SCORE: 20TH ANNIVERSARY WORLD TOUR LIVE WITH THE OCTAVARIUM ORCHESTRA

Great... ANOTHER live album from Dream Theater.....

I used to be a huge Dream Theater fan. Over the last several months, however, I have almost stopped listening to them entirely. When I received a promo copy of this disc, it just reinforced my opinion. I really thought DT went downhill with Octavarium, and since this is from the Octavarium tour, there is a great deal of material from that album. They even play 'I Walk Beside You', which was in my humble opinion, an obvious filler track on the album. Sure, it's neat that they play all the long songs in their entirety, but it all just seems so unnecessary to me at this point. James LaBrie sounds much better than he did on the Budokan CD, but he's still the obvious weak link in the band. That brings me to my next point, which is the lack of instrumentalism. Their previous live efforts usually feature some sort of 'instrumedley' during which Labrie leaves the stage, to the relief of many decent people, and lets the amazingly talented band jam together. However, I detected no such thing on this album, and if it was there, it wasn't cool enough to leave an impression.

This album gets 2 stars, because no one was really clamoring for yet another live album (except the fanboys of course) and this one just doesn't impress me. However, it's not complete trash, because they Petrucci and Myung can still rip.

Oh .. another live album by Dream Theater? OK .. OK . having been bombarded with many live albums, I finally "have to" have this album as well - despite the DVD itself. I got the audio CD after I watched the DVD which did not create any impact of "astonishment" which probably I got a bit bored with many live releases the band has produced. Yes, I got the message right that in addition to make the concert so grandiose the band has included The Octavarium orchestra. Well friends .. you can read all my opinion about SCORE DVD at my write-up at this site as well.

As far as audio CD, I got different feeling as I don't see how the band plays it on stage. I even much love the CD version than the DVD because I don't have to see how each members of the band and the orchestra played the music. I just use my ears to enjoy the CD. The most memorable part is the opening ambient of "The Root of All Evil" with Portnoy's drumming work. It sets the tone for the whole concert, really. The music flows naturally into my ears and my mind, and I quite enjoy it. It's probably that I can focus my attention to the sound (without image - I may get bored seeing the video shooting Portnoy more than other members of the band - it's probably he's the producer, so he rules?). When the music flows to "I Walk Beside You", "Another Won" and "Afterlife" I don't know why I can enjoy the music very well. This is pretty much different if I watch the DVD - I couldn't enjoy it well - it's probably many viewing distractions. So is the case when "Innocence Faded" enters my room, it sound excellent to my ears. I don't know why I do not quite enjoy "The Spirit Carries On" of this version. I think the nuance is not as perfect as other versions (studio and Scene From New York). I feel like there is a disjointed part between Petrucci's guitar solo at opening to the song.

"Sacrificed Sons" is one of my DT's favorite tracks. I like the fact that the band still includes the ambient sounds at the beginning of track right before piano enters the music. Jordan Rudess' keyboard works beautifully as well as Petrucci's howling guitar sounds and effects. LaBrie sings excellently even though the backing vocals don't sound quite good. The orchestration sounds excellent here. The Octavarium orchestra at Six Degree also produces excellent sound.

This SCORE CD sounds excellent to my ears despite my reluctancy to spin the CD because I have listened to the band's many live albums (including official bootlegs). I am almost sure after I listen to this CD with another one or two spins, this set will stay at my CD shelf for long. Well, I have many other CDs to enjoy as my musical taste expands. You know what? I'm now entering the albums of Thinking Plague, Isildur's Bane, Magma etc. which will definitely expand my music horizon - not just stay with symphonic prog or prog met. Let' move on, baby . Keep on proggin' ..!

We'll meet again my friend, someday soon .!!! - GW

I hate for my first review of this site to be a five star, but I listened to this several times over the last week and Score definitely deserves it. The Radio City Music Hall performances has been rated by the members of DT as their favorite concert to date. Fans from all around the world came to see the final show of the Octavarium tour, and they got their money's worth.

The Root Of All Evil- The show opens with the opener of Octavarium. No surprises there. RoaE is my second favorite track off Octavarium, and it sounds better live. Portnoy's latest addition to the Alcoholic Anonymous suite recalls much of the earlier two pieces. I can't wait for it to be complete so the band will perform it all live.

