Distant Memories - New live release

[Architeuthis]

I guess we'll see how much they really believe in the album when we see how much of it is gets played in the future.

I'm guessing they'll probably pick out a few of the better, more interesting tracks from that album and do some kind of medley like they've done before with other albums, but I'd be surprised if they devote more than 15 minutes of show time to it.  I am a huge fan of this group and sitting here right now the only two track names I can remember from TA are "Dystopian" something and "Descent of the Nomacs" or something like that.  I admit that I've never made it more than about 5 tracks into it without switching it off.  Something tells me I'm not alone in this. 


TA is Dream Theater's "Love Beach" 

I'm on the opposite side of the spectrum.  I think TA is one of the high points in DT's career musically and creatively. I even put it above Scenes by a mile. 
I really delved into both albums after they came out and know every note and nuance by heart. TA was just such a huge undertaking and I respect the heck out DT for accomplishing a masterwork like that.

If they play some songs from TA live in the future, I would like to hear Ravenskill, Chosen, and Moment Of Betrayal.
There's a lot of other great ones to choose from. 

[Ben_Jamin]

The DVDs do not sell well anymore, but part of that (for me) is because there's really nothing worth buying. I don't want/need to see these guys play the songs exactly the same as they are played in the studio, with the sound quality being less full and the vocals being worse. Combine that with material that I think is the worst the band have ever done (The Astonishing), and that DVD would have been a hard-pass for me.

So what would I buy? Short of the performances surpassing their studio counterparts in some way, maybe I would be more interested if the performances were looser, included jams/extended parts, or were reworked live so that it was like listening to something new...

Their Tone changes live. It may be played at exact studio tempo speed, but it's still not the studio recording. The bands that use a lot of Backing Tracks are more studio than DT live. Periphery, Animals As Leaders, Devin Townsend (he's the one that relies the most on backing tracks, and look at how fantastic Order of Magnitude sounds without them) are great examples, they basically play and rely upon the click. Dream Theater, I doubt relies on the click as much, only for the backing vocals being on time, but the others have full on Bass/String/Keyboard tracks for the entire song.

Their stuff is compositionally complicated enough to play as it is, so them doing it perfectly as on the album, is a treat in my eyes. JLB withstanding, as the vocals in Dream Theater songs, are not as easy to sing, every night for about 3 hours. Also, the "tone" of Dream Theater, JP sees JLB as being an essential part of. MP didn't and wanted a different singer or a different lead tone for Dream Theater.

But you are free to enjoy live music that way, I just find it an odd way to look at a live show. Reminds me of The Simpsons...
Lisa Simpson: "You have to listen to the notes she's not playing."
Snooty Man: "Pff. I can do that at home."

[Ben_Jamin]

I guess we'll see how much they really believe in the album when we see how much of it is gets played in the future.

I'm guessing they'll probably pick out a few of the better, more interesting tracks from that album and do some kind of medley like they've done before with other albums, but I'd be surprised if they devote more than 15 minutes of show time to it.  I am a huge fan of this group and sitting here right now the only two track names I can remember from TA are "Dystopian" something and "Descent of the Nomacs" or something like that.  I admit that I've never made it more than about 5 tracks into it without switching it off.  Something tells me I'm not alone in this. 


TA is Dream Theater's "Love Beach" 

I'm on the opposite side of the spectrum.  I think TA is one of the high points in DT's career musically and creatively. I even put it above Scenes by a mile. 
I really delved into both albums after they came out and know every note and nuance by heart. TA was just such a huge undertaking and I respect the heck out DT for accomplishing a masterwork like that.

If they play some songs from TA live in the future, I would like to hear Ravenskill, Chosen, and Moment Of Betrayal.
There's a lot of other great ones to choose from. 

I wouldn't mind those at all...Throw in Losing Faythe, and Begin Again. But I doubt they'll play songs that are integral to the plot, don't want any spoilers. 

[Setlist Scotty]

The DVDs do not sell well anymore, but part of that (for me) is because there's really nothing worth buying. I don't want/need to see these guys play the songs exactly the same as they are played in the studio, with the sound quality being less full and the vocals being worse. Combine that with material that I think is the worst the band have ever done (The Astonishing), and that DVD would have been a hard-pass for me.

