Disco de Dream Theater: “Images and Words”

I first appreciated Dream Theater only after growing into modern progressive rock, having been stuck in 70s progressive rock for more than two decades. The first Dream Theater album that I appreciated was the phenomenal "Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence." Once I realized how incredible that album was I moved on to this album from 1992. I was stunned and fascinated by the difference between the two albums and think that both are enjoyable for completely different reasons. One of the biggest differences to me was that the later album seemed to show fewer and different influences from this album, which reminded me more of Rush and seemed a bit more derivative than "Inner Turbulence." Regardless of the strength and number of influences, this album deals with less weighty topics than "Inner Turbulence" and is more of a "fun" album than "Inner Turbulence."

The CD begins with the fantasy song "Pull Me Under." While the topic is the inevitability of death, the spirited guitars, percussion and vocals generate catchy hooks that make you want to sing along, or at least hum along when you are unable to remember the words. The locomotive bass drives this song filled with rowdy passengers, all of whom are along for the ride, and you have to wonder why anyone would worry about death with a song this good.

"Another Day" is uncharacteristic of Dream Theater and most hard rock bands. The style of the song is strongly reminiscent of 80s hair bands, mellow with a mild beat. This tune features ear-friendly and even radio friendly hooks. While the style may be very different from Dream Theater's more challenging works, this song is well performed and I enjoy the surrealistic feel to the lyrics.

You can start rocking again with "Take the Time," which speeds up and ramps up the power of the beat. The technical sophistication of Dream Theater shows in this technically and vocally complex song. While there remain elements similar to "Another Day," Dream Theater's future musical direction is detectable.

The pace slows again at the start of "Surrounded," speeding up about a third of the way into the song. The beat remains relatively friendly, the lyrics are poetic and fantasy based, and the general tone is upbeat. After the frenetic center portion of this song the song slows dramatically at the end and becomes briefly introspective, perhaps conveying regret at the end of the dream.

"Metropolis - Part I" is a song that is nine minutes and thirty-two seconds of playful fun. The song was written by John Petrucci loosely based on Romulus and Remus from the "Aeneid." Romulus and Remus were linked telepathically and the lyrical elements of the song infer that link. The song feels like a fantasy though the elements are mythology-based. The tone of the song is upbeat and complex. I keep wanting to use the word "fun" because this song combines the enthusiasm of Rush with the complexity of Yes in the unique style of Dream Theater. I call this song ear candy.

The next song is a grinder; "Under a Glass Moon" growls, rumbles, churns and vibrates. The bass guitar grinds sound like a food processor and the drums frenetically punch you with their relentless rhythm. The fantasy lyrics, the seven minute length, and the ever-intricate rock instrument composition are all indications that you are in the realm of progressive rock that has aged well.

"Wait for Sleep" is a lovely piano and vocal interlude that calls forth imagery of someone lost in their thoughts, perhaps trying to escape their thoughts, perhaps dreading their dreams. This pretty song indicates to the uninitiated that progressive rock is indeed one of the broadest of genres, capable of encompassing any suitable style.

While much of this album is positive in tone, "Learning to Live" is more contemplative and somber. I have read elsewhere that the song is about AIDS. However, the lyrics may be more broadly read to cover any situation where your priorities have changed to surviving, perhaps from an incurable disease, but depression could be included as well. At eleven and a half minutes this song is the longest on this CD, but it moves briskly with a fast and intricate progressive rock beat. This song seemed to me to be the most Yes-influenced song on the CD, particularly during the middle portion, which contains wonderful instrumental variations, including acoustic guitar. Instrumentally this song contains some of the most interesting music on this CD.

The music on this CD is very different from "Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence." The compositions are closer to hard rock with more influences from groups such as Yes and Rush. It seems to me that the later album shows how much Dream Theater has evolved its own style in the last 10 years. Surprisingly, I also thought that this album contained more traditional progressive rock elements than the later album (perhaps read old-fashioned, if there can be such a thing in progressive rock). After listening to this CD several times, I think it would have made a great soundtrack to the fantasy movie "Ladyhawke."

