Author Topic: 30 Years of Images and Words  (Read 5260 times)

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Offline nick_z

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Re: 30 Years of Images and Words
« Reply #35 on: July 09, 2022, 06:23:10 PM »
Just found this. Great interview.

https://youtu.be/nGUEZLXscbc

Oh, I had missed this one...Thanks for sharing, this was a great watch!

Offline faizoff

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Re: 30 Years of Images and Words
« Reply #36 on: July 09, 2022, 07:51:50 PM »
They would become the soundtrack to my adult life.


Same here my friend, soundtrack to my life for sure.
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Offline Cool Chris

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Re: 30 Years of Images and Words
« Reply #37 on: July 10, 2022, 06:25:56 PM »
I am loving these stories!

As I recall, and it's a bit fuzzy, in 92/93 my friend gave me I&W. He was always trying to introduce me to new music (new meaning new to me, not necessarily hot off the presses). When grunge was taking over my part of the world, he was giving me King Crimson, Priest, Rush, and then DT to listen to. The way I remember it, I knew Pull Me Under from the radio without knowing who the artist was, so my first thought was "oh yeah, I know this song, finally I know who sings it!" The rest of the album blew my mind, and I listened to it incessantly. It represented everything about music I was getting in to at the time.

I thought this was their debut - I wasn't on any mailing lists, didn't read music magazines, I knew nothing about these guys that wasn't in the liner notes. When I saw they released a follow-up, I thought "there is no way they can top that last album." I was happily proven wrong.

I know DT did not start in the early 90s, but of all the "favorite" bands I've had in my life, they are the only one I've been with from the early stages.
"Nostalgia is just the ability to forget the things that sucked" - Nelson DeMille, 'Up Country'

Offline Learning2Live

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Re: 30 Years of Images and Words
« Reply #38 on: July 28, 2022, 08:17:22 PM »
I can remember my older brother introducing me to DT with I&W in 93/94, when I was in jr high school. I can remember Metropolis being the first thing he made me listen to. He played guitar and I played drums growing up, so he would provide a unique perspective to me on things to listen for in songs. I can still remember to this day about him telling me about their song structures - to where it felt like they never played the same thing for more than 4 4-measure segments (outside of choruses); songs were constantly evolving. And if there was a song for example where verse 1 and verse 2 were similar musically, MP would usually play each with different drum rhythms/patterns, again to add to his point that there wasn't a lot of repetitiveness. I don't know why, but his analysis has always stuck with me over the years with this album. It took a few listens for it all to sink in for me, but man when it did, it changed the trajectory of my musical journey for the rest of my life.

Thank you DT for giving us this gift. Hard to believe it's been 30 years already.

Offline Stadler

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Re: 30 Years of Images and Words
« Reply #39 on: July 29, 2022, 06:51:58 AM »
The funny thing?  On the first listen to the record, I was like "this is everything I love about music; it's Rush (the prog and subject matter) meets Iron Maiden (the heavy) meets Journey (the vocals)! But that drummer needs to chill!"  HAHAHA.  He's now in my Mt. Rushmore of favorite musicians of all time (Blackmore and McCartney are there too; I'm struggling to single out one for the fourth). 

Offline Kram

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Re: 30 Years of Images and Words
« Reply #40 on: July 29, 2022, 12:37:28 PM »
The funny thing?  On the first listen to the record, I was like "this is everything I love about music; it's Rush (the prog and subject matter) meets Iron Maiden (the heavy) meets Journey (the vocals)! But that drummer needs to chill!"  HAHAHA.  He's now in my Mt. Rushmore of favorite musicians of all time (Blackmore and McCartney are there too; I'm struggling to single out one for the fourth).
Has to be Neal Morse, of course!  Or Geddy Lee..

Offline RaiseTheKnife

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Re: 30 Years of Images and Words
« Reply #41 on: July 29, 2022, 07:22:35 PM »
Heard Pull Me Under on the radio in my mom's car as she was driving me home from school, so it was sometime in the Fall.  Had this unusual 80s metal vibe to it.  Asked for images & Words for Christmas 1992, so that was the first time I heard the full album.

