YTSEJAM Digest 3016 Today's Topics: 1) Re: YTSEJAM digest 3012 by "Greg R. Lee" 2) Re: FII Production by Albert Balkiewicz 3) Re: The WORST DT album yet?? by email_address_removed (Dan Temmesfeld) 4) Can someone do me a favor... by Nick Giannotti 5) See how they slag... by email_address_removed 6) Review of FII by Len Berkoski 7) More FII by Kyrre Trohjell 8) FII is NOT crap. by KillMary 9) Production of FII by Joshua Malone 10) Re: YTSEJAM digest 3015 by Graham Borland 11) Kevin Moore by "James Thorpe" 12) But I don't give a shit ( the hyper-extended version ) by Jon Parmet ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Thu, 25 Sep 1997 09:59:18 -0400 (EDT) From: "Greg R. Lee" To: email_address_removed Subject: Re: YTSEJAM digest 3012 Message-ID: >> The blurred out guy on the CD sleeve is Kevin Moore, looking back at >> the stupidest thing he has ever done! >> > Yes, it would have been much wiser for Kevin to just stay in a band that > demanded all his time and was making music that he wasn't interested in, > instead of going for all that "be true to yourself" nonsense. > > Still waiting for Chromakey... > Anton Max It sure beats doing some keys for Fates so you can eat! Hey, I admire Kevin for the balls it took to leave DT to persue his own interests, I really do...I really like his work with DT, but I could care less for Chromakey...the demos do nothing for me. >> I bow to superior ears. Not only can he hear that there is someone >> breathing there, but he can *actually tell WHO IT IS*!!! :) >> >> And, just out of curiosity, exactly how do you know it's Derek? >> > > Remember that gay thread on the jam a while back? I make no further > comments..... >;^D > > ~Okay, this is Eckie's last one for the afternoon Now that is funny!!! LOL! I am still listening to FII every chance I get, and I still like it, but you know...there is nothing on the CD that gets me quite as arroused as say the "Scarred" solo... Greg, Toronto. ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 25 Sep 1997 10:41:10 -0400 (EDT) From: Albert Balkiewicz To: email_address_removed Subject: Re: FII Production Message-ID: > > 2. You can hear a door closing or a > > similar sound about one second before > > BMS begins...I don't think that was > > intended to be there. I don't think that it's a door shutting....To me, I keep on thinking it's possibly Derek letting go of a pedal on a piano at the end of Hollow Years....The sound is more muffled than a closing door would be....It sounds a lot like in SDV, when you can hear Kevin hitting the pedals during the intro........ > Oh one more thing. Has anyone noticed the complete lack of tremelo/vabrado in > JLB's voice? I think that SUX! I love how the live version of TAMP sounds and > how the old songs sound with Vabrado. I dunno, I think it adds a kind of > subconciously proggish element to the music. Anyways, that's just my take on > things, the music itself is as great as usual and I'm sure the live performances > will be too! Personally, I like the fact that he doesn't use the vibrato on Hollow Years.......it definitely makes for more of an effect for me. Once in a while, James' vibrato is so prominent that it takes away from some of the songs - his vibrato is strong to the point where the note he holds fluctuates almost a whole step.....The fact that he holds back on it during Hollow Years, and to a small extent on TAMP, really adds to the feel of the songs (esp. Hollow Years). Another thing I noticed on this album is that when James' voice hits the higher registers in his "I&W voice", it ruins it for me. One prime example is on Anna Lee, during the second half of the song. There's no way to remotely understand what he's singing.....And the octave double at the last full chorus of Hollow Years ("...is the crahsing down....") is another example of where the higher register is just a bit too much..... oh, by the way, Hollow Years I think could be a HUGE hit, almost like "To Be With You" was for Mr. Big back in the day....that Latin feel is just incredible, sometimes reminding me of "La Isla Bonita"......... one more thing..........Lines In The Sand, minus the first time Pinnick comes in, is absolutely nad-rockin'.......... -Al -- ^@^@^@^@^@^@^@^@^@^@^@^@^@^@^@^@^@^@^@^@^@@^@^@^@^@^@^@^@^@^@^@^@^@^@ I inhale the sun...........I exhale the absence of light I am the number One..........burning. ^@^@^@^@^@^@^@^@^@^@^@^@^@^@^@^@^@^@^@^@^@^@^@^@^@^@^@^@^@^@^@^@^@^@^ email: email_address_removed email_address_removed HOMEPAGE:http://www.geocities.com/SunsetStrip/Towers/9280/index.html ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 