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Rating: “...Close your eyes and start to relax, take a deep breath and slowly breathe out, focus on your breath. With every breath, you will feel more relaxed. Imagine a dazzling white light on you, concentrate on this light as if it is flowing through your body. Let yourself fall into a deep state of relaxation... now I will count from 10 to 1 and you will feel calmer and more at ease. TEN, NINE, EIGHT, SEVEN, SIX... now you will enter a safe place where nothing can harm you... FIVE, FOUR, THREE, TWO... whenever you want to return, all you have to do is open your eyes... ONE!!”
After that, we find ourselves enveloped in a fog, feeling lost, but after a few seconds there’s Mike Portnoy, aka the human clock, informing us that our calendar has done a nice “regression” back to the distant 1928... our man's drumsticks signal that it's time to start, to make a lovely “Overture” on our past... let’s go!!
This is how this fantastic journey backward begins, brought to life "LIVE" by our little dream theater... the scenes of poor Nicholas's suffering soul are brought to life in this album, in a New York encircled by the five musicians. The setlist of the New York concert includes the complete performance of the album “Scenes from a Memory,” but it doesn't stop at a mere and dull live execution. Within the tracks, there are some light changes and rearrangements in the score. “Fatal Tragedy” is performed in a distinctly darker style... but in my opinion, their best performance on the album reaches its peak in the extraordinary “John & Theresa solo spot.” This would be the intro to “Through Her Eyes” which deviates for 3 unreal minutes where the singer Theresa, lending her enchanting choral voice to the track, marries with the magnificent and magical “blues” guitar solo in the background by the incredibly skilled Petrucci. Truly extraordinary and singular is the result, I have never personally heard something so highly harmonic and passionate at the same time!! After that, the magnificent track begins, and through Victoria's eyes, we try to understand her life and the reason for her untimely and pointless death... impeccably executed and enriched by a grand guitar solo by our previously mentioned talented guitarist, which is NOT at all self-serving but demonstrates the endless passion for performing the track, embellishing and adorning it with artistic depth and especially a lot of soul!... once the album's execution is over we certainly can't remove the CD from our player, goodness, our people still have gems to play and going backward even more, we start from where it all began, from "Metropolis pt. 1" exquisitely proposed on an evening that must not stop the fans present from continuing to dream!
Among other tracks played, the ones worth mentioning in my opinion are the dazzling “Acid Rain” (Liquid Tension Experiment II), the magical and enchanting “Another Day,” but above all the complex and engaging “A Change of Seasons.” Here, in particular, the artistic flair of the D.T. bursts forth, an elegant song rearranged live with many different arrangement hints... but around the 12th minute... instead of that little jazz-prog set, we humorously find some solos originating from the three key minds of the group, Myung starts with a little fast-paced set and ends his solo with an energy worthy of the bersaglieri, Petrucci continues with the well-known "Simpson" theme and the solistic parabola is concluded by master Rudess, with a piano-solo worthy of an opening theme for a candid camera show!
With the entire song, the concert closes, surely the best live album ever released by Dream Theater, and now we can finally wake from the dream that captured us for all these 3 CDs!!
Every enchanted instrument is in the right place, properly amplified. Fabulous the distortion used by Myung on bass for the entire concert's duration, very cool in my opinion! Very dark and fairly distorted sounds for Petrucci's guitar. Omnipresent keyboard throughout the live, a task performed by Rudess, whose immense artistic talent beautifully merged with the Boston theater's compositional style. Drums excellently played by the human metronome Portnoy, quite improvised in many parts, but he can afford it!! Finally, James LaBrie's vocals, just 8 years away from that mad voice of London’s “Marquee Club,” but he also receives a well-deserved outstanding mark just like the other band members!!
It could have been a special day to remember for all of us fans, the release of this fantastic "Live Scenes from New York," yet the very release day of the album, September 11, 2001, will be remembered as a cursed date in the world for other and obvious reasons that we all know...
Are you still here reading? RUN IMMEDIATELY TO LISTEN TO THIS FANTASTIC CD!!!
Tracklist Lyrics and Videos
01 Regression (02:46)
'''''Hypnotherapist:'''
"Close your eyes and begin to relax. Take a deep breath, and let it out slowly. Concentrate on your breathing. With each breath you become more relaxed. Imagine a brilliant white light above you, focusing on this light as it flows through your body. Allow yourself to drift off as you fall deeper and deeper into a more relaxed state of mind. Now as I count back from ten to one, you will feel more peaceful, and calm. Ten. Nine. Eight. Seven. Six. You will enter a safe place where nothing can harm you. Five. Four. Three. Two. If at any time you need to come back, all you need to do is open your eyes. One."''
'''Nicholas:'''
[Present]
Safe in the light that surrounds me
Free of the fear and the pain
My subconscious mind
Starts spinning through time
To rejoin the past once again
Nothing seems real
I'm starting to feel
Lost in the haze of a dream
And as I draw near
The scene becomes clear
Like watching my life on a screen
Hello Victoria so glad to see you
My friend.