Offline TheCountOfNYC

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Re: 30 Years of Images and Words
« Reply #42 on: July 30, 2022, 05:41:03 PM »
The funny thing?  On the first listen to the record, I was like "this is everything I love about music; it's Rush (the prog and subject matter) meets Iron Maiden (the heavy) meets Journey (the vocals)! But that drummer needs to chill!"  HAHAHA.  He's now in my Mt. Rushmore of favorite musicians of all time (Blackmore and McCartney are there too; I'm struggling to single out one for the fourth).

Portnoy is definitely on my Mt. Rushmore as well. I think it would be James Hetfield, Paul McCartney, John Petrucci, and Mike Portnoy.
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Offline Cool Chris

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Re: 30 Years of Images and Words
« Reply #43 on: July 30, 2022, 08:03:20 PM »
The funny thing?  On the first listen to the record, I was like "this is everything I love about music..."

It wasn't quite like that for me, but similar. It felt like I&W was everything my tastes had been moving toward, and happened along at the exact right point in the timeline, and became the logical next step of my musical journey.
"Nostalgia is just the ability to forget the things that sucked" - Nelson DeMille, 'Up Country'

Offline Stadler

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Re: 30 Years of Images and Words
« Reply #44 on: August 01, 2022, 07:20:52 AM »
The funny thing?  On the first listen to the record, I was like "this is everything I love about music; it's Rush (the prog and subject matter) meets Iron Maiden (the heavy) meets Journey (the vocals)! But that drummer needs to chill!"  HAHAHA.  He's now in my Mt. Rushmore of favorite musicians of all time (Blackmore and McCartney are there too; I'm struggling to single out one for the fourth).
Has to be Neal Morse, of course!  Or Geddy Lee..

I was giving this some thought over the weekend - my lawn takes about three hours to mow haha - and I figured it was one of Phil Collins, Gene Simmons, Dave Murray or Chris Squire.   it also dawned on me, how cool would a band of Paul McCartney, Ritchie Blackmore and Mike Portnoy be?   

Offline Samsara

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Re: 30 Years of Images and Words
« Reply #45 on: August 25, 2022, 01:27:08 PM »
Just found this. Great interview.

https://youtu.be/nGUEZLXscbc

This is great. Thanks for sharing!
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Offline LCArenas

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Re: 30 Years of Images and Words
« Reply #46 on: September 07, 2022, 09:01:32 PM »
I&W is for me, a completely perfect album. No song disrupts the flow of the album, not a single section of them doesn't fit, not a single band member is out of their place, not a single line that leaves you confused or a single moment that takes you out of the experience. All of them at the height of their talents. Every single part of this album, from its cover to the final note in Learning to Live, is exactly where it should be. It is, for me, one of the best albums of all time. Masterpiece!

Offline Stadler

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Re: 30 Years of Images and Words
« Reply #47 on: September 08, 2022, 07:48:47 AM »
The funny thing?  On the first listen to the record, I was like "this is everything I love about music; it's Rush (the prog and subject matter) meets Iron Maiden (the heavy) meets Journey (the vocals)! But that drummer needs to chill!"  HAHAHA.  He's now in my Mt. Rushmore of favorite musicians of all time (Blackmore and McCartney are there too; I'm struggling to single out one for the fourth).
Has to be Neal Morse, of course!  Or Geddy Lee..

I was giving this some thought over the weekend - my lawn takes about three hours to mow haha - and I figured it was one of Phil Collins, Gene Simmons, Dave Murray or Chris Squire.   it also dawned on me, how cool would a band of Paul McCartney, Ritchie Blackmore and Mike Portnoy be?

I was just re-reading this.. why ISN'T it Neal Morse?   I probably have more material with him than any other artist not named "Portnoy" or "Garcia" (I have a shit ton of Grateful Dead live recordings).

Offline Kram

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Re: 30 Years of Images and Words
« Reply #48 on: September 08, 2022, 11:29:35 AM »
The funny thing?  On the first listen to the record, I was like "this is everything I love about music; it's Rush (the prog and subject matter) meets Iron Maiden (the heavy) meets Journey (the vocals)! But that drummer needs to chill!"  HAHAHA.  He's now in my Mt. Rushmore of favorite musicians of all time (Blackmore and McCartney are there too; I'm struggling to single out one for the fourth).
Has to be Neal Morse, of course!  Or Geddy Lee..

