Greatest Hit (...and 21 other pretty cool songs) Reviews

• Great Jumping On Point

  
  By A2WIBM1KWAOPCO on 2008-04-22
  I am surprised at some of the other reviews. Some people seem to ask 'why did they bother'? What these reviewers seem to miss is that if they are a die hard fan of DT and have all the albums then this compilation is not for them! Why do you care? If they want to repackage some of their more middle of the road songs to try and get some more people to enjoy their art, why would you criticize this? Are you afraid that the 10 minutes it took them to put this set together took valuable time away from creating the next album or stopped Mike from working on his next piece in his AA suite? Well it didn't. I don't like seeing anyone giving this less than 5 stars because the music is amazing and this set should have 5 stars so more people will check it out.
  
  Yes it doesn't have any of the epic songs, and it doesn't bring anything new but if it brings more fans to the band and makes them some money so they can continue making great music then that is awesome. Just because something isn't geared at you doesn't make it bad.
  
  Enough ranting. For everyone else, if you are not a DT fan you should be and this is a great disc to get to hear a couple of hours of amazing music. If you want to take it to the next level then get their other albums and listen to some 20 minute compilations that will blow you away.
  If so you have about 10 hours of great music ahead of you.
  
  

• Another Live CD; No Wait a Minute

  
  By A3PFHVS7V4UZTG on 2008-04-02
  Here's comes Dream Theater with their first greatest hit collection. At least it's not another live set. I guess in between studio albums, this just makes sense. While this is geared to the first time listener to capture the sound of this remarkable group, it still has a few elements for the die-hard fan. The remix's are certainly the key here if you want to see how they are polished up. The one unreleased track 'To Live Forever' would be the reason to buy this if you don't already have a studio mix of it. While the remix's are great, one has to wonder why they chose those songs and maybe not several more from their next couple of albums. I think 'To Live Forever' is included because it is LaBrie's welcome into the band. The song that should have made it onto this collection is 'The Way It Used to Be'. But it's not here and one has to wonder why. Plus I don't understand the logic behind the edits of songs like 'Solitary Shell'. Taking it to the edit form just kills the song overall. But I would surmise it's for the first time listener and nothing more. Fans of this group won't purchase this for edited versions of songs that they already own. I would have loved to see more b-side or unreleased tracks on this collection because I'm sure the band has plenty that have never made it to the final cut. But I still have to give this 5 stars because they're all great songs. So, for those of you who want to get your feet wet with Dream Theater, then this collection is a great way to start.
  
  

• Only 1/2 of what Dream Theater is all about..

  
  By A1NLS68K2TJPOW on 2008-04-07
  As an avid Dream Theater fan who appreciates Dream Theater albums as complete works of art, rather than a collection of songs, I got what I expected from the Greatest Hit album and ranked it three stars accordingly.
  
  Dream Theater's music is complex and their albums are very thematic. They are written like epics and can only be truly appreciated when listened to from beginning to end with little or no interruption (just think Metropolis Part 2: Scenes from a Memory, Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence Disc II, or Awake). Many songs which used to flow into each other have been abruptly truncated or awkwardly resolved so they could stand alone as singular pieces on this album and some of the most amazing feats of musicianship (Petrucci and Rudess at the end of Solitary Shell) have been tragically removed altogether.
  
  As a collection of songs for someone who wants to listen to "cool music," this album does the trick and may inspire one to purchase some of the albums the individual songs come from. But what is lost is analogous to listening to a "Broadway's Greatest Hits" compilation.. the songs are pretty, but you lose the story. Listening to and understanding Dream Theater is an experience which can only be understood by listening to their songs in the context of the entire album.
  
  All in all, I agree with the majority of the reviews on this album.
  For the DT fan, realize that you're not getting a work of art, but a collection of pieces.
  For those interested in progressive rock, I recommend you start with Metropolis Part 2: Scenes from a Memory or Awake.
  For the casual listener, this will be a nice and interesting album to have in your collection.
  
  

• Dream Theater over the years!!

  
  By AUZXLQE44X2FX on 2008-04-02
  Some might think a hits collection is a waste of money and time, however, for a huge fan such as myself it is well worth the money. It is fun to hear songs like "Pull Me Under" remixed to sound so clean and new. Plus the one unreleased track, "To Live Forever" makes it worth the money just by itself. Plus, it is genius to market this collection towards those who have never listened to the band, being that it has a little of everything for everyone.
  
