FollowThe kind of delivery that is so good DHL would gladly take credit for it.
As has been the case many times, I was sat in a van hiding from the rain, heater 
on full blast just enough to get up to snoozing temperature, as we British Rail workers would often do. When a rocker friend of mine, who was also my team leader (and for some reason known only to him has now become known as Rebecca) pulled this cassette tape from his leather jacket pocket.
“Feast your ears on this” were I believe his words at the time, with the sort of grin on his face that we all have as we are passing on our musical offerings to our buddies, knowing that they are about to be blown away…
What I heard was a cool open string guitar sound that was clean and echoing and at the same time dark and haunting, soon joined by tom toms that most definitely were not George of the jungle, and then thrusting into a fantastic distorted riff, swiftly followed by an unexpected time change.
All the while ‘Kevin’ as I will call him (mainly cos that was his name those days) was banging away on the dashboard, erm I mean his imaginary 21 piece drum kit, not missing a beat (he must’ve listened to this a few times as we are talking complex drum fills).
I must admit at this point I was expecting some growling, screaming incoherent nonsensical singer/shouty person to start ruining the track completely. Instead I heard a normal sounding rock voice, (unexpectedly high, if I’m honest) of a young bloke, great tone, great vocal vibrato, not to the level of Bruce ‘air raid siren’ Dickinson, possibly a more polished version of him though.
This was Dream Theater (stupid American spelling) and the fantastic album ‘Images and words’ which is, by the way a wonderful metaphor for the music and lyrics.
I had (clearly) never heard these guys before and my ears had apparently been missing out for years. This was no ordinary rock/metal album. Not only were these guys melodic and well produced, they were technically gifted individually but managed to join together and still make it work.
‘Pull me under’ is pretty much Dream Theater personified in one swoop, swirling phased chords from the keyboards, amazing athleticism from the drummer, bass thundering along and still finding time to be a little avent garde, all forming the soup for James LaBrie and John Petrucci to sprinkle their musical croutons onto (metaphorically speaking of course), then just when you think you’ve heard every musical surprise there could possibly be the whole thing just stops. Damn! The tape player’s eaten your cassette Kev!
Oh no. What happens next is the polar opposite to where you think this is going, like a penguin lost in the Sahara, ‘Another Day’ is beautiful, flowing, emotional, depressing yet uplifting all at once. It has the unusual addition to a metal album of a saxophone but this is still welcomed to the (slightly miserable) party and adds to the great ‘image’ created within the tune. Plus this song has one of the most melodic ‘singing’ guitar solos Petrucci has ever done (in my humble opinion).
‘Take The Time’ is back to business as a strange time change-laden, brilliant riff, with some nice little keyboard-sounding-like-a-guitar antics. LaBrie does start to growl a bit now and even though the majority of the song his voice is so stratospherically high that only next doors Labrador can actually hear him, the lower range is tested too, with a whispery ‘close my eyes, feel the water rise around me’ breakdown. This even has the added bonus of a several minute bridge with the bass, guitar, keyboard and drums all playing the same fast paced lines. These guys are tighter than a Scotsman’s wallet, I’m not even sure if there is a more technically proficient band out there (no doubt you will have your own opinion).
‘Surrounded’ again takes us whispering into dreamy land with piano and vocals kicking things off, joined by their musical instrument friends, once they are all there quite a jolly upbeat song ensues, which seems to tell the story of a man who has woken from a dream about an angel-like woman, and then opens his curtains’ I’m pretty sure there’s more to it than this but trust me there’s a lot of windows, curtains and light mentioned here.
‘Metropolis Pt1: The Miracle And The Sleeper’ a title that seems to say a lot but doesn’t really say anything? But what a track! The engineer was definitely having a good day when this was recorded, don’t be fooled by the jingle bells in the intro, this means business. Again fantastic instrumental sections, great vocal performance, blistering solos by both guitar and keyboard, occasionally together, and also has a rather odd sounding bass solo courtesy of John Myung, who must have fingers sponsored by Tefal to withstand the panning they get during this song.
‘Under A Glass Moon’ has a VAI-esque majestic sounding intro which soon gets dragged kicking and screaming into a fast-paced flurry of odd-timings, slightly off-key sounding chords and throbbing drums, culminating in a good solid piece of riffwork. One of the heavier offerings on the album yet still retaining the melodious aura so far created, it also has one of the longest guitar solos on the album, with Petrucci seeming to play bluesy bends one moment and sweep-picking the next, the guitar equivalent of eating paella and trifle, one straight after the other. He is so good it makes you sick.
‘Wait for Sleep’ is chance to relax from the strains you’ve just induced by air-drumming and/or air guitar playing in the last song. This is just a two man job, one piano, one voice. (oh and a bit of synth if we’re being picky). I don’t know who the woman is but she is really struggling to get some kip, seemingly there is quite a lot on her mind, lots of memories she just can’t shake. Again LaBrie shows he is not a one trick pony and gives the kind of delivery that is so good DHL would gladly take credit for it.
‘Learning To Live’ is 11 minutes 30 seconds of brilliance. Classic outro style, borrowing parts and melodies from other songs on the album but it’s in no way lazy recycling, it is perfect, expertly written and rounds the album off exactly how it deserves, little parts reminding you that this is not just a bunch of tunes thrown together haphazardly. This is a symphony. A masterpiece. A one-off. And unfortunately, in my opinion a self-raised bar of heights that would never be reached again.
I don’t know if the first time you hear a new band(that you instantly love) is like a first girlfriend/boyfriend, but you always have a special place for them and yes, I know they have several other albums. I proudly own most of them now but ‘Images And Words’ remains my favourite, and still sounds amazing even after 20 years.
Be honest, you didn’t realise it was as old as that did you?
Review by Craig Aston