I was giving this some thought over the weekend - my lawn takes about three hours to mow haha - and I figured it was one of Phil Collins, Gene Simmons, Dave Murray or Chris Squire.   it also dawned on me, how cool would a band of Paul McCartney, Ritchie Blackmore and Mike Portnoy be?

I was just re-reading this.. why ISN'T it Neal Morse?   I probably have more material with him than any other artist not named "Portnoy" or "Garcia" (I have a shit ton of Grateful Dead live recordings).
Dude - I'm telling you it HAS to be Neal Morse.  He's definitely on mine, and I consider him one of the greatest song writers of all time period!

Offline Kram

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Re: 30 Years of Images and Words
« Reply #49 on: September 08, 2022, 11:29:59 AM »
I&W is for me, a completely perfect album. No song disrupts the flow of the album, not a single section of them doesn't fit, not a single band member is out of their place, not a single line that leaves you confused or a single moment that takes you out of the experience. All of them at the height of their talents. Every single part of this album, from its cover to the final note in Learning to Live, is exactly where it should be. It is, for me, one of the best albums of all time. Masterpiece!
I agree with this 100%.

Offline Samsara

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Re: 30 Years of Images and Words
« Reply #50 on: September 08, 2022, 11:57:25 AM »
Unreal this record is 30. I didn't find out about Dream Theater until 1996. That summer, in fact. A buddy had just discovered DT with A Change of Seasons, so he played me that. Then Awake, and I was hooked. I picked up I&W after that, and loved the album from the get-go. It became my favorite and still is, a hair above Awake.

Funny thing is, I can't believe I never saw DT on MTV. I remember why - I was such a Queensryche junkie, and I just was so busy with school in the early 1990s that I never really focused on much else. But to find this other incredible band, right in my backyard, blown away. And Images and Words was at the forefront of my fandom.

For me, I&W is the band's flawless record. From top to bottom, it's amazing. Never tempted to skip a single track. One of my favorites of all time and desert island disc.
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Offline DanLore

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Re: 30 Years of Images and Words
« Reply #51 on: September 08, 2022, 01:09:19 PM »
The funny thing?  On the first listen to the record, I was like "this is everything I love about music; it's Rush (the prog and subject matter) meets Iron Maiden (the heavy) meets Journey (the vocals)! But that drummer needs to chill!"  HAHAHA.  He's now in my Mt. Rushmore of favorite musicians of all time (Blackmore and McCartney are there too; I'm struggling to single out one for the fourth).
Has to be Neal Morse, of course!  Or Geddy Lee..

I was giving this some thought over the weekend - my lawn takes about three hours to mow haha - and I figured it was one of Phil Collins, Gene Simmons, Dave Murray or Chris Squire.   it also dawned on me, how cool would a band of Paul McCartney, Ritchie Blackmore and Mike Portnoy be?

I vote Chris Squire or Phil;-)

Offline Samir

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Re: 30 Years of Images and Words
« Reply #52 on: September 09, 2022, 05:40:00 PM »
Jeez...I need to log in more often.

This was the album that did it for me.  I was into all sorts of stuff at that time hovering around 'progressive rock' like Rush, Queensryche, etc., but the second I heard Images and Words, it was the music that was inside my soul all along and was like mother's milk.  Typing this I harken back to a small venue in Atlanta when I saw the original lineup live and the whole album performed live (mid/late 1990s?) and I can see the guitar solos from basically 8ft away, all of them larger than life producing the music that to me is the soundtrack of my soul.  Hell, my feet are drumming the double bassing while I'm typing this just remembering all the time I spent in high school doing that with my feet for 8hrs a day.

What an awesome album that if you listen to today's current rock bands, you hear the influences right and left.  This album and this band has left a mark and a legacy that goes beyond just us the fans, and that's super cool imo.