I can understand how some listeners might prefer this album to later albums such as "Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence," which to my ear is musically current versus the strong 80s flavor of "Images and Words." I like both CDs for very different reasons. The later album is very technically sophisticated and socially relevant, while this album focuses on fantasy and mythology imagery that Dream Theater tried to describe lyrically and musically. Both albums contain well-crafted and performed music that will challenge the ability of listeners to learn to appreciate the intricacies of Dream Theater's music. This CD is surely a worthy addition to any progressive rock music fan's library.

I don't think I can refer to the whole album. Many people think this is Dream Theater's best album. I don't think so, because there are a few songs I don't like much (like "Another Day" which sounds to me as just a little song without grace... ). But, the thing is that this albun contains two of the best songs I have ever heard: "Metropolis Part 1: The Miracle and The Sleeper" and specially "Learning to Live". Those two songs makes the whole album a very good choice. A thing to take into account, is that this was the second Dream Theater's album, I think. So, you can't expect the band to be really mature, there's a lot of experimentation, trying to find "their own sound". But, this experimentation is being taken by very good musicians, who knows a lot about music and that are very very talented at their own instruments (voice included). These guys know what they're doing. I've read some reviews about the lyrics; some giving good grades to the lyrics and some just destroying them. Well, I don't think lyrics is an important issue... I mean, the important thing is the music, the lyrics are just something that accompanies. I think it is very stupid to make a critic thinking about the lyrics. And the same thing applies for those who judge: "this is prog rock" or "this is not prog rock"... I mean, I think no one can tall what prog rock is, because you have lots of very different bands that are included under the "prog rock" label, starting from King Crimson and passing trough Yes, Queen, Rush, Pink Floyd, Queensrÿche, Bozzio Levin Stevens, Gordian Knot, Transatlantic, Dream Theater... And those bands are very different, you can't say "King Crimson is a prog rock band, but Queen isn't". Based on what? Progressive (not only progressive rock) it was a "movement" against the whole commercial thing, a movement that wanted to support and encourage the free musical experimentation with no limits or agreements. So... how can anybody judge what prog is? There are lots of "prog branches". I think Dream Theater is considered as "prog metal". Whatever, for those that are not that purists and just want to try things and enjoy music, I think this album is a very good choice. But, be prepared for metal and some heavy parts, as well as soft pieces such us "Wait for Sleep".

DT is my favorite band of all time, and their talent is simply mesmerizing. Let's look at the cast:

James LaBrie - Lead Vocals, tambourine

John Petrucci - Lead Guitar, Rhythm Guitar

John Myung - Bass Guitar

Mike Portnoy - Drums

Kevin Moore - Keyboard

Dream Theater has a unique blend of Pink Floyd, Metallica, and Yes installed into their musical blending pot. All the songs are truly a pleasure to listen to, but any newbies, please open your minds!

1. Pull Me Under: 9/10 - A great start, and one of their more popular tunes. The track is pretty long, and it drags a bit towards the end, but it's upbeat and very 80s ish, with their unique progressive blend thrown in.

2. Another Day: 9/10 - The first ballad on the CD. It's very radio-friendly, and very slow tempo. Again, very 80s sounding, typical type of 80s ballad. It's pretty straightforward and easy to listen to, especially those of you new to Dream Theater

3. Take the Time: 9.5/10 - This was an interesting song, because everybody wrote their own parts to it, lyrically and musicaly, and it was all fused and mixed together here. This is an outstanding track, in my opinion. Great job and great lyrics.

4. Surrounded: 10/10 - A great ballad, and very sweet, and serene. Again very easy to listen to, with a nice keyboard sound and beat to it.

5. Metropolis Pt. 1: The Miracle and the Sleeper: 100/10 - One of Dream Theater's best songs ever. The solo extravaganza around the 4 minute point, lasting until the 8 minute point is riveting, and really displays how much talent these guys have. There are dozens of time changes, tempo changes, and instrument changes throughout. A truly awesome track.

