Dream Theater - Score


Year of Release: 2006
Label: Warner/Atlantic
Catalog Number: 8122 74062 2
Format: CD
Total Time: 157:11:00

If there's one band who really "deserves" its loyal fan base after years of hard work and years of years of heavy touring, then no doubt the award would go towards Dream Theater. When the band finished their recent world tour in New York on April 1st this year, they put a final stop behind their "Twentieth Anniversary Tour." Incorporating highs and lows, gains and losses, victories and tragedies, Dream Theater has become a true family, a collective of friends who have helped each other through thick and thin. Several times they had to look for a replacement and time after time they came up with the best. No doubt the current line-up is the most perfect the band could wish for. Whether it's the technical complexity which drives you to love this band or the sheer genius of their compositions, this band is a pure joy, who time after time does the impossible to treat their fans. By finishing their "Twentieth Anniversary Tour" it's as if they closed yet another chapter in their already impressive career. To make it an unforgettable feast the band came up with the idea to include a classical orchestra in order to outline the arrangements even better and more detailed.

The actual evening at the Radio City Music Hall was divided into two halves. The first half saw only the band on stage battling its way through a selection of old and new material. Next to the obvious flashbacks (remember: "Twentieth Anniversary"!), also two new songs were performed with "Another Won," going back to the very beginning of the band. James LaBrie informed us that the second newbie, "Raise The Knife," was written during the Falling Into Infinity sessions. The rest of the material is once again ace, yet the majority of the audience, as well as those who now hold this 3CD package (a nice foldout cardboard must-have), are most certainly curious to hear the band perform with an orchestra. Especially the material written with Jordan Rudess has more of a classical approach in certain parts. No doubt a real orchestra can enhance this element which indeed they do brilliantly. Also Jordan often uses his Continuum Fingerboard giving an extra dimension to the whole. It's a big surprise when the first track they tackle is the impressive, long "Six Degrees Of Inner Turbulence." Listening to the classical intro it is however a very obvious choice.

Prior to the band's Live At Budokan set in 2004 they released Live Scenes From New York in 2001. We all remember the tragic coincidence which saw all initial releases being deleted because it showed the twin towers in flames. Those who designed the sleeve could never have predicted that on the actual day of release those unforgettable towers would get attacked, making 9/11 a date never to forget. No doubt people in the audience there at the Radio City Music Hall in New York on April 1st 2006, knew family and/or friends who lost their lives during this enormous catastrophe. So it's a very emotional moment when Dream Theater shows pictures of the majestic skyscrapers during the intro for "Sacrified Sons." The title says it all really! With the title track to the band's latest album, the concert comes to a close, but the audience asks for more and gets what it wants. Together with the powerful skilled orchestra arranged and conducted by Jamshied Sharifi, the band delivers "Metropolis," to put a well deserved full stop behind their "Twentieth Anniversary Tour." Knowing the kind of costs for such an extravaganza, it is next to impossible for a band like Dream Theater to take a full classical orchestra on tour with them so that specific night in New York was a one-off captured for posterity by means of these new releases. The 3CD set is OK for your car, but at home I guess it's far better to get hold of the 2DVD set, as the first disc contains exactly the same material anyway. Whatever your choice, 3CD or 2DVD, the quality of the recording is ace and will beat even the best bootleg ? even the official ones!


Tracklisting:
CD One: The Root Of All Evil (8:21) / I Walk Beside You (4:11) / Another Won (5:22) / Afterlife (5:47) / Under A Glass Moon (7:29) / Innocence Faded (5:32) / Raise The Knife (11:43) / The Spirit Carries On (9:44)

CD Two: Six Degrees Of Inner Turbulence (41:22) / Vacant (3:02) / The Answer Lieswithin (5:36) / Sacrified Sons (10:36)

CD Three Octavarium (26:38) / Metropolis (10:37)

(CDs Two and Three with the Octavarium Orchestra)

Musicians:
James LaBrie - vocals
Mike Portnoy - drums, vocals, percussion
John Petrucci - guitars, vocals
John Myung - bass
Jordan Rudess - keyboards, continuum

Discography:
When Dreams and Day Unite (1989)
Images and Words (1992)
Live At The Marquee (1993)
Dream Out Loud (1994)
Awake (1994)
A Change in Season (1995)
Falling Into Infinity (1997)
Once In A Livetime (1998)
Scenes From A Memory (1999)
Cleaning Out The Closet (Xmas CD 1999) (1999)
Scenes From A World Tour - Christmas CD 2000 (2001)
Live Scenes From New York (2001)
Six Degrees Of Inner Turbulence (2002)
Train Of Thought (2003)
Live At Budokan (2004)
Octavarium (2005)
Score (3CD) (2006)
Systematic Chaos (2007)
Greatest Hit (...And 21 Other Pretty Cool Songs) (2008)
Black Clouds & Silver Linings (2009)
A Dramatic Turn Of Events (2011)
Dream Theater (2013)
Live At Luna Park (2013)
Breaking The Fourth Wall - Live From The Boston Opera House (2014)
The Astonishing (2016)
Distance Over Time (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: September 18th 2006
Reviewer: John "Bobo" Bollenberg

Artist website: www.dreamtheater.net
Hits: 8022
Language: english

  

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Dream Theater - Score
Posted by prog on 2006-10-05 02:57:43
My Score:


This the ultimate Dream Album . I first heard of them in 1992 and I haven't looked back. This line up is THE line up just like the Anderson ,Bruford Squire Howe Wakeman is to Yes. Where can they go from here a studio album with the Octavarium Orchestra ? By the way I saw Steve Howe live this weekend with Martin taylor and man was it amazing espacially Steve rendition of "ToBeOver" more later.