25 Sep 1997 10:44:04 -0400 (EDT) From: email_address_removed (Dan Temmesfeld) To: email_address_removed Subject: Re: The WORST DT album yet?? Message-ID: >Aside from the fact that I always have to program my >CD player to skip tracks 2, 4, 8 and 10, I like the >album very much. that just seems close-minded... with DT you pick new stuff up every listen. skipping a song, because it "sounds like bon jovi or def leppard"...?? whatever. i honestly feel that DT has indeed progressed and matured. sure they are holding back more, but they are still DT and they still are writing great jams. and this CD is more concise and solid as far as songs go, while still keeping their "kick ass" instrumental prowess. i think TOO many "progfan" people claim to be open-minded to music, but then close their mind to anything "not prog" or seemingly "less prog" than before. that is utter BULLSHIT. progressive music implies moving forward and doing new things. if they put out IAW2, i think i would be very disappointed. sure, they may have put out some radio songs (i'll have a post on that later), but how is this so wrong? they have contin- ued to put out music, and that is good enough for me. you need to open your mind to different stuff. even some "pop" music isn't bad. i like everything from classical, to pop (mariah, amy grant), to acoustic/folk (caedmon's call, toad the wet scrocket), to grunge (nirvana), to rock (tesla, etc), to modern hardrock (faith no more, galactic cowboys), to some alternative/ modern rock (offspring, beck), to heavy metal (test- ament, megadeth, death), to prog rock (DT, FW, echolyn, etc), to rap (grits, ICP). there's so much music out there for anyone to find some- thing. there's also so much out there for oen person to find many styles to listen to and to play (mike portnoy is a big rap fan oddly enough- as well as just a fan of MUSIC in GENERAL). i think it's far more enjoyable listening to music by finding something you LIKE in it. i can find something i LIKE and ENJOY in almost ANY form of music. THAT is what opens your mind... you have the right to your opinion about the new DT, but just be known that you're being close-minded when it comes to the big picture as far as music goes... Dan ---+ +--- Dan Temmesfeld - dantemm (at) erinet (dot) com Galactic Cowboys on the Web...muh!? http://www.cedarville.edu/student/s1133627/gcowboys.htm ---+ +--- ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 25 Sep 1997 10:43:59 -0400 From: Nick Giannotti To: "'Fellow Rabidly Zealous Fans....'" Subject: Can someone do me a favor... Message-ID: .. and tell me exactly WHY they think the production sucks? Is it because you can finally hear the bass in the songs? Or is it because the guitars and keys might be mixed a little lower? Or is it because the drums don't have that I&W trigger? Maybe. Or maybe it's because this isn't I&W, or Awake, or ACoS, and you're all bent out of shape because you were expecting one of those. I'm sorry, but that's the way that I view it. You all sit there and say, "Kevin Shirley sucks, he should be beaten, the drum sounds on Awake are so much better" - what other conclusion are we supposed to come up with aside from "I wanted Awake II"? Stop kidding yourselves, and more importantly, stop insulting our intelligence. And for those of you who claim that the songwriting on FII is substandard: no, it's not. See above paragraph. This is one of the best albums I have heard in months, if not years, and there is NOTHING below par about the songwriting on it. It's top-notch, and in some places, doesn't border on genius, but far surpasses it. I'm sorry that you don't think it's prog enough, or that it's not wanky enough, or that the time signatures are all in 4/4 or 3/4 (oh! That's too easy! I want 19/8!!), but if all you care about is how technical DT are in their songs, then open your ears to some other types of music. (BTW: Please don't think that I'm a blind DT follower. They have their bad moments on this album as well: I think PS is boring, and YNM kinda grates on me... alright, it REALLY grates on me. So don't think that I just LOVE everything DT's come out with because it's DT - that isn't the case). If I sound pissed off, I am. I joined this list because I thought that it was for people who were fans of Dream Theater to discuss Dream Theater, not sit there and talk about how much their new album sucks, not about how much their new Keyboard player sucks (and if you think Derek sucks, you need serious help), about how other Prog-Metal bands whup DT's ass. If that's all you're gonna say, then let me know in advance, so I can unsubscribe. Sorry