Jordan Rudess Says Liquid Tension Experiment Reunion Will Happen 'At Some Point'

[FracturedMirror]

http://www.blabbermouth.net/news/jordan-rudess-says-liquid-tension-experiment-reunion-will-happen-at-some-point/?fbclid=IwAR0QC5l9JFIRcpSR3096vKgvnX3o9db29EOuGwo_y-x8ef3m79QlFZqLCpw

On whether reuniting with former DREAM THEATER drummer Mike Portnoy on this year's Cruise To The Edge bodes well for the prospect of a LIQUID TENSION EXPERIMENT reunion:

Jordan: "Everybody is into it. We all kind of agree that it would be cool. It's more a question of timing. It's a combination of finding the right time to do it. Everybody has got so much on their plate with a list of things that they want to do, have to do. This is something that we want to do, and we will do at some point, but scheduling-wise, that's the complication."

 

[ytserush]

No doubt. Finding the time has been the problem now for at least the last five years.

[gzarruk]

I’d rather have JP focus on his 2nd solo album first.

[PetFish]

I’d rather have JP focus on his 2nd solo album first.

No kidding.  How can JR put out a solo album every few years, and then this new one which has many different players on it not to mention all the different things he does, and JP can't do one in 14 years?  I know he doesn't want to half-ass it but, c'mon man.  I think he has a bunch of tracks ready to go but just can't get them recorded.  Just grab Dave LaRue and Mangini (or Marco or someone) and git'er dun.

[gzarruk]

I’d rather have JP focus on his 2nd solo album first.

No kidding.  How can JR put out a solo album every few years, and then this new one which has many different players on it not to mention all the different things he does, and JP can't do one in 14 years?  I know he doesn't want to half-ass it but, c'mon man.  I think he has a bunch of tracks ready to go but just can't get them recorded.  Just grab Dave LaRue and Mangini (or Marco or someone) and git'er dun.

This. I know that their DT schedule is very busy, but when all the other members have time to release solo albums and/or side project albums (The Jelly Jam, Into the Great Divide), you really start wondering why JP doesn’t just record the tracks he already wrote and performed live.

[Setlist Scotty]

I’d rather have JP focus on his 2nd solo album first.

No kidding.  How can JR put out a solo album every few years, and then this new one which has many different players on it not to mention all the different things he does, and JP can't do one in 14 years?  I know he doesn't want to half-ass it but, c'mon man.  I think he has a bunch of tracks ready to go but just can't get them recorded.  Just grab Dave LaRue and Mangini (or Marco or someone) and git'er dun.

This. I know that their DT schedule is very busy, but when all the other members have time to release solo albums and/or side project albums (The Jelly Jam, Into the Great Divide), you really start wondering why JP doesn’t just record the tracks he already wrote and performed live.

He's a bear, and he needs time to hibernate. Duh!   

[Mladen]

He's obviously completely committed to Dream Theater. He probably finds a way to work at something DT-related, even when he could use some time-off to work on solo stuff.

[Mebert78]

 LTE's 25th anniversary is four years away.  Seems like a perfect opportunity for a reunion.

[Samsara]

LTE's 25th anniversary is four years away.  Seems like a perfect opportunity for a reunion.

I was thinking the same thing Mike. 

[The Walrus]

If they make another album I hope the tracks are more focused than LTE and LTE2. I like some tracks on there a whole lot, like Acid Rain, Biaxident, and Liquid Dreams, but Three Minute Warning and a bunch of the rest are just so meandering and uninteresting to me. I need something more focused. I even think LMR is more tightly written but with manageable chaos - LTE doesn't have that, it'd be nice if they came up with some extraordinary material.

[Setlist Scotty]

If they make another album I hope the tracks are more focused than LTE and LTE2. I like some tracks on there a whole lot, like Acid Rain, Biaxident, and Liquid Dreams, but Three Minute Warning and a bunch of the rest are just so meandering and uninteresting to me. I need something more focused. I even think LMR is more tightly written but with manageable chaos - LTE doesn't have that, it'd be nice if they came up with some extraordinary material.