  

• Dream Theater's Best Stuff

  
  By A127BC5PCJ6YBW on 2008-04-04
  Dream Theater is one of my favorite band in the world, and this complation gives you just a taste of there greatness. In my opinion I think the Remixes of "Pull Me Under","Take the Time" and "Another Day" are completely unnecessary. The originals are SO much better, although it was interesting to hear what Kevin Shirley came up with. I loved the addition of "To live forever", a really great tune. Over all if you are just getting into Dream Theater, this is a great way to get your feet wet.
  
  
• Disappointing
  By A1VULS7QMLQFII on 2008-04-11
  One must ask, why did they bother? As other reviewers have noted Dream Theaters songs definitely sit within the context of the album and even in the live atmosphere they are cleverly blended with past material to flow evenly from one to the other.
  
  This album seems to have been compiled for a new audience rather than existing fans and as such is somewhat of a slap in the face. To proclaim this is the bands best work is ridiculous. What about such epic hits as Metropolis 1, Overture 1928, Lines in the sand, Trial of tears? Why has the Train of thought album generally been ignored once again? Surely Stream of Consciousness would have fit nicely between songs?
  
  While I'm sure the remixes will strike a cord with a few people I would personally say don't bother. While Dream Theater put out an incredible number of live albums between albums, you are guaranteed to find plenty of interest capturing a snapshot of the band at the point of time of the album release. With these live albums you are at least treated to interesting compilations of songs coupled with exceptional solo spots and improvisation which provide far better value than a so called greatest hit album could ever achieve.
  
  
• The True Purpose Behind This Album...
  By A1R6D6LUKDBZN8 on 2008-07-05
  First off, I would like to say that Dream Theater is one of the greatest bands of all time! If it weren't for them, I'd still be stuck listening to the mainstream crap that's being played today. On to the review....
  
  I've been reading a lot of reviews about this compilation and trying to decide whether to purchase this album or not. I already have all of their studio albums (minus "When Dream and Day Unite") so purchasing this album wasn't really necessary. But there are remixes of songs as well as edited versions...and also an unreleased song. Well, after hearing a short clip from the "Pull Me Under" remix, I decided to buy the album.
  
  A couple of issues to address...what many, many people fail to realize is that this is NOT supposed to be a "Best of..." album...obviously because they left out their more epic songs there are best known for. As stated by Mike Portnoy himself, the point of this album is to lure new fans in as well as give a little something to existing fans. Personally, I'm thankful that this band takes extreme consideration to their fans by adding additional content like the remixes and edits...otherwise this WOULD be pointless to buy for the existing fan. But the main goal is to give a little taste of what Dream Theater is about and (here's what most people fail to realize) give the new curious listener the opportunity to dig deeper to buy their other albums. Think about it...this is basically a musical appetizer and the existing catalog is the main course. You don't to fully indulge yourself before hitting up the main dish! So putting all the more epic songs in this compilation album will ruin the listener's appetite to learn more about the band's songs. For example, if Dream Theater decided to put, say, "Dance of Eternity", "A Change of Seasons", "Octavarium", and the like into the compilation album, what's left for the new listener to look forward to when buying their other albums? I think this album is used most effectively when being introduced by an already existing fan. If a newbie were to pick up this album, none of the aforementioned information might be apparent. So if you're trying to get your friends into this amazing band (and you should!) get this album and give them a little taste...
  
  From what I've heard so far (I've only listened to most of "The Dark Side" and haven't gotten to the other disc yet) I am very pleased at what I am hearing. First of all, the remixes? Completely blown away!!! Just from hearing the short clip of "Pull Me Under" in the trailer I could already tell a world of a difference! I did a brief comparison between the original and remixed versions of the song and was just amazed at the improvement of the sound quality. Even though it was a classic (still is, of course!) a facelift was definitely refreshing. I personally fail to see how an avid listener of Dream Theater can't hear the difference; it's so obvious (my personal opinion)! To start, the drums don't sound so "80's" anymore, the new sound of snare drum was what first amazed me...so tight and crisp! The guitars sounded heavier and the vocals were clearer! This was just from listening in my car so I'm sure if I listened through headphones I can find other aural nuances I didn't notice in the original.
  
