert experience of my life, even though DT's set, as an opener, was far too short.  Maiden was just that good live!

Beyond that, WDADRU is very cool, although the performance of Afterlife on Score is far, far superior to me.  FII demos is neat given the extensive amount of extra material not appearing on the album (including an early SFAM demo!).  Then I went with Master of Puppets and Dark Side of the Moon since the originals are, hands down, two of my favorite albums of all time.  I don't absolutely love DT's interpretation of either one as James' voice and Jordan's keys don't work for Metallica to me, and the epic vibe of DSOM is mostly missing, but I DO love that the albums/bands that DT as a band considers influential are so similar to my own.  Would love to have a full cover of 2112 to fully round out the common influences, but at least I know how much JP loves that album.

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Re: What are your 5 ESSENTIAL Ytsejam releases?
« Reply #18 on: February 24, 2016, 12:22:48 PM »
Okay, but since they opted not to release it, how does that support that there was conflict?  Them deciding not to release it seems like the exact opposite.  You lost me.
It wouldn't be appropriate as a commercial, mainstream release. That's not what you put out there for the casual or would-be fans. MP deemed it acceptable for an off-label release, which presumably only diehards would buy. Honestly, I find this rather dubious. I'm not sure I'll go as far as TAC and call it a deliberate Fuck You to JLB, but burning the thing would have been a cool thing to do amongst bandmates who presumably should get along.
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Offline bosk1

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Re: What are your 5 ESSENTIAL Ytsejam releases?
« Reply #19 on: February 24, 2016, 12:29:32 PM »
It was released though, in the ytsejam series (which is what I assume TAC meant).
Now you lost me.  ;D

Did you not buy it through a commercial outlet?

This show should've been buried. Just because they officially released Paris from this tour should've given MP even more reason to bury it.

This show was so embarrassingly  bad for James. On my first listen I was thinking WTF was MP thinking.
No, I mean the band held it back from label release because of the quality.  It was only released through Ytsejam way after the fact.  So how is that a slight to James?  ???  You don't find those releases in stores or other retailers (for the most part, anyway, unless they are used copies).  The thing is, that show was bootlegged because people at the show taped it and circulated it, so it was already out there.  And I believe there is a statement from Mike somewhere out there basically saying, "We had no plans to release this, but since the diehards have been clamoring for it, and since it is an important part of DT history, we decided to put it out in this limited format."  So, again, how is it somehow a slight to James?  Basically only the diehards that know about and buy Ytsejam have it, and they were screaming for a better quality version (i.e., not a fan bootleg version) of it for years.  I'm not following your logic.

I'm not sure I'll go as far as TAC and call it a deliberate Fuck You to JLB, but burning the thing would have been a cool thing to do amongst bandmates who presumably should get along.

Well, yeah, in an ideal world.  But again, it was already out there in fan bootleg form anyway, and there was demand for a better version of it.
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Re: What are your 5 ESSENTIAL Ytsejam releases?
« Reply #20 on: February 24, 2016, 12:53:28 PM »
Since we're on the subject,

One, I think the MP/JLB animosity is well documented at this point.  Whether that show plays into it or not is up to MP and JLB, but I don't think it can be denied that there is tension between the two.

Two, I always thought that the "Number..." show was a slight missed opportunity.   I get it; cover the album as the original band released it, thus Gangland, and with the "alternative arrangement", MP and the gang acknowledged Maiden's later disregard for the song (at least one later re-release of the album had Total Eclipse on there instead), but I always wondered what DT's version of TE would sound like. It's a top 5 Maiden song for me, so maybe that's why I care so much.  Mike surely would have known of the band's feelings on the two songs; I always wondered why he didn't throw the nod to it.

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Re: What are your 5 ESSENTIAL Ytsejam releases?
« Reply #21 on: February 24, 2016, 01:04:01 PM »
Time constraints. He'd have to do Gangland since everybody knows it from the album. Total Eclipse, while a pretty cool song, would be optional and they probably wanted to spend that 4 minutes elsewhere.

