Author Topic: What makes you love Lines in the Sand and Trial of Tears?  (Read 5208 times)

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Online El Barto

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Re: What makes you love Lines in the Sand and Trial of Tears?
« Reply #35 on: July 20, 2020, 06:49:32 PM »
Interesting that nobody mentions Portnoy re Trial of Tears. Petrruci, Myung, and Rudess deserve all the praise they get for the song, but I always felt it was Portnoy that was steering the ship while they all did their thing. He comes close to overplaying once or twice, but never crosses the line, and I really dig the rhythms he lays down through the solo sections.

I'm going to disagree that Rudess deserves any credit at all in connection with Trial of Tears.   :)
Ha, fair enough. And the funny thing is that album demonstrates exactly why I prefer DS to JR.
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Re: What makes you love Lines in the Sand and Trial of Tears?
« Reply #36 on: July 21, 2020, 11:51:03 AM »
In the twenty-three or so years since it was released (wow, time flies), I have learned that my opinion of FII being one of DT's best three albums is definitely in the minority. I would go so far as to say a proper double disk release would have propelled it number one for me as the material is easily the part of the catalog I revisit the most. "Trial of Tears" and "Lines in the Sand" are the cornerstones of what I consider to be some of their best work to date.

This is pretty much my view exactly.

Offline PixelDream

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Re: What makes you love Lines in the Sand and Trial of Tears?
« Reply #37 on: July 22, 2020, 06:43:53 AM »
I like both quite a lot and especially the instrumental sections, but I kinda have to agree. The meat of both songs are definitely way too ‘normal’ sounding for DT. Definitely a step down from tracks like Learning to Live, Voices and Scarred.

That being said, the more easy going, commercial approach makes FII what it is, and in that context LItS and ToT work really well.

Never loved FII but it’s somewhere around the middle for me in their catalog. It’s less heavy/metallic than usual and I have to be in a certain mood. The best thing about it is how natural and well-recorded all the instruments sound, just fantastic. But it doesn’t get my blood pumping like Awake or SFAM.

This is all IMHO ofcourse.
« Last Edit: July 22, 2020, 06:49:43 AM by PixelDream »
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Offline Ben_Jamin

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Re: What makes you love Lines in the Sand and Trial of Tears?
« Reply #38 on: July 22, 2020, 10:09:45 PM »
Even though I got into Dream Theater from the Live At Budakon version of Trial of Tears. I actually prefer Derek's Keys overall. His synth sound fits this song, and hearing it on Once In A Livetime made appreciate it even more, that synth lead before "Hidden By Design" is awesome there. Too bad JLB's vocals weren't as great during this era of the bands live shows.

When Dream Theater decides to call it a day and stop touring. It'd be neat if they invited all the previous members to join in on a song or two. I wouldn't mind Derek doing Lines In The Sand and Trial of Tears.
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Offline Samsara

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Re: What makes you love Lines in the Sand and Trial of Tears?
« Reply #39 on: October 14, 2020, 09:10:08 AM »
In the twenty-three or so years since it was released (wow, time flies), I have learned that my opinion of FII being one of DT's best three albums is definitely in the minority. I would go so far as to say a proper double disk release would have propelled it number one for me as the material is easily the part of the catalog I revisit the most. "Trial of Tears" and "Lines in the Sand" are the cornerstones of what I consider to be some of their best work to date.

Exactly this. While Distance Over Time has overtaken FII for me as a record (FII is now #4 after I&W, Awake, and DoT), I find the whole catalog of FII material to be some of the band's best because they were experimenting a ton with how to marry their sound with a more mainstream vibe and still maintain who they are. I think it was a wonderful exercise that at the time frustrated MP, but for me, it was what I had wanted them to do.

There's no denying there are some tracks that don't connect with me fully, but the diversity of the FII era is one that will always appeal. And frankly, has appealed more as time has gone on. A lot of really underappreciated content there.

