Author Topic: SFAM - not my favorite DT album at all. Here's why...  (Read 19652 times)

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Offline Blind_FaithX

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Re: SFAM - not my favorite DT album at all. Here's why...
« Reply #35 on: December 18, 2009, 09:53:58 AM »
Actually SFAM is my favorite album by DT and my third favorite of all times (after Remedy Lane and In Absentia).
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Offline hefdaddy42

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Re: SFAM - not my favorite DT album at all. Here's why...
« Reply #36 on: December 18, 2009, 09:54:32 AM »
I am trying to rate all the DT songs one by one. Do you think its fair to rate Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence as one song and rate Scenes From a Memory all individually? I know 6DoIT is actually one song but for the sake of making it a album its better to split it.
Yes it's fair, since that is the way it is.

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Re: SFAM - not my favorite DT album at all. Here's why...
« Reply #37 on: December 19, 2009, 05:42:28 PM »
BTW, the comment of "SFAM wasn't their pinnacle, 6DOIT was", I would say both together were. I think that time span from '99 to '02 was what one might call Dream Theater's "heyday".

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This.  I was in heaven with these 2 albums.
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Offline Perpetual Change

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Re: SFAM - not my favorite DT album at all. Here's why...
« Reply #38 on: December 20, 2009, 12:58:27 AM »
BTW, the comment of "SFAM wasn't their pinnacle, 6DOIT was", I would say both together were. I think that time span from '99 to '02 was what one might call Dream Theater's "heyday".

rumborak


This.  I was in heaven with these 2 albums.

That was also when DT had the underground status as being the best band in the world, and when pretty much everyone who knew who they were liked them.  Now, though they're more popular than ever, it's just not as "cool" to be a fan it seems.  Everyone who plays an instrument at least know who DT are, and if they're not fans they seem to have some preformed opinion about them being too technical.  That, and the fanbase wasn't as broken as it seems to be now.

Offline robwebster

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Re: SFAM - not my favorite DT album at all. Here's why...
« Reply #39 on: December 20, 2009, 06:36:36 AM »
Yeah. I started using the MB not long after Train of Thought, and I don't remember seeing as much contrast in people's opinions. Though I didn't invest nearly as much time in it back then, either.

Then again, they'd only just began to forge the second era of their career back then. There wasn't really any frame of reference, no obvious points of contrast. It was just "I like this album, I don't like this album."

While both pre-SFAM and post-SDOIT material have a hell of a lot in common with each other, they do sound decidedly different. The differences are somewhat exaggerated but definitely there. Before that, there were no real sticks for people to beat each other with. For better or for worse!

Offline Slain

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Re: SFAM - not my favorite DT album at all. Here's why...
« Reply #40 on: December 20, 2009, 06:49:18 PM »
I disagree, I really enjoy the album each listen through. It's in my top 3 DT albums, and is one of my favorites. Always gives me chills throughout the whole thing... I can't name a song off of it that I don't love.

The transition into Fatal Tragedy is amazing, and so is the solo... I've heard DoE get bashed a lot on the forums, but I think it's a really fun song to listen to. Home is just great all around, one of my favorite DT choruses ever. I could go on and on.
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Offline Pyroph

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Re: SFAM - not my favorite DT album at all. Here's why...
« Reply #41 on: December 20, 2009, 08:53:38 PM »

That was also when DT had the underground status as being the best band in the world, and when pretty much everyone who knew who they were liked them.  Now, though they're more popular than ever, it's just not as "cool" to be a fan it seems.  Everyone who plays an instrument at least know who DT are, and if they're not fans they seem to have some preformed opinion about them being too technical.  That, and the fanbase wasn't as broken as it seems to be now.

Uh, no.

Offline Perpetual Change

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Re: SFAM - not my favorite DT album at all. Here's why...
« Reply #42 on: December 20, 2009, 09:43:43 PM »
OK.

Offline popol

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Re: SFAM - not my favorite DT album at all. Here's why...
« Reply #43 on: December 20, 2009, 11:56:49 PM »
I used to like it a lot. Now, I think it has its moments and that it's extremely over-rated.

Offline weezul

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Re: SFAM - not my favorite DT album at all. Here's why...
« Reply #44 on: December 21, 2009, 09:01:34 AM »
for me the (lyrical/story) concept is the last reason i enjoy SFAM... its just full of killer riffs, unisons, great solos, great music in general!!
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Offline rumborak

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Re: SFAM - not my favorite DT album at all. Here's why...
« Reply #45 on: December 21, 2009, 01:52:41 PM »
Same here . The whole concept itself is rather lame to be honest. It's the music that makes the album so good.

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Offline Mebert78

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Re: SFAM - not my favorite DT album at all. Here's why...
« Reply #46 on: December 21, 2009, 02:41:17 PM »
Agree, rumborak.  Killer music.  So-so storyline, IMO.  I still consider it a masterpiece though, because the music is so extremely solid and mind-blowing.  The lyrics are very good too when you look at the songs separately.  When you link them together to view the great storyline tho, it loses its luster.