03 Strange Déjà Vu (05:02)
Subconscious strange sensation
Unconscious relaxation
What a pleasant nightmare
And I can`t wait to get there again
Every time I close my eyes
There`s another vivid surprise
Another whole life waiting
Chapters unfinished, fading
Closer now - Slowly coming into view
I`ve arrived - Blinding sunshine beaming through
There`s a house I`m drawn into
Familiar settings, nothing new
There`s a pathway leading there
With a haunting chill in the air
There`s room at the top of the stairs
Every night I`m drawn up there
There`s a girl in the mirror
Her face is getting clearer
Young child won`t you tell me why I`m here?
In her eyes - I sense a story never told
Behinde the disguise - There`s something tearing
At her soul
[V:]
Tonight I`ve been searching for it
A feeling that`s deep inside m
Tonight I`ve been searching for
The one that nobody knows
Trying to break free
I just can`t help myself
I`m feeling like I`m going out of my head
Tears my heart into two
I`m not the one the sleeper thought he knew
[N:]
Back on my feet again
Eyes open to real world
Metropolis surrounds me
The mirror`s shattered the girl
Why is this other life
Haunting me everyday
I`d break through the other side
If only I`d find the way
Something`s awfully familiar
The feeling`s so hard to shake
Could I have lived in that other world
It`s a link that I`m destined to make
I`m still searching but I don`t know what for
The missing key to unlock my mind`s door
Today I am searching for it
A feeling that won`t go away
Today I am searching for it
The only one I know
Trying to break free
I just can`t help myself
I`m feeling like I`m going out of my head
Tears my soul into two
I`m not the one I thought I always knew
I just can`t help myself
I`m feeling like I`m going out of my head
Uncanny, strange Deja Vu
But I don`t mind - I hope to find the truth
04 Through My Words (01:42)
'''Nicholas:'''
[Present]
All your eyes have ever seen
All you've ever heard
Is etched upon my memory
Is spoken through my words
All that I take with me
Is all you've left behind
We're sharing one eternity
Living in two minds
Linked by an endless thread
Impossible to break
05 Fatal Tragedy (06:21)
'''Nicholas:'''
[Present]
Alone at night
I feel so strange
I need to find
All the answers to my dreams
When I sleep at night
I hear the cries
What does this mean?
I shut the door and traveled to another home
I met an older man, he seemed to be alone
I felt that I could trust him
He talked to me that night;
"Lad did you know a girl was murdered here?"
"This fatal tragedy was talked about for years"
Victoria's gone forever
Only memories remain
She passed away
She was so young
Without love
Without truth
There can be no turning back
Without faith
Without hope
There can be no peace of mind
As the night went on
I started to find my way
I learned about a tragedy
A mystery still today
I tried to get more answers
But he said, "You're on your own."
Then he turned away and left me
As I stand there all alone
He said, "You'll know the truth
As your future days unfold..."
Without love
Without truth
There can be no turning back
Without faith
Without hope
There can be no peace of mind
'''''Hypnotherapist:'''
"Now it is time to see how you died. Remember that death is not the end, but only a transition."''
09 Home (13:21)
'''The Sleeper:'''
[Past]
Shine - lake of fire
Lines take me higher
My mind drips desire
Confined and overtired
Living this charade
Is getting me nowhere
I can't shake this charade
The city's cold blood calls me home...
Home... It's what I long for
Back home... where I belong
The city - it calls to me
Decadent scenes from my memory
Sorrow - eternity
My demons are coming to drown me
Help - I'm falling, I'm crawling
I can't keep away from its clutch
Can't have it, this habit
It's calling me back to my home
'''The Miracle:'''
[Past]
I remember the first time she came to me
Poured her soul out all night and cried...
I remember I was told there's a new love that's born
For each one that has died...
I never thought that I
Could carry on with this life
But I can't resist myself
No matter how hard I try
Living their other life
Is getting them nowhere
I'll make her my wife
Her sweet temptation calls me home...
Home... It's what I long for
My home... where she belongs
Her ecstasy - means so much to me
Even deceiving my own blood
Victoria watches and thoughtfully smiles
She's taking me to my home
Help - he's my brother, but I love her
I can't keep away from her touch
Deception, dishonor
It's calling me back to my home
''[A craps stickman is heard calling out various bets during the gambling and sex sequence.]
...four, four, who wants the hard four?... ...who wants the hard four?... ...shooter had one, four... one, four... one and make it the hard way... ...got the shooter... ...coming out for a new player... take your best shot, gambler... ...who wants to come? better hop in... place your bets... who wants to come?''
'''Nicholas:'''
[Past]
Her story - it holds the key
Unlocking dreams from my memory
Solving this mystery
Is everything that is a part of me
Help - regression, obsession
I can't keep away from it's clutch
Leave no doubt, to find out
It's calling me back to my home
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By Suengiu_metal88
"It feels like a dream... but it’s all real..."
"That song is my life... and now what will there be?"