I understand what you're saying and certainly prefer the specifically written songs, but the jamming is a big part of who and what LTE is. If they keep the same mentality in mind, I wouldn't be surprised to see them do something similar once again, where about half of the album would be written songs and the others that are basically jam sessions, whether unedited (like Three Minute Warning) or not (Chewbacca).

[The Walrus]

If they make another album I hope the tracks are more focused than LTE and LTE2. I like some tracks on there a whole lot, like Acid Rain, Biaxident, and Liquid Dreams, but Three Minute Warning and a bunch of the rest are just so meandering and uninteresting to me. I need something more focused. I even think LMR is more tightly written but with manageable chaos - LTE doesn't have that, it'd be nice if they came up with some extraordinary material.

I understand what you're saying and certainly prefer the specifically written songs, but the jamming is a big part of who and what LTE is. If they keep the same mentality in mind, I wouldn't be surprised to see them do something similar once again, where about half of the album would be written songs and the others that are basically jam sessions, whether unedited (like Three Minute Warning) or not (Chewbacca).

Yeah, for sure. I get the same 'jamming' vibe from the LMR albums, but to me it sounds more focused and interesting in the songwriting. I could be wrong though, because I don't know how those 2 albums were composed and recorded. That's why I like the three I listed so much - there is an element of jamming in all of them, but I feel like they're much more organized in their madness and as a result are a bit more memorable. But if they give me a bit more piano I'm happy regardless

[Nekov]

It's about damn time 

[gmillerdrake]

As cool as it'd be to hear those guys make music again....I agree with Kattelox.....the album needs to be 'focused' on creating cool music. There are only two are three 'good' songs between the 2 LTE. For me the 'jam' session songs are really boring....like....to the point of cringing. Not worth the listen.

Maybe if/when they decide to do this being that they haven't played together in a while they'd focus on making really good songs and leave the jam sessions on the cutting room floor.

[Setlist Scotty]

As cool as it'd be to hear those guys make music again....I agree with Kattelox.....the album needs to be 'focused' on creating cool music. There are only two are three 'good' songs between the 2 LTE.

Which ones? I think all 4 of the written songs (Acid Rain, Biaxident, Another Dimension, When the Water Breaks) are stellar.

[bosk1]

I know I'm in the minority, but...this news doesn't really excite me.  Yeah, I thought both LTE albums were good.  There isn't a single song that I can say I disliked.  But they also aren't something I gravitate toward and want to listen to very often either.  I love a solid instrumental or two every now and then.  But entire albums of instrumental music generally don't get a lot of listens from me.  So if they do this, cool.  That's great for the many, many fans that would love another album.  For me, I would buy it.  I would listen to it.  And, knowing the track record of the guys involved, I would likely enjoy most or all of it.  But after listening for the first couple of months, I might take it off the shelf once a year.

[TAC]

I haven't listened to LTE is so long..

[The Walrus]

I haven't listened to LTE is so long..

I found some old footage of you listening to your then-new LTE records:

[TAC]

Haha. Yup Pretty much!

[KevShmev]

If they make another album I hope the tracks are more focused than LTE and LTE2. I like some tracks on there a whole lot, like Acid Rain, Biaxident, and Liquid Dreams, but Three Minute Warning and a bunch of the rest are just so meandering and uninteresting to me. I need something more focused. I even think LMR is more tightly written but with manageable chaos - LTE doesn't have that, it'd be nice if they came up with some extraordinary material.

I don't think it's fair to mention Three Minute Warning, as that was obviously an unedited jam, and a terrific one at that.

Aside from that, I think most of the songs are very focused.

Paradigm Shift
Osmosis
Kindred Spirits
Freedom of Speech
State of Grace
Universal Mind
Acid Rain
Biaxident
Another Dimension
When the Water Breaks
Chewbacca
Liquid Dreams

Every single song I just listed = awesome.

[Volante99]

I’m the opposite.

Gimme 45 minutes of Petrucci and Portnoy on an improv odyssey please .

[Dedalus]

If they make another album I hope the tracks are more focused than LTE and LTE2. I like some tracks on there a whole lot, like Acid Rain, Biaxident, and Liquid Dreams, but Three Minute Warning and a bunch of the rest are just so meandering and uninteresting to me. I need something more focused. I even think LMR is more tightly written but with manageable chaos - LTE doesn't have that, it'd be nice if they came up with some extraordinary material.