I Walk Beside You- Like Golden Spiral already stated, this seemed like filler on the studio album. However, it makes sense at this show because Mike Portnoy planned the concert to be a culmination of the band's career, and this song recalls the melodic straight-forward rock of Falling into Infinity. In the end, I've come to appreciate this song, though its still my least favorite on the studio album or Score.

Another Won- DT goes back to the beginning on this great song. Myung's bass work is great on this as well as strong performances from Rudess, Portnoy, Petrucci, and LaBrie

Afterlife- The band continues their chronological progression. James sounds better than Charlie and Petrucci's solo, though faithful to the original, is stunning and shows just how good he is with concise solos rather than the bloated shredfests of later works.

Under A Glass Moon- Finally, a version of UaGM (it appears on Live at the Marquee but I can't find that anywhere). In my opinion, it contains John Petrucci's greatest guitar solo. I also love Portnoy's and Myung's rhythm work. James gives a strong vocal performance.

Innocence Faded- LaBrie's finest vocal performances loses none of its power in a live setting.

Raise the Knife- A song that was recorded on the Falling Into Infinity sessions but never made on the album. That's amazing since it's a very good song and could have really benefited DT's least popular album by balancing the straight rock with this progressive piece.

The Spirit Carries On- James gives a superb vocal performance on this and Petrucci's solo is tasteful and shows how skillful he is with slow fret work.

Six Degrees on Inner Turbulence- Now the band is joined by the Octavrium Orchestra for Six Degrees in all its glory. A forty two minute voyage into DT's longest epic will leave you drooling and panting in ecstasy.The Overture never sounded better and Goodnight Kiss (my personal favorite section) loses none of its beauty.

Vacant- Portnoy's rotating set list make this the default Train of Thought song since every other track appeared on Live at Budokan. This track is the lead in for Stream of Conciousness, DT's insane instrumental that would have sounded so good with an orchestra, though they likely would have been unable to play the lightning fast licks. Still, its a good stopgap between Six Degrees and the later epics of the show.

The Answer Lies Within- Finally found its way into the tour, a lovely addition thanks to the orchestra.

Sacrificed Sons- A moving song that opens with footage from 9/11. This songs carries much importance for the show since they are in New York and Myung, Petrucci, and Portnoy (not sure about Rudess) are from Long Island.

Octavarium- The apex of DT's career so far. As enjoyable as the studio version is, this rendition blows the original out of the water. Jordan has an extended continuum solo at the beginning that is so atmospheric it comes off as a technically experimental Opeth. James' vocals are incredible, particularly at the climax where he shrieks "Trapped inside this Oct..a..var...IUM!" The instrumentality of the band is never more realized than in this song, where each member displays his chops without noodling; Full Circle is perhaps the best interplay between bass, keyboards, and guitar in DT's career, which is filled with such interplay. The orchestration is far more powerful than the studio equivalent.

Metropolis- DT's encore is nothing short of wonderful. DT's greatest song gets a great makeover with the orchestra. A great close to a great concert

Overall, Score has bested Live at Budokan and even my former fave Live Scenes in New York as the pinnacle of DT live albums so far. If their career is any indicator, we can expect many more live albums in the future and I'm sure they will one day outdo even this opus, but for now, bask ye mortals in the presence of greatness.

Grade: A

I hate for my first review of this site to be a five star, but I listened to this several times over the last week and Score definitely deserves it. The Radio City Music Hall performances has been rated by the members of DT as their favorite concert to date. Fans from all around the world came to see the final show of the Octavarium tour, and they got their money's worth.

The Root Of All Evil- The show opens with the opener of Octavarium. No surprises there. RoaE is my second favorite track off Octavarium, and it sounds better live. Portnoy's latest addition to the Alcoholic Anonymous suite recalls much of the earlier two pieces. I can't wait for it to be complete so the band will perform it all live.

I Walk Beside You- Like Golden Spiral already stated, this seemed like filler on the studio album. However, it makes sense at this show because Mike Portnoy planned the concert to be a culmination of the band's career, and this song recalls the melodic straight-forward rock of Falling into Infinity. In the end, I've come to appreciate this song, though its still my least favorite on the studio album or Score.

Another Won- DT goes back to the beginning on this great song. Myung's bass work is great on this as well as strong performances from Rudess, Portnoy, Petrucci, and LaBrie

Afterlife- The band continues their chronological progression. James sounds better than Charlie and Petrucci's solo, though faithful to the original, is stunning and shows just how good he is with concise solos rather than the bloated shredfests of later works.

