Dream Theater
Score: 20th Anniversary World Tour with the Octavarium Orchestra

The Score So Far… those memories and scores from 1986 feel so distant, the year the dream began. I don't think it's necessary to recount the history of Dream Theater. Many, for better or worse, know this band that revolutionized the history of 90s Progressive, marking themselves as one of the most important groups of these 20 years. 20 years… I couldn't even believe so much time had passed, yet the moment to celebrate this significant event has arrived.

It's about 'Score', a live held on April 1, 2006, at the Radio City Music Hall in New York, and immortalized in a triple CD and a double DVD. The musicians? Dream Theater, of course, who amaze us with 3 hours of concert, all to watch, listen to, and why not, even review, since there is that possibility.

The start. It begins with the outro tape of In The Name of God playing in the background, giving way to the dark F of the keyboardist Jordan Rudess' piano. On the screens, Octavarium's three-dimensional artwork. It opens with The Root of All Evil. It's immediately pure adrenaline, with a fiery band eager to start celebrating this long-awaited anniversary. An aggressive song, at times sweetened by a James LaBrie who seems to have walked out of the recording studios after producing Images & Words. His voice is immense, deep, more charged with pathos than ever. Over the years, he has acquired the maturity he lacked in 1992, and you can definitely hear it in this album. We move on to I Walk Beside You, another track from Octavarium. After a piece like The Root of All Evil, I think it’s necessary. But the real celebration hasn't started yet.

Here it is. Images roll across the big screens. 2004… 2002… 2001… 1999… 1998… 1997… 1995… 1994… 1992… 1989… 1986… and finally, it goes back to 1985, with an amazing Another Won, an unreleased track from the 'Majesty Demos', never officially recorded by the Dream. Maturity is evident here too. More precision, more technique, and cleaner sounds compared to a period where Dream Theater wasn't yet Dream Theater! The first surprise has been unveiled: an unreleased, finally immortalized, after 20 years, in a great live album. The chronology moves forward, and without a pause, it jumps to 1989: Afterlife, from 'When Dream & Day Unite', DT's debut album. It's pointless to repeat how LaBrie has a stunning voice in this live, enviable by all previous ones, so let’s move on. A brief pause as LaBrie talks to the audience, as if recalling old times, announcing the next piece from 'Images & Words': Under A Glass Moon, 1992. One of the most important albums in Prog and DT’s history, the album that brought them success after the unknown WDADU. Another little gem graces our ears: 1994, Innocence Faded from 'Awake'. One of the most anticipated songs of this concert, an A+ execution, and absolute perfection, as before, after all.

The somewhat (shall we say) disappointing part arrives when Dream celebrates 1997, when their 'Falling Into Infinity' was released. Strangely, they chose one of the unreleased tracks included only in 'Cleaning Out The Closet' (an album containing all the unreleased of Falling): Raise The Knife. I’ve always criticized this song, but listening more attentively and rendered incredible by such execution, I reconsidered. Two unreleased so far. The 1st Set is about to close, with a spot of John Petrucci and Jordan Rudess who introduce, with such beauty, 1999: The Spirit Carries On, from 'Scenes From A Memory'. Teresa Thomason is missing, who was present at New York's Roseland in 2000 during the performance of this already mentioned song (of which was produced Live Scenes From New York), but LaBrie manages alone too, giving immense energy to this song.

End of the first set. It seemed to have gone by so quickly, yet time ticks, and surprises aren’t over yet.

The stage lights up again, and to everyone's surprise, it opens with the Overture of Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence, a track from the 2002 album of the same name, performed entirely by 30 orchestral members placed behind Dream Theater: it's the Octavarium Orchestra, directed by master Jamshied Sharifi, who managed to rearrange Dream Theater's songs for the entire orchestra. Quite a feat! A grand finale reopens the suite with a sweet piano melody by dear Jordan, and with a biting tone, Portnoy, Petrucci, and Myung, together with the orchestra, join to open a fantastic About To Crash! It continues, like a train on the move. The suite proceeds with a furious tone until reaching War Inside My Head / The Test That Stumped Them All. Things calm down, a soft orchestra and a sweet voice open Goodnight Kiss. John Petrucci's guitar hypnotizes everyone with its melodies announcing the opening of Solitary Shell, where in its instrumental part the orchestra makes itself heard with all of itself, joyfully, vibrantly, and fearlessly! The grand event attended by 6 million people until now closes with the reprise of About To Crash and a heart-wrenching Losing Time. But that’s not the end. We rise higher, the steps start to lessen, and we reach 2004. To celebrate 'Train of Thought', Dream chooses a dramatic Vacant. Many would have expected a Stream of Consciousness, but the magic of 'Train of Thought' ends here, to make room for The Answer Lies Within, returning then to 2005 and the latest 'Octavarium'.

Having offered us 2 tracks from their latest work at the start, they couldn’t do otherwise to close this concert in style, which continues with Sacrificed Sons and Octavarium, the latter made luscious by an almost 7-minute intro by Jordan Rudess, who seems amused by using the Continuum and his Lap Steel Guitar. The suite proceeds ever more aggressively, culminating in an explosive high note from LaBrie in the part Trapped Inside This Octavarium, recalling the screamed high notes he frequently did during the 'Images & Words' tour. From there on, Petrucci delights us with his guitar melodies, closing Octavarium and thus the entire concert.

But, as tradition dictates, there are no two sets without the encore, and thus the encore opens with Metropolis! The peculiarity of this track is that the beginning is not played back but performed live together with the orchestra. Brilliant Jamshied Sharifi, who has skillfully blended the orchestral parts with the parts of the 4 musicians during the solos. The track detracts from the concert that ending acquired with 'Octavarium', but this doesn't matter. I believe having a Metropolis with an orchestra in one's collection can only make us all happy!

The flaws of this live are truly few. Many initially critiqued the setlist, myself included, but listening to the concert, you’ll understand that the setlist is more than sensible and well thought out, also because the Radio City Music Hall closes at a certain hour, so a longer setlist couldn’t have been chosen. One of the flaws in my opinion, also found in the 'Live at Budokan', is the reverb, really too exaggerated.

Nevertheless, it's truly a live to have in your collection.

TRACKLIST

Disc 1

1. The Root of All Evil - 2. I Walk Beside You - 3. Another Won - 4. Afterlife - 5. Under A Glass Moon - 6. Innocence Faded - 7. Raise The Knife - 8. The Spirit Carries On

Disc 2

1. Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence - 2. Vacant - 3. The Answer Lies Within - 4. Sacrificed Sons

Disc 3

1. Octavarium - 2. Metropolis