Oh, I can undertand you. My teenage version was a big fan of LTE, but over time I have lost interest. I confess that I even need to listen to the records again to remember (I think I haven't listened to them for at least 10 years).


I still think reviving a "version" of DT without the main targets (MM and JLB) is counterproductive, but JP and JR know more than I do.

[gzarruk]

I'm with Kattelox on this one. I listen only to half of each LTE album, because the other half are pointless jams (imo of course). Chewbacca starts as a cool track and drags waaay too much in the middle, I can never finish it. Three Minute Warning is even worse, still to this day I have never listened to the whole thing. A few other I just don't care about, like Chris and Kevin whatever adventure.

I made a 130 min playlist with all the tracks I do enjoy and love, but the rest I just never listen to.

[nattmorker]

I'm with Kattelox on this one. I listen only to half of each LTE album, because the other half are pointless jams (imo of course). Chewbacca starts as a cool track and drags waaay too much in the middle, I can never finish it. Three Minute Warning is even worse, still to this day I have never listened to the whole thing. A few other I just don't care about, like Chris and Kevin whatever adventure.

I made a 130 min playlist with all the tracks I do enjoy and love, but the rest I just never listen to.

I haven't either, I've tried to listen to that song for many many years now and I've never been able to get to the end. Jams are not my favorite style of music, I like music with structure and not improvised (even if many songs start like an improv). That's the reason why I don't care for King Crimson, other than a few songs.

[The Walrus]

Biaxident = the ultimate LTE song imo.

[cramx3]

I find jams to be much more fun and interesting live vs on an album, Ill +1 those saying the structured songs are better than the jam tracks for LTE.  However, if they record jam sessions, i think it's cool of them to release them because they have their own merits even if I prefer more traditional songs.

[hefdaddy42]

I hope this happens.  I love the LTE albums, and would definitely rank them higher than some DT albums.

[Nekov]

Is it time for this thread to become a top 5 LTE songs thread?

1. Another Dimension
2. When the Water Breaks
3. Freedom of Speech
4. Kindred Spirits
5. Universal Mind

[Cool Chris]

Not a fan of either instrumental albums or jam-based music, so I have zero interest in this. Not even sure why I clicked on this thread.

[Anxiety35]

I would really dig a new LTE record.

[JustDefyYou]

Is it time for this thread to become a top 5 LTE songs thread?

1. Another Dimension
2. When the Water Breaks
3. Freedom of Speech
4. Kindred Spirits
5. Universal Mind

Spot on with the first two, I would then go:
3. Biaxident
4. Acid Rain
5. Kindred Spirits

I'd also say the only DT song I like more than Another Dimension is Octavarium. LTE is sooo good.

[DanLore]

I'd love more LTE!  Great music for long car rides and working out on a stair climber or treadmill.  Aside from TMW, all cuts see regular play, both live and studio versions.

DanLore

[Herrick]

Not a fan of either instrumental albums or jam-based music, so I have zero interest in this. Not even sure why I clicked on this thread.

I remember kind of liking the first one. I haven't listened to it in well over 10 years. I've never heard the second one...I think. Every now and then I think about checking them out again but I never do.

[Grizz]

No doubt. Finding the time has been the problem now for at least the last five years.

Eight-and-a-half-plus years, based on MP's desires before he left

I love MP, TL, JP, and JR, so this excites me, even though, like most LTE CDs, it will probably be played once, if ever, and then left on a shelf until an archaeologist finds it. (Seeing Paradigm Shift live with Tony Levin in 2012 was pretty epic btw)

[darkshade]

This is great news. Any chance to hear JP with MP again would be a gift at this point. THAT is the definitive DT sound to me. Those two.

Only thing I'd be worried about would be Rudess, his equipment now is so different than it was in 1997/1998, as was his style (it was more jazz-fusion oriented than it is now)

Also, was it specified that there would be a new album and not just a reunion tour like in 2008? LT3 followed by a tour would be awesome.