Under A Glass Moon- Finally, a version of UaGM (it appears on Live at the Marquee but I can't find that anywhere). In my opinion, it contains John Petrucci's greatest guitar solo. I also love Portnoy's and Myung's rhythm work. James gives a strong vocal performance.

Innocence Faded- LaBrie's finest vocal performances loses none of its power in a live setting.

Raise the Knife- A song that was recorded on the Falling Into Infinity sessions but never made on the album. That's amazing since it's a very good song and could have really benefited DT's least popular album by balancing the straight rock with this progressive piece.

The Spirit Carries On- James gives a superb vocal performance on this and Petrucci's solo is tasteful and shows how skillful he is with slow fret work.

Six Degrees on Inner Turbulence- Now the band is joined by the Octavrium Orchestra for Six Degrees in all its glory. A forty two minute voyage into DT's longest epic will leave you drooling and panting in ecstasy.The Overture never sounded better and Goodnight Kiss (my personal favorite section) loses none of its beauty.

Vacant- Portnoy's rotating set list make this the default Train of Thought song since every other track appeared on Live at Budokan. This track is the lead in for Stream of Conciousness, DT's insane instrumental that would have sounded so good with an orchestra, though they likely would have been unable to play the lightning fast licks. Still, its a good stopgap between Six Degrees and the later epics of the show.

The Answer Lies Within- Finally found its way into the tour, a lovely addition thanks to the orchestra.

Sacrificed Sons- A moving song that opens with footage from 9/11. This songs carries much importance for the show since they are in New York and Myung, Petrucci, and Portnoy (not sure about Rudess) are from Long Island.

Octavarium- The apex of DT's career so far. As enjoyable as the studio version is, this rendition blows the original out of the water. Jordan has an extended continuum solo at the beginning that is so atmospheric it comes off as a technically experimental Opeth. James' vocals are incredible, particularly at the climax where he shrieks "Trapped inside this Oct..a..var...IUM!" The instrumentality of the band is never more realized than in this song, where each member displays his chops without noodling; Full Circle is perhaps the best interplay between bass, keyboards, and guitar in DT's career, which is filled with such interplay. The orchestration is far more powerful than the studio equivalent.

Metropolis- DT's encore is nothing short of wonderful. DT's greatest song gets a great makeover with the orchestra. A great close to a great concert

Overall, Score has bested Live at Budokan and even my former fave Live Scenes in New York as the pinnacle of DT live albums so far. If their career is any indicator, we can expect many more live albums in the future and I'm sure they will one day outdo even this opus, but for now, bask ye mortals in the presence of greatness.

Grade: A

I remember the first time I heard a live rock and roll recording back in the sixties. It was "I'm Alright" by the Rolling Stones on "Out of Our Heads" and it knocked me out to hear the screaming audience and the passionate response from the band in concert. Over the years there have been many live albums released by every kind of group imaginable with wildly varying results. In the case of "Score" I have to give Dream Theater a resounding 5 stars. I got this 3-disc set as a gift and must admit that I may have put off buying it for a long, long time simply because I already had so many of the songs on their studio recordings and that would have been a shame. This is an essential progressive rock performance that you can't afford to miss.

Disc One starts with an excellent rendition of "The Root of All Evil" that excels as a show opener and I find that it comes off much better than the somewhat under-whelming studio version. The opposite is true of "I Walk Beside You" in that I still prefer the stirring rendition from Octavarium. It's not a bad performance, just not as good to my ears. The next two headbangers, "Another Won" and "Afterlife" will appeal to the fan who likes their DT fast and furious without a lot of subtlety. Not that that's a terrible thing, it's just not my cup o' tea. I have to give props to Rudess and Petrucci, though. On the latter song they really tear it up as they intertwine. The band seems to have worked off some of their adrenaline after those tunes and start to show the side of the group that I really admire. Their dynamics. "Under a Glass Moon" and "Innocence Faded" showcase interesting changes of mood and tempo throughout and Petrucci knocks the ball out of the park towards the end of "Innocence." His guitar makes the hair on the back of your neck bristle! "Raise the Knife" is a new one to me and it is a fabulous tune with a myriad of atmospheres swirling in and out of the song. It works on many, many levels and I'm glad they chose to include it here. "The Spirit Carries On" is literally a band/audience love fest that is effective without ever becoming just another sappy sing-along. Again, it is John's unearthly guitar playing that makes this song transcend even the excellent studio version. Gives you chills.

