TRAIN OF THOUGHT

I think the main reason people are putting this disc is because of the somewhat dirty production. IMO, it fits, because these are rough, metal-based tunes. I like this disc more than OCTAVARIUM (going through a group's catalog retrograde always brings up some interesting surprises) precisely because everything doesn't sound so clean, so polished, so precise. With that in mind, what of the songs themselves? Well, like I said, rough, hard metal-edged tunes, with lots of soloing (especially in STREAM OF CONSCIOUSNESS), which is one of the reasons I like it so much. Even the shorter, quasi-orchestra-based VACANT is top-notch, with James singing sinister lyrics in a mournful melody over a lush string arrangement. What else do I like here? The keyboards are mixed kinda low, with Rudess working subtly in the background. That's a marked change to OCTAVARIUM, in which Rudess dominates most of the instrumental breaks (and consequently, most of the songs). I can also hear what Myung's playing, which I didn't hear much of on OCTAVARIUM; that's a bit of a revelation. I also like the fact that, despite the layer of dirt atop the recording, I can hear more of Portnoy. YAY! HOWEVER... I don't know whether or not to recommend this disc to people, for two reasons: 1/I just started listening to Dream Theater, AND; 2/Due to the fact that people claim they've made better albums (their apex seemingly being IMAGES AND WORDS), I really don't know if the average listener should start here. I do not, however, have any trouble giving this one a full 5 stars.