And honestly, I didn't care for any of it. Don't like JLB's vocals and I'm not crazy about the keyboard.
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Re: What are your 5 ESSENTIAL Ytsejam releases?
« Reply #22 on: February 24, 2016, 01:11:44 PM »
The rerecorded in a tin can vocals ruin the Beast cover album. I never listen to it. I much prefer the 4-24-04 Osaka boot. The vocals are better and Jordan sounds way more comfortable. Feels like his parts are much better developed.
would have thought the same thing but seeing the OP was TAC i immediately thought Maiden or DT related
Winger Theater Forums........or WTF.  ;D
TAC got a higher score than me in the electronic round? Honestly, can I just drop out now? :lol

Offline Setlist Scotty

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Re: What are your 5 ESSENTIAL Ytsejam releases?
« Reply #23 on: February 24, 2016, 01:12:59 PM »
For me it was:

Majesty Demos: a must to see how the band started out and progressed, even within that first year they were together. Plus it's cool to have the last 6 tracks on the disc, which are completed songs, even if not of the same standards of songwriting and production that the band would have in a few short years.

FII Demos: the sound quality on these demos is really amazing, and there's so many differences between these versions and what ultimately ended up on the album. Nevermind the 5 completed songs that didn't make the album as well as the original version of Metropolis part II, which gives us insight into what existed before they expanded it into the full SFaM album.

3/4/93 New York City: a great and complete show from Images and Tour that includes the original ACoS (in it's best form, IMO), TLF and Eve. Plus being the full show, you get all of the IaW album live, plus 3 tracks from WDaDU. The best show from that whole tour.

12/4/96 Birch Hill: from the Fix for 96 shows - I guess if you have the FII demos, you might consider another bootleg instead, but I think this is a must have, not only for the FII tracks that appear in their early form, but from the other older songs that they changed up significantly.

7/4/02 Bucharest: not a huge video person, but I love World Tourbulence and this is the closest thing we'll get to an official live release from this tour. Not only is the full show represented on this DVD, but MP made sure to include a ton of bonus footage from the Mexico City show 4 month before, which gives you a great souvenir of the whole tour.

If I could make a sixth choice, it would be When Dream and Day Reunite - for all those people that can't stand the original WDaDU album, this is a way to experience with JL on vocals and JR on keys with much better sound. Plus the encore tracks with Charlie and Derek and the DVD containing the footage of the band when they were working on the album. Oh and the cover artwork is pretty cool too!   ;)

As a basic rule, if you hate it, you must solely blame Portnoy. If it's good, then you must downplay MP's contribution to the band as not being important anyway, or claim he's just lying. It's the DTF way.

Offline bosk1

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Re: What are your 5 ESSENTIAL Ytsejam releases?
« Reply #24 on: February 24, 2016, 01:16:16 PM »
Oh and the cover artwork is pretty cool too!   ;)

:tup  Yes, it really is.
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Offline jjrock88

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Re: What are your 5 ESSENTIAL Ytsejam releases?
« Reply #25 on: February 24, 2016, 01:24:36 PM »
I own four of them and enjoy them all.  WDADRU, Number of the Beast, Master of Puppets and Dark Side of the Moon.

WDADRU is my favorite of those.

Offline Setlist Scotty

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Re: What are your 5 ESSENTIAL Ytsejam releases?
« Reply #26 on: February 24, 2016, 01:26:45 PM »
From my other post:  "I believe this is one of the "fix for '96" shows, where the band took a break from the writing/recording process to just get out and play some songs for the fans who were basically just sitting around wondering if and when we were ever going to get a new DT album (Setlist Scotty will likely correct me if my memory is inaccurate here).
Actually, that pretty much nails the reason why they did those shows. Good memory!   ;)
 
 
My understanding of the guests is that they were pre-planned to help make the show extra-epic.  It was recorded, and had been planned to be their live release, but they ended up scrapping the idea and later recorded Paris instead, presumably because the performance just ended up being so off. 
Well, maybe your memory isn't so good!  ;D  Seriously, as far as I recall, this show was not considered for their official live album, BUT it was recorded by Westwood One for a potential future radio broadcast, which never happened. Interestingly enough, part the night before (also in LA) was broadcast over the Internet live. Can't recall why the full show didn't happen - if it was problems with the broadcasting or what - but I know at least part of it was broadcast. That said, I believe they always planned on recording the Paris show for a live release, and this LA show was just something extra.
As a basic rule, if you hate it, you must solely blame Portnoy. If it's good, then you must downplay MP's contribution to the band as not being important anyway, or claim he's just lying. It's the DTF way.