6. Under a Glass Moon: 9.5/10 - Contains the best solo and drum exploits. This song isn't anything special, it's just plain good.

7. Wait FOr Sleep: 8/10 - This is an ethereal sounding piano ditty. It's short and sweet, but the words are incredible. You'll see more and more of these type songs as you delve more and more into the Dream Theater world.

8. Learning to Live: 11/10 - Ahh, the epic. The only song on this album written solely by John Myung. This song is very keyboard friendly, and again drags at the end, but the musical and lyrical genius cannot be ignored. Although it drags it's an incredible song, with Kevin Moore really showing us his skillz with the boardz.

Overall, a great album, and I recommend it to anyone looking to try to get into something non-mainstream and new.

What is with these kids saying "OMG Avril Lavigne is best guitar playa eva!" learn the fact. SHE DIDN'T EVEN LEARN HOW TO READ MUSIC. Can you say stupid? Hell, I'm a better guitarist than her. And I know how to read music. Just because Dream Theater is too complicated and the songs are too long for your attention span does not give you the right to knock them off as no-talent losers. Go back and listen to your mainstream music.

As for this album, it is definitely one of Dream Theater's best albums, next to Scenes From A Memory.

Pull Me Under: 9/10

This is a dark song, with an equally dark video. BIG MTV hit, which helped them become famous. Without it, this band might have never gotten to the highest of prog-rock masters. Though the song is not the best (close though), it is good.

Another Day: 9/10

Little to much "cheese" factor on this one. The lyrics are good, kinda girly, but the music is so good. The saxophone or whatever here is awesome. Song is one of the best, but ruined by cheese factor.

Take The Time: 8/10

This was my favorite song on first listen, but after a few listens it quickly loses its luster. The beat grows tiresome and the lyrics are kind of wierd. Good song though.

Surrounded: 9/10

This song, like Another Day, suffers from cheesy lyrics and James LaBrie's girly voice. However, I find myself listening to this one a little too often.

Metropolis Pt. 1: 10/10

I give this song a 10/10 alone because it spawned the best Dream Theater album ever, "Scenes From A Memory". One or two minutes too long, but it is such a complex and beautiful song.

Under A Glass Moon: 6/10

Pales in comparison to the other songs. It is very good indeed, but I don't find myself listening to this one a lot. One of their heavier ones on the album.

Wait For Sleep: 8/10

2:31 seconds long is kind of a bummer, but it's just a filler really.

Learning To Live: 9/10

An epic song that lasts eleven and a half minutes. Heavy, melodic and just an overall good song. It ends the album with a giant bang. People with no patience and/or critics of self-indulgence should look elsewhere. Go away Linkin park fans.

Total: 68/80

OVERALL: 9/10 :::: 4.5/10

Great album, some of the best prog-rock/metal you can find. If you are new to Dream Theater, I think this and Scenes From A Memory are the albums to start out with. It's just so good.

As some reviewers have said, in a world full of meaningless music, Dream Theater make a huge difference and constitute a sigh of relief. During the 90's, when so many artificial musicians almost flooded the market, this band released one of the best albums I've ever heard. I & W, more than an album, could be considered a concept in music; the rich athmospheres the band generates on each song is, unquestionably, the work of real proffesionals of music. Apart from being five top virtuosos each on his particular instrument (the vocals included), one can hear the fine embroidery of sounds that never overwhelm the listener, but enrich the whole experience of sounds. Songs like Pull Me Under, Metropolis Part I or Learning to Live convey the theatrical grandiosity of progressive rock from the 70's, but have a modern sound which make them a real new experience. And if you want to be astounded by their viruosity, just listen to Take the Time, with its incredible riffs of guitar and keyboards playing as one, or the magnificent guitar riff in Under a Glass Moon, one of the most imaginative and rich guitar solos in the history of rock. The lyrics always fit perfectly with the rhythm and feeling of each song, making the experience of listening a more comprehensive one. And, as I said before, the athmospheres the band achieves on each track attest the work of real pros. No doubt, musicians can learn a lot listening to the music played in this album.