The Pyromania deluxe is the better of the two and not just because Pyromania is the superior album. The Pyro deluxe adds a second disc containing a live show at the L.A. Forum from the 1983 tour in support of the album. This is a chance to go back in time and hear the twin guitars of Steve Clark and Phil Collen, to hear Rick Allen before his accident, to hear Joe Elliott back when he could (presumably) hit the high notes. Unlike the R.E.M. recent remasters, I have some hope for Pyromania. For one thing, Robert John "Mutt Lange" was a lot more attentive to sonic detail when the album was recorded the first time. Second, I actually like the Hysteria remaster. I don't know for a fact yet that the same personnel were used for both but I'm hoping so.
As for Adrenalize, we don't get a show from the '7-Day Weekend' tour on our bonus disc. Instead, we get some b-sides, random live tracks, and covers. Some fans will have collected this when the album was initially released. For the rest of us, we'll be hearing some of this for the first time. It's not as cool as the Pyromania set, but there will be some worthwhile material here. Adrenalize is also not half the album Pyromania was and I'm willing to bet some of this material won't have aged as well, either. Some of Adrenalize will hold up, though.
Dream Theater
Black Clouds & Silver Linings
I know what you're thinking, and... oh, hell, what's the point? I consider myself a casual Dream Theater fan. I love the musicianship. I don't always love the vocals. The lyrics tend to hit me somewhere in between. These guys are frighteningly skilled as musicians, though. I saw them live in 1994 and I still remember Mike Portnoy's drum solo. It's almost sickening to behold.
With that in mind, your friends from Dream Theater have cooked up something cool for their latest album. There is a 3-CD Special Edition of this record. The first disc is the album. Disc 2 is a collection of six covers. Disc 3 is an instrumental mix of Black Clouds & Silver Linings. Oh, I think we might have to have one of those. That's really cool.
Article comments
1 - MarkSaleski
oh man, i am totally in on the Reckoning and the Pyromania.
maybe i'll also finally pick up the Murmur reissue too.
2 - Josh Hathaway
I'm listening to Reckoning as we speak. I ordered the Pyromania set. It will be arriving this week.
You're (probably) going to hate the remastering on the two R.E.M. discs but the vintage live shows are worth having.
3 - El Bicho
Here is one reason the music labels are losing business. They don't offer someone who already has the first disc access to the second. I would buy the live shows on their own, but if it's a choice between double the price for half the product or getting it for free, the math is pretty simple
4 - Josh Hathaway
You're not wrong, Bicho. We all know I'm retarded enough to buy shit more than once, but a lot of people are smarter than that. For those who don't mind digital, iTunes Music Store has made this less of a problem although it remains because it's not uncommon for iTunes and bands to designate certain tracks as "album only." It's a lousy music industry tactic and it's costing them because everyone but me refuses to get scammed.
5 - MarkSaleski
don't worry, they'll continue to keep up the bad practices and the lawsuits until they lawyer themselves out of business
6 - Josh Hathaway
On to more important topics: how am I ever going to afford all the shit coming out this week that I want? There are some good selections this week. There are some good titles I didn't even get a chance to chat up.
7 - Tom Johnson
I'm going to be picking up Pyromania soon, holding off on Adrenalize for now, it's just kind of lacking in essential bonus stuff. From what I've been reading and seeing, the Pyro remaster is WAY better than the AWFUL, horribly compressed Hysteria remaster. If you've got to compress/limit, it appears that they've decided to use Pyro as the "good cop" to Hysteria's very "bad cop." It will never measure up the MFSL version, but will do for those who don't own the original CD, which is still going to be superior when volume is equaled out. If you own the originals, buy these only for the bonus material, in other words.
And, Josh, man, you're missing one of the week's greats: Dinosaur Jr's Farm. I can't believe you wouldn't love this.
8 - Robert
Joe Elliot and Def Leppard are back! Billboard.com has an exclusive interview with Joe talking about performing with Taylor Swift at the CMT awards and his take on 90's music. You can only see it there so check it out.