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Rating: "When Dream & Day Reunite" does not do full justice to the true Dream Theater. The true Dream Theater practically begins with the arrival of James LaBrie. The rest is the history of prog-metal as we know it today.
However, given Mr. Mike Portnoy's hyperactivity (sometimes too hyper), since they have covered everything from “The Number Of The Beast” to “Master Of Puppets”, it seemed legitimate to cover themselves in an evening. Hence the birth of “When Dream & Day Reunite”, not exactly an attempt to cover themselves, but a sort of remake of their debut album, hoping that LaBrie's voice could add more value to an album that was certainly disadvantaged by many factors: poor production, a voice like Dominici's that didn't quite match the Theaterian sound and an immature compositional vein of the five from New York.
Was the experiment successful? Yes, but only partially, or rather, halfway. Because we remember that this concert, recorded in Los Angeles, was a performance on the tour supporting "Train Of Thought", the band's seventh album. I could have said anything: at the time, James's voice was still in the (yet another) trial phase. In fact, his performance is not incredible at all; at times, it's rather displeasing to hear, in an evening that was certainly not blessed and surely light-years away from the evenings LaBrie now treats us to (see Score for understanding). If this is a partly negative aspect, on the other hand, there is the usual reliability of a band that is infallible live: no flaws, no mistakes, perfect performance.
LaBrie's flaws are already noticeable in “A Fortune In Lies”, where the Canadian indulges in coarse and unpleasant vocalizations, with a voice lacking power (I repeat, far from the incredible state of grace he currently possesses...) and tired. The situation doesn’t improve at all with “Status Seeker”. The song is already mediocre, and LaBrie tends to ruin it further by continuing to misuse his voice. “Ytse Jam” is instrumental. And this time, LaBrie isn't annoying, while the band performs the piece with almost mechanical precision. Perfect. LaBrie somewhat returns to decent quality tracks towards the end with “The Killing Hand”. But again, it's the band that dominates the evening, with an incredible jam within the song itself. Sublime instrumental parts, decent vocal parts. The concert continues this way, on two parallel and qualitatively different paths: on one side, a band in usual good form, on the other, a LaBrie who cannot best manage himself: “Light Fuse & Get Away”, “Afterlife”, “The Ones Who Help To Set The Sun” glide away without particular flashes. “Only A Matter Of Time” is practically identical to the Budokan version, with an almost unenthusiastic LaBrie.
The surprises of the evening come with “To Live Forever”, a song left out from the "Images & Words" sessions and written during the "When Dream & Day Unite" sessions. The surprise is not the song itself, but the rendition with Charlie Dominici on vocals. And even he is not at his best as a singer: voice often out of tune and off-pitch, limited range. The finale is dedicated to a great reunion: Dominici remains on the spot and Derek Sherinian joins in, to perform “Metropolis pt1” with the complete band and the addition of these two guests. The result is excellent instrumentally, but poor vocally: Dominici often can't manage it, and LaBrie comes in frequently to support him in the high notes. The instrumental jam placed in the middle of the piece is fabulous.
The performance ends here. And as usual, when it comes to Official bootlegs, I must always give not a completely positive review, as it seems they are always impeccable execution-wise, but sometimes poor vocally.
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