Liquid Tension Experiment

Liquid Tension Experiment

Product Details

• Audio CD (March 10, 1998)
• Original Release Date: March 10, 1998
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Magna Carta
• ASIN: B0000067YK
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (112 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #26,146 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

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  Music > Indie Music > Rock > Progressive

Track Listings

1. Paradigm Shift

2. Osmosis

3. Kindred Spirits

4. Stretch

5. Freedom of Speech

6. Chris and Kevin's Excellent Adventure

7. State of Grace

8. Universal Mind

9. Three Minute Warning

10. Three Minute Warning [Continued]

11. Three Minute Warning [Continued]

12. Three Minute Warning [Continued]

13. Three Minute Warning [Continued]

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Over-wrought, self-indulgent, bombastic--hurl every clichéd prog-rock epithet you can think of--this group will suck 'em in and spit 'em right back in a deafening flurry of notes plucked, struck, hammered, and slapped. Without question, these guys ( Dream Theater's drummer and guitarist Mike Portnoy and John Petrucci respectively, keyboardist Jordan Rudess, and bassist Tony Levin) are masters. And they make no apologies for having recorded an album of intensely virtuosic instrumental hard rock. Armed with chops, taste, and panache, LTE groove seamlessly from the lightning-fingered metalfest "Paradigm Shift" to the comical drum & bass duet "Chris and Kevin's Excellent Adventure"; from the full-throttle jamming on "Universal Mind" to the house-crushing mayhem of "Three Minute Warning." Throughout, the staggering speed and technique of both Portnoy and Petrucci consistently grab center stage. It's a riveting work from start to finish and a scorching testament to the power of musical inspiration and collaboration. --Michael Mikesell

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

42 of 44 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars These people can't be human., May 24, 2000

By	"geddysciple" (Tennessee) - See all my reviews

I love this album so very much. These guys are true virtuosos of their instruments. I love every track, particularly the huge opening track "Paradigm Shift", the wild "Kindred Spirits", and the over-active and heartlessly indulgent "Universal Mind". This group has no notion of humility whatsoever, but they can pump out one heck of an album. My reviews of each track:

1."Paradigm Shift"-A chop-heavy speedplay of lighthearted madness. Delicious.

2."Osmosis"-EXTREMELY groovy, relaxing track. The name suits it well. A real treat to listen to.

3."Kindred Spirits"-A rocker's delight, pretty heavy stuff, but very beautiful and melodic. A grand exposition of eveyone's talents.

4."The Stretch"-Another groovy, swinging track. Not nearly as soothing and relaxing as "Osmosis", but very cool and fun to listen to.

5."Freedom of Speech"-Nine minute anthem with some beautiful keyboard work, and some impressive guitar solos, but nothing mindblowing. Not bad, just not as spectacular as the rest of the album.

6."Chris and Kevin's Excellent Adventure"-Cool, short, groovy, yet still edgy. The overdubbed whistling was a nice touch.

7."State of Grace"-Another slow anthem. Worst track here. Once again, Rudess's keyboards shine, but the track seems a bit cold and boring.

8."Universal Mind"-My personal favorite track. It's fast, indulgent, heavy, and active. Not for the faint of heart.

9-13."Three Minute Warning"-A HUGE twenty eight minute long jam session. The warning on the back of the CD should provide sufficient information on the tracks. You're guaranteed to like at least part of it. It's awesome, but a bit rough.

That's it. Anyone looking for an awesome instrumental album will love this. It's just...EXCELLENT! A real masterpiece of prog-metal virtuosity.