this was so long, and I'm especially sorry if I insulted anyone - that wasn't my intent. -Nicholas "Print is dead" - Igon ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 25 Sep 97 16:00:16 -0800 From: email_address_removed To: Subject: See how they slag... Message-ID: Hi, Before I start I'd like to welcome Pone to the Jam (of course I could have just walked across the office to say that - but there you go). Something that Pone said that I must agree with is the "buying the official release instead of importing" thing. If DT don't get a good amount of sales (in the UK for example) will they bother to tour, release singles etc..? Mind you - if EastWest don't bother to promote it most people wont know about it anyway! I can't believe (bear in mind that I haven't heard FII yet) that DT knocked this together with no thought or emotion (as someone posted earlier). "That's why they didn't use the proper font" he said - I'm sorry but that has to be bollox! I have a Fix tape and the versions on that rock big style and have obviously evolved over time - this is their bread and butter - their living - they're not likely to produce a half-arsed effort. I love YNM - I can't shift it from my head - I think this CD is gonna be fucking great! Dave (a UK Jammer) ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 25 Sep 1997 23:02:52 -0400 From: Len Berkoski To: email_address_removed Subject: Review of FII Message-ID: Some quick comments on the new album, with a final summary at the end. New Millennium: Pretty cool song, but it will take me a while to absorb this one. Thumbs up. You Not Me: I knew we were in trouble the second I heard JLB's "breathy" voice, and the chorus is the cheesiest bit of glam rock I've ever heard. They brought in a song doctor for this one? Seems to me they should trust their own instincts a little more. This song makes me long for "Another Day" (another song 2 I didn't really like). Thumbs down. Peruvian Skies: All I can say is haunting. Thumbs up. Hollow Years: Great song ... on a Sting album. Thumbs up, though. Burning My Soul: I really like this song now, but the poor lyrics bring into question the staying power of this song. Thumbs up. Hell's Kitchen: Absolutely wonderful; one of the most beautiful instrumentals I've heard. There is a very Satriani feel to this one. Thumbs up. Lines in the Sand: I don't see why people don't like the King's X guy on this song? In fact, I think if anything he reveals the vocal limitations of JLB in some places. Thumbs up on this one. Take Away My Pain: Great song ... on a Billy Joel album. Thumbs up. JustLet Me Breathe: To me, this song is a huge disappointment. A fantastic riff, meaningful lyrics, and a powerful emotions; however, I think they forgot to write a song! It seems they got so caught up in flipping off the music industry, they overlooked the melody, chorus, and any attempt at fitting lyrics to the music. However, just because it could've been even better, doesn't mean that it doesn't get a thumbs up. Anna Lee: Awful song ... on an even worse REO speedwagon album. Thumbs down. Trial of Tears: This song is going to take a lot of work, since there is so much going on. Looking forward to the effort though! Thumbs up. The whole album: I was really disappointed by this album in general. Even though there were promising parts here and there, it seemed that the album was lacking the overall synergy that was present on earlier albums. On IAW and Awake I felt there were recurring themes, and each song was part of a greater whole (I know people will jimmy one together in response to this). This album seems like a collection of riffs, with no real song structure to speak of. I will continue to listen to this album, although I have to say it really makes me want to reach for the earlier albums. If Fates Warning's new album had not been so incredible, I think I would've been really upset right now. ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 25 Sep 1997 17:06:19 GMT+1 From: Kyrre Trohjell To: email_address_removed Subject: More FII Message-ID: I have listened to it now, twice. The first time I just locked my door and cranked the stereo, and 78:20 just flew by! I will have to listen to it a couple more times before I come with a final verdict, but hey, FII rocks! As far as the production goes, it's something we have to get used to. The vocals seem a bit too far away sometimes, but there is some serious bass in there! I had a spotlight on one of the speakers, and it was a cool effect to really see the thin cover on the front being lifted out by the pressure. Maybe a bit much of the standard verse, chorus, verse etc. But as a whole, a truly wonderful experience. Do DT change? Sure they do! It's a bit hard to be progressive, if you were supposed to make the same album over and over. There are quite a few radio friendly tunes on there, and the guy behind the counter claimed FII was a quick selling CD, so let's get our hopes up! Later! Kyrre ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 25 Sep 1997 11:05:21 -0400 (EDT) From: KillMary To: email_address_removed Subject: FII is NOT crap. Message-ID: AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!! 