  The Edits....I'll be honest, I was a little shocked about hearing shortened versions of "Home" and "Misunderstood" I was completely thrown off! A lot of the repeated riffs and been shortened..."Home" especially was weird to listen to, I felt like I was listening in fast-forward. But keeping in mind the goal of this album, I thought it was clever to remove some elements from the edited songs (for instance, "Home" starts right away at the heavy part completely skipping the acoustic guitar parts in the beginning and REALLY shortening the music before the vocals come in...from what I remember, they also removed the spoken part ["I remember the first time she came to me..."] and the slow part in the middle with the sitar/keyboard solo as well as the casino/orgasm solo, lol!)
  
  Ok, I REALLY think I went overboard on the review...just felt like I had to address the issue of the misconception of the album...Hope this helps anyone and go help find more fans!
  
  
• Even though this release is filled with edited or remixed versions of DT songs, it's still a nice package
  By A1BJJVV2B5VLUQ on 2008-07-10
  THE BAND: James LaBrie (vocals), John Petrucci (guitars), John Myung (bass), Jordan Rudess (keyboards), Kevin Moore (keyboards on 7 songs), Derek Sherinian (keyboards on 2 songs), Mike Portnoy (drums & percussion).
  
  THE DISCS: (2008) 22 songs on 2 discs clocking in at approximately 138 minutes (79+ minutes on disc-1, 58+ minutes on disc-2). Included with the discs is a 14-page booklet containing band photos, a 2-page intro regarding song choices from drummer Mike Portnoy, 4-pages of historic text about the band from author Rich Wilson who wrote DT's authorized biography ("Lifting Shadows"), and what songs came from which albums and year released. This compilation follows DT from 1992-2005. Remastered sound. Label - Atlantic / Rhino.
  
  ALBUM REPRESENTATION: Images And Words (3 songs), Awake (3), Falling Into Infinity (2), Metropolis Pt. 2: Scenes From A Memory (3), Six Degrees Of Inner Turbulence (4), Train Of Thought (2), Octavarium (4), B-Side to "Lie" (1). No songs from DT's debut (with Charlie Dominici on vocals) When Dream And Day Unite (1989), A Change Of Seasons (1995), or Systematic Chaos (2007).
  
  COMMENTS: For me, this Dream Theater compilation has been a long time coming. With nine studio albums, why not put out a "Best Of" compilation? Though the band's music receives very little airplay... they've amassed a nice following in the world of progressive rock music. The musicians here are consummate pros at their instruments - Petrucci and Portnoy are Gods in their respective fields. THE GOOD: Most of the fan favorites are here in all their remastered glory - including "Pull Me Under" (the Hit), "Take The Time", "Another Day", "Lie", "Peruvian Skies", "As I Am", "Through Her Eyes", "Misunderstood", "The Root Of All Evil", "Solitary Shell", etc. To me, Disc-1 (the metallic side) rocks harder and shows off Petrucci's guitar (as the rest of the band tries to keep up with him (and of course they do). Disc-2 (the melodic side) is geared more toward the story being told, LaBrie's singing, and song structure. THE NOT SO GOOD: You can't tell from the back cover track listing, but once you open the liner notes you'll notice - 8 of the 22 songs are either edited versions or 2007 special 'remixes'. When I first opened the booklet and read this, the acid in my stomach began to rise and I cringed... another 'Greatest Hits' package marred by gimmicky studio tricks. After dozens of spins though, the slight changes in the songs are now somewhat acceptable, and the edited versions are not as bad as I thought (since so many of DT's songs are close to the double-digit number in minutes) - I'm okay with it. The 4 'remixes' are decent on the first few spins... but after weeks of listening, I find myself longing for the original studio versions. The drums (specifically the snare) on their remix of "Pull Me Under" sounds tinny and downright cheap. The song selection is very good. In my opinion, however, several classics are missing - "Caught In A Web", "The Mirror", "Metropolis (Part I)", "Fatal Tragedy", a great jam in the "Overature 1928" and "New Millennium" (the heaviest track from "Falling Into Infinity" - one of my personal favorites in their entire library). I totally dig the ultra crunchy marathon DT songs... of which the album "Train Of Thought" has many. My heart tells me that "Train Of Thought" is underrepresented here... however, with 5 of the 7 songs lasting 10 minutes or longer, I understand why more songs are not here. Skipping past all tracks from DT's debut is understandable, but I think a song or two from "Systematic Chaos" (2007) could have made it onto disc-2 with its 20+ minutes of unused space... perhaps their new label (Roadrunner Records) had something to do with that. Even a live track or two would have been a bonus here. And lastly, I wish the writing on the slim binder side of the cover was larger - my 20/20 vision can barely read the verbage from only a few feet away. OVERALL: A very good introduction to Dream Theater's music catalog despite some minor flaws. Like any decent mix, it's great to have so many wonderful songs all in one place. Looking for a single studio album to start with - I'd recommend "Images And Words" or "Metropolis Pt. 2: Scenes From A Memory". As Mike Portnoy stated in the CD liner notes - this "Greatest Hit" collection is hopefully "something that will lure the listeners in and inspire them to dig deeper..." In my opinion, it should (4.5 stars).
  
