Appreciate Lines in the Sand

[setrataeso]

4th favourite DT song.
Everything about this song is top-notch. Everyone is one their game. The riffs, the drum lines, Petrucci's amazing solo.
Godamn its a great song!

[Perpetual Change]

CiM is the best live version.   

Other versions I can think of that I've heard:

OIALT, HoB official bootleg, Bucharest...

CIM isn't really that far down on the list.

[GasparXR]

Big bump here, but I recently noticed that the CiM version of LITS has an extra verse, and I can't seem to find these lyrics anywhere! Does anyone know if they are from a demo version? All the demo lyrics I find are the same as the studio version.

[wasteland]

Yes, they are from the original set of lyrics that was written in the summer of 96 when the song was first conceived and created. The verse was likely drop one year later during the recording process. I still think it's easily the best moment of the song, if you exclude the solo.

By the way, a couple of days ago I downloaded a 2002 show from the DT&K'sX&Satriani tour, and unless I am sorely mistaken (but I double checked!) they edited the solo out of the song. On the other hand, they had Doug Pinnick guest.

[Scorpion]

Appreciated the fuck out of.

[Flacracker]

Also, the last DT song with a groove.

BACK ON MY FEET AGAIN
EYES OPEN THE REAL WORLD

BEYOND THIS LIFE GUITAR SOLO INCLUDING BACKGROUND RIFF

[farizfariz]

The song that introduced me to DT. Also, i like the drum part and the composition.

[The Stray Seed]

Perfection at its best.

[farsight]

I would gladly eat sand just to hear John Petrucci play a strat again.

[bosk1]

By the way, a couple of days ago I downloaded a 2002 show from the DT&K'sX&Satriani tour, and unless I am sorely mistaken (but I double checked!) they edited the solo out of the song. On the other hand, they had Doug Pinnick guest.

Yeah, they did a shorter arrangement of the song on that tour--probably so they could fit more songs in given the shorter set lists (Satch was the headliner).  But, yeah, having Doug come out with the band was cool.

[Cool Chris]

The key intro is meh and goes on too long, and the King's X dude's backing vocals are annoying, but otherwise a great song.

Is that like saying that otherwise Mrs. Lincoln enjoyed the 'Our American Cousin'?

[fadetoblackdude7]

One of my top fav DT songs and probably my fav JP solo....I always thought the song would work great in an encore somewhere....

[Rodni Demental]

The last truly great solo Petrucci did.

Nah, the last great solo he did was the slow pink floyde-esque solo that accelerates in momentum during Breaking all Illusions. Infact, I can think of at LEAST 1 amazing solo on every album so I don't really understand people questioning his consistency since Lines in the Sand. Still, I do think that particular one could be one of his top 5 solos.

[Blazinarps]

By the way, a couple of days ago I downloaded a 2002 show from the DT&K'sX&Satriani tour, and unless I am sorely mistaken (but I double checked!) they edited the solo out of the song. On the other hand, they had Doug Pinnick guest.

Yeah, they did a shorter arrangement of the song on that tour--probably so they could fit more songs in given the shorter set lists (Satch was the headliner).  But, yeah, having Doug come out with the band was cool.

DT and Satch split headlining about hafway through the tour. I saw them in August, and DT closed. I don't remember the arrangement of the song now, 11 years later.

[ZirconBlue]

Big bump here, but I recently noticed that the CiM version of LITS has an extra verse, and I can't seem to find these lyrics anywhere! Does anyone know if they are from a demo version? All the demo lyrics I find are the same as the studio version.

A good resource for this sort of thing used to be the DT Unofficial Songbook (https://www.ivorygate.com/dt).  I'm not sure if it's still active, though.  My company blocks that site for some reason, so I can't double-check it right now. 

[GasparXR]

Big bump here, but I recently noticed that the CiM version of LITS has an extra verse, and I can't seem to find these lyrics anywhere! Does anyone know if they are from a demo version? All the demo lyrics I find are the same as the studio version.

A good resource for this sort of thing used to be the DT Unofficial Songbook (https://www.ivorygate.com/dt).  I'm not sure if it's still active, though.  My company blocks that site for some reason, so I can't double-check it right now. 

That redirects to the Fatez Warning website.

