Today, I'm going to be a sweetheart, and deliver two reviews in one. Despite the fact that they were released as two separate discs, I'm going to review them as one, as they were damn near the entire show. Now, the thing that you have to remember about these "Lost Not Forgotten" releases is that they weren't quite as nicely packaged as the "YtseJam Records" releases. Still, we are getting a lot of great music thanks to this series. And the first disc issues was the second set of Dream Theater's Japan show, in 2017.
The second half of the show was released as the first "Lost Not Forgotten" released, but we're going to review the "...And Beyond" disc, as it featured the first half of the show. The first half was a sprinkling of songs from the bands vast, and impressive discography, and it's one hell of a great setlist. The show kicks off with "The Dark Eternal Night" from their "Systematic Chaos", which I wouldn't have picked as a set opener, but it really works here. The entire band sound great on this track, as well the rest of the show. "The Bigger Picture" from the self-titled album came after the metal-crowd pleaser. And though we didn't necessarily need a breather already, I think the tune works great where they put it. From there we get "Hell's Kitchen" from the "Falling Into Infinity album, and then a couple tracks from "The Astonishing" ("the Gift of Music", and the wonderfully melodic "Our New World").
Throughout this first set, I can't help but be impressed by the way that Mike Mangini was able to take the Portnoy material, and not only make it his own, but somehow please even the biggest Portnoy diehards (myself included). I also can't help but notice that, although the vocal phrasing is changed up a bit here and there, James sounds fantastically vocally. I think that he's really grown into the fact that he can't sing the same as he did in '92, but he has learned to compensate for it. I honestly enjoy his voice more here, than I did on the DVD from the "Images & Words" tour. Speaking of "Images & Words"...
Released in 1992, Dream Theater's biggest commercial success was an album called "Images And Words", and the second disc of this (backwards released) set is a celebration of the album's 25th birthday. The first thing that you're going to notice is that the band are playing their biggest hit in a drop tuning, obviously to accommodate James, who as a vocalist, just can't perform the way he once did. For me, this does not detract from the show. I personally think he pulls it off very damned well 25 years after the albums original release. And though "Images" has never been my favorite Dream Theater album, there is no denying that it is an absolute progressive rock classic.
There will be some people who think that the drop tuning, and the vocal performance will detract from the magic of this classic album performed from start to finish, but I am not one of them. Sure James plays it safe quite often, but I really feel that it works. Musically, the band are definitely on fire. In fact, this may be one of the best performances of "Pull Me Under" that I've heard since Mangini joined the band. There's a new keyboard solo in "Another Day" that shows just how amazing Jordan is on the keys. It sounds phenomenal. "Take the Time" is another great example of just how great the musicians in this band are, even as they stretch their legs for a fantastic bit of improv. And even though James seems to struggle, as this tune was always a highlight of his versatile vocals, it's still a damned good performance.
The rest of the performance is just as good to my ears. From the fantastically melodic performance of one of my personal favorite songs from the album, "Surrounded", to a fiery rendition of "Metropolis, pt. 1: The Miracle And the Sleeper" (complete with a Mike Mangini drum solo, and a crazy bit of playing coming out of it), it's clear that the band and the audience are having a blast reliving this milestone in the band's illustrious career.
Though it's never been my favorite Dream Theater song, "Under A Glass Moon" is played to near perfection here. The guitar solo is just insane, and never ceases to amaze me. However, it's the next two tracks that I enjoy the most from this performance. "Wait For Sleep" gets a beautiful piano intro from the Wizard, Mr. Jordan Rudess. It's absolutely beautiful, as are James' vocals on this one. And that brings us to the album closer (yes, the album closer, not the show closer... I'll get to that in a minute). "Learning To Live" to me, is one of the greatest progressive metal songs ever written. Every moment of this track is a moment lived at the edge of your seat. From the crunchy guitar, to the skillfully played (and written!) keyboard parts, to the jaw-dropping rhythm section, this song is essential prog, played her to damned near perfection. Even James sounds better here than he has the rest of the show (and as I've said, I've loved his vocals the entire show). And that's it. That's the end of the disc.
But wait, you ask me, "Rob, where's "A Change of Seasons? I know that it was played." Well, there's my only gripe with this show (other than releasing the second half of the show first, and the first half of the show second). Why was "A Change of Seasons" not included on the disc? There would have been time for it, had the album just been released as a 2-disc set. That would have fixed both of my complaints from this nearly perfect set. I don't get why it wasn't included here. Maybe we'll get a fix some day, but I somehow doubt it.
With Mike Portnoy back in the band, I'm hoping that not only will we get more archival Dream Theater releases (and please don't stop the Mangini era releases, as I would LOVE a live performance of "The Astonishing" on disc!), but hopefully the presentation will be better. We need liner notes, and pics, and any little goodies that Portnoy was always sure to include in these sets. Not only would I love to have the music in my library, I would love to have the visually fantastic releases that MP worked so hard to give us fans, back when this series was the "YtseJam Records" powerhouse that it was!
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