The argument I’ve heard about many bands I’ve seen in concert is
\nthat they’re so much better live than they are on disc. This has
\nindeed been true for some of the bands I’ve had the privilege to
\nsee over the years, but not necessarily true for all of them.<\/p>\n
In the case of Dream Theater, I would argue that the live album
\ndoes not do them justice. In the case of their latest release
\nOnce In A Livetime<\/i>, the album proves without a doubt that
\nthis band is one of the most technical and talented bands out there
\ntoday, but something is lost in the translation that can only be
\nunderstood by seeing James LaBrie and crew perform live. (I know; I
\nsaw them for the first time this past August.)<\/p>\n
This two-disc set, recorded in Paris just a few months ago, is a
\ndefinite “for the fans” release. While this is usually a comment I
\nreserve as a slam against a disappointing album, in fact, the album
\nis structured for those who have literally hung on to every note
\nthe band has played. Taking four movements from their heavily
\nrequested
\nmagnum opus<\/i> “A Change Of Seasons,” LaBrie, guitarist John
\nPetrucci, bassist John Myung, keyboarist Derek Sherinian and
\ndrummer Mike Portnoy tear through material that just could be the
\npulse and nerve center of progressive rock today.<\/p>\n
Not familiar with Dream Theater?
\nOnce In A Livetime<\/i> might please you, but it’s sure to
\noverwhelm you. The newcomer to the Dream Theater experience (which
\nI still count myself as a member of) won’t appreciate songs like
\n“Pull Me Under,” “Peruvian Skies” and “Ytse Jam” as being
\nincredible works that capture the ears and the soul of the
\nlistener. (Often, the band also shows their sense of humor, working
\nin riffs from Metallica, Lynyrd Skynyrd and Rimsky-Korsakov into
\ntheir music.) They might not understand how there can be 13-minute
\nsongs on this album while other tracks like “Puppies On Acid”
\ndribble out of the gun at around one minute.<\/p>\n
For the long-time fan, this set will simply be over two hours of
\nnirvana. From tracks like “Scarred” and “Trial Of Tears” to the
\ntastefully controlled solos by Sherinian, Portnoy and Petrucci,
\nOnce In A Livetime<\/i> is the early Christmas present that Dream
\nTheater fans have been waiting for.<\/p>\n
All this being said, the set doesn’t always seem friendly to the
\nnewcomer as it would to the long-time fan, and this could scare off
\npotential new fans to the band’s message. However, if you give this
\nset a chance to grow on you and to mature to your ears like a
\nbottle of fine wine, the result will be that more pleasureable.<\/p>\n
\nOnce In A Livetime<\/i> still lacks in that Dream Theater is a
\nband who must be experienced in concert. On disc, you don’t get to
\nsee Myung work his way through a piece on the Chapman Stick, nor do
\nyou see his and Petrucci’s fingers fly on certain passages. You
\ndon’t get to see the technical precision with which Portnoy attacks
\nhis drum kit. And honestly, all of this is more than worth the
\nprice of admission and a half-flat beer.<\/p>\n
\nOnce In A Livetime<\/i> is still a very worthwhile disc to
\nexperience, though casual fans or newcomers should seriously
\nconsider learning more about the group and their music before
\ndiving into this one headfirst.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":24813,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"tags":[],"artist":[5988],"rating":[5612],"class_list":["post-36017","review","type-review","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","artist-dream-theater","rating-rating-b-minus"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review\/36017","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/review"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=36017"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review\/36017\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/24813"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=36017"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=36017"},{"taxonomy":"artist","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/artist?post=36017"},{"taxonomy":"rating","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rating?post=36017"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}