MUSIC REVIEW: Rush - All the World's a Stage

"In the flesh."

Wow... I've never heard a live recording where the crowd whistles so much. Anyway, that's not so important. Rush had just released their pivotal power-prog release 2112, which featured the phenomenal side-long title track based on the writings of Ayn Rand. And the highlight of this live release is, in my opinion, an awesomely energetic performance of that epic. Some parts are cut out, reducing the song to 16 minutes, but it still rocks, man. At this stage in their career, Rush was rockin' hard, evident with crushing cuts like "Bastille Day," "Something for Nothing," and "Working Man," which has one of Lifeson's most exciting guitar solos to this day. The band also performs "By-Tor and the Snow Dog," which features some sublime instrumentation in the middle. Neil Peart's drum solo is interesting and very musical...I mean, it's more than just a guy hitting stuff. This is a great live album from the days when Rush was young and gushing energy.

MUSIC REVIEW: Dream Theater - Metropolis 2000, Scenes from New York (DVD)

"Astonishing live prog metal."

Dream Theater's concept album Scenes From A Memory is jaw-dropping on CD, but one gains a whole new level of appreciation for the work when one sees it performed. I mean, Dream Theater plays some really complex stuff here, and it's awesome to watch. "The Dance of Eternity" is insane, and the instrumental section of "Beyond this Life" has some really tough harmonization and unison lines. John Myung's dexterous bass playing is especially incredible to see because it's sometimes difficult to hear him in the mix on the CD. Jordan Rudess is truly a god among keyboardists, and I don't doubt that in a few years we'll regard him with the same deference as legends like Rick Wakeman and Keith Emerson. It's almost uncanny how easily he plays everything. What's also interesting about him is that he doesn't use racks of keyboards; he controls everything from just one, and switches between sounds with a pedal. Very cool. For much of the show, I just sat there with my jaw constantly hitting the floor thinking, "How the freakin' heck do they do that?"

The band puts on an incredible show. The band usually has a sort of calm stage presence, but here they're gushing energy. LaBrie's vocals never miss their mark, and in some ways his performance is better here than on the CD. I hadn't realized he had this much live power (let's not forget that he's an operatically trained vocalist, too). The band recreates SFAM's story using images on the big screens, which is good for those who didn't quite grasp the plot. (I understood the story, but it was nice to finally see what the breaking glass was on "Finally Free.") The band also brings in the hypnotherapist, the gospel choir for "The Spirit Carries On," and Theresa Thomason to sing Victoria's lines on that same song. Here, they've essentially recreated the album better than I could have imagined.

The bonus material is great. Personally, I found the "Making Of" section very interesting, and the band's audio commentary for the concert is really quite funny. The "Deleted Scenes" are a dream come true. I never expected to see the band perform "A Mind Beside Itself" in its entirety, and the electric version of "The Silent Man" is an intense extension of the original song. "Learning to Live" is a great anthemic song, even better here because of LaBrie's vocal improvisation during Petrucci's heroic guitar solo (the one right after LaBrie's hits that high F). And the best of all... "A Change of Seasons" as an encore, with some fun embellishments during "IV. The Darkest of Winters.

What I'm getting at is...this DVD is incredible. If you're a DT fan, you absolutely need this.

MUSIC REVIEW: Power of Metal [compilation]

"Awesome live Conception tracks."

I am a sick, sick Conception fan, evidenced by the fact that I paid an insane amount of money just to get the five Conception songs on this disc. Now this release is totally obscure and out of print. But if you can get lucky enough to find it, AND you are a mad Conception fiend, you need it. Hearing Conception live just affirms their stature as one of my favorite bands. Vocalist Khan doesn't seem like the kind of guy who'd be powerful in the live forum, but he rocks. All of these overt metal tracks are from the band's CD, Parallel Minds, which rocks, although the studio versions seem tepid in comparison to the awesome live ones. I know nothing about the other bands, so I won't comment, but I don't listen to them anyway. If you're a sick, twisted Conception fan like myself, get this. I will use the argument of intimidation: If you don't this, you aren't a *real* Conception fan (hehe).

Dream Theater - Once in a LIVEtime

"Pretty awesome, marred by some weak performances and sound issues."

Although a very worthwhile purchase, Once in a LIVEtime, a 150-minute double live album, suffers from some unfortunate problems. The sound quality, which is always touchy with live albums, is visceral and raw, but the keys and guitars sometimes drown each other out. Also, Portnoy's bass drums are too loud have an annoying "slappy" sound here that I could do without. Then there's James LaBrie's voice. Half of his performances are sincere and powerful, others sound tired and strained. Heck, he even sounds like total CRAP on a few songs, where he actually sounds like he's losing his voice. This tends to manifest on some of the more aggressive moments like the mid-section of "Voices" or "Pull Me Under." On the second verses of "Take the Time" (the ones sung high), his range just falls apart and you can barely make out what he says. Still, he performs excellently on many songs, especially the slower ballads. "Trial of Tears," "Hollow Years," and especially "Take Away My Pain" are all very beautiful here, with an added feeling of emotion that wasn't present on the sterile studio performances. "Take Away My Pain" is one of my favorite performances on this release. Jay Beckenstein contributes some live saxophone, LaBrie's pipes flare, and it slaughters the original. "Scarred" is an awesome live song, and here the band adds a new intro rich in atmospherics and tone (BUT they cut the awesome outro). A mammoth jam is tagged onto the end of "Take the Time," which only a DT fan can appreciate, but they'll love it. Mike Portnoy's drum solo is just...impossible. Petrucci's guitar solo on disc two is incredible. Impossibly fast, charmingly melodic, quoting Liquid Tension Experiment's "Paradigm Shift," and it's tough not to smile when he brings in "Flight of the Bumblebee." I think my favorite moment on the album is the final medley of "Metropolis pt.1/Learning to Live/ACOSVII - The Crimson Sunset." The segue between LTL and ACOS never fails to give me chills. It's so perfect, so beautiful, as if they were meant to be connected. A must for fans, but DON'T buy this if you've never heard this band before.

Dream Theater - Live at the Marquee

Very worthwhile, despite limited content

A Dream Theater live album under 50 minutes? Only six songs? All I can say is... "TOO SHORT!!!" Live at the Marquee isn't exactly a bang for your buck, but nonetheless, it is very worthwhile. My biggest beef (aside from the fact that it's not beefy!), is the performances are so polished. Overdubs saturate this album, which is basically note for note perfection of the studio songs. I've heard bootlegs from the _Images and Words_ tour, and they don't sound too much like this. The bootlegs are more raw, more intense. Nonetheless, it is still essential to have it in your collection. That's because it's one of the few official releases where you can hear some of this stuff. It's also incredible hearing LaBrie's sing songs from the debut, When Dream and Day Unite. "A Fortune in Lies" gains a whole new level of intensity, and "The Killing Hand" is more epic, more powerful with LaBrie's operatically trained voice. "Bombay Vindaloo" is a menacing instrumental jam that shows off the band's incredible synergy. This is also the only official live release as of this writing where you'll get the chance to here "Surrounded," which isn't much of a concert staple for the band these days. (And it's one of my favorite DT songs!) Unless you want to hunt down bootlegs from the I&W tour (an expensive and frustrating endeavor), this is good to have. It's just too bad it couldn't have been so much more.