Customer Reviews

Suspended Animation

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

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

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.

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, (...)

If you're here you probably know a little about John Petrucci anyway, so I'll just say that this is probably the instrumental album of the year. Period. I listen to a lot of instrumental music and this is near the top in composition, technical prowess, and just good stuff that you want to listen to over and over again. Someone else compared this to Liquid Tension Experiment, which I can see to an extent, but that session seemed a lot less focused than this one, more goofing around. I like this even better than LTE.

I received this album in the mail on time and in perfect condition. I couldn't ask for anything better! This instrumental rock guitar album displays Johns masterful achievements on the guitar and should be turned up LOUD!!

I am a long-time Dream Theater and John Petrucci fan.

This is a long overdue solo album and I have to admit:
a) it is brilliant
b) the style was a bit unexpected!

Coming from DT axeman you would expect odd time signatures and crushing riffs but not this time - this is a very pleasant, easy to listen to (my wife likes it !!!) - instrumental guitar album.

If you have a sports car you would be mad not to have this CD permanently stuck in it's CD player.

If somebody played this to me without telling me what it was, I would squarely put my house on claiming that this had to be Joe Satriani's best album ever. E.g. I would guess that after much convincing, Satch stopped singing (thank goodness), learned some new scales, and finally topped Surfing with the Alien (after 20 years). Turns out, this is not the case!

I am not trying to be funny here. Honestly, this is an absolutely stunning guitar instrumental, but do not look for prog rock/metal here.

Five stars no doubt, but for five and half stars check out an evening with JP and Jordan Rudess.

Cheers

I don't usually dig completely instrumental music, and at first listening to this album I was like "it's just not the same without James!" but this album has grown on me. I identify the most with vocalists, but JP's guitar playing gives me the chills and even without a singer to centralize it, I still like this album. "Jaws of Life" is cool, kind of shark-like and threatening. I used to think "Glasgow Kiss" (which has that Irish kind of tempo) was corny, but now I like its positive energy and every time I'm driving around on a sunny day I'm like "quick! Put on Glasgow Kiss!" "Tunnel Vision" is another one that stands out (and it was cool going through a tunnel listening to it). The two slow songs, "Wishful Thinking" and "Lost Without You" are the ones I listen to the least; I thought they're too much like "smooth jazz" but when I did listen all the way through I heard some things I liked. "Damage Control" has a riff that was very attention getting. "Curve" reminds me a lot of "Flying In A Blue Dream", but Joe Satriani was his hero I guess. "Animate Inanimate" is the longest song, good and kind of middle-eastern sounding. OK, so this isn't Dream Theater, of course it's not going to be as great as all the members of DT together with all their talent and diversity, but JP is still pretty great. It's not as intense of a listening experience as Dream Theater, but it's a good album for when you can't concentrate as intensely. Some people have told me they like to listen to this album at work. My family liked it when we were on a road trip and I also like it for driving.

Petrucci's debut solo effort takes the listener on a journey through musical soundscapes with his signature shredding combined with melodic compositions that are sure to delight his Dream Theater fans, as well as new listeners. "Suspended Animation" spotlights the brilliance of Dreg's bassist Dave LaRue and drummer Dave DiCenso who lay down an incredibly thick rhythm foundation for John's guitar acrobatics. Petrucci's mix of insanely intricate guitar riffs, brilliant songwriting and instinctive sense of melody has earned him praise and respect in the international guitar community. With legions of rabid fans that consider him the new guitar icon for the 21st century, John's compositions and playing on "Suspended Animation" represents a razor edged rediscovery of the limitless boundaries of the electric guitar.There's a little something for almost everyone in here including slow stuff, fast stuff, solos, fresh melodies, shredding heavy enough to incite headbanging - definitely something fans of most genres can enjoy.

I was one of those "baby boomers" that idolized the group Cream in the sixties and seventies. What I enjoyed most was their long improvisations in the midst of their songs. John Petrucci and his group recapture that passion and musical interaction, but they take it to a level of virtuosity and intensity that is beyond remarkable and very satisfying.

I really love the album, JP play nice riffs and great solos, however i was expecting more from a axeman like JP (my top 3 guitarist). It sound to much like Dream Teather, some song can be included in a DT album. I think when guitarist go solo for a project they should give fans more of what makes them great with a twist of new things. Like Marty Friedman solo albums.

Dont get me wrong JP plays amazing here, its just i dont see much inspiration. I found more solos with feeling in DT albums.