So what would I buy? Short of the performances surpassing their studio counterparts in some way, maybe I would be more interested if the performances were looser, included jams/extended parts, or were reworked live so that it was like listening to something new...

Their Tone changes live. It may be played at exact studio tempo speed, but it's still not the studio recording. The bands that use a lot of Backing Tracks are more studio than DT live. Periphery, Animals As Leaders, Devin Townsend (he's the one that relies the most on backing tracks, and look at how fantastic Order of Magnitude sounds without them) are great examples, they basically play and rely upon the click. Dream Theater, I doubt relies on the click as much, only for the backing vocals being on time, but the others have full on Bass/String/Keyboard tracks for the entire song.

Their stuff is compositionally complicated enough to play as it is, so them doing it perfectly as on the album, is a treat in my eyes. JLB withstanding, as the vocals in Dream Theater songs, are not as easy to sing, every night for about 3 hours. Also, the "tone" of Dream Theater, JP sees JLB as being an essential part of. MP didn't and wanted a different singer or a different lead tone for Dream Theater.
But you are free to enjoy live music that way, I just find it an odd way to look at a live show. Reminds me of The Simpsons...
Lisa Simpson: "You have to listen to the notes she's not playing."
Snooty Man: "Pff. I can do that at home."

But you're forgetting the point. That might all be fine and well when seeing the band live, but that's not what Skeever is talking about. He's speaking about what would motivate him to purchase a live TA release. And doing it the way DT did it is not the answer for him. To be honest, I'm of a very similar mindset. Especially when it comes to live releases, I don't want them performing the song exactly the same way as on the album, because then it is just an inferior version of what I already have in my library. Give me something new and or different.

I feel the same way about how DT did SFaM on this last tour - very little of it strayed from the album version, whereas at least with LSFNY, there were enough variations to make it exciting and different enough for it to stand on its own. I'll be getting DM, but it will be for the first set and encore and for completist reasons, more than for the second set. While it's nice that they have the visuals telling the story, for a live release, that doesn't matter much to me since I'm really not a video guy. I can't sit for 2.5 hours (in this case, it's not 3!) to watch a concert - but for a good concert I'm happy to listen to it while I'm doing other things. The same would be true had DT done a live TA release. Visuals may have been great (and quite frankly, even some of them were on the cheesy side) but that means little to me when picking up the live release.

[Ben_Jamin]

The DVDs do not sell well anymore, but part of that (for me) is because there's really nothing worth buying. I don't want/need to see these guys play the songs exactly the same as they are played in the studio, with the sound quality being less full and the vocals being worse. Combine that with material that I think is the worst the band have ever done (The Astonishing), and that DVD would have been a hard-pass for me.

So what would I buy? Short of the performances surpassing their studio counterparts in some way, maybe I would be more interested if the performances were looser, included jams/extended parts, or were reworked live so that it was like listening to something new...

Their Tone changes live. It may be played at exact studio tempo speed, but it's still not the studio recording. The bands that use a lot of Backing Tracks are more studio than DT live. Periphery, Animals As Leaders, Devin Townsend (he's the one that relies the most on backing tracks, and look at how fantastic Order of Magnitude sounds without them) are great examples, they basically play and rely upon the click. Dream Theater, I doubt relies on the click as much, only for the backing vocals being on time, but the others have full on Bass/String/Keyboard tracks for the entire song.

Their stuff is compositionally complicated enough to play as it is, so them doing it perfectly as on the album, is a treat in my eyes. JLB withstanding, as the vocals in Dream Theater songs, are not as easy to sing, every night for about 3 hours. Also, the "tone" of Dream Theater, JP sees JLB as being an essential part of. MP didn't and wanted a different singer or a different lead tone for Dream Theater.
But you are free to enjoy live music that way, I just find it an odd way to look at a live show. Reminds me of The Simpsons...
Lisa Simpson: "You have to listen to the notes she's not playing."
Snooty Man: "Pff. I can do that at home."

But you're forgetting the point. That might all be fine and well when seeing the band live, but that's not what Skeever is talking about. He's speaking about what would motivate him to purchase a live TA release. And doing it the way DT did it is not the answer for him. To be honest, I'm of a very similar mindset. Especially when it comes to live releases, I don't want them performing the song exactly the same way as on the album, because then it is just an inferior version of what I already have in my library. Give me something new and or different.

I feel the same way about how DT did SFaM on this last tour - very little of it strayed from the album version, whereas at least with LSFNY, there were enough variations to make it exciting and different enough for it to stand on its own. I'll be getting DM, but it will be for the first set and encore and for completist reasons, more than for the second set. While it's nice that they have the visuals telling the story, for a live release, that doesn't matter much to me since I'm really not a video guy. I can't sit for 2.5 hours (in this case, it's not 3!) to watch a concert - but for a good concert I'm happy to listen to it while I'm doing other things. The same would be true had DT done a live TA release. Visuals may have been great (and quite frankly, even some of them were on the cheesy side) but that means little to me when picking up the live release.

Cool.

For me, there is a certain energy and atmosphere that is created when a band plays live. It's why I can't grasp the reasoning of "played exactly like the album" because, to me, when bands play live (any form of music played live, actually) it is never like the album. It's why I go see a band live, and why I prefer seeing a band live, if anything. I go to see Dream Theater, because I want to see Dream Theater live, that is all I go for.

I enjoy listening to live albums, and prefer listening to those versions. Live Scenes was neat, because MP decided to incorporate some of the demo sections that were cut from the final release, and added the extended to Through Her Eyes so he could play drums.  Also, the Live Rehearsal Metropolis pt.2 Demo ending to the end of Finally Free, a.k.a. Metropolis 2000 Overture.

[Skeever]

The DVDs do not sell well anymore, but part of that (for me) is because there's really nothing worth buying. I don't want/need to see these guys play the songs exactly the same as they are played in the studio, with the sound quality being less full and the vocals being worse. Combine that with material that I think is the worst the band have ever done (The Astonishing), and that DVD would have been a hard-pass for me.

So what would I buy? Short of the performances surpassing their studio counterparts in some way, maybe I would be more interested if the performances were looser, included jams/extended parts, or were reworked live so that it was like listening to something new...

Their Tone changes live. It may be played at exact studio tempo speed, but it's still not the studio recording. The bands that use a lot of Backing Tracks are more studio than DT live. Periphery, Animals As Leaders, Devin Townsend (he's the one that relies the most on backing tracks, and look at how fantastic Order of Magnitude sounds without them) are great examples, they basically play and rely upon the click. Dream Theater, I doubt relies on the click as much, only for the backing vocals being on time, but the others have full on Bass/String/Keyboard tracks for the entire song.

Their stuff is compositionally complicated enough to play as it is, so them doing it perfectly as on the album, is a treat in my eyes. JLB withstanding, as the vocals in Dream Theater songs, are not as easy to sing, every night for about 3 hours. Also, the "tone" of Dream Theater, JP sees JLB as being an essential part of. MP didn't and wanted a different singer or a different lead tone for Dream Theater.

But you are free to enjoy live music that way, I just find it an odd way to look at a live show. Reminds me of The Simpsons...
Lisa Simpson: "You have to listen to the notes she's not playing."
Snooty Man: "Pff. I can do that at home."

I have seen all the bands you mentioned live, and am wholly uninterested in doing so again, because I felt like I was just listening to their albums very loud. Devin is kind of the exception, because there's so much zaniness and personality to his music that comes through live, and his banter is hilarious. The others, not so much.

The big pull DT have for me these days is the musicianship, but I've heard these songs and know them note by note almost (well, at least the ones on Scenes). The shows are much more scripted since MP left, to the extent that there are so few surprises anymore. I'm thinking about the extended jam in To Live Forever on Live in Tokyo. The versions of Beyond this Life and Hollow Years on Budokan. The Sugar Mice interlude in the extended version of Surrounded on Chaos in Motion. I love all of this stuff. I saw DT every tour for several years in a row, and bad timing caused me to miss them on the Dramatic Tour. And I haven't seen them again since. And given my preferences for a good live show, looking at the setlists and the DVDs they've put out since, it's hard to see what I've really missed.

[nobloodyname]

The artbook and vinyl have just arrived here. Didn't think it released for a couple more days.

[Madman Shepherd]

The DVDs do not sell well anymore, but part of that (for me) is because there's really nothing worth buying. I don't want/need to see these guys play the songs exactly the same as they are played in the studio, with the sound quality being less full and the vocals being worse. Combine that with material that I think is the worst the band have ever done (The Astonishing), and that DVD would have been a hard-pass for me.

So what would I buy? Short of the performances surpassing their studio counterparts in some way, maybe I would be more interested if the performances were looser, included jams/extended parts, or were reworked live so that it was like listening to something new...

Their Tone changes live. It may be played at exact studio tempo speed, but it's still not the studio recording. The bands that use a lot of Backing Tracks are more studio than DT live. Periphery, Animals As Leaders, Devin Townsend (he's the one that relies the most on backing tracks, and look at how fantastic Order of Magnitude sounds without them) are great examples, they basically play and rely upon the click. Dream Theater, I doubt relies on the click as much, only for the backing vocals being on time, but the others have full on Bass/String/Keyboard tracks for the entire song.

Their stuff is compositionally complicated enough to play as it is, so them doing it perfectly as on the album, is a treat in my eyes. JLB withstanding, as the vocals in Dream Theater songs, are not as easy to sing, every night for about 3 hours. Also, the "tone" of Dream Theater, JP sees JLB as being an essential part of. MP didn't and wanted a different singer or a different lead tone for Dream Theater.

But you are free to enjoy live music that way, I just find it an odd way to look at a live show. Reminds me of The Simpsons...
Lisa Simpson: "You have to listen to the notes she's not playing."
Snooty Man: "Pff. I can do that at home."

I have seen all the bands you mentioned live, and am wholly uninterested in doing so again, because I felt like I was just listening to their albums very loud. Devin is kind of the exception, because there's so much zaniness and personality to his music that comes through live, and his banter is hilarious. The others, not so much.

The big pull DT have for me these days is the musicianship, but I've heard these songs and know them note by note almost (well, at least the ones on Scenes). The shows are much more scripted since MP left, to the extent that there are so few surprises anymore. I'm thinking about the extended jam in To Live Forever on Live in Tokyo. The versions of Beyond this Life and Hollow Years on Budokan. The Sugar Mice interlude in the extended version of Surrounded on Chaos in Motion. I love all of this stuff. I saw DT every tour for several years in a row, and bad timing caused me to miss them on the Dramatic Tour. And I haven't seen them again since. And given my preferences for a good live show, looking at the setlists and the DVDs they've put out since, it's hard to see what I've really missed.

Not trying to criticize you for your honest opinion, but it just seems so nitpicky to me.

For me, if a band I like is playing within a 3 hour distance, and I am not prohibited from going either by finances or other commitments or whatever, I go.

For my favorite bands I will go see them on each leg of the tour if possible. I almost passed on DT last time around even though they were playing an hour and a half from me (which never happens for a band of their caliber) due to house shopping and also their lack of modifications to their setlist. Then I found out they pulled out At Wit's End, then front row seats opened up and...it goes without saying that I could not pass it up and thank god I didn't.

Some bands play to a blatant backing track (choirs, orchestra, effects) and while I would love to see all of that live, it isn't financially feasible for them so I put that tiny disappointment out of my mind and enjoy the show. I honestly can't fathom how anybody couldn't.

[dparrott]

Anyone know if a FLAC version will be available for download?  Mp3's are not exactly gapless.

[Peter Mc]

Yeah, it glanced past that part, it looks like the Artbook. So, I don't expect it till Christmas.

I ordered the art book from Amazon and it has been dispatched today so obviously not a universal problem. I wonder what Century Media's issue is.

[nobloodyname]

Yeah. What's really weird is my art book came direct from Century Media.

[Kocak]

I cannot find any information on the mixing of this particular release. Does anyone know who the Mixing Engineer was?

Thanks in advance.

Hope this helps:

Bit late, but I was otherwise engaged, so I can say it now: Thank you so much!

[jadiggerdt]

Listening now:)

mix is great but the audience is missing. Its corona , feels not like a live album, more like a soundboard mix

[MinistroRaven]

FANTASTIC REVIEW BY BERNARD ROMERO: https://lotsofmuzik.com/dream-theater-distant-memories-live-in-london/

 

[TAC]

I'm really torn on this.

The previous two live albums sound so doctored up, I cannot listen to them.

[Setlist Scotty]

Bernard Romero is a history teacher by day and a music and film fanatic by night. More than once he has gone to bed well past midnight with a sore back and neck from standing and headbanging at Dream Theater shows and still made it to work at 7:30AM the following morning so London has no excuse.

[Max Kuehnau]

Bernard Romero is a history teacher by day and a music and film fanatic by night. More than once he has gone to bed well past midnight with a sore back and neck from standing and headbanging at Dream Theater shows and still made it to work at 7:30AM the following morning so London has no excuse.

what's so funny about that?

[nobloodyname]

Edit: forget it. Deletion.

[MinistroRaven]

Bernard Romero is a history teacher by day and a music and film fanatic by night. More than once he has gone to bed well past midnight with a sore back and neck from standing and headbanging at Dream Theater shows and still made it to work at 7:30AM the following morning so London has no excuse.

That was SOOOO funny to me when I first read it. 

[erwinrafael]

Fortunate to be in a time zone where we already have access to the album. I am already in my second listen to the album. Pretty good listen. James sounds short of breath in the opening songs, so I don't think his voice was touched up too much. As always, I find Mangini amazing. His Finally Free drum exhibition is a lot of fun. And his footwork, man, he's giving Bobby Jarzombek serious competition with that footwork.

[Peter Mc]

Will be interested to hear Mangini's Finally Free ending again.  Seem to remember it sounded terrible when I heard it but could have just been because it's not what I was expecting.

[NoFred]

Nice to have the first set, and scenes with the new intro too. Wish recording was from NA first leg where JLB actually annunciated words. Here idk? It's just sad to me at this point. Guitar tones are great though

[Ben_Jamin]

Listened to the first set.

ITPOE pt.1 is excellent. Way better than the one on Chaos in Motion. Mangini and LaBrie are great on this one.

[genome]

Listening now. Nightmare to Remember sounds huge!

[DreamerTV]

Listening now. Nightmare to Remember sounds huge!

So does the entire album.
Maybe a little too much, but overall I enjoy it for what it is, with all the flaws DT have nowadays in their live environment.

[dparrott]

Any FLAC available for purchase?  All I see for download is an mp3 on Amazon.  All of their links seem to be streaming only.

[Ben_Jamin]

Listening now. Nightmare to Remember sounds huge!

All thanks to it being loud as all hell. And them putting Mic's on the Toms. My god those Toms sound amazing. The drums sound amazing overall. And the mix, is excellent.

[The Jester]

FRIDAY EVENING, THE BLOOD STILL ON MY HANDS...

[WilliamMunny]

Halfway through Nightmare and Goddamn, I have to agree. This version will probably be my go-to for the future.

Man, the band just sounds sooooo good here. After the shitty week I've had (topped off with spending the holiday in quarantine with my wife—no friends or family), this is such a welcome treat.

[WilliamMunny]

I also want to add that the way James tackles MP's vocals in the last section is perfect.....I love the scream at the end!

[Ben_Jamin]

One thing though...They really need to invest in an audience mic. Or what I want to know is....why aren't they picking up the audience noise? The audience is there, but they're so low and quiet. Maybe the band was just that loud that the mics couldn't pick up the audience?

That's the problem I have with every live release of Take The Time.

[genome]

I think JLB becomes possessed at 3:53 of Finally Free 

[Ben_Jamin]

I think JLB becomes possessed at 3:53 of Finally Free 

The Audience: "OPEN YOUR EYES!!!" 

[DarkLord_Lalinc]

ANTR sounds amazing. One of my favorites for sure of the entire release, and ironically one of my least favorite songs included. Mike Mangini really takes it to a whole new level.

JLB sounds as good as he possibly can, but I definitely feel that he swings and changes his melodic rhythm quite a lot. He's always done that, but for some reason he's doing it a lot this time around. I don't think that's bad, but just a curious thing.

Holy cow Beyond This Life. This blows the Live at Budokan version out of the water (excluding of course the amazing extended instrumental section).

[Madman Shepherd]

Listened to the first set.

ITPOE pt.1 is excellent. Way better than the one on Chaos in Motion. Mangini and LaBrie are great on this one.

I agree although I'm still a bit miffed at its inclusion. I remember in concert thinking, "Whoa, they're going to do the whole song?" Then getting distracted thinking, "If they only do part 1 that's going to be kind of lame," but I guess it does actually kind fit ok leading into Pale Blue Dot.

Then on the recording hearing how good they sound and getting pissed all over again that they don't play Part 2.

Man, I hate to sound like a whiny fan but damn it, let be a little whiny especially since I have mostly good things to say about this release!