[glassprisoner]

(Necro Post)

Edit: Well, heck. I thought I was posting on JLMB.

Nevermind

[HOF]

Truly one of the very best DT songs. Much appreciation.

[bosk1]

I can't remember exactly where I rank it.  It used to be top 10, but isn't anymore.  But that is only because they have so many songs since then that I love even more, and isn't a knock on that song at all.

[Setlist Scotty]

Love this song - my favorite from FII. In particular I love they way they played it in 2002.

[fadetoblackdude7]

I’ve been waiting/hoping for them to dust this one off and play it again. Maybe it’ll be time soon!

[crystalstars17]

Curious was this song initially written as two different songs? Because tbf, it's one of my least favorites, except for the instrumental, which is lovely and sounds like a whole different song - and perhaps, should have been. Otherwise I pretty much can't tolerate (ok hate) the rest of the song, lol. But I do love the instrumental.

[bosk1]

Curious was this song initially written as two different songs? Because tbf, it's one of my least favorites, except for the instrumental, which is lovely and sounds like a whole different song - and perhaps, should have been. Otherwise I pretty much can't tolerate (ok hate) the rest of the song, lol. But I do love the instrumental.

Not that I know of.  But if I am remembering correctly, it came about as an expansion of Derek noodling around on what became the intro part on his keyboard, and the band expanding on it from there.  I mean, I guess it's possible that some other parts of the song came from things they created that they originally intended to be different songs, but they've never said anything along those lines to my knowledge.  But honestly, the way DT composes their songs, they have a LOT of songs with different parts that sound like they could be completely different songs, and they've kind of always written that way.  When they've had outside influence, sometimes some of those parts get taken out and made into different songs.  For example, the disparate instrumental passage getting pulled out of Oliver's Twist, and the resulting song becoming Pull Me Under, while the instrumental would get shelved and later become Erotomania.  Or the instrumental being pulled out of Burning My Soul and becoming a standalone instrumental called Hell's Kitchen.  But there are plenty of other songs where the more casual music fan who isn't into long, complex arrangements might hear something and feel like there are different parts in DT songs that have no business being in the same song together.  For example, the instrumental passages in Ministry of Lost Souls or Transcending Time.  Or Scarred, which can feel like ideas were taken from 2 or 3 songs and spliced together.  Again, that's just how they write.  So bringing it back to LITS, it could be a similar thing where they just have parts that intentionally sound very different that weren't ever really intended to be for separate songs. 

[hefdaddy42]

Curious was this song initially written as two different songs? Because tbf, it's one of my least favorites, except for the instrumental, which is lovely and sounds like a whole different song - and perhaps, should have been. Otherwise I pretty much can't tolerate (ok hate) the rest of the song, lol. But I do love the instrumental.

Not that I know of.  But if I am remembering correctly, it came about as an expansion of Derek noodling around on what became the intro part on his keyboard, and the band expanding on it from there.  I mean, I guess it's possible that some other parts of the song came from things they created that they originally intended to be different songs, but they've never said anything along those lines to my knowledge.  But honestly, the way DT composes their songs, they have a LOT of songs with different parts that sound like they could be completely different songs, and they've kind of always written that way.  When they've had outside influence, sometimes some of those parts get taken out and made into different songs.  For example, the disparate instrumental passage getting pulled out of Oliver's Twist, and the resulting song becoming Pull Me Under, while the instrumental would get shelved and later become Erotomania.  Or the instrumental being pulled out of Burning My Soul and becoming a standalone instrumental called Hell's Kitchen.  But there are plenty of other songs where the more casual music fan who isn't into long, complex arrangements might hear something and feel like there are different parts in DT songs that have no business being in the same song together.  For example, the instrumental passages in Ministry of Lost Souls or Transcending Time.  Or Scarred, which can feel like ideas were taken from 2 or 3 songs and spliced together.  Again, that's just how they write.  So bringing it back to LITS, it could be a similar thing where they just have parts that intentionally sound very different that weren't ever really intended to be for separate songs.

Similarly, if memory serves, The Enemy Inside was originally much longer, and they pulled sections out of that as they edited it down to be more focused and concise, and those sections found their way into other songs.

[bosk1]

I don't think I knew that, but that's pretty cool.