But Trial of Tears and Lines in the Sand...yeah, that's the top end of FII for me. Still epic, but there's an emotional chord for me (particularly with Trial of Tears) that really stands out. I remember when I bought FII at The Wiz (any Long Islanders remember them) when it came out. Day of release. Got it home (car didn't have a CD player at the time) put it on, and Trial of Tears was just a magnificent closer and immediately became one of my top-5 DT songs of all time, and still is.
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Offline hunnus2000

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Re: What makes you love Lines in the Sand and Trial of Tears?
« Reply #40 on: October 14, 2020, 09:52:31 AM »
In the twenty-three or so years since it was released (wow, time flies), I have learned that my opinion of FII being one of DT's best three albums is definitely in the minority. I would go so far as to say a proper double disk release would have propelled it number one for me as the material is easily the part of the catalog I revisit the most. "Trial of Tears" and "Lines in the Sand" are the cornerstones of what I consider to be some of their best work to date.

Exactly this. While Distance Over Time has overtaken FII for me as a record (FII is now #4 after I&W, Awake, and DoT), I find the whole catalog of FII material to be some of the band's best because they were experimenting a ton with how to marry their sound with a more mainstream vibe and still maintain who they are. I think it was a wonderful exercise that at the time frustrated MP, but for me, it was what I had wanted them to do.

There's no denying there are some tracks that don't connect with me fully, but the diversity of the FII era is one that will always appeal. And frankly, has appealed more as time has gone on. A lot of really underappreciated content there.

But Trial of Tears and Lines in the Sand...yeah, that's the top end of FII for me. Still epic, but there's an emotional chord for me (particularly with Trial of Tears) that really stands out. I remember when I bought FII at The Wiz (any Long Islanders remember them) when it came out. Day of release. Got it home (car didn't have a CD player at the time) put it on, and Trial of Tears was just a magnificent closer and immediately became one of my top-5 DT songs of all time, and still is.

So my question is was DT "experimenting" with their sound or was their label forcing them in this direction? I thought their label was trying to interfere and that's why MP was pissed.

Offline bosk1

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Re: What makes you love Lines in the Sand and Trial of Tears?
« Reply #41 on: October 14, 2020, 09:59:16 AM »
...and Trial of Tears was just a magnificent closer and immediately became one of my top-5 DT songs of all time, and still is.

It's a magnificent live song, too.  That is part of what won me over. 

So my question is was DT "experimenting" with their sound or was their label forcing them in this direction? I thought their label was trying to interfere and that's why MP was pissed.

My two cents is:  It is a bit of both.  Those aren't mutually-exclusive.  You can hear from the demos and early versions of songs that they really were experimenting with their sound at this time.  But the label influence definitely pushed them to further experiment in certain directions as well. 
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Offline Samsara

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Re: What makes you love Lines in the Sand and Trial of Tears?
« Reply #42 on: October 14, 2020, 01:41:59 PM »
Yep, bosk beat me to it. Absolutely a little bit of both.

And yes, on Trial of Tears -- fantastic live.
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Offline kirksnosehair

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Re: What makes you love Lines in the Sand and Trial of Tears?
« Reply #43 on: October 15, 2020, 11:33:38 AM »
Not to be obtuse but I like those songs because...I like those songs.  I mean, why try to force yourself to like something just because everyone else likes it?  In my opinion you're not missing anything.  These are just songs that you don't like.  And that's OK, man.  A lot of people around here think "Space Dye Vest" is amazing.  I've never made it more than a minute into it without not wanting to hear it anymore.  There is absolutely nothing there that I am "missing" I have ears, I can hear it just fine.  I just simply don't like it...because...I don't like it.  I can't be bothered to explain it to myself, never mind anyone else.


Offline ytserush

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Re: What makes you love Lines in the Sand and Trial of Tears?
« Reply #44 on: October 17, 2020, 02:00:19 PM »
I've always liked them and I think time has been kind to most of the rest of those songs too. (Anna Lee and Forsaken are far and away my least favorite of their songs)

I like the open mixes and they way they breathe. Also like the timbre. There's also a certain vibe on that album that's not really on any of the other albums which I like.

That said, I wasn't much of a fan of the album when it came out given the context of what the band was going through with their label . My fandom definitely took a hit at that time and Derek was certainly a lightening rod for that. Didn't really like the live show at that time either. I'm glad they got back on the rails.

Offline darkshade

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Re: What makes you love Lines in the Sand and Trial of Tears?
« Reply #45 on: October 17, 2020, 02:50:11 PM »
I like both tunes. They're not my faves, but I like the atmosphere to them, thanks in part to Sherinian's input. FII is a rainy day album for me, Trial of Tears especially, so these songs sound great in that setting.