  
  
• just about the track list
  By ACHKFAUE4OCII on 2008-04-02
  Well, DT is one of my very favorite bands overall and I found the idea of a greatest hits CD quite good to have a good introduction to their music. Let me tell you that I am making this review without even listening the CD once so I cannot talk about the quality of the remasters etc. etc. But I find a song missing in the track list; "Stream of consciousness" is a must! so if you decide to buy this CD you may complement it with "train of thoughts" I think they both will be a really great purchase.
  
  
• Complilation well put together.
  By A2KHXHU73GA6NG on 2008-04-05
  I even like thet remixes which usually I don't when bands do such a thing. And I am even pleased with the edit versions so now I can take this disc with me for Kareoke night and finally do some DT song with it. But this disc is also a great way to introduce the band to new and future fans to come.
  
  
• Hacia falta
  By A3BOFRQSAWEYCH on 2008-05-01
  Se estaba echando de menos una buena recopilacion de este extraordinario grupo lider del rock progresivo metalico integrado por 5 virtuosos que se presenta bastante bien compensada en rapidos y lentos con calidad a raudales. Bravo
  
  
• No Metropolis!? C'mon!!!
  By A3EDN6ZWTJH6CS on 2008-07-29
  How could this be DT's best album without Metropolis? It just doesn't make sense. It'd been even worth eliminating a couple of songs for. I know they couldn't put everything particularly epics like "A change of seasons" and "Octavarium". AS a DT fan, I can even live without "Lines in the sand" and "Blind faith" on this, but Metropolis... In my opinion, the best albums are for non-fans. The song represents what DT is about. To anybody who doesn't know DT, the very first song I'll play is Metropolis. People can get the right idea about the band from the song. I'm quite sure DT fans out there agree with me on this. (I can't believe MP missed this one) And what is "Misunderstood" doing on disc 1?
  
  
• For completionists and new fans only!
  By A84UG66LK8JD9 on 2008-04-04
  This unexpected CD serves it purpose to new fans of Dream Theater. It's got a good collection of songs ranging from all the styles that Dream Theater are known to play. I don't know if the "diehard" fans notice this or not, but Dream Theater's fanbase now far extends what it used to be. That is, people who really liked "Images and Words" and "Awake" enough to stick around and see what else the band was up too. Therefore, a collection was necessary for the newer fans to be caught up to speed.
  
  There's not much here for longtime fans, though. Nobody wants to hear radioedits, and though the remixes of the "Images and Words" tunes are cool, as well as the inclusion of "To Live Forever", it seems to make more sense for the longtime fans to pay a few bucks and download those of off iTunes.
  
  The longtime fans will criticize this one for the edits and the playlist, but I don't think that will keep this collection from winning over newer fans. After all, "highlights" was my first Yes CD, and I fell in love with the band afterwards.
  
  
• Pretty cool but not cool enough
  By A27B30ENJMFIB4 on 2008-04-12
  the reason why i am giving three stars is actually split in 2 thoughts: the first cd deserves 4 stars and the second 2 stars. the first one was quite good there were good songs i liked expect i disliked that they edited the great songs and skipping most of the intro's and i missed long length songs like The Glass Prison, a Change of Seasons and Octavarium. if there wasn't enough room to place these songs then just release a 3 cd compilation. anyway on to the second cd which i think deserves only 2 stars. it's a cd full of ballads now don't get me wrong i love songs like: Solitary Shell, I walk beside you and Answer lies Within. but you don't just put all the ballads on 1 disk balads are there for some relaxing and chilling down. I don't want to be chilled down al the time. I want to freak out on the skills of John Petrucci and Mike Portnoy, but i didn't get the chance to. Therefore my 3 stars in total
  
  
• A trip down lunacy lane with empreror Portnoy
  By A39W3263A9HCMN on 2008-04-18
  If I could only have bought Disc 1, I would have been happier. But for the price I'll go with it. I've always preferred their Darker side.
  