1) I think everybody that says the production on FII sucks should get a time machine and get back to the 80s. The production on this CD is great and it serves what it was meant to sound like. All the sounds are warm and nice and clear. Every song has different sounds from all the instruments. It sounds great. I take it personally when people bash the production on this CD. A big Fuck You to all of you. 2) I think the songs are great. Everybody that wants Images and Words again should get a time machine and get back in time a few years, to be able to re-live the release of I&W. But don't clutter the jam with stupid comments like "it's not prog enough" (have you heard the CD?), "it's grungy" (HAVE YOU HEARD THE CD?????), etc. I think this is DT's finest effort ever. 3) Kevin Shirley is awesome. Not only did he get great warm sounds out of everybody, he also made the band not be obsolete in the current music scene, just working out little details: a) Guitar tone. Do I need to explain? b) He brought the bass up in the mix. c) Keyboards are there to create moods, and they're fine in the volume they are. d) Most important of all: he got James to get rid of that vibrato he has. Technically it's good, but it has no place in DT. DT is not Journey. You might like it, but it sounds like the 80s. The 80s are gone. Live with it. Everybody else is. Or else, get in the fucking time machine, or just lock yourself in your house and keep listening to your old CDs. But don't keep making an ass of yourselves showing how you can't grasp anything that's new or different. 4) Steve Z, if you are such a great producer, why aren't you out there producing bands? I haven't seen your name even in small label CDs that I have, let alone majors. I apologize if I'm wrong, though, in which case I want to buy a CD you produced to check out how you can make a band sound good. 5) L. Jason Hartman, you are an asshole. You are scum. You've posted to this list and offended hundreds, maybe a thousand fans that liked the CD. Do no mock Dream Theater! If you ceased being a fan, go and unsubscribe. If you just like I&W maybe you should start a I&W mailing list only for people that are a fan of the album but aren't fans of DT. I have respect for people that make intelligent criticism, but just treating a band as a joke like you're doing is offensive. I don't even do that with the bands I hate most. I don't go out to their fans saying how bad they suck and start making fucking stupid jokes with their song names. I'm glad I'm not the maintainer of this list, because I would have kicked you out of here in no time. You just have no idea how much you pissed me off. And you even had to post twice!!!! My best wishes to you. Idiot. AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!! Later. Christian. ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 25 Sep 1997 10:28:41 -0400 From: Joshua Malone To: email_address_removed Subject: Production of FII Message-ID: Well, I've been reading for over an hour and I'm still not caught up on my jams (had 2 tests this week) so I dunno if anyone's pointed this out, but here it comes. I have to express my disapproval whoever's in charge of the mastering of this disk. I've been listening the piss out of this CD for the last 3 days and have noticed a distinct sound quality which I attributed to crappy headphones. It sounded cluttered - no definition in any of the load passaged. So, I played on my home system. Still the same, but this time from a CD player that competes with the $300 - $400 outboard DA converters. So just to settle it, I DA-ripped it onto my PC's hard drive and lookied at the waveform. What I saw made me cuss and swear for the next forty-five minutes. THE WAVEFORM IS CLIPPED! The fucking album is recorded way over the dynamic range of the CD. When they mastered the damn disc, they just clipped off the waveform at 0-db. Yes - the waveform is FLAT at the top. If anyone out here has any recording experience, you'll know what I mean. If not, think of mashing a sign wave - no