[crystalstars17]

Again, that's just how they write.  So bringing it back to LITS, it could be a similar thing where they just have parts that intentionally sound very different that weren't ever really intended to be for separate songs.

Hm, that's true now that you clarify it, thanks (though I can't imagine Hell's Kitchen being anything else than what it is!). LITS just strikes me as the song where the difference is the most glaring.

[bosk1]

Again, that's just how they write.  So bringing it back to LITS, it could be a similar thing where they just have parts that intentionally sound very different that weren't ever really intended to be for separate songs.

Hm, that's true now that you clarify it, thanks (though I can't imagine Hell's Kitchen being anything else than what it is!). LITS just strikes me as the song where the difference is the most glaring.

That's interesting to me because I have always felt that that song had really nice flow throughout, and that, especially for a longer song, the transitions aren't nearly as jarring as, say, Scarred, for example. 

[hefdaddy42]

Again, that's just how they write.  So bringing it back to LITS, it could be a similar thing where they just have parts that intentionally sound very different that weren't ever really intended to be for separate songs.

Hm, that's true now that you clarify it, thanks (though I can't imagine Hell's Kitchen being anything else than what it is!). LITS just strikes me as the song where the difference is the most glaring.

That's interesting to me because I have always felt that that song had really nice flow throughout, and that, especially for a longer song, the transitions aren't nearly as jarring as, say, Scarred, for example.

I agree

[bosk1]

I'll also add that it's interesting that it seems to be a fairly polarizing song, with many fans really loving it, and others ranking it near the bottom.  And it's interesting that I don't remember it being that polarizing until relatively recently.  At least online, I remember it being generally well liked by the majority.

Love this song - my favorite from FII. In particular I love they way they played it in 2002.

I'm trying to remember--was that when they added the extended last chorus section back in to where it was similar to the original demo version?

EDIT:  Found this really shortened version, but I don't think this is what you meant, is it (although James is really on fire on this one!)?  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4PRFn9y4qcc

I think you mean more like this version from Bucharest:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2XsyzlGxuFY  I like the general arrangement, but I don't like how James takes more of the response part on the call-and-response chorus (I think it would be better if he really went for it on the "call" like he does on the version above and let MP take Dug's "response" part).  The extended guitar solo is REALLY tasty in a live setting.  Someone in the comments in that video posted "This solo is a combination of Steve Vai, David Gilmour, and Petrucci's signature styles all mixed together."  That's really a great description.  At times, he really let's it breathe like Gilmour.  At other moments, he goes into super shred mode.  Still others, he does these kind of "out there," creative things like Vai would.  And it all somehow works together really nicely.  And lastly, yeah, they DID add the extended chorus section at the end, which is cool.

I hadn't listened to this song in a long time prior to this, and had forgotten how much I miss it.  It's great in a live setting, but it's a really great song in its own right anyway.  It got me thinking that if I were to make my own "ultimate" version of Falling Into Infinity, it would probably look something like:
1.  Caught in a New Millenium (LSFNY version)
2.  Peruvian Skies
3.  Raise the Knife
4.  Hell's Kitchen (no, I still don't like it, but it serves as a great intro to LITS)
5.  Lines in the Sand
6.  Take Away My Pain
7.  Just Let Me Breathe (LSFNY version)
8.  Anna Lee
9.  Trial of Tears

[energythief]

Great solo, great guest appearance by Doug Pinnick (he adds a ton to the song), and great song altogether.

Love this song so much. It's so much fun to sing along with while driving.

[HOF]

Boy, I don't see anything unusual about the solo in LiTS, at least not in terms of it sounding like a different song. They just slow down and play an extended bluesy solo before building back up. It's certainly a highlight of the song. It's also prog for you, so if that seems out of place then 90% of DT songs must feel that way.

[Setlist Scotty]

Similarly, if memory serves, The Enemy Inside was originally much longer, and they pulled sections out of that as they edited it down to be more focused and concise, and those sections found their way into other songs.

