Well, with Dream Theater off to pastures new for their most recent album Systematic Chaos, it was inevitable that a compilation from their old paymasters would appear on the shelves. So welcome to the knowingly titled Greatest Hit.
That hit, "Pull Me Under," opens the show with a new remix from Kevin Shirley, one of three new mixes alongside "Take The Time" and "Another Day." For once, a retrospective has been compiled with the approval of the band, and coming off the back of the bands 20th anniversary, it's an excellent reminder of just why Dream Theater have slowly worked their way towards their exalted position at the top of the prog-metal tree. It's certainly unusual nowadays for a band to achieve their level of success without the support of radio or music television. And for a band so revered by, let's call them "obsessive enthusiasts," they can actually be surprisingly accessible.
Which is why I'm slightly questioning the way that Greatest Hit has been presented. Eschewing chronology, the album has been carved up into "The Dark Side" and "The Light Side." CD1, therefore, presents the darker side of Dream Theater, and once you're past the hit, then you're off into an intensive listening experience, taking in some heavy, crushing slabs of music like "Peruvian Skies," "Endless Sacrifice," and "The Root Of All Evil." These tracks all demonstrate how you can move through different gears, and still remain heavy.
Which is why, if a compilation is also designed to reel in some new listeners, it might not be the best idea to have this CD first.
"The Light Side," conversely, presents the more melodic side of Dream Theater, and you've got to think that this might be the stuff to draw the casual punter into their world. There are some really wonderful moments on this CD that will lull newbies, as Dream Theater display a warmth sometimes missing on "The Dark Side," where they're busy showing their chops off a bit more. It also has "Hollow Years," a song that always brings a tear to my jaded eye, as well as truly stunning songs like "The Spirit Carries On" and "I Walk Beside You."
Article comments
1 - Glen Boyd
Nice review Stuart. I also don't think you have too worry so much about this one pulling the new fans in. My guess is that there are enough newer generation prog fans (courtesy of Porcupine Tree and the like) to check out a compilation like this one based on word of mouth curiosity alone.
My other guess is they will like what they find once they do.
-Glen
2 - Mark Hardy
Great review Stuart - in my opinion this release is for the new Systematic Chaos/Roadrunner fanbase to find out what Dream Theater have been about for the last 20 years.
And to hopefully satisfy your bewilderment, according to their biography 'Lifting Shadows', they are unable to re-release any songs from their first album When Dream and Day Unite due to contractual issues with the label of the time. Which is a really big shame because that album has some fantastic songs which would compliment the Greatest Hit album if they were rerecorded/reproduced to todays standards (with JLB's vocals).
3 - Dewey Fischer
Good review Stuart
Being a DT fan for the past 15 years I agree on your comments as to the incuded /excluded songs.
I always felt that at the 20 yr mark in their collective careers a more comprehensive box set was in order, but I am a rabid DT fan and own all the studio /live releases/DVDs plus a good majority of the YTESJAM bootlegs. Maybe when Mike Portnoy gets some free time that may yet happen but to Mike's credit he toils constantly so who knows. I bought the Greatest Hit to support the band and besides there are remixes that I didn't own