Offline bosk1

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Re: What are your 5 ESSENTIAL Ytsejam releases?
« Reply #27 on: February 24, 2016, 01:31:44 PM »
My understanding of the guests is that they were pre-planned to help make the show extra-epic.  It was recorded, and had been planned to be their live release, but they ended up scrapping the idea and later recorded Paris instead, presumably because the performance just ended up being so off. 
Well, maybe your memory isn't so good!  ;D  Seriously, as far as I recall, this show was not considered for their official live album, BUT it was recorded by Westwood One for a potential future radio broadcast, which never happened. Interestingly enough, part the night before (also in LA) was broadcast over the Internet live. Can't recall why the full show didn't happen - if it was problems with the broadcasting or what - but I know at least part of it was broadcast. That said, I believe they always planned on recording the Paris show for a live release, and this LA show was just something extra.

Oh, okay.  That is not a memory issue, but rather just a misunderstanding on my part.  But as I understand, there was still a high fan demand for the entire show to be released.  So were people begging for the entire thing to be released because they wanted a better quality version than the bootlegs, because they wanted the entire show and not just the partial radio broadcast, or both?  Or am I completely off altogether on whether there was demand for it?  Again, my understanding is that Mike decided to release it, at least in part, because of demand from the fans.  But please correct me if I am mistaken.  You would definitely be more "in the know" than I would on that subject.
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Offline hefdaddy42

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Re: What are your 5 ESSENTIAL Ytsejam releases?
« Reply #28 on: February 24, 2016, 02:26:20 PM »
The rerecorded in a tin can vocals ruin the Beast cover album. I never listen to it. I much prefer the 4-24-04 Osaka boot. The vocals are better and Jordan sounds way more comfortable. Feels like his parts are much better developed.
I agree with this.

I mean, I'm not much of a Maiden fan, so DT's version of NOTB is next to meaningless for me.  But that Osaka boot is definitely a better performance than the one recorded for the Official Bootleg.  JLB sounds fantastic.
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Offline Setlist Scotty

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Re: What are your 5 ESSENTIAL Ytsejam releases?
« Reply #29 on: February 24, 2016, 02:29:02 PM »
Oh, okay.  That is not a memory issue, but rather just a misunderstanding on my part.  But as I understand, there was still a high fan demand for the entire show to be released.  So were people begging for the entire thing to be released because they wanted a better quality version than the bootlegs, because they wanted the entire show and not just the partial radio broadcast, or both?  Or am I completely off altogether on whether there was demand for it?  Again, my understanding is that Mike decided to release it, at least in part, because of demand from the fans.  But please correct me if I am mistaken.  You would definitely be more "in the know" than I would on that subject.
LOL! No, I no it isn't a memory issue - just had to tease you!  :biggrin:

If I recall correctly, back in the day this show was fairly hyped around the fanbase so that it was in demand, and I think the fact that this particular show (the May 18th show with Ray and Bruce) was never broadcast in any form or manner probably contributed to it. And I don't know if there ever was an audience recording of the show circulating amongst bootleg collectors, but I tend to think not. But over time, I think people in general had forgotten about the show, so by the time MP got YJR going and released it, it didn't have the impact it would have, had it been released a few years earlier.
As a basic rule, if you hate it, you must solely blame Portnoy. If it's good, then you must downplay MP's contribution to the band as not being important anyway, or claim he's just lying. It's the DTF way.

Offline TAC

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Re: What are your 5 ESSENTIAL Ytsejam releases?
« Reply #30 on: February 24, 2016, 02:37:19 PM »
I had stopped trading shortly before this, but I don't remember it circulating.

