Rudess, Jordan - Notes On A Dream


Year of Release: 2009
Label: Independent
Catalog Number: n/a
Format: CD
Total Time: 52:11:00

The new Jordan Rudess album Notes On A Dream is a like the beacon far off in the distance that will lead us all back from whence we came. In spirit, that light brings him home where he belongs.

This correlation also applies to the artist getting back to his roots and giving the nod to the classical underpinnings of his music. The 70s prog-rock influences of such bands as Gentle Giant and Genesis are cited as well. These bands helped to launch a fabulous career and give Dream Theater a partner in making some of the most exciting and progressive music over the last 20 some years.

In a word, the 12 tracks on this recording are Dream Theater favorites that Rudess decided to interpret in their most simplest and elegant form through the acoustic piano.

The seed was planted by Jordan's wife Danielle, then it eventually germinated after much thought and a process that the artist explains as difficult at first. The hard work paid off as it all resulted in a beautiful flower blooming showing off all its colors. I know this hardly sounds like an introduction to Dream Theater songs - the powerful progressive metal all fans of the band know so well. So where are all the churning and swirling keyboards that Jordan so expertly provides for the band here? Think of a man taking the dark and powerful and revealing the lighter gentler side of the music by peeling off all the layers and revealing one stand alone level as statement to the true essence of how these compositions came together from one band member's perspective. Let us not forget the improvisational aspects of what is accomplished through this admittedly risqu? and complex process. Some songs are instantly recognizable and others may take a bit longer to sink in at first. This is all dependent on your knowledge of the Dream Theater music and how personally in touch you may be and what level of intensity that relationship is. The hard core rockers that love the Dream Theater sound may be totally taken aback and not able to see the forest through the trees and others will be able to hear and feel what the new meanings this talented artist has brought to each track.

Listening to "Another Day," which is flawless and brilliant, cries out for James LaBrie to accompany Jordan through the journey yet it is so powerful and convincing that I could hear James singing all the words as Jordan tickled the ivories and coaxed every note to sing along in the place of the lead singer. This is a very convincing and beautiful interpretation of one of Dream Theater's most memorable tracks.

After a few listens you realize that all 12 tracks are exceptional and find a new appreciation for the music of Dream Theater and how one member can take these complex progressive metal rock tracks and turn them inside out and make them all new, like a new coat of glossy paint.

My respect for the artist, his band and classical music made this an easy transition and with each listen I began to fall in love with this album. Jordan Rudess really does make this experience Notes On A Dream.

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Tracklisting:
Through Her Eyes (5:22) / Lifting Shadows Off A Dream (6:05) / Perpetuum Mobile (2:13) / The Silent Man (4:24) / Another Day (5:35) / Hollow Years (4:11) / The Grand Escapement (4:20) / The Spirit Carries On (5:44) / Speak To Me (6:55) / The Answer Lies Within (4:15) / Collision Point (1:09) / Vacant (3:18)

Musicians:
Jordan Rudess - piano

Discography:
Speedway Blvd. - Speedway Blvd. (1981)
Arrival (1988)
Vinnie Moore - Time Odyssey (1988)
Tom Coster - Did Jah Miss Me? (1989)
Listen (1993)
Annie Haslem - Blessing In Disguise (1994)
Various - Romscape (1995)
Noirin Ni Riain - Celtic Soul (1996)
Various - Steinway To Heaven (1996)
Kip Winger - This Conversation Seems Like A Dream (1997)
Secrets Of The Muse (1997)
Liquid Tension Experiment - Liquid Tension Experiment (1998)
Jupiter Lee - Jupiter Project (1998)
Liquid Tension Experiment - Liquid Tension Experiment 2 (1999)
A Christmas Carol (1999)
Rudess/Morgenstein Project - Rudess/Morgenstein Project (1999)
Resonance (1999)
Rhonda Larson - Free As A Bird (1999)
Various - Encores, Legends & Paradox - A Tribute To ELP (1999)
Dream Theater - Scenes From A Memory (2000)
Paul Winter And The Earth Band - Journey With The Sun (2000)
Feeding The Wheel (2001)
John Petrucci And Jordan Rudess - An Evening With John Petrucci & Jordan Rudess (2001/2004)
Rudess/Morgenstein Project - The Official Bootleg (2001)
Dream Theater - Live Scenes From New York (2001)
McGill/Manring/Stevens - Addition By Subtraction (2001)
Prefab Sprout - The Gunman And Other Stories (2001)
John Bollenberg Experience - If Only Stones Could Speak (2001)
4NYC (2002)
Dream Theater - Six Degrees Of Inner Turbulence (2002)
Christmas Sky (2002) (from website only)
Dream Theater - Train Of Thought (2003)
Dream Theater - Live At Budokan (2004)
Rhythm Of Time (2004)
Dream Theater - Octavarium (2005)
Dream Theater - Score (2006)
Dream Theater - Systematic Chaos (2007)
The Road Home (2007)
Dream Theater - Greatest Hit (...And 21 Other Pretty Cool Songs) (2008)
Notes On A Dream (2009)
Dream Theater - Black Clouds & Silver Linings (2009)
Dream Theater - A Dramatic Turn Of Events (2011)
Dream Theater - Dream Theater (2013)
Dream Theater - Live At Luna Park (2013)
All That Is Now (2013)
Explorations For Keyboard & Orchestra (2014)
Dream Theater - Breaking The Fourth Wall - Live From The Boston Opera House (2014)
The Unforgotten Path (2015)
Dream Theater - The Astonishing (2016)
Dream Theater - Distance Over Time (2019)
Wired For Madness (2019)

Metropolis 2000: Scenes From New York (DVD) (2001)
Live At Budokan (DVD) (2004)
Score (DVD) (2006)
Chaos In Motion (DVD) (2008)

Genre: Progressive Rock

Origin US

Added: June 27th 2009
Reviewer: Keith "Muzikman" Hannaleck
Score:
Artist website: www.jordanrudess.com
Hits: 2846
Language: english

  

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