Disc Two starts with the incredible "Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence" as the orchestra plays the entire overture sans band, truly demonstrating without bias the excellence of the composition skills of the group. When the band comes in it electrifies the crowd and the great medley never lets up until the spectacular ending fades away. This is what I love about good live recordings in that it adds a new dimension to songs I'm already very familiar with and lets me enjoy it on a whole different level. The score has been beefed up to give the symphony more involvement and it makes for an incredible ride. While LaBrie's vocals on some of the songs on the first disc border on annoying due to his insistence on using what I call his "scary" voice, he really shines throughout "Six Degrees" (although the exhilarating journey seems to take his breath away literally towards the end). This monumental epic is worth the cost of the CDs alone. It's indescribable. "Vacant" is the perfect postscript, too. James sings with restraint and emotion on this sobering tune that fits here like a velvet glove. "The Answer Lies Within" merely mimics the studio version but it works well as a buffer to continue to settle the frenetic pace down a bit. The New York audience responds enthusiastically (as one would expect) to the fine performance of the poignant "Sacrificed Sons", making it an excellent way to bring the disc to an end.

Disc Three features two of the band's best extended songs. "Octavarium" may be their most complete epic and the orchestra creates a huge atmospheric sound to add to the multi-faceted tune. Jordan's lap steel guitar playing was a real surprise to me. I mean, who knew? "Metropolis" serves as the encore song and it rocks. The addition of the orchestral score raises this tune to realize its potential finally. The accents and punctuations backed by the symphony are stunning and makes for a memorable ending to the night. I can't continue without mentioning the otherworldly drumming laid down by the incomparable Mike Portnoy. He is so consistently magnificent that I sometimes take him for granted but he never falters throughout the show and drives the whole proceedings like a great conductor. He is without peer. And major kudos to the engineers that have managed to keep the symphony from being drowned out by the powerful musicianship and volume of the band members and allowed the sometimes delicate, sometimes forceful presence of the orchestra to shine through brightly. This is the best fusion of symphony and rock band I've ever heard. At last somebody got it right.

So I encourage all that love metal-influenced symphonic progressive rock music to avoid the sin of overlooking this magical performance recording. It's obvious that Dream Theater wasn't content to just perform a recital of their studio songs. Rather, they created for their knowledgeable audience a once in a lifetime experience that transcended the usual "rock show" and elevated their performance to a level that only passionate playing and a total commitment to the loving representation of their music could produce. I feel truly fortunate that this incredible concert was captured so completely for all time to come.

Of course, most of the times, when I'm sad, I listen to it. Of course, mostly to The Spirit Carries On or Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence, others when I'm ready to face them. Without images (and words?), it still stands firm, without hesitating and falling down. Of course, it's not so easy to catch attention with just sound (it's like comparing reading book and watching film, reading is far harder to concentrate, but also takes less time - yyou can do other things while listening - no, it's not good equation).

This review is connected with following one quite a lot, remember to check this for further details (as I don't want to repeat myself more than once) www.progarchives.com/Review.asp?id=252616

5(-), not so thrilling, but certainly great deal.

"Welcome to Radio City Music Hall"

It's been 20 years. It's been another 4 official live albums. It's been 8 studio albums. What was the next step? An unmatchable concert with an orchestra playing with them near to 2 hours of their music. Yes, that was the perfect closure chapter to a great journey. Glad that they don't stop there, but surely the standards that this concert sets it's an impressive achievement of music meant to be heard, quality and perfection.

I don't use to buy both Cd's and DVD's collections with the same audio, I don't have enough money to pay for all that. But I have seen that many people get distracted by the talent of Dream Theater and don't pay attention to the music. So this is a great chance to do that. This is the perfect album to new fans or those who are just getting to know this wonderful band. It's impressive indeed, the power that this bands shares through the concert, the intensity of the crowd and last but not least, the impressive interpretation of a well build-up orchestra that shares talent with the band. The arrangements were at the top of quality, not changing the sense of the songs but bringing something new a fresh to the mix. One of the many highlights of the evening was the interpretation of the SIX DEGREES SUITE on it's entirely set. The other impressive highlight, that matches with the INSTRUMEDLEY of the last live album, was METROPOLIS PT-1, which sounds powerful because of the orchestra going back of the keyboards and guitar solos.

