Suspended Animation

John Petrucci | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD
• Number of Discs: 1
• ASIN: B0009ZEC2I
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (22 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #8,338 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

John Petrucci's solo album featuring 8 tracks of previously unreleased material with Dave LaRue on bass and Dave DiCenso on drums, including guest appearances by Tony Verderosa (acoustic and electronic drums on "Tunnel Vision") and Tim LeFebvre (bass on "Tunnel Vision").

Track listing:

1. Jaws of Life

2. Glasgow Kiss

3. Tunnel Vision

4. Wishful Thinking

5. Damage Control

6. Curve

7. Lost Without You

8. Animate-Inanimate

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Suspended Animation, March 11, 2006

By 

Li-Heng Chan "lak" (Hong Kong) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Suspended Animation (Audio CD)

John Petrucci's first solo album was indeed a fine effort, resulting in a variety of tunes that showcases technicality, melody as well as a range of different styles! And is certainly worthy of ranking up there with Satriani and Vai.

"Jaws Of Life" is the perfect opener to this album, showcasing a meaty guitar riff as well as an almost 5 minute long solo with John's all-out assault on the guitar. A reminiscent of "Acid Rain" from LTE2. One of the best on this cd. 10/10

"Glasgow Kiss" has some sort of scottish feel to it, the name says it all. The whole song revolves around one catchy (scottish) melody, as well as a beautiful slow acoustic-electric movement in the middle of the piece. A main highlight 10/10

"Tunnel Vision" features an electric drumset, and a slightly techno and oriental feel to it, it sounds like a soundtrack you're likely to hear in an action game. This song is full of energy, if you're looking to get pumped up while doing sports or something, this song works perfect. 9/10

"Wishful Thinking" is one of the two ballads on this album, slows things down from the three energetic songs before this one, this song is spiritually uplifting and brimming with a touching melody. However, ballads aren't really my thing, but it's still a well-composed piece. 8/10

"Damage Control" is my favorite song on this album, and probably the most dynamic, as a musician, this song should be in ABA (Ternary) form, most music majors should know what i'm talking about. It starts off at a slow tempo, then it slowly develops. Around 3 min and a half into the song is actualy where all the intensity comes out, a slight reminisce of a Metallica style riff, the tempo is sped up almost twice as fast, including a bass solo as well, courtesy of Dave LaRue. 10/10

"Curve" is my least favorite song on the album, clear influences from Joe Satriani are here though, but it's the same monotonous riff throughou the whole song that it gets annoying after a while, the only interesting bit the is the breakdown at around 3 minutes into the song. 6/10

"Lost Without You" is the second ballad on this album, it's much softer than Wishful Thinking, this one actually has some sort of theme to it, it seems to be talking about someone, and suddenly he get "lost", the tension builds as the "character" John is portraying gets more confused. One of the best on this album. 9/10

"Animate-Inanimate" is a more laid-back one, also the longest track on the album, it has a slightly oriental feel to it. The whole seems too drawn out over a long period of time, and it gets boring after a while, a fair piece. 8/10

This is a solid album if you're looking for excellent instrumental rock, great virtuosity from a great guitarist. I recommend Liquid Tension Experiment 1 and 2 to go with this, it's a perfect match

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Guitar Album, September 13, 2006

By 

Chris "takethekman" (Oakland, CA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Suspended Animation (Audio CD)

Sure, alot of my friends say he sounds too much like other players(Satriani, Vai, Morse, etc.), but who the hell cares. This guy is amazing, and all 8 compositions here are just as worthy as anything else in this genre; A few songs are a little longer than they need to be, but this album just inspired me to work harder and practice longer. 'Curve' and 'Wishful Thinking' are my 2 faves, but this whole album gives you exactly what you wanted....Lots and lots of amazing guitar! Great production, too. Good stuff here.

15 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Wow this is amazing. Wait, haven't I heard this before?, January 22, 2006

A Kid's Review

This review is from: Suspended Animation (Audio CD)

John Petrucci- Guitarist of the flawless band Dream Theater, and guitar virtuoso. Now, he's released a solo album. Being a DT fan myself, I was a little apprehensive about this at first, especially because its price as an import was a little pricey. Had I been new to this guy, I would have wanted to experiment and try it out. But being a DT fan, I already knew a little of what to expect, so a solo album of only Petrucci wasn't at the top of my list. I was also a little sceptical about buying this because it was purely instrumental, and the other players on the album didn't include other members from Dream Theater- Portnoy, Rudess, or Myung. Well, I know that Petrucci is an amazingly fast guitarist, and can play lightning fast solos, but how will he fare on his own, as the main attraction? The only way to find out is to hear it.