curvature. This is UNFORGIVABLE, IMO. Whoever mastered/recorded/mixed this album needs to go back to school - needs to learn how to work a fucking digital recording system. I'm pissed off. DT deserved better than this! -Josh ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 25 Sep 1997 16:14:17 +0100 (BST) From: Graham Borland To: Multiple recipients of list Subject: Re: YTSEJAM digest 3015 Message-ID: > From: email_address_removed > Subject: Ordering abroad.. > > sooner. However, unless you ALSO buy the UK release, won't this hit > the sales figures over here, and contribute to some record company > ass-wipe thinking 'Oh well, No DT fans over there - lets not bother > releasing anything...' ? Yes. This is exactly why I haven't been going out of my way to order it on import. I want my purchase of FII to contribute to the UK sales figures . . . which will probably increase the sales by about 100% :-) Graham -- Graham Borland Email : gborland@apsoft.co.uk WWW : http://www.apsoft.co.uk Alternative Publishing Ltd Tel : 0141 418 0881 30 Clyde Place, Glasgow G5 8AQ Fax : 0141 418 0889 ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 25 Sep 1997 08:22:54 -0700 From: "James Thorpe" To: Subject: Kevin Moore Message-ID: > The blurred out guy on the CD sleeve is Kevin Moore, looking back at > the stupidest thing he has ever done! >The glam tendencies are gone!!! WOOHOO!! >Thanks for leaving, Kev!!! Well, to say it was the stupidest thing he has ever done is something only Kevin can decide. It doesn't matter what we think. I believe the music on FII isn't what Kevin wanted to do anyway so he probably is happy doing his own work. Derek is definately the right guy for DT with their new direction and I'm sure they're really happy with his input and creativity on the disc. Let's hope they can get some kind of commercial success. "Beavis said it, I Believe it, and that Settles it." from the Church of Beavis Christ and Latter-Day Dillweeds --james-- third heaven studio ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 25 Sep 1997 15:38:39 +0000 From: Jon Parmet To: email_address_removed Subject: But I don't give a shit ( the hyper-extended version ) Message-ID: The ever present Disclaimer: I like YES,RUSH,I&W,KEVIN MOORE :) First the calm Jon responds to Anton's: > Maybe I'm being too demanding, but what I always liked about a new DT was > that it would give me something I hadn't heard before (although maybe > someone will say that's just cuz I don't listen to Rush or Yes.) Hmmm, but I seem to recall some jams, where people (not necessarilly you, Anton) analyzed to death how they heard a riff in one of their songs from a previous album. If anything, Anton you are quite opened minded about the whole thing. What bothers me is this vibe I'm getting from parts of the jam. Now I'm 50 jams behind, and have only skimmed over some of the recent ones, so with that in mind, here I go... Note: all references to 'you' in the following are the metahphorical you :) I hear so much new stuff in here, it's fucking sick! All the new tambres in James' voice, Derek blowing circuit breakers during some of his solos, JP pissing off hardware engineers as overloads effects processors becuase they can't sample and hold as fast as he shreds, JM setting off nuclear sub alarms as his bass penetrates solid and liquid mediums not yet discovered, MP? I just don't know what to say here. He so totally astounds me, the way he picks up on what JP is doing is uncanny, they are almost one being! Have I jerked off enough yet? Well, it only gets better (or worse depending upon you) :) Help me out here: If I hear something that reminds me of something else, is this a bad thing? If they take something and mold it, play with it, enhance it, embellish it, shape it, love it, touch it, go ahead touch it if you want to :), is this a bad thing? It's not like they're sampling like many rap artists do. I like hearing flavors of other things, especially when they've picked my favorite flavors! These guys, in a span of, what, a little over an hour?, pretty much show what an incredible grasp they have of music itself. Look at how many different things are happening across this disc. They show you rock,metal,blues,prog,pop,psychadelic,conquistadoro :) And they capture the essence of each beautifully. So many groups today can't even handle ONE style without falling flat on their faces! These guys go "Here's a little taste of it" and keep you wanting more... Since it appears enough people are already talking about LITS and TOT, I'll dig into some others. The sweet and the neat :) HOLLOW YEARS: The beginning of