There are definitely some similarities - more than would seem to be random.
But it's definitely not a 1:1 comparison, and there are definitely things that have to be ignored to make it fit.
For the record, JP has denied it.
I agree with all of that. And as for the last sentence...
*takes a deep breath* Here we go...
I even asked him about it directly, and did so WAY after the fact when there was no controversy (it was on the D/T tour, in fact). For context, my opinion is this: I think the idea that they "copied song structures" or "copied the album structure" from I&W is wrong and kinda silly. But, as Hef said, there are some obvious similarities in places. I wouldn't call those "structural" though. To me, they are much more "feel" kinds of things. To try to draw parallels between actual song structures, I think you have to reach too far and dumb down what constitutes "structure." But there are definite parts of songs that have similar sounds, feels, or structures to songs on I&W. A lot of us have felt this way. A lot of parts of OTBOA have similar feels to PMU, and if you really take a VERY basic view of song structure, there are a lot of similarities one can notice. To me, the similarities between those two tracks are so similar that it was a distraction when the album was new. The intro to LNF has a very similar feel to the intro to UAGM. On a very basic level, the structure of Outcry seems similar to that of Metropolis. And there are some similarities between the instrumental sections of those two songs. The relative song lengths, album placement, and feel of FFH>BAI is somewhat similar to WFS>LTL.
For the record, I do NOT think that they "ripped off" those prior songs." Or that they tried to "copy" them or parts of them, either intentionally or unintentionally. But at least a small handful of those things seemed to be a conscious effort to capture the
feeling of some of those I&W songs, kind of like how they used to use "inspiration corner" to try to capture the feeling of other bands' classic albums in their own writing.
I have often asked myself, essentially, two questions: (1) How much of that is an actual, intentional thing, and how much of it is imaginary? (2) If intentional, are there connections that I am not seeing between 3 of the 4 other songs from ADTOE and the remaining 3 songs from I&W?
With that in mind, I essentially tried to ask those two questions of JP. I phrased it as nonconfrontationally and nonaccusatorily as I could. His response was to outright deny any similarity whatsoever. I'm not saying I don't believe him--as far as I know, the man has never lied to me, and he has referred to me as a "friend" on more than one occasion. But--I dunno--it just kind of felt like he was dismissive and just wanted to waive the discussion away without at least acknowledging that there are similarities. And maybe he's right. Maybe the similarities really
are completely coincidental and not intentional. Or maybe there really are only a VERY small number of similarities, and he is just sensitive to how a certain person tried to spin that into a more ugly narrative all those years ago, and is somewhat overcompensating by not wanting to give it
any credence whatsoever.
But bottom line: JP's official position, both publicly, and to me behind the scenes is: Nothing to see here. And while I subjectively might feel that there could potentially be a
little more to it than that, I think that's probably the right answer. Keep in mind a couple of things: First off, the man (and the rest of the band as well, for that matter) has a HUGE musical vocabulary that he has built into his mind, and a HUGE number of musical influences, both external and internal. He subconsciously draws from a number of sources. And even when he isn't doing that, it can sometimes sound to the fans like he is. And that leads into the second point, which is that there are a number of times when fans hear something in the music or lyrics that is not really there or not intentional. I have mentioned a few instances where I shared some musical or lyrical analysis that either I or some other fans have come up with that I thought was cool, and JP's response is along the lines of, "Wow, that is really cool. I wish we had thought of that while writing. But that is really just a complete coincidence." Sometimes, that's just what happens in music.
I wouldn't be shocked if they TRIED emulating Images and Words then abandoned it mid way through so some songs have the same structure whilst others dont.
We'll never know. But for what my opinion is worth: I highly doubt that.
Topic: A Dramatic TEN of Events !! (Read 5837 times)