But I was shocked when I first got it, for two reasons:
1. As I said, it was Red Flag on the MP/JLB situation. And this was before it was a "thing". But this was my initial thought upon hearing it.
2. This was in the first batch of releases, wasn't it? And while it seemed like a cool idea to get shows, it was so bad, it didn't make sense that you'd tease future releases with this one.
would have thought the same thing but seeing the OP was TAC i immediately thought Maiden or DT related
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Offline bosk1

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Re: What are your 5 ESSENTIAL Ytsejam releases?
« Reply #31 on: February 24, 2016, 02:44:30 PM »
2. This was in the first batch of releases, wasn't it? And while it seemed like a cool idea to get shows, it was so bad, it didn't make sense that you'd tease future releases with this one.

Yeah, pretty sure it was.  And it is numbered 002, so...yeah.  I believe the first batch was this, the Majesty Demos, and the making of SFAM.

And as far as releasing it because of demand, you and Scotty may be right that it wasn't circulating, or at least, not widely.  But as I said, I think I recall Mike saying at the time (maybe it is even in the liner notes) that it was released due to fan demand.  I dunno.  Maybe if I remember, I'll ask JP or James about it when I see them in May.
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Offline TAC

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Re: What are your 5 ESSENTIAL Ytsejam releases?
« Reply #32 on: February 24, 2016, 02:51:15 PM »
Well I found its release very peculiar at the time, that's all. :)

OK, carry on!


I would also like to add that the whole Ytsejam idea was glorious, and was a real treat for the fans. I know MP's original vision had releases every 6 months, the releases did come fewer and farther between. Still these releases were great.

I do wish they could be resurrected in some way.
would have thought the same thing but seeing the OP was TAC i immediately thought Maiden or DT related
Winger Theater Forums........or WTF.  ;D
TAC got a higher score than me in the electronic round? Honestly, can I just drop out now? :lol

Offline bosk1

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Re: What are your 5 ESSENTIAL Ytsejam releases?
« Reply #33 on: February 24, 2016, 02:55:54 PM »
I do wish they could be resurrected in some way.

I often bug them about when I see them, and I will continue to do so.  :biggrin:

One more thing slightly off-topic but related to the above discussion:  Given that it was an actual label release, I think the greater travesty was releasing OIALT.  Despite some really cool stuff on that CD, James struggles a lot during that show as well, too the point where I have never really found that release to be very listenable outside of a handful of songs.
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Offline Setlist Scotty

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Re: What are your 5 ESSENTIAL Ytsejam releases?
« Reply #34 on: February 24, 2016, 03:07:48 PM »
2. This was in the first batch of releases, wasn't it? And while it seemed like a cool idea to get shows, it was so bad, it didn't make sense that you'd tease future releases with this one.

Yeah, pretty sure it was.  And it is numbered 002, so...yeah.  I believe the first batch was this, the Majesty Demos, and the making of SFAM.

And as far as releasing it because of demand, you and Scotty may be right that it wasn't circulating, or at least, not widely.  But as I said, I think I recall Mike saying at the time (maybe it is even in the liner notes) that it was released due to fan demand.  I dunno.  Maybe if I remember, I'll ask JP or James about it when I see them in May.
It was part of the first batch. Gotta think MP's reasoning on it was not to go with the holy grail stuff on the first batch and not have anything significant/special for later batches. Probably the best way to do answer this (at least in terms of fan interest from that time period) would be to go thru the Ytsejam Mailing List archive from that time to see what the fans said. I don't have the time to do it, but maybe someone else would be game to.
 
 
I do wish they could be resurrected in some way.
I often bug them about when I see them, and I will continue to do so.  :biggrin:
Please do! I'd love to see them do more releases as well, and there is stuff they could release from the MM-era.


One more thing slightly off-topic but related to the above discussion:  Given that it was an actual label release, I think the greater travesty was releasing OIALT.  Despite some really cool stuff on that CD, James struggles a lot during that show as well, too the point where I have never really found that release to be very listenable outside of a handful of songs.
Honestly, JL never really bothered me much on this release, altho I know it wasn't one of his greatest performances. Not sure if there was any touching up, but if there wasn't, it would be nice if they had. And I do wish the whole show had been released, without the studio addition of Jay Beckenstein - seemed such a silly thing to add him after the fact when he wasn't there even in the first place.
As a basic rule, if you hate it, you must solely blame Portnoy. If it's good, then you must downplay MP's contribution to the band as not being important anyway, or claim he's just lying. It's the DTF way.