Offline Architeuthis

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Re: 30 Years of Images and Words
« Reply #53 on: September 09, 2022, 07:01:51 PM »
I only heard the album a couple of times before I saw DT in Seattle for the first time. It was at the Paramount theater, and introduced as a rising star show. The tickets were only ten dollars.  I was completely blown away at how good this band is and have been hooked ever since.  Galactic Cowboys opened up.
 I'm pretty sure this was in 1993.
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Offline DragonAttack

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Re: 30 Years of Images and Words
« Reply #54 on: September 10, 2022, 08:35:39 AM »
I can remember my older brother introducing me to DT with I&W in 93/94, when I was in jr high school. I can remember Metropolis being the first thing he made me listen to. He played guitar and I played drums growing up, so he would provide a unique perspective to me on things to listen for in songs. I can still remember to this day about him telling me about their song structures - to where it felt like they never played the same thing for more than 4 4-measure segments (outside of choruses); songs were constantly evolving. And if there was a song for example where verse 1 and verse 2 were similar musically, MP would usually play each with different drum rhythms/patterns, again to add to his point that there wasn't a lot of repetitiveness. I don't know why, but his analysis has always stuck with me over the years with this album. It took a few listens for it all to sink in for me, but man when it did, it changed the trajectory of my musical journey for the rest of my life.

Thank you DT for giving us this gift. Hard to believe it's been 30 years already.

Wonderful story!  Thanks for sharing :tup

Again, I had never heard of the band until I went to see them open for Queensryche in '03, only to be surprised that DT was headlining that particular night.  Bought 'Six Degrees' the next day, jumped out of my seat at the Brian May guitar segment in 'Misunderstanding', fell in love with the title track, and within a month finally bought I&W.  The weakest song I'd rate 8/10, the rest all 10s!   And that percussion by the often standing 'camel'  ;) behind the drum kit that was up front on the stage that night blew me away yet again.

Then I purchased 'Awake', and then......
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Offline Samir

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Re: 30 Years of Images and Words
« Reply #55 on: September 10, 2022, 03:52:54 PM »
...until I went to see them open for Queensryche in '03...
omg, this was always one of my dream lineups--dammit, I hate that I missed a show like this!  QR was awesome when I saw them live where they played the entire Operation Mindcrime in one single set with massive video screens adding to the story.  I forgot who was opening for them, if anyone.  If it would have been DT I would have been disappointed with QR.  :biggrin:

Offline jammindude

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Re: 30 Years of Images and Words
« Reply #56 on: September 10, 2022, 08:52:34 PM »
I only heard the album a couple of times before I saw DT in Seattle for the first time. It was at the Paramount theater, and introduced as a rising star show. The tickets were only ten dollars.  I was completely blown away at how good this band is and have been hooked ever since.  Galactic Cowboys opened up.
 I'm pretty sure this was in 1993.

I was at that show! I had already been a huge fan for a few months by the time that show was announced. And since I was the only one locally who knew who they were, I was the only one in line when the tickets went on sale. So I was row A seat 1 dead center.

EDIT - Mike noticed that I was the ONLY person in the audience who was singing along to Status Seeker…so he personally handed me a drum stick when the show was over. (Lost it in a move ages ago….which still breaks my heart)
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Offline lucky7

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Re: 30 Years of Images and Words
« Reply #57 on: September 15, 2022, 05:42:45 PM »
Great to read all your stories of introductions to Dream Theater.

I must say Images & Words was an album I did not listen to as often as some of the others for a really long time, but their last tour to Australia (that wasn't cancelled) was for the 25th Anniversary of Images & Words where for the second half of the concert they performed the whole album, (I went to both Sydney and Melbourne concerts) and I have fallen in love with the album, and it has a regular rotation in the car.

I first heard of DT on a Steve Vai website forum in about 2003 or so when a lot of people were mentioning they were going to a concert. Then Train of Thought was the first release I purchased, saw JP in G3 in Melbourne with Joe Satriani and Steve Vai, at the end of 2006, DT first toured Melbourne on a really hot January day at Festival Hall back in 2008. Been a big fan ever since.
Crazy how fast time goes, I wish I had heard of them back when they were first on the scene like a lot of you guys, but then I really would have been pretty pissed off waiting all that time for them to tour Australia.
I am really glad JP came out to Australia with G3 or we might never have had them tour here.

Offline deggs37

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Re: 30 Years of Images and Words
« Reply #58 on: September 22, 2022, 07:35:59 AM »
EDIT - Mike noticed that I was the ONLY person in the audience who was singing along to Status Seeker…so he personally handed me a drum stick when the show was over. (Lost it in a move ages ago….which still breaks my heart)

I love this! Mike has always been so good to the fans.