UNCOVERED 2003-2005

A collection of covers by Dream Theater from classic prog and metal songs. I find this release very enjoyable, and they certainly did a very good job with most of the songs, though in many cases the vocals could be better. In fact, LaBrie does a good job in most of the songs, and technically there doesn't seem to be many flaws in his singing, but his voice as usual can get annoying. For me Death on Two Legs is just an enjoyable song. Heart of the Sunset is a very good song magnificently played and sung, but it somehow lacks the beauty and uniqueness of Andeson's voice. Heaven and Hell is a song I didn't know before, but I really enjoy this song very much on this version, it's one of my favourites and heaviest from the album. Paradox I don't really like a lot, I would have prefered some other Kansas song to cover. Mother Father is another very enjoyable song, though once again the original singer has a much more enjoyable voice. I was very gladly surprised with Machine Messiah, because seeing it was only 3:19 min (instead of about 10 min of the original) I just didn't think I would like the end result, but indeed it is a very enjoyable song, with only the instrumental bits of the original, and played in such a heavy way that it sounds awsome; still I would rather have heard the whole song covered, but still this is a very good version, another one of my favourites. Since I've been loving you was another good surprise, I just didn't think they could pull this bluesy song well, but it is magnificently performed (but once againg, though LaBrie sings it just about perfectly, he simply isn't Robert Plant and can't pull the same feeling out). Diary of a Madman is another song I didn't know before, but is another really great heavy song I got to like a lot, another one of my favorites. Cementary Gates for me is the worst song in this album, really annoying singing and playing and all; I didn't know the original before, and out of curiosity I searched it to see how the original sounded, and found that it was actually a rather good song, but Dream Theater just destroyed it with this version. Won't Get Fooled Again is another enjoyable song, though not among my favourites. In the end, 3.5 stars are just right for this album, and I'll round them down to 3.