Customer Reviews

Silent Man / Take the Time / Eve

5 star:		(21)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

"The Silent Man" is a great song. This version of "Take The Time" is also quite excellent. But "Eve"...the English language is inadequate to describe this song...it's so good that our vocabulary would need endless synonyms for "beautiful" to accurately convery the sheer beauty of this tune. It is without a doubt one of the greatest instrumental rock songs I've ever heard in my life, and it is brimming with emotional power. It exudes a slow, silent intensity and is tremendously vocal despite the fact that James never even says a word. Simply beautiful. I'd happily pay five times the cost of this disc for "Eve" alone.

Almost every review here seems to ignore the greatness of "The Silent Man." An acoustic guitar, cello, and James LaBrie together making one of the better ballads in the DT catalog. There's also "Take The Time," a demo version at that, with crisper sound and a few subtle differences. With good reason, however...

...and now I'll join them.

"Eve" is amazing. Beautiful. Pulchritudinous. Sweet. Heartwarming. Cool. Dreamy. Out Of This World. Efflorescent. Ambient. Lovely. Astouding. Relaxing. Ad infinitum. There are few words to describe it. Completely instrumental, and yet it speaks volumes about the soul. I can picture myself sitting on a beach at sunset, listening to this as I stare out at the ocean. Spray from the waves lightly caresses my face, and seagulls circle off in the distance. Or perhaps I'm in an endless field of barley, laying flat on my back staring up at a few wisps of cloud up in an azure sky. Whatever.

What I'm saying is that DT have crafted a song here that defeats much criticism from non-fans, saying that they are technical machines that create masturbatory music devoid of feeling, simply to show off how good they are. I dare any of them to listen to this piece, stare into a mirror, and say that. I have heard few pieces of music that can evoke a similar mood within my core.

"Take The Time" is great. "Silent Man" is better. But this disc is worth ten times its price for "Eve."

It is all true: Eve is by some measure the most beautiful rock instrumental I have ever heard, and in some ways Dream Theater's finest moment. It is stately, pure, deep and tear-jerking. The other tracks? Take them or leave them, good stuff as far as I am concerned, but Eve is a landmark. A classic.

I'm assuming that if you're checking this particular item out on Amazon.com, then you're already a Dream Theater fan, and probably a serious one at that. The import single The Silent Man is a nice treat for the die-hard Dream Theater fan, but probably not something the casual fan needs. I'll try to give you an idea of what you get with this single:

Track 1 is the LP version of the Silent Man, one of the singles from Awake.
Track 2 is the demo version of the Images and Words song Take the Time. Take the Time is one of my favorite Dream Theater songs, and it was neat to hear it in its demo form, though it isn't all that different from the album version.
Track 3 is a song called Eve. This is an incredible instrumental track. It is one of the most beautiful pieces of music that Dream Theater has ever released. It's a soft, slow song that features lots of piano work. It just instantly sets a tranquil (and somewhat melancholy) mood.

Overall I have to give this disc a pretty high rating. In my opinion, Eve alone is more than worth the price of this import, and this is the only place (other than the 1999 fan club disc) that you'll find it. I'd recommend it to all die-hard Dream Theater fans, though casual fans might not get enough out of this disc to make it worth the high price tag.

I've been a fan of Dream Theater since 1992 and a member of the fan club since 1999, seen Mike Portnoy give a drum clinic on my birthday and even influenced some of my band members to check these guys out. But of ALL the material DT has surrendered to the public, 'Eve' is the 'only' song, so far that gives the listener a picture and a story without words. Your imagination can create whatever story you choose. This is MUSIC at its most POWERFUL point.

This CD single is worth it's price alone for getting the most beautiful and moving instrumental I've ever heard, "Eve". It's one of those songs that just pulls you into a state of awe and leaves you breathless when it is finished. It was meant to be the final song on "Awake", being the trailer to the emotionally packed "Space Dye Vest" (it appears on the Japanese Import of "Awake"), but honestly this track stands better on it's own. It has a quality to it that is so powerful, it is both the most beautiful and the saddest song I have ever heard. Plus for those DT fans who want to relish the gorgeous composing of original keyman Kevin Moore, this one is chock full of atmospheric piano riffs with a very tasteful guitar playing from John Petrucci. The demo recording of "Take the Time" is cool to hear too. It seems to be a cleaner recording with subtle, but noticable differences from the album version. "Silent Man" is a great song, but should stay with "Erotomania" and "Voices" as the three-part song it was meant to be on "Awake". The only true reason to buy this CD single is to have "Eve". You won't regret it.

I can't explain how much I love this band. When I heard that this single had a great hard-to-find b-side instrumental, I had an eye out for it. I finally got it and let me say...

"The Silent Man" is great, part 3 of Awake's "A Mind Beside Itself". Great ballad featuring a 12-string acoustic.
"Take The Time"'s demo isn't that much different than the regular version, just with not as good production. Still great though...
Now for the moment we've all been waiting for...
..."Eve."...Wow...words...oh my god...words...NO, the human LANGUAGE is inadequate to describe this work of art...Beautiful. Brilliant. Amazing. Masterpiece. Magnum opus. Breath-taking. Emotional...You'd need like a billion synonyms for the word "beautiful" to properly describe this song. It wasn't until 2003 with Train of Thought's "Stream of Consciousness" before they could even TRY to tp this masterpiece, but even that is random noise compared to "Eve". I have only one complaint about this song...it's too short, only 5 minutes and 10 seconds. Seriously, just buy this damn single! NO words can describe this beautiful song. You'll thank me later.

UPDATE: To the kid above me, no. If you like PCD, but hate DT, you're f***ed up, and need to be sent to an asylum NOW!

Why to buy this cd:
If you're looking to buy this cd you're odviously already a dream theater fan so you most likely already have the song the silent man from awake, so you're not buying the cd for this.

Take the Time has always been one of my favorite dream theater songs (especially the live version on Once in A LIVEtime) and its interesting to hear the demo version. But its odviously not worth it to buy this expensive cd for a slightly different version of a song you have (or should have) heard lots of times. This is just a bonus for the real reason to buy this cd.

By the time you're reading this you have probably already seen what all the other people are saying about Eve. I'll try not be be repetative, but this song is surreal. It is one of the most (if not the most) beautiful and eloquent songs you will ever hear.
These reviews really can't tell what it sounds like, so the only way for you to know is to buy it. (...)

I can't imagine that there is any type of person who would not fall in love with the song Eve from this single. You don't need to be a prog fan (although I am) to enjoy this masterpiece. Like others have said here previously, there are few words if any that can convey the power and emotion that this song projects on its own. I don't know if anyone could listen to this song and not honestly be moved. If anyone at Amazon reviews this entry, I recommend that they give this song a listen and then decide if perhaps this single deserves special advertising. I can't think of anymore to say here without just rambling on. Get this single!!!!!

What more can I say than this - Dream Theater is my favorite band, "Images & Words" is my favorite album, and "Eve" (from this single) is my all time favorite song!!!