  So pretty much, with an embarassment entitled "Systematic Chaos" out, the Theater needed to release a compilation called "Greatest Hit... and 21 Other Pretty Cool Soongs". As much as I like Disc one (which is really all they needed to release), I can't say the same for disc 2, which is almost an entire CD of Ballads (hence "Light side"). The remix of "Another Day" is completely unneccesary- Release the original one, already! Granted, one advantage is that Kevin Shirley, the producer of my all time favorite band Iron Maiden, remixes it. Example- Hollow Years- which is the all time low for the theater. It's painfully slow, and doesn't move at all!!!
  
  Granted, disc one is pretty awesome. Some more agressive stuff, Classics like Take the Time, Pull me under, and Sacrificed Sons. Now THAT'S the compilation we want.
  
  So overall- worth it if you're a newcomer, but if you're a die hard, then you might wanna stay away.
  
  DISC 1: 4 STARS
  DISC 2: 2.5 STARS
  
  
• Excellent music!
  By A1I4G0JN1P8IBW on 2008-04-23
  I am fairly new to Dream Theater's music and this is a great CD showcasing both their earlier and more recent hit songs. I definitely recommend this CD!
  
  
• Great Compilation... but not a Best Of.
  By A13T5BBQ377O97 on 2008-05-06
  First, I have to comment on another review that I read. They basically say that a compilation like this doesn't do the music justice because it takes away from the story of the full albums. Would you then say that when DT plays a concert they should only play sets that are put together like a full record? No... it's about hearing the different songs that you love from one of the greatest bands ever!!
  That being said, I would have liked to have seen this include such songs as "The Mirror", "Burning My Soul", "Take Away My Pain", "The Way It Used To Be", "Under A Glass Moon", "Blind Faith", "Constant Motion", "This Dying Soul" and maybe even the previously released live versions of "Fortune In Lies" and "Another Hand - The Killing Hand"
  But I guess we can't have it all. A collection of all b-sides and unreleased songs would be a nice treat though!!!
  Overall, it's still 5 stars. There's not a single bad song on there.
  
  
• If you like DT, you must have it but if you don't know their music this album will show you who they are
  By AC3C08C6SWT on 2008-05-08
  This is an album that all the DT fans must have, and also the people who likes their music, it shows two sides of the band, one is the smooth (white) side full of pretty songs and the other one is the progressive and metal side (dark)very powerfull and atonishing, you will enjoy it a lot!!!
  
  
• For 15 Dollars You Can't Go Wrong
  By A360L42SESCBL7 on 2008-05-10
  I Love Compilations Because They Give A Little Taste Of A Bands Catalog. And This Compilation Is Just That. This Set Includes Alternate Versions Of The Original Albums Tracks (Remixes,Edits,B-Sides,Alternate Takes). This Double Disc Album Is The Price Of Most Single Disc Albums That Is a Deal If You Ask Me.
  
  
• Decent introduction to the band
  By AOJNKAVA2VR9G on 2008-05-25
  I am a long time Dream Theater fan who began to lose interest in the band with Six Degrees, since at that point it seemed like they were making long songs just to be long, and it was more about instrumental wizardry than songwriting.
  
  Recently, I have rarely been listening to the band - but I picked this up since I wanted to see how these songs stood up now, many years later.
  
  First, this set does contain almost all of their great songs (note, nothing from Systematic Chaos or When Dream and Day Unite - I assume rights/permissions issues , or from any of their many live albums).
  
  If you have heard much from the band, then this is a decent introduction. However, I don't like the separation of the 'dark' (heavier) and 'light' (the less heavy) - makes the 'light' side difficult to get through.
  
  Portnoy does hint that there should have been a third side - the epic side - and I agree. At they very least, they should have found space for their best epic - A Change of Seasons. other songs missing are Surrounded, 6:00, Space Dye Vest, Burning My Soul, among others. They could have found space, Disc 2 is about 50 minutes, so there was space left over for additional songs.
  
  So, in the end, a decent set, but mainly for new or 'lapsed' fans like me.
  
  

• Snakes & Arrows Live 2 CD Set
• Good To Be Bad
• Professor Satchafunkilus and the Musterion of Rock
• Phoenix
• Songs From The Sparkle Lounge