And a few weeks later, I did. Music to my ears, I tell you. The opening track, Jaws of Life, was aggressive, fast-paced, and interesting. The other members of this band weren't up to DT standards, in my opinion, but they held the melody together and served as perfect backup for Petrucci's bustin' solo spots. The rest of the album was either really catchy and radio-friendly, semi-heavy (like Train of Thought by Dream Theater), or with hints of progressive rock. It was well balanced, and overall, an interesting album. So why not the full five stars? Read on, dude.

The following are the flaws in this album, but as musical tatses vary greatly, they may not bother you. Find the ones that apply to you, and then decided whether this cd is worth the buy.
1) The guiatr gets a little repetitious at some point in the middle of the album. Not slow, and not boring, but just repetitive. Usually, this is in the super fast, progressive-like riffs, or in the slow breakdowns that repeat the same 2 measures like 50 times. These "points of bore" aren't common in the cd, and I was exaggerating when i said 50 times, but it was enough to make me push the next button. But to those who have lots of patience, lucky you.
2) To pre-existing Dream Theater fans, you have mostly likely heard of Liquid Tension Experiment, correct? Just in case you haven't they are the side project of 3 current DT members- Jordan Rudess, John Petrucci, and Mike Portnoy. Bassist Tony Levin replaces the great John Myung and there is no singing at all. Purely instrumental. However, this album sounds very much like the LTE projects, and even has some of the same riffs and chord progressions. Once again, monotonous...Buut, you could always listen to this first, and then treat yourself to the amazing Liquid Tnesion Experiments. I went vice versa, and now I wish I could have saved the best for last.
3) Lastly, because this album is Petrucci's album, it's completely revolved around the guitar line. Cool deal for some, but for me, only up to a point. I liked how Liquid Tension Experiment and Dream Theater had some keyboard, drum, and even bass solos incorporated into the whole mesh of progressive goodness. Here, it's pretty much only guitar.

So, check and see if that would bother you, and then...time to face the moment of truth. To buy or not to buy? As for me, I recommend this for sure, because, despite the flaws listed above (which aren't really as annoying as I make them sound), the album is catchy and good ear candy. There's a little something for almost everyone in here- slow stuff, fast stuff, solos, sweet meoldies, shredding heavy enough to headbang to, and length. Dream Theater has always put out long albums, and they all fall within 50-80 minutes. The same with Liquid Tension, and the same with Petrucci. Although there are only 8 songs, they are long enough to make the album worth buying. Hey, I may have less tolerance for anything that's not perfect only because I'm used to DT and LTE topping themselves countless numbers of times, but you may not. If you are new to this kind of music, you must realize that all the members of of Dream Theater are head and shoulders above the majorities of those rockstars out there. They are tasteful, and can play at extremely fast speeds for extremely long periods of time. This isn't musical "fast food" at all, and is not for the faint-of-heart. That said, the members of Dream Theater(especially Petrucci) are golden in their own rights. So, you decide. (...) worth it isn't it? I thought you'd say that:)

For people who liked this album, here are a list of my other favorites that you could try exploring into, and probably get hooked on *Note that these are mostly progressive rock/metal bands, so I won't get you wondering into some other genre you don't want to hear about:

Scenes from a Memory/ Dream Theater
Octavarium/ ""
Images and Words/ ""
Liquid Tnesion Experiment 2 (not 1)/ Liquid Tension Experiment
Damnation/ Opeth
Ghost Reveries/ ""
Spirit of Radio/ Rush
Close to the Edge/ Yes
The Fury of Our Maker's ands/ Devildriver
An Eveneing With John Petrucci and Jordan Rudess/ John Petrucci and Jordan Rudess...Mellow mellow mellow, but good

That's about it. I wouldn't want to list all of my favorites, because it would cost you a bundle, but try these on for size, and I hope you like them. Thank you reading my long review, and please continue supporting these guys.

Best wishes, (...)