ONCE IN A LIVETIME

I've just been listening to this one and it is an excellent live album. For those who complain that DT are far to precise and that their live output is exactly like their studio cuts, then this release proves them wrong.

The band is, as always, musically tight and, yes, precise. But there are some very nice solo spots and jams which add quite a bit of flavour to the performance. At times you'd swear you were playing spot the influence as the John Petrucci recreates the closing solo from "Freebird" and elsewhere the intro to Rush's "Xanadu" swims into focus. As others have pointed out here, you'll also find a nod or two to Metallica, Led Zep, and Pink Floyd. I guess if you're going to be influenced then you couldn't look for a better pedigree.

The heavier aspects of DT may not be to everyone's taste though and at times James LaBrie's vocals can grate a bit. Also, some may find the extensive musical sections a bit hard to concentrate through. The individual solo spots are amazing, especially JP's guitar solo but as I say all this indulgence will not be to everyone's taste. As a result, I'll class this as 4 stars (though I secretly rate it as 5).