I am posting a link to a song/piece by my favorite band, Dream Theater, hopefully every day until we have successfully enjoyed every original song that they have recorded in-studio. There are many good reasons to do this, but you can probably guess most of the ones that I'm thinking.
No adieu.
We're just gonna do it.
I'm going to try to help you know what to expect a little bit without influencing the way that you experience the song. At least in the initial write-up, I won't tell you what I think the best or my favorite parts are. I want you to have the chance to enjoy the music on your own without any spoilers, just as I did.
I will also tell you that some of the things that Dream Theater does may be quite different than much of the music that you have listened to before. Sometimes it may be so new that it makes you a bit uneasy or just doesn't connect to you at all. If that happens, I encourage you to listen to it a few times, perhaps in different ways... once in the background while you do dishes, once with your eyes closed and your full attention, once hanging upside down like a bat. You get the idea.
You may even want to come back to it later for another listen.
I believe that, if you go on this journey with me, you will find more than a few songs that you enjoy. My mom saw Dream Theater live in K.C. and really enjoyed them, and she usually listens to NPR which I don't think gets to rock and roll that much. Dream Theater truly has something for everyone. Not everything they do may be your thing, but some of it may change your life for the better the way that it did mine.
****************************"Trial of Tears"
Three movements: It's Raining, Deep in Heaven (instrumental), The Wasteland
Tempo - walk (at various speeds), groovy fill (also varying speeds)
Length - 13:05
Intro - ambiance, then drums, continued sonic exploration, mellow but alive
Texture - bluesy, clean layers, hint of Pink-Floyd-ness
Features - ripping, groovy instrumental instrumental section; clean and powerful vocals
Lyrics:
[I. IT'S RAINING]
Under the sun, there is nothing to hide
Under the moon, the stranger waits inside
People disappear
The music fades away
Splashing through the rain
I'll dream with them one day
It's raining, raining,
On the streets of New York city
It's raining, raining, raining deep in heaven
I may have wasted all those years
They're not worth their time in tears
I may have spent too long in darkness
In the warmth of my fears
Take a look at yourself
Not at anyone else
And tell me what you see
I know the air is cold
I know the streets are cruel
But I'll enjoy the ride today
It's raining, raining,
On the streets of New York city
It's raining, raining, raining deep in heaven
I may have wasted all those years
They're not worth their time in tears
I may have spent too long in darkness
In the warmth of my fears
As I walk through all my myths
Rising and sinking like the waves
With my thoughts wrapped around me
Through a trial of tears
Hidden by disguise, stumbling in a world
Feeling uninspired, he gets into his car
Not within his eyes to see, open up, open up
Not much better than the man you hate
[II. DEEP IN HEAVEN]
[Instrumental]
[III. THE WASTELAND]
Still awake
I continue to move along
Cultivating my own nonsense
Welcome to the wasteland
Where you'll find ashes, nothing but ashes
Still awake
Bringing change, bringing movement,
Bringing life
A silent prayer thrown away,
Disappearing in the air
Rising, sinking, raining deep inside me
Nowhere to turn,
I look for a way back home
It's raining, raining, raining deep in heaven
************************
Dream Theater formed at Berklee in 1985. The original 3 members were John Petrucci (guitar) and John Myung (bass), friends from Long Island, and Mike Portnoy (percussion) whom the Johns heard in a practice room and said, "we gotta get that guy". (Something along those lines). Derek Sherinian, who took over on keys after Kevin Moore left (someone needed to play the keys for the "Awake" tour), records his only full-length album with the James, the Johns, and Mike. Don't weep for him, though. He has a heck of a career going.
"Falling into Infinity" (1997) lineup:
LaBrie – lead vocals and backing vocals, arrangement
Petrucci – guitar, background vocals, arrangement
Derek Sherinian – keyboards, backing vocals, arrangement
Myung – bass, Chapman Stick on tracks 1 and 8, arrangement
Portnoy – drums, percussion, backing vocals, harmony vocals on track 1, arrangement
************************
SPOILERS AND SUBJECTIVITY BELOW: YOU MIGHT WANT TO READ THIS AFTER LISTENING
Words to describe this song/suite: coooool, bittersweet but refreshing, enveloping. They did an amazing job of capturing the feelings that rain and pain bring into your body if you allow them to do so.
Stream-of-consciousness reflection as I listen to "Trial of Tears"
This song has meter changes, off-beat trickery, and things of that nature. Blues-type guitar. Some people listen to Dream Theater and think that they're just being pretentious when they put in changes like that, but, for me, once my brain began to be capable of wrapping its gooey tentacles around the juiciness of what DT does, I realized that I found the changes within the music very emotional. The thing about listening to Dream Theater is that, with songs like this, I find that they make so much more sense if I listen actively and submit. Sure, if you listen passively, you might think, "why are they doing that unnecessary thing? Just tell the story."
I argue that this misses the point.
When you can do more things, you can tell different kinds of stories. The sonic journey is a companion on the journey with the lyrics.
Final thought: James is sohhhhhhh good in this song.
Thank you for reading, and enjoy!
Yours in harmony,
Michael
~In loving memory of Tim~
I reread these words to myself, and it hurts. I wish so painfully that I could talk to him about this blog series. I wish that I had started this project sooner... And, of course, the irony is, without the strength of my longing and regret for his presence and the sound of his voice, for his giddy school-boy love for this music, would I be able to stay on task? I don't know, and I may never know. I'm trying to honor his memory, but wish that I could share each post with him, or with his help. He, himself, wrote a book, after all.