The only other thing that kinda bothers me is the dude that appears on some photos on the album cover.  He looks like that guy Zach Braff (or whatever his name is) from Scrubs.  
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Offline Chico

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Re: SFAM - not my favorite DT album at all. Here's why...
« Reply #47 on: September 18, 2011, 05:48:33 PM »
I think the new album is my favourite, I can't stop listening to it.

Offline Metabog

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Re: SFAM - not my favorite DT album at all. Here's why...
« Reply #48 on: September 18, 2011, 05:58:57 PM »
It's not my favorite one, it's second after Awake, but I have to be honest, aside from TDOE I haven't listened to any of the songs in maybe a year or more.
But to be fair I've barely listened to DT at all recently, except when the new albums came out. I really respect the music though, I just listened to it so many times back in college that I'm burned out on it and I know every little section.

Offline Infinite Cactus

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Re: SFAM - not my favorite DT album at all. Here's why...
« Reply #49 on: September 18, 2011, 07:30:17 PM »
It used to be my favorite. Now it's around 8th or 9th. I just find the concept kind of not as cool as I hoped. The references all seem really lazily thrown together. Because of Metropolis pt 1, I for some reason was expecting some sort of gritty film noir type sci fi blade runner shit but instead, I got the 1920s.

Offline Priest of Syrinx

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Re: SFAM - not my favorite DT album at all. Here's why...
« Reply #50 on: September 18, 2011, 07:32:55 PM »
It used to be my favorite. Now it's around 8th or 9th. I just find the concept kind of not as cool as I hoped. The references all seem really lazily thrown together. Because of Metropolis pt 1, I for some reason was expecting some sort of gritty film noir type sci fi blade runner shit but instead, I got the 1920s.

SFAM and Spock's Beard's "Snow" are staples on long drives.
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Offline fibreoptix

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Re: SFAM - not my favorite DT album at all. Here's why...
« Reply #51 on: September 18, 2011, 07:34:10 PM »
This thread bump's just given me a thought... what happened to Robwebster? He seemed to just... stop posting. :huh:

On topic, I find SFAM to be a bit of a middle of the pack album. The Met references are kinda cool for the first few listens and it's got some killer songs on it for sure, but once the novelty of the thing wears off... eh. It's not the worst, but it's not the best.

Offline VioletS16

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Re: SFAM - not my favorite DT album at all. Here's why...
« Reply #52 on: September 18, 2011, 07:34:10 PM »
 :lol
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Uhm, SFAM has always been an odd one for me. some I don't like at all. Others I love. really a mixed album but not in my top 3.
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Offline Cranky

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Re: SFAM - not my favorite DT album at all. Here's why...
« Reply #53 on: September 18, 2011, 07:43:54 PM »
Much to my dismay, I feel the same way as the original poster does, but for Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence.
I could never get into any song of the entire album besides Misunderstood.

As for Scenes From A Memory,
it's one of my favourite DT albums,
for every reason that fans love it, the way it flows, the way it connects with all the other songs on the album, the way it connects with Metropolis Pt. 1, and of course, the great music..

The concept is actually interesting to me, the way they paced the story, and you don't find out some of the juicy details until later on,
and even then, it's just fun to listen to the whole album with the lyric book in your hands, because it shows what character is saying what.. It's just interesting!

Stand out tracks are Overture 1928, Strange Deja Vu, Through My Words, Fatal Tragedy, Beyond This Life, Through Her Eyes,  Home, The Dance of Eternity,  One Last Time, The Spirit Carries On, and Finally Free...

Damn, I just listed the entire album..

Yeah, it's a great album! The high moments are some of the highest, and the lowest are still pretty damned good!


Offline champbassist

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Re: SFAM - not my favorite DT album at all. Here's why...
« Reply #54 on: September 18, 2011, 10:16:08 PM »
I'm not a fan of bombastic concept albums with strictly defined story lines, so that's one reason I don't really like SFAM. Also, as I hear it, there are plenty of 'moments' (as Samsara said), but I don't really like the album as a whole. My least favorite DT album, but, even so, it's better than most other albums I've heard.

Offline fadetoblackdude7

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Re: SFAM - not my favorite DT album at all. Here's why...
« Reply #55 on: September 18, 2011, 11:36:40 PM »
BTW, the comment of "SFAM wasn't their pinnacle, 6DOIT was", I would say both together were. I think that time span from '99 to '02 was what one might call Dream Theater's "heyday".

rumborak


At the very least, it's a heck of a two-album run that is hard to match.

.......Perhaps we just received the first of another two-album run(?)

Offline Metrovarium

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Re: SFAM - not my favorite DT album at all. Here's why...
« Reply #56 on: September 19, 2011, 12:06:44 AM »
BTW, the comment of "SFAM wasn't their pinnacle, 6DOIT was", I would say both together were. I think that time span from '99 to '02 was what one might call Dream Theater's "heyday".

rumborak


At the very least, it's a heck of a two-album run that is hard to match.

.......Perhaps we just received the first of another two-album run(?)
We can certainly hope so. DT's been on an upward streak since BC&SL, and now that the band is re-energized, I wouldn't be surprised if this time in 2013 we get another album on par or even better than ADTOE.

It just goes to show that unlike many bands whose albums degraded in quality over the years to the point where they're barely the same band (I'm looking at you, Metallica), DT is still going strong. Perhaps not as strong as their I&W days, but certainly not all that much less in quality.

Offline Pragmaticcircus

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Re: SFAM
« Reply #57 on: February 03, 2018, 08:45:21 PM »
Another Dimension from LTE should have been on here  :metal
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Offline Lonk

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Re: SFAM - not my favorite DT album at all. Here's why...
« Reply #58 on: February 03, 2018, 09:45:19 PM »
SFAM used to be my favorite Dream Theater album. But quickly became my 3rd favorite behind SDOIT and Awake.

Here is what I think though. Yes, Dream Theater has admitted to take reference from what other bands have done, and use it on their own music (intro to Octavarium, the whole structure of Systhemaic chaos, intro to Never enough, etc). But that doesn’t take away from what they done. SFAM is well written, and the story keeps you going from beginning to end. Musically the album is great, every song brings something unique out of at least one instrument. They way they played with harmonies and melodies was very interesting too. The story, in my opinion, is well narrated and flows nicely.

However, the one reason why this album will always be special, is because it has the best ending DT has in any of their albums. That plot twist of a song changed what could’ve been a cheesy ending, into a great story.
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Re: SFAM - not my favorite DT album at all. Here's why...
« Reply #59 on: February 04, 2018, 02:55:57 AM »
"I don't like this album because it contains sounds, and other albums contain sounds too."

I think many people just need to relax when it comes to music. People put so many barriers in their way, mainly comparison with what has gone before. It's nigh-on impossible not to be influenced in some way by what you've heard. Think of them as templates on which you can build your own work. So just throw that aside and appreciate every album on its own merit, for what music it and it alone provides. Your horizons will broaden considerably.

Offline CrimsonE

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Re: SFAM - not my favorite DT album at all. Here's why...
« Reply #60 on: February 04, 2018, 04:34:08 PM »
It's a very good album, one that helped bring me back to DT in the late 90's, as I was not a fan of Awake and hadn't really heard much of FII.  And the songs hold up well over time, especially as a unified album.  I'd likely rank it third of DT albums, behind Images & Words and Train of Thought. 
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Offline Pragmaticcircus

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Re: SFAM - not my favorite DT album at all. Here's why...
« Reply #61 on: February 05, 2018, 02:15:06 AM »
So nobody else shares me feeling that "Another Dimension" by LTE should have been included on SFAM?  :justjen  :'(
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Offline chaotic_ripper

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Re: SFAM - not my favorite DT album at all. Here's why...
« Reply #62 on: February 05, 2018, 08:29:48 AM »
So nobody else shares me feeling that "Another Dimension" by LTE should have been included on SFAM?  :justjen  :'(

Another Dimension was written, recorded, and released before SFAM was even written. I don’t understand your point.

Offline chaotic_ripper

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Re: SFAM - not my favorite DT album at all. Here's why...
« Reply #63 on: February 05, 2018, 08:33:36 AM »
I loved Scenes when it first came out. It was easier for me to get into than the two albums they released after it. However, since the Magini-era started, it’s simply fallen down in any kind of album ranking that may be in my head. Not because I like it less than I did when it was released, but because I just like their three most recent albums more.

Offline rumborak

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Re: SFAM - not my favorite DT album at all. Here's why...
« Reply #64 on: February 05, 2018, 09:51:13 AM »
I have not listened to it in forever. Putting it on right now, excited.
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Offline Bertielee

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Re: SFAM - not my favorite DT album at all. Here's why...
« Reply #65 on: February 05, 2018, 09:58:48 AM »
I have not listened to it in forever. Putting it on right now, excited.

The same here. So I decided to listen again a few day ago and was...blown away! What a great album!

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Re: SFAM - not my favorite DT album at all. Here's why...
« Reply #66 on: February 05, 2018, 10:11:16 AM »
Through Her Eyes came up on shuffle a few days ago.


God, that's a great song.
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Offline rumborak

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Re: SFAM - not my favorite DT album at all. Here's why...
« Reply #67 on: February 05, 2018, 11:08:35 AM »
Just arrived at Fatal Tragedy. Fuck me, what a fantastic song.
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Offline Bertielee

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Re: SFAM - not my favorite DT album at all. Here's why...
« Reply #68 on: February 05, 2018, 11:38:48 AM »
Just arrived at Fatal Tragedy. Fuck me, what a fantastic song.

Oh, yes it is, and it's not the only one. Btw, I absolutely love MP's drum sound on that album.

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Offline rumborak

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Re: SFAM - not my favorite DT album at all. Here's why...
« Reply #69 on: February 05, 2018, 11:56:15 AM »
While listening I realized how absurdly internalized I have all his drum parts :lol
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