Correct. I had read an article that talked about how parts of TBP and IT both originally were from TEI. When I asked JP about it and why they didn't just make *that* the epic for the album and if there was anything left on the cutting room floor and he responded:

Enemy was written fairly early on so I think we we were just on creative overdrive being together in the studio! John Myung called it "Vinegar Seed" because all of these ideas kept sprouting out of it.
We realized that we were losing the impact of the song by going off in too many tangents and were getting away from our initial vision for that track so we kept editing it down. There were no other "seeds" left on the floor. Everything ended up getting used. It's quite comical when you think about it! I guess the juices were just overflowing!

 

Love this song - my favorite from FII. In particular I love they way they played it in 2002.

I'm trying to remember--was that when they added the extended last chorus section back in to where it was similar to the original demo version?

EDIT:  Found this really shortened version, but I don't think this is what you meant, is it (although James is really on fire on this one!)?  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4PRFn9y4qcc

I think you mean more like this version from Bucharest:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2XsyzlGxuFY  I like the general arrangement, but I don't like how James takes more of the response part on the call-and-response chorus (I think it would be better if he really went for it on the "call" like he does on the version above and let MP take Dug's "response" part).  The extended guitar solo is REALLY tasty in a live setting.  Someone in the comments in that video posted "This solo is a combination of Steve Vai, David Gilmour, and Petrucci's signature styles all mixed together."  That's really a great description.  At times, he really let's it breathe like Gilmour.  At other moments, he goes into super shred mode.  Still others, he does these kind of "out there," creative things like Vai would.  And it all somehow works together really nicely.  And lastly, yeah, they DID add the extended chorus section at the end, which is cool.

Yeah, I *definitely* didn't mean the ultra-short excerpt that they played during their co-headlining tour with Satriani with King's X opening!   

I was obviously speaking of the full, actually extended version played. The call-and-response part never was an issue for me - I just took it as a different way of doing it live. But yes, the additional verse (which they also played on the Chaos in Motion tour) and the extended guitar solo (which they did not  ) made that version "especially special" for me. Funny thing is I am not a fan of talk boxes, but I love the way JP used it on that song and would love to see him bring it back again.

[bosk1]

Yeah, I *definitely* didn't mean the ultra-short excerpt that they played during their co-headlining tour with Satriani with King's X opening!   

Was it shortened like that for that entire tour?  I did see that tour, but have no recollection of that.  I think that's because I had really just started getting back into the band in 1999 and 2000 after not following them much after I&W, and by 2002, I was just barely starting to listen to FII, so I didn't really know the songs that well at that point.  I do remember Dug coming out and singing on it, but I have no idea whether it was a shortened version or the full song.

[Setlist Scotty]

Yeah, I *definitely* didn't mean the ultra-short excerpt that they played during their co-headlining tour with Satriani with King's X opening!   

Was it shortened like that for that entire tour?  I did see that tour, but have no recollection of that.  I think that's because I had really just started getting back into the band in 1999 and 2000 after not following them much after I&W, and by 2002, I was just barely starting to listen to FII, so I didn't really know the songs that well at that point.  I do remember Dug coming out and singing on it, but I have no idea whether it was a shortened version or the full song.

No - just for the run of shows they did with Satriani and King's X. DT's set was 80-90 minutes, so obviously they didn't want to fill up a big part of the set with a few long songs, although I know a few shows did get the SDoIT title track (with the abbreviated Overture intro tape). But most of the time, MP picked shorter songs for those shows, and where they did play longer songs, some form of editing was done. LitS was an extreme example, and MP included it specifically because King's X was on tour with them so that Doug could come out an reprise his role, and of course it flowed perfectly from the Instrumedley (that premiered on that co-headlining tour) since the last song excerpt was Hell's Kitchen. But I remember they did a slightly edited version of Home and I think there may have been a few others, too.

But for the headlining and Evening With shows that had LitS in the setlist, they played the full version.

[bosk1]

Yeah, I meant that leg specifically, but you answered it even though my question could have been more clear.  Other than LITS, I don't specifically remember anything else they played besides Misunderstood and TSCO.  Looking at the set list thread, looks like it was a good set, despite the shortness (I was at the 8/11/02 show).  I do remember being bored to tears halfway through Satch's set and contemplating whether to just leave.  Too bad I didn't make it to the San Francisco show on the first leg.  That was a pretty spectacular set.  I don't know how/why I missed that tour, but it's one of the few tour-related regrets I have.