As usual in the traditional DT setlist, the amount of music cover up near to 3 hours. The select list was a journey from their very first demos recorded in 1985 until the last album of that age, OCTAVARIUM. Some obscure demos or "B" sides like ANOTHER WON and RAISE THE KNIFE were upon the list, as well some rare songs live like INNOCENCE FADED (with an outstanding performance by Labrie and another strange song like VACANT, which with the orchestra arrangement sounded a lot dark and mellow.

About quality of sound and production, this album is perfection at all. Even James Labrie reached his highest notes cleanly and easily. This is a MUST HAVE for any single DT fan, but especially for those who just started the discovery of this impressive band. Yeah, I used the word impressive many times, because this particular show was all about it. Great album for those who feel distracted by live DVDs. The score: 5 for DT, 0 for mistakes. I said so?

What live should always be.

Dream Theater really hit a home run with this CD set. Recorded on the last show of the band's 20th anniversary tour along with an entire orchestra (named the "Octavarium Orchestra" and led by well known conductor Jamsheid Sharifi), the concert, lasting for over 2 hours, was recorded in Radio City Music Hall in New York City. The band opened with a couple of their hits of the new album before going through each and every studio album and playing one track from each, and most of them not the ones you would think they would play (No Pull me Under!!). The band is at their complete best, with extreme energy, chemistry, and great stage presence. Even in the massive Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence the band keeps going and going and going and going with the same energy as the first track-- which is highly impressive! The entire recording is impeccable and has superb production, and is a joy to listen to. A wonderful live release by these masters! 5 stars.

One three-CD live album is a tall order, though a great achievement if you can pull it off. Putting out two is a bigger challenge, though if you've got a weighty enough back catalogue you can pull it off. Three? Now you're pushing it.

Dream Theater do, however, bring something extra to the table on Score to help it stand out. Live Scenes From New York, of course, had the benefit of being built around the Scenes From a Memory concept album; Live From Budokan didn't have a uniting theme and so I felt was a shade weaker, though the strength of the material and quality of the performances carried it. Here, they're performing in conjunction with the almighty Octavarium Orchestra, who kick in on Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence at the start of disc 2 and add an extra symphonic kick to the material from then on out.

It also helps that since Budokan the band had put out the rather excellent Octavarium, which provides a good chunk of material here (nearly an hour's worth, in fact). In addition, the band don't go out of their way to fill every disc to the brim - in fact, this is a shade over two and a half hours, which makes it shorter than Live Scenes or Budokan while still being a fairly epic workout. Finally, as the title implies the concert was recorded on the band's 20th anniversary tour, so they go out of their way to pull out some deep cuts from the early days, including a live rendition of Another Won - a track which had previously languished in the Majesty demo archives. (Another rarity here is Raise the Knife - an out-take from the Falling Into Infinity sessions, here to represent that stage of the band's evolution rather than the more familiar Falling Into Infinity tracks.)

Disc 1 sets the tone with the band playing by themselves prior to introducing the orchestra, with a thunderous, booming sound which fits the material nicely, whether you are talking about some of the classic 1980s prog metal-with-light-thrash-influence of the oldest tracks or the Muse-esque touches incorporated into the Octavarium sound, whilst the remaining discs use the orchestra to excellent effect. On the whole, it still feels like a bit of a marathon, and a bit too conscious of an attempt to repeat the magic of Live Scenes From New York, to earn a full five stars; I don't think you can catch lightning in a bottle twice like that, at least not consciously. That said, it comes very close.

This 3 Cd package is jammed full of incredible prog metal from virtuoso masters Dream Theater. It is perhaps better seen with the DVD but this music still stands up on its own merits. The setlist spans the 5 year history with a symphonic orchestra augmentation. It is interesting the way the orchestra blends into the metal sound, similar to the Metallica S&M concert, or indeed Kiss Alive IV. It is always of interest when metal meets symphony.

It opens with some deadset oddities such as The root of all evil, I walk beside you, Another won and Afterlife. It isn't until Under A Glass Moon that it really takes off showing the power of that brilliant track and Petrucci's amazing guitar solo. Later we are treated with The spirit carries on and the entire suite of Six degrees of inner turbulence; absolutely flawless and indispensable on the live stage. After an ovation the band belt out Vacant, The answer lies within, Sacrificed Sons and the masterpiece epic Octavarium that is quintessential to the band. The Encore: Metropolis Pt. 1 is a brilliant way of ending the concert to a rapturous crowd.

This is a fantastic concert accompanied by masterful orchestration. A must for all DT fans and I highly recommend the DVD for the full impact of this incredible performance.