Greatest Hit (...and 21 other pretty cool songs)

Dream Theater

Product Details

• Audio CD (April 1, 2008)
• Original Release Date: April 1, 2008
• Number of Discs: 2
• Label: Rhino Records
• ASIN: B00139B39E
• Also Available in: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars See all reviews (27 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #11,879 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
First Ever Best-Of Spanning 1991-2005 22 Songs On 2CDs Featuring Rare Radio Edits, 3 New Re-Mixes, and Liner Notes After recently celebrating the band's 20-year anniversary, Dream Theater returns with its first-ever best of collection. Spanning 1991-2005, the two-disc set contains rare single edits, B-sides, and a trio of new remixes that spotlight that band's nonpareil musicianship, complex arrangements, and amazing songwriting. Referring to Dream Theater's first and only major radio hit, "Pull Me Under," the compilation's tongue-in-cheek title is a testament not only to the band's sense of humor but also highlights the acclaimed New York-based quintet's ability to make music and cultivate a legion of fans on its own terms, without help from radio or MTV. The collection features more than two hours of progressive hard rock from James LaBrie (vocals), John Myung (bass), John Petrucci (guitar/vocals), Mike Portnoy (drums/vocals), and Jordan Rudess (keyboards). " 22 songs spanning 14 years including 3 newly remixed versions of tracks from their 1992 breakout album. " Images And Words by Kevin Shirley (Led Zeppelin). " Divided into Disc 1, "The Dark Side" (metallic) and Disc 2, "The Light Side (melodic). " "The Dark Side" stand-outs include new remixes of "Pull Me Under" and "Take The Time" plus rare single edits of "Lie," "Home," and "Misunderstood." " "The Light Side" highlights includes a remix of "Another Day," an alternate mix of "Through Her Eyes," a single edit of "Solitary Shell" and "To Live Forever," a rare U.K.-only b-side from the single "Lie."

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Jumping On Point, April 21, 2008

By	J. Lancaster "Jamie" (Collierville, TN USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I am surprised at some of the other reviews. Some people seem to ask 'why did they bother'? What these reviewers seem to miss is that if they are a die hard fan of DT and have all the albums then this compilation is not for them! Why do you care? If they want to repackage some of their more middle of the road songs to try and get some more people to enjoy their art, why would you criticize this? Are you afraid that the 10 minutes it took them to put this set together took valuable time away from creating the next album or stopped Mike from working on his next piece in his AA suite? Well it didn't. I don't like seeing anyone giving this less than 5 stars because the music is amazing and this set should have 5 stars so more people will check it out.

Yes it doesn't have any of the epic songs, and it doesn't bring anything new but if it brings more fans to the band and makes them some money so they can continue making great music then that is awesome. Just because something isn't geared at you doesn't make it bad.

Enough ranting. For everyone else, if you are not a DT fan you should be and this is a great disc to get to hear a couple of hours of amazing music. If you want to take it to the next level then get their other albums and listen to some 20 minute compilations that will blow you away.
If so you have about 10 hours of great music ahead of you.

9 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Another Live CD; No Wait a Minute, April 2, 2008

By	Glenn O. Kirms (Anywhere, USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Here's comes Dream Theater with their first greatest hit collection. At least it's not another live set. I guess in between studio albums, this just makes sense. While this is geared to the first time listener to capture the sound of this remarkable group, it still has a few elements for the die-hard fan. The remix's are certainly the key here if you want to see how they are polished up. The one unreleased track 'To Live Forever' would be the reason to buy this if you don't already have a studio mix of it. While the remix's are great, one has to wonder why they chose those songs and maybe not several more from their next couple of albums. I think 'To Live Forever' is included because it is LaBrie's welcome into the band. The song that should have made it onto this collection is 'The Way It Used to Be'. But it's not here and one has to wonder why. Plus I don't understand the logic behind the edits of songs like 'Solitary Shell'. Taking it to the edit form just kills the song overall. But I would surmise it's for the first time listener and nothing more. Fans of this group won't purchase this for edited versions of songs that they already own. I would have loved to see more b-side or unreleased tracks on this collection because I'm sure the band has plenty that have never made it to the final cut. But I still have to give this 5 stars because they're all great songs. So, for those of you who want to get your feet wet with Dream Theater, then this collection is a great way to start.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Even though this release is filled with edited or remixed versions of DT songs, it's still a nice package , July 10, 2008

By	R. Gorham "RCG2" - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)

THE BAND: James LaBrie (vocals), John Petrucci (guitars), John Myung (bass), Jordan Rudess (keyboards), Kevin Moore (keyboards on 7 songs), Derek Sherinian (keyboards on 2 songs), Mike Portnoy (drums & percussion).

