Dream Theater
A Change Of Seasons

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The seasons of life, the existence of every man, are narrated in the album by Dream Theater released in 1995. The album is aptly named "A Change Of Seasons".

Keyboardist Kevin Moore left the band after Awake, and he was replaced by Derek Sherinian. The other members of the group remained stable. This work stems from the lyrics written by the band's drummer Mike Portnoy, who narrates the transition that each of us can experience, from adolescence to maturity. It speaks of the world that opens up before our eyes, with its problems, its joys, and its pains. The cover is magnificent, depicting a boy in a costume playing with a shovel, not on a beach but rather on a snowy field. On the back, an elderly man with a coat and boots is on a beach with a sunset on the horizon. Two opposing images that depict birth and death along the journey of a life to the twilight.

The album includes various covers of very famous groups like Deep Purple, Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin, Queen, and one by Elton John, all recorded live by the band at Ronnie Scott's Jazz Club in London. But the gem of the album is "A Change Of Seasons", a long suite divided into seven acts with a duration of 23 minutes. The suite was composed years earlier, specifically when "Images And Words" was released. It was initially thought in 1992 to be the continuation of "Metropolis Part 1," but it was not so.
The track "A Change Of Seasons" openly draws inspiration from the works of English progressive from over two decades prior, managing to revive that sound universe while at the same time adapting it to the changed times. The lyrics narrate the eternal, anguished parable of the changing of seasons as a symbol of the inevitable transience of human existence.

The first act of the suite "The Crimson Sunrise" is a clear tribute to King Crimson, as can be inferred from the title and also from the menacing and solemn motif immediately subjected to a series of timbre and motif variations. Overall, the work retraces the most famous of the prog-rock suites, i.e., Tarkus by ELP, both in the division into seven movements, and in the alternation between keyboardist digressions and organ timbres. "Innocence" is based on an epic vocal motif that prolongs the intense and sculpted feeling characterizing the first act. "Carpe Diem", on the other hand, is based on more intimate, almost acoustic atmospheres reminiscent of Greg Lake's delicate meditations. In "The Darkest Of Winters", there is an explosive instrumental crescendo where suffering and convulsive phrases intersect on a riff of keyboards and guitars. We are at 13 minutes, and one of the most splendid, magnificent, and touching moments in the history of rock and music is felt.
"Another World" brings peace through a relaxed vocal theme. As the title suggests, one enters a different soundscape where LaBrie's powerful and tear-jerking singing proposes a dramatic and progressive crescendo. A world made of sounds, of emotions that every man should listen to and be moved by. Listening to this majestic act will make one look at the world with different eyes. There are no words to describe these moments. Perhaps it's better that there are no words. Pure poetry, a delight for the ear, to be listened to and replayed hundreds of times, this astonishing act. The sixth part "The Inevitable Summer" offers lively instrumental fantasies by Petrucci, and above all, Sherinian's organ increasingly influenced by Emersonian Tarkus. In the seventh and final part "The Crimson Sunset", the massive initial theme is resumed, leading to the magnificent, dazzling motif for voice, choir, and orchestra that constitutes the overwhelming end of this masterpiece. The other tracks are covers performed to perfection; indeed, it's surprising how Dream Theater manage to make them sound like the originals.

With this album, Dream Theater wrote something important, immortal. Human fear, emotions, and various human feelings are encapsulated here. They have gone where few groups can reach, with perfect executions done with heart. The human heart indeed, in which their music remains and makes you feel...