28 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars OH MY GOD!!!, July 19, 2001

By	"elpfan09" (Burke, Virginia USA) - See all my reviews

This instrumental album is one of the greatest that I've ever heard. It's just absolutely amazing. The album opens with a blast of music that shows just how fast those guitars, keyboards and drums can go. "Paradigm Shift" continues with a bunch of unison runs bewteen Petrucci and Rudess. The entire song features solo after solo between the keyboards and guitar. And the drum part just stays right in there with it all. "Osmosis" is based around the bass part and everyone else jamming on it. It's a nice song that drastically contrasts the first piece. "Kindred Spirits" is a guitar-led piece that is pretty cool. The next piece, "The Stretch," is the shortest on the album, but it's cool. The song has Rudess soloing over a drum and bass groove. "Freedom of Speech" is the "power-ballad" of the album. It has a very Dream Theater-sound to it. Good stuff. The next song is my favorite. "Chirs and Kevin's Excellent Adventure." It really shows the band's sense of humor, having a drum and bass riff with "vocal overdubs" that are just goofy. I really like it. "State of Grace" is a guitar-keyboard duet that is very good. "Universal Mind" is another speed-demon piece. Fast and furious, with such a cool ending.
With having less than a week to write and record the whole album (Sept 20 through Sept 25, 1997), the epic of this project ends up being a 28:31-long jam session that was recorded and included in its entirety. This entire piece was improvised, starting off with the guys just messing around with stuff. Nothing really starts until the drum beat gets put down, then the keyboards get into it. The guitar comes in as the jam continues. Part 2 starts with a guitar lead that the rest build off of. The music dies down, but only until the drums start again with another groove. And I think that beat involves Portnoy playing 5's with the bass while keeping a good snare beat on 2 and 4. Part 3 is another change, building into a cool guitar solo. It's amazing how the guitars and keyboards are able to stay together despite all of these changes. Part 4 is cool, too. It starts with a keyboards solo over a cool groove, then it's time for another great guitar solo. Part 5 starts out slower, with good keyboard part. Then the guitars and bass drum start trading rhythms. The question-answer part between the guitar and keyboard is just amazing. The jam session ends as it starts, in a note-filled nebula of sound. "I believe that will suffice for a record. Alright, send it to Varney. As is."

17 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Are they Human!, December 17, 1999

By	Daniel Vargas Blanco "dvb" (San Antonio, TX) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

To think there are humans behind the instruments in this album is impossible. To dream theater's fans this album will full-fill all your selves and you'll find Mike and John playing in a way absolutely different to DT's albums. The album opens with a thunderous sound of drums, keyboards and guitar going so fast you'll hardly think a human being could be able to play like that....it's called "Paradigm Shift", a heavy track full of solos and heavy rythms, it then settles a more gentle pace with a guitar solo. Suddenly it changes into an arabian riff, and it ends as it begins. (Mike Portnoy is unbelievable in this one) "Osmosis", is a 3 minute song with a strange percussion, and a sort of caribbean sound though not Reggae, nice fillings provided by Petrucci's guitars complete the track. The third track "kindred Spirits" starts rockin' with a guitar followed by Tony's bass. Beautiful harmony in this track, with a piece where a fast keyboard solo is followed in the same way by a guitar solo. Some piano is used in the middle of the song. It ends with a quick-paced rythm with everyone riffin'. "the stretch": an improvisation by Mike, Tony and Jordan....sort of funky bass lines here, cool drums and a keyboard solo. the track only lasts 2 minutes. You then get to listen the incredible "freedom of Speech", a piano intro is followed by a perfect guitar solo. The track changes to a sort of heavy rythm, but keeps the piano background, which makes the song so hearted, a series of guitar, keyboard and organ solos are found towards the end of the song, which is finished by a piano melody. "Chris And Kevin's excellent adventure" shows what a drum set and a bass can do. Completely improvised by Mike and Tony, funky riffs cover the drum background provided by Mike. "State Of Grace" is a nice ballad by John and Jordan. Beautiful piano notes are the background for a guitar solo/rythm. Nice one. Then we have "Universal Mind", again twin fast solos (john and Jordan together) open this track, a heavy riff is reached which is filled by I think 8 solos (maybe more) alternating from John to Jordan (some piano, some keyboards), abruptly ending in a piano melody all alone, which is then transformed to a drums & bass funky rythm. Then they all play together (quite fast), and ends in a nice old tune. Three Minute Warning"------------- see for yourself! Enjoy it cause it's quite a Blast! DVB