THE DISCS: (2008) 22 songs on 2 discs clocking in at approximately 138 minutes (79+ minutes on disc-1, 58+ minutes on disc-2). Included with the discs is a 14-page booklet containing band photos, a 2-page intro regarding song choices from drummer Mike Portnoy, 4-pages of historic text about the band from author Rich Wilson who wrote DT's authorized biography ("Lifting Shadows"), and what songs came from which albums and year released. This compilation follows DT from 1992-2005. Remastered sound. Label - Atlantic / Rhino.

ALBUM REPRESENTATION: Images And Words (3 songs), Awake (3), Falling Into Infinity (2), Metropolis Pt. 2: Scenes From A Memory (3), Six Degrees Of Inner Turbulence (4), Train Of Thought (2), Octavarium (4), B-Side to "Lie" (1). No songs from DT's debut (with Charlie Dominici on vocals) When Dream And Day Unite (1989), A Change Of Seasons (1995), or Systematic Chaos (2007).

COMMENTS: For me, this Dream Theater compilation has been a long time coming. With nine studio albums, why not put out a "Best Of" compilation? Though the band's music receives very little airplay... they've amassed a nice following in the world of progressive rock music. The musicians here are consummate pros at their instruments - Petrucci and Portnoy are Gods in their respective fields. THE GOOD: Most of the fan favorites are here in all their remastered glory - including "Pull Me Under" (the Hit), "Take The Time", "Another Day", "Lie", "Peruvian Skies", "As I Am", "Through Her Eyes", "Misunderstood", "The Root Of All Evil", "Solitary Shell", etc. To me, Disc-1 (the metallic side) rocks harder and shows off Petrucci's guitar (as the rest of the band tries to keep up with him (and of course they do). Disc-2 (the melodic side) is geared more toward the story being told, LaBrie's singing, and song structure. THE NOT SO GOOD: You can't tell from the back cover track listing, but once you open the liner notes you'll notice - 8 of the 22 songs are either edited versions or 2007 special 'remixes'. When I first opened the booklet and read this, the acid in my stomach began to rise and I cringed... another 'Greatest Hits' package marred by gimmicky studio tricks. After dozens of spins though, the slight changes in the songs are now somewhat acceptable, and the edited versions are not as bad as I thought (since so many of DT's songs are close to the double-digit number in minutes) - I'm okay with it. The 4 'remixes' are decent on the first few spins... but after weeks of listening, I find myself longing for the original studio versions. The drums (specifically the snare) on their remix of "Pull Me Under" sounds tinny and downright cheap. The song selection is very good. In my opinion, however, several classics are missing - "Caught In A Web", "The Mirror", "Metropolis (Part I)", "Fatal Tragedy", a great jam in the "Overature 1928" and "New Millennium" (the heaviest track from "Falling Into Infinity" - one of my personal favorites in their entire library). I totally dig the ultra crunchy marathon DT songs... of which the album "Train Of Thought" has many. My heart tells me that "Train Of Thought" is underrepresented here... however, with 5 of the 7 songs lasting 10 minutes or longer, I understand why more songs are not here. Skipping past all tracks from DT's debut is understandable, but I think a song or two from "Systematic Chaos" (2007) could have made it onto disc-2 with its 20+ minutes of unused space... perhaps their new label (Roadrunner Records) had something to do with that. Even a live track or two would have been a bonus here. And lastly, I wish the writing on the slim binder side of the cover was larger - my 20/20 vision can barely read the verbage from only a few feet away. OVERALL: A very good introduction to Dream Theater's music catalog despite some minor flaws. Like any decent mix, it's great to have so many wonderful songs all in one place. Looking for a single studio album to start with - I'd recommend "Images And Words" or "Metropolis Pt. 2: Scenes From A Memory". As Mike Portnoy stated in the CD liner notes - this "Greatest Hit" collection is hopefully "something that will lure the listeners in and inspire them to dig deeper..." In my opinion, it should (4.5 stars).