METROPOLIS PART 2 - SCENES FROM A MEMORY

By 1999 I was a die-hard DTer so I eagerly awaited the release of Scenes From A Memory. By this time I was thoroughly familiar with the band and was well aware that Scenes represented the band's attempt to conclude Metropolis Part I from Images & Words. Frankly I didn't care what the band was attempting to do, I just wanted to get my hands and ears on the first studio release from the boys since 1997's Falling Into Infinity. Thus I found myself stopping off at a Best Buy in Knoxville, Tennessee to pick up the disc on a Tuesday in November and heading straight to my hotel room to get a good listen. I can distinctly remember thinking it funny that this was the second straight DT release that I had picked up while I was on the road working. Nevertheless, I listened to the CD straight through, from beginning to end, in my hotel room. I also distinctly remember my first reaction to SFaM was this might very well be an epic conceptual disc, ranking with other memorable concept albums such as 2112, The Wall, Operation:Mindcrimeor The Wake of Magellan. I also distinctly remember listening to the disc the next day at work, and again while driving my car that afternoon from Knoxville to Atlanta. By the weekend I had listened to the disc a half dozen times or more and by that point was absolutely CERTAIN that SFaM ranked among the all-time great concept albums.

Perhaps the main reason SFaM works so well is the storyline carries the entire disc from beginning to end. The story of Nicholas discovering his tragic pastlife through hypnosis is compelling and told appropriately through the course of the disc. we have both tragic and sympathetic characters, mystery, sex, death, crime......it's a truly wonderful story that unfolds perfectly, with sectioned parts that leave the listener forever wanting more and guessing at what comes next. Transitions are also excellent, especially the spoken word intro. A compelling story and successful transitions are absolutely crucial to any great concept disc as they serve to make the sum of the parts greater than the individual pieces and this is certainly true with SFaM.

SCENE ONE: The opening section of Scenes is one of my all-time favorites, surpassed only by the perfect opening of Mindcrime. The short Regression opens with Nicholas being hypnotized by his shrink; the sound effects are eerily real, and I can imagine more than a few suggestive minds being lulled by the hypnotic voice/guitar effect.

SCENE TWO: The band then kicks into an extended musical opening (Overture 1928) that works very well, reminding me of the opening to ACoS. Here we're introduced to a number of musical themes that will play themselves out through the rest of Scenes. Overture segues perfectly into Strange Deja Vu, the first real song on Scenes and a very good song as well. Hard driving, with urgent singing, the song contains one of the most bad-ass riffs I've ever heard. It's this song that tells listeners that Nicholas is discovering the story of a young girl, and he begins to realize that he was that girl in a past life.

SCENE THREE: Through My Words is a haunting, piano-based ballad that features some of James LaBrie's most emotional singing. The song quickly transitions into Fatal Tragedy, which first reveals the girl, Victoria, was murdered. Tragedy also contains some imaginative licks, both hard and progressive. Standing alone the song would probably rank as a 9 but since it plays such a central role in the story I give it a 10.

SCENE FOUR: Beyond This Life opens with the voice of the hypnotherapist, "Now it is time to see how you died. Remember, death is not the end, but only a transition." With that we begin yet another very hard, progressive song, which tells the story of Victoria's murder and the mystery surrounding it. This song is awesome for about 7 minutes, and includes a short but stunning guitar solo from Petrucci. But the song concludes with a 5+ minute musical jam which is about 3 and half minutes too long. The initial portion of the jam is quite good and if the band had simply stopped there the song would be excellent. Unfortunately the DT ego takes over there and we endure about four minutes of self-indulgent musical masturbation that really has no place in the Scenes story. This flaw, which again rears its head later, is the only thing keeping me from giving the disc an even higher rating. SCENE FIVE: Through Her Eyes is a pleasant ballad that demonstrates that when DT wants to, they can write a very good song, without all the instrumental histrionics. The song opens in Pink Floydesque fashion, with Petrucci and Rudess creating a mellow setting behind the beautiful voice of Theresa Thomson. This is one of DT's better efforts at subtlety (something they should try more often), with Petrucci playing a very simple guitar part and nary a double-bass drum to be heard. They even effectively employ vocal harmonies, ending with a nice LaBrie crescendo. All in all a wonderful song that's a departure from the usual DT formula.