HY is like nothing I've ever heard on any other song of theirs. JP pulls flamenco (?) out for your listening pleasure, then James makes you feel, perhaps for the first time, things you didn't know were inside you. He takes a set of brilliant lyrics and makes you cry. For me right now, this is the most emotional song I've ever heard them do. This guy has the best voice in Rock, period, end, finish! HY consumes me! Can't hear MP enough in this song??? You're not fucking supposed to, pinhead!!!! MP knows this. He is playing exactly the way the song requires him to. The tastefull rip shots. He understands, why can't you? :) JUST LET ME BREATHE: Ok, here it is, folks! They make the statement that we've been trying to say on here for quite a while. But this is simply the just the beginning of what makes this song so fucking great. Start with the fact that your heartbeat immediately raises a good 50% real early on into it. Then take a straight ahead groove and rip its head off much the way I see predators do on Wild Discovery. Think a meteor is gonna take this species out? Think again! Chunka-saurus evolves :) Had enough yet? I think not... from 3:21-3:30 they completely depart from straight ahead and go into what I'll call PURE PROG. Then for a few seconds they come back for those who have trouble dancing in 5/4 (I think :) and need to regroup. Ok, you're back right? Then from 3:37-4:03 they go "bye bye" again :) What's kicks so much arse is how they work the most progressive part of the song seamlessly right back into the straight ahead groove part. They fucked with you while you were asleep and you didn't even know it :):) There's a lot of subtlies in this album that need to be explored before simply dismissing it as just another disc that somebody cranked out for $$$. You sure as heck know these guys take a lot of pride in what they do! It is what it is (GREAT, that is :), stop trying to wish it was something it's not. You'll be a lot happier, trust me ;) I STRONGLY urge people to go out and find any of the articles on DT. I have the Metal Edge (December issue) which is on the making of the album, and it kind of puts things into proper perspective: THEIR perspective. I happen to be in the camp that believes they make the music for THEIR enjoyment first, and perhaps, if you're lucky enough, OURS second. They seemed to indicate that they had a lot of fun making this album TOGETHER! I wish I could have been a fly on the wall in that studio :) Together is what's it's all about on stage, folks! Prediction #1 from the old man: This tour is gonna cause major damage :) And now Jon proceeds to completely lose it for a reason completely unrelated to Anton's post. These guys are going to bat for us trying to bring metal back, keep it alive and maybe even have it be accepted on the radio again and dare I say, MTV, or the masses? And you're dissing the shit? Remember a little tune called Metropolis Part 2? It ain't over yet, not by a long shot, POOCH! To those not sufficiently 'impressed' by the album, allow me to do my KLJB 'impression' for moment: GO AWAY BEFORE I FUCKING HIT YA! Some of you people are so full of yourselves, it's laughable! If this gets me kicked off the list, then so be it. This album is so much more important to me than any of your spoiled ass, holier than though attitudes, I honestly don't give a FUCK :) This album is GREAT!!! OH MY GOD!!! I think I heard some Elton John in Anna Lee, think I'll reject all the good things and tear DT a new asshole?... HUH? You think you're cool because you think you know what is 'the best' is when you (don't) hear it? You don't know JACK! MP like the Beatles. Let him!!!! This is all about FUN! They had FUN making this!! It's a real shame, you can't. GROW THE FUCK UP, WOULD YA? Buster, how'd I do, man ? :) I'm trying...I'm really trying! OK, OK, I'm through venting now :) By the way, anyone notice the introduction of lower order non-human primates since Derek's arrival into DT? First ACoS, and now LITS around 2:00 gives us a glimpse into the Wilderbeast during the beginning of the mating season..... or something :) The engineers at Korg are having too much fun creating these samples, methinks... But I'll enjoy the ride today But I'll ENJOY the ride today But I'll enjoy the ride TODAY... Latah, *------------*----------------------------*--------------* | Jon Parmet | email_address_removed | 617-494-2851 | *------------*----------------------------*--------------* "Drifting with the current This stream of life flows on" -- John Myung ------------------------------ End of YTSEJAM Digest 3016 **************************