Dream Theater - Awake
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Free Music Notes for Awake
Free Music Review: GODS AMONG MEN.
Hit: 5 Stars
Cerebral rock at its best. You can call it pretentios, pompous, deep, musical grandstanding, soap-opera rock, etc. But what AWAKE does to the listener is what few bands have ever been able to do: actually MOVE the listener. This band makes you think (a novel idea which most bands are afraid of doing!). They do so by challenging your ears and your mind. They offer a myriad of themes and emotions that constitute the AWAKE album. They sent me on an emotional roller coaster after listening to the bone crunching 7-string riffs and tortured, yet epic storytelling of "The Mirror" and "Lie." The double kicking thump n' chunk of "Caught In a Web" just blew me away. The phenomenal "Erotomania" rocks then eases into an intricately beautiful passage, then powerfully emotional solo by John Petrucci. The gentle acoustic strums of "The Silent Man" do just that to you when the last chords fade out: leave you breathless. The odd time grooves and soaring vocals of "Voices" puts me in the place of its mentally and emotionally distraught subject, almost leaving me in tears when James Labrie sings the passionate passage "I'm lying here in bed, swear my skin is inside out, just another sunday morning..." "Space Dye Vest" follows the themes of "Mirror" and "Lie" by tackling similar subjects and even using a piano melody in "The Mirror" as its basis. "Lifting Shadows off a Dream" offers the most gorgeous bass intro and guitar pattern around. Even Portnoy's disc/splash/china/china/china pattern put a grin on my face from ear to ear. Absolute genius. Rock theater at its greatest. Every track is great. Check this one out and you'll be a DT convert for life.Free Music Review: Dark and Powerful
Hit: 5 Stars
Sorry, I've had to keep re-reviewing this album. It's a bit hard to pin down, it would seem. This album did not grab me as quickly as "Images and Words" or "Scenes from a Memory", but I've stuck with it, and though I still prefer those two albums (and I think the "sellout" album, "Falling into Infinity", may be a bit better as well), this is an excellent piece of music.There is generally a much darker theme about this album. Lyrics deal with addiction, betrayal, love, hate, a veritable collage of human emotions. This album has some of their heaviest riffs, and some of their most beautiful melodies. "6:00", while not their best song, is one of their most aggressive, and indeed a great way to start off an album like this. "The Mirror" and "Lie" are a great one-two punch of crunchy riffs, and great lyrics and vocals. "Voices" is, I think, somewhat overrated, in that it doesn't hold a great deal of variety for such a long song, but the great lyrics make up for it. John Petrucci is undoubtedly one of the top songwriters. I think my favorite has to be "Lifting Shadows off a Dream". Amazing ballad, with a lot of atmosphere, and a slight U2 vibe (in a good way). "The Silent Man" is a great acoustic song, and "Space Dye Vest" is a delightfully creepy closer (BTW, Houston is definitely not a dry heat, believe you me:).
All in all, this is an excellent album. My only real complaint (other than that it's a bit harder to get into than the rest) is that Mike's drumming doesn't stand out as much as on other albums, but that's a minor complaint for sure. If you like Dream Theater, buy this, it's a thing of beauty.
Free Music Review: Prog-Metal fans read this!
Hit: 5 Stars
To all of you prog-metalheads out there looking for Dream Theaters' best work ever, this is it, look no further. Although they indeed are my favorite band, I can tell you objectively this is the best cd in its genre. With this cd i got into DT and never left it again. The outstanding mix of heavy ripping guitar-keyboard leading songs as The Mirror,Lie or Caught in a web and mellow,a bit slower songs, mainly keyboard/piano oriented as: Lifting shadows off a dream, Innocence faded and Voices is what makes this cd a work of art. In Awake Dt takes all their experience showed in Images and Words to take their music to a whole new level. The songs are more complex, with a much richer sound, and much more heavy and melodic. Still in this record the group had Kevin Moore on keys which although being his leaving cd ( he left the band after recording Awake), he goes but making the best of his effort ever. His terribly deep moving lines in Lifting shadows... and Space die vest contrasted with his blowingly fast solos as in 6:00 make this Dt's greatest keyboard player ever. Maybe he's not as fast as Jordan Rudess is,( whom I also like and respect A LOT), but Moore's style was other thing Id love to see back someday........ On the other hand Mike Portnoy's work can be guessed easily just by hearing his opening in 6:oo. As by Petrucci......... simply the best. Fast-ripping-mind blowing 7 string riffs and solos ( just hear Lie and Erotomania)and also slow passages as in Silent Man are what make this cd A dream come true to fans who really appreciate musicianschip and virtuoso playing. if youre not into that, don't buy this cd, you won't be able to appreciate it in its whole dimension.Free Music Review: The Darker Side of DT
Hit: 5 Stars
Dream Theater definitely didn't rest on "Images & Words" success, even if I'm sure they were taken by surprise with the unexpected MTV spinning. "Awake", the second and last album featuring this line-up, is heavier and especially darker and more somber than its predecessor. It's also a bit more uneven, despite featuring some of the best songs the band ever recorded.
One can only wonder which direction this line-up would have taken. Keyboardist Kevin Moore's presence is more felt than ever and vocalist LaBrie delivers what is arguably his best performance on record - take "Innocence Faded" for instance and you'll see what I mean. There's one verse where I can't for the life of me figure out what he is saying but boy does he hit the high note.
There are a few DT favorites on "Awake" and for me those are the "A Mind Beside Itself" suite which includes the incredibly technical - and somewhat funny - "Erotomania", the very progressive "Voices" in which LaBrie really shines and the beautifully melodic and accoustic "The Silent Man". "The Mirror" may be one of DT's most heavy numbers, definitely a concert favorite, whereas "Lifting Shadows off a Dream" explains why Kevin Moore was such an important member at this time and why his departure must have worried DT fans at the time. Finally, and speaking of Moore, "Space Dye Vest" is widely regarded as his swan song, his last and most intense contribution to the band.
I'm not giving this five stars - I don't go as far as saying it is a masterpiece and essential in any prog buff collection even if it definitely is on mine - but it really is 4,5 stars. It is indeed an excellent addition to anyone's stack.
Free Music Review: An early but very good album
Hit: 5 Stars
My exposure to Dream Theater started two years ago with "Images and Words" and "Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence". Liking both of them but preferred 6DoIT. I then moved forward to "Octavarium" and "Systematic Chaos" which I thought were brilliant albums. Recently, I've started working my way backwards through Dream Theater's discography. With some bands, this could be a disappointing experience since their earlier works might lack the maturity or sophistication of their later albums. But I'm pleased to report that "Awake" is a very good album that showcases the mature Dream Theater sound and musicality despite its age.
The main difference between "Awake" and "Images and Words" is that James LaBrie developed his own, more distinctive vocal style; on the previous album, he had sounded a lot like Rush's Geddy Lee. Also, the band significantly increased their use of speaking and playing of sound clips that have been featured in some songs on many DT albums. The main difference between "Awake" and more recent DT albums is that their original keyboardist, Kevin Moore, is still in the band. While the current keyboardist, Jordan Rudess, is more talented, Moore is also quite good; on this album, he plays a lot of (non-electric) piano.
I like all the songs on the album, but my favorites are "Caught in a Web", "Innocence Faded", the 3-part "A Mind Beside Itself" (which is where the album title "Awake" comes from), "Lie", "Lifting Shadows Off a Dream", and the peculiar but beautiful "Space-Dye Vest". All of these and the others I did not list feature good melodies, vibrant instrumentals, and thoughtful lyrics.