SCENE SIX: Unlike Through Her Eyes, Home strictly adheres to the usual DT formula but damn it works well. The slow-build opening is pure genius, reminding me of The Camera Eye and La Villa Strangiato, both by Rush. The mid-eastern sound created by Jordan Rudess is hypnotic and blends perfectly with the imaginative use of cymbals by Portnoy. All slowly building to a very powerful, irresistable 1-2 beat (I DARE you not to shake your head to this song). From there we're treated to another 10-minute epic song that ranks up with Learning to Live, Voices and Lines in the Sand from prior DT releases. I'm almost tempted to give this song 10+ because not only does it stand alone as a wonderful song but it's also the most important in the telling of the Scenes story. It's here where listeners learn of the struggle between two brothers to win the love of Victoria. The song is an allegory as well, as one of the brothers (Julian) fights himself after losing Victoria. His sinister thoughts are perfectly matched by the tone of the song. Home is also where the story's theme is tied into Metropolis Part I from Images & Words. The high points are too numerous to mention, beginning with the slow-building intro and though creative verse/chorus combinations that includes a wonderful guitar fill that leads to the climax of the song. A truly great piece of music. The one negative, for me, is the way the song changes course at the end. Where you expect the conclusion, the band instead moves into one of their complex musical stints. While the piece is fairly short (about 1 minute) and pleasant, like the jam in Beyond This Life, it doesn't really fit in with the story line.

SCENE SEVEN: It's with The Dance of Eternity that Scenes finally falls apart. An instrumental that no doubt contains some amazingly difficult challenges for the musicians, I find it almost unlistenable. Dance lasts over 6 minutes, and combined with the musical section from Home gives Scenes almost 13 minutes without any storyline. Considering Scenes is a concept disc driven by storyline, this is a major flaw. I'm sure there are a lot of hardcore DT fans who absolutely LOVE Dance but I imagine most of them are musicians. I can't imagine non-musicians wanting to listen to this self-indulgent stuff. It's a song that should be on one of the band's side projects like Liquid Tension Experiment. Were it not for this 10 minute detour from the story, Scenes could very well rank as high as any concept disc ever released. The only enjoyable part of Dance is that it ends nicely, with a very cool hard/soft transition into One Last Time. Rudess opens OLTime with a nice classical piano sound, and we finally pick up the story again. Nicholas now understands the facts of the story, but not the reasons. The song is a beautiful piece, with a clever arrangement and one of the best crescendo ending you'll ever hear.

SCENE EIGHT: The Spirit Carries On is another strong ballad, and contains the best lyrics found on Scenes. They talk of Nicholas' ability to face death now that he understand life continues. The final verse finds DT putting their fine musical chops on display, most notably a fantastic Petrucci guitar solo. Unlike TDOE, however, this musical section works perfectly, fitting within the structure of both the song and the overall theme. The soaring feeling of both the lyrics and music is a perfect conclusion.

SCENE NINE: Scenes could very easily end with The Spirit Carries On and be a complete story. Instead, the band gives the story and the disc a finale that proves both surprising and enjoyable. Finally Free is yet another great song that combines all the usual progressive DT elements. The story is again in the present, Nicholas having completed his therapy session, understanding how Victoria died and was reborn in him. The song's intro is genius, with the guitar sound perfectly representing the "light" that brings Nicholas back from hypnosis. From there the story goes into a sort of post-script and includes a reenactment of the murder of both Victoria and her lover. The band does a good job conveying the chaos and horror of the moment, then moves nicely into the rising of the two spirits after death. We're also treated to reworkings of a number of musical themes heard throughout Scenes. All-in-all a nice closing to a great concept disc. My one complaint is I HATE the sound effects that conclude the disc.....after a great musical buildup (including a flamboyent but effective Portnoy solo) the band employs a series of sound effects to reveal the surprise ending. While I enjoy the storyline (which I won't reveal here) I don't like the execution as it has the CD ending with a downright painful sound. It's about as enjoyable as listening to nails scratching a chalkboard....virtually anything else would have been better. That's a minor flaw, however, and I still rank Scenes as one of the great concept albums of all time.