Dream Theater Album: “Chaos in Motion”

I almost think that Portnoy wanted it this way, Because if you watch Score that is one of the best DVDs/Cds i have ever heard. Some people think i am nuts, but that DVD/CD is great. Chaos In Motion - Well They obviously couldn't record wih HD Camers , because of the expense and as far as the songs & performances - I think they are average at best Except Surrounded which i think is outstanding work especially Petrucci, and i think he shines on this DVD/CD..........But like i said it is average at Best. I was looking so forward to this and now that i have seen & listened to it ..mmmmmmmmmmmmmmm Not so Good!

The live portion looks as if someone shot this with a camcorder from 1985. Compared to the Score and Budokan DVD's this is a bootleg. I have the Dark Side of the Moon and and Live in Bucharest bootleg DVD's and the video quality is similar. The audio on the DVD is good, which is why I can't understand why the video quality is so bad.

Buy this for the bonus stuff (videos of the singles off of Systematic Chaos) and the behind the scenes documentary. Not for the live section.

After seeing somewhat of a mix of reviews for this new title so far, I wasn't real sure what to expect when I put Disc 1 in the DVD player. In the end, this is one Dream Theater fan that is well pleased with the release. An important note out of the gate though, as a couple of reviewers have pointed out, this is -not- another Score or Budokan. The production of this is run and gun, raw video footage both onstage and backstage.

But... that is the best part. This is closer to "5 Years in a Livetime" or one of the official bootlegs, in that it is a collection of footage that captures the essence of the band. Yes, you see that even prog-rock demigods are human. Small mistakes, personalities worn from the road, vocals off from a bad monitor mix or fatigue. If you want polished and perfect then buy Score. But to this former sound engineer, perfect isn't reality and sometimes I like the "uncut" version as is presented here.

The great part about this too is that it shows how hard working and talented these guys are. It is one thing to see the killer performances of a big show like the Score DVD captures. It is another too see the unrelenting energy these guys bring to show after show on the road across North American and Europe. I've not yet been able to make it to a live DT show, but given what I see on DVD you can count me in on the next tour.

As another review also points out, these guys are -great- at releasing live material with little overlap to prior DVD/CD releases. Each subsequent Rush show on DVD is getting more and more redundant, but each DT video is another piece of the big puzzle of their live career.

Now... throw in the second DVD with documentary and supporting material, and it makes this whole package a no-brainer for any real DT fan. For those of you that are fair-weather friends, well, buy it anyway. It will bring you closer to complete understanding and acceptance .

As for the one reviewer that says maybe this isn't so great for hard-core DT fans, well, he's not speaking for this one. Again, another thread in the incredible tapestry of Dream Theater!

Most of the reviews of this DVD seem to trash it relentlessly. I have no idea why. Just because it's not of HD quality? Come ON! It's not like some single angle bootleg with distorted sound and cruddy visual. It's edited beautifully, many of the shots are crisp and clear as day, and the audio is excellent. What more can you ask for? All the in-between "doc" footage is funny and enjoyable too.

Love the Blind Faith performance. Immaculate. Almost inhuman.

GREAT DVD.

This is a strange one. Dream Theater have got a great set list on this DVD and captured some awesome performances but yes it's true that the sound and vision are average at best. The main thing going for this DVD is the great selection of bonus footage including lots of behind the scenes looks at the whole Dream Theater organisation and cool interviews with band members. If you think that you want to see the inner workings of a Dream Theater tour and who the key players are then you will enjoy this DVD. I can recommend this to fans of the band but if you're new to Dream Theater follow everyone's advice and get one of their other concert DVD's which are of an infinitely higher production quality.