A Work Of Undeniable Brilliance (Images And Words - Dream Theater)

Member Name: Todd L

Product:	Images And Words - Dream Theater
Date:	07/01/03 (212 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Variety, Creative scope, High standard of musicianship on offer

Disadvantages: Limited in the emotional bases it touches, Poor mix quality

Both critics and fans struggle to precisely define Dream Theater’s style because, like all great music, it represents bits taken from lots of different genres arranged into something that doesn’t particularly resemble anything that’s been done before (or since). Recurrently, this stuff is classified as “progressive-metal”, but the connotations of that generalisation won’t prepare you for Images and Words.

This album – the debut of the latter-era Dream Theater line-up (which boasted an operatically-trained vocalist in James LaBrie) – was released a shade over ten years ago now and is still widely regarded as the band’s masterwork. Later releases may have been more technically accomplished, more conceptually complex or ambitious, but arguably none has bettered Images and Words’ sublime balance of varied song writing and artistic virtuosity.

Its relatively scant eight tracks take in nearly an hour’s worth of music, but nicely the compositions are tight and varied, although just occasionally Dream Theater fall foul of a traditional prog pitfall and drift around somewhat aimlessly (if never unimpressively) before getting to the point. In this case, they’re let down by an 80s-throwback recording: the tinny-sounding synth lines seem to have been left completely untreated in places – a heinous mess-up in light of the unbelievable TLC that’s been lavished on the rest of the mix.

Nonetheless, a couple of spins of the album’s best tracks – ‘Under a Glass Moon’, ‘Metropolis Part 1’ and the 11-minute conclusion, ‘Learning To Live’ – more than makes up for the occasionally dodgy production. Lighter territory is covered with ‘Another Day’ and ‘Surrounded’, while the blistering opener, ‘Pull Me Under’, is a work of undeniable brilliance. Images and Words is a very good disc.

Summary: