THROUGH HER EYES

To coincident with their tour, DREAM THEATER released a CD-EP including over 40 minutes of previously unreleased live and studio material. "Through Her Eyes" is a ballad taken from their latest CD "Metropolis Pt. 2: Scenes from A Memory". It's presented both as a "radio edit" and an alternate album mix. The alternate album mix has a female voice in the opening and the acoustic guitar is more present. "Home" is another track from "Metropolis Pt. 2", but this is a live version of it. The last track "When Images And Words Unite" is the most interesting on this CD-EP. It's a live medley with some of the best DREAM THEATER tunes ever. The medley I heard on the "Metropolis 2000" tour was somewhat different than this one though. If you're a DREAM THEATER fan you should check this out because of the live medley. Highly recommended!

Being a big Dream Theater fan, this was one of the last discs I've wanted to get of all the ones I've wanted (having already aquired all studio and live albums). I must say the versions of "Through Her Eyes" are pretty good, but they don't beat the live version from "Scenes From New York" live album, but they're edits and something different from the normal studio version. The two live tracks from the Brussels show are pretty interesting. "Home" (the longest track from it's album) is represented pretty well here, and sounds amazing. The boys really play well here, and show off their skills again in an encore medley following "Home". "When Images & Words Unite" is very interesting, and it's neat to hear LaBrie sing the songs Dominici recorded, only one of which has reached official live recordings ("A Fortune In Lies"). The medley sounds really cool and is definitely the highlight of this EP (I call it an EP because of all the singles, this is one of their longest). This is highly recommended for big DT fans if you can get ahold of it.

-Marc.

NICE BONUS TRACKS

This is the one and only single from the glorious "Scenes from a Memory", but I don't really understand why to extract a single from a concept album. After "Through my Words" maybe this is the weakest track, but it's an emotive cool song, though. Here you can find two versions, the Radio Edit Version with a different mix in the beginning and the Alternate Album Mix; in which I can't tell some significant difference, it's almost the same version as in the album just adding some kind of filters in the keyboards and electric guitars and a pretty sounding saxophone solo that adds some melancholy to it.

This release also contains a live version of "Home" with some extended instrumental passages and a slower start and there are some "improvised" jams that sound really cool.

The tracks that steals the record is the last one, "When Images and Words Unite" is one of those famous Dream Theater medleys played live, when they use excerpts from different pieces to create a new one, and these tracks have worked pretty well for them.

There's nothing fabulous, wonderful, outstanding, amazing or awesome (sorry, I love using adjectives) on this album, but this can be a good addition to your fan collection.

As far as new "DT" material is concerned, the fan will need to wait for a while. The band was extensively touring to promote "Scenes". So, why not some live stuff to please the fan ?

Before the live tracks, there will be two versions for "Through Her Eyes". A romantic and acoustic ballad. I have already written my view when I commented the album : this type of song is not what "DT" does best. They have written some good rock ballad, but they usually are a cresendo type of songs , with a great finish. This one is just a mellow track, but shorter than the full album version.

The alternate version works better IMO. There are beautiful female vocals which remind me the great Clare Tory on "The Great Gig in the Sky" ("DSOFT"). It is my preferred version of the three.

Now, the real stuff. The live material. "Home" is probably my fave track from "Scenes". In this live rendition, it starts with some psychedelic mood and then we get this fantastic piece of music. Combining Oriental sounds as well as heavy / metal ones. A great Petrucci solo and a superb recording. In Brussels, at the Ancienne Belgique on November 12th, 1999 (a mythical medium sized concert hall in my country, our "Olympia").

From the same concert we'll get a very good medley from old songs. Five excerpts : "A Fortune In Lies" (already available with LaBrie on the vocals on their "Live At The Marquee) and "Only A Matter Of Time". Both from their debut "When Dream And Day Unite ". The remaining three (partial) songs come out from "Images & Words" (hence the title of the medley).

This EP (over fourty minutes) is very pleasant. This half an hour live music plus the remix of "Through her Eyes" deserve some attention. More than a collecting item. Three stars.

If you like Dream Theater's seminal concept album "Metropolis Part 2: Scenes from a Memory" you will definitely consider that Scene Five "Through Her Eyes" is a musical break becaue it's ballad in style. In this EP, it's edited into shorter version to suit radio air time. Musically, this would favor most people as there is no such complicated arrangement throughout the song, so it becomes an ears-friendly track. The disc contains also the alternate album mix for "Through Her Eyes" for comparison. It's quite clear that Theresa Thomason voice at the beginning of the song in album mix has been removed for radio edit version. "Home" which under the original album version consumes nearly 13 minutes in duration, in this radio edit has been cut down approx 50% into 5:37 only. For those who have known the studio version might be disappointed because the part that follows is actually really an interesting interlude. But don't worry, track 4 provides the full set performed live which is much better than the studio version.

The concluding track is the medley of the songs from the When "Dream And Day Unite" and "Images and Words" albums. "Pull Me under" has been my all time favorite track and it's positioned as opening track.

Overall, it's a good EP even though it might not suit prog heads because it'd rather listen to the album in its entirety. Keep on proggin' ..!

Peace on earth and mercy mild - GW (i-Rock! Music Community)

'Through Her Eyes' - Dream Theater (Single)

So, we have two alternatives to the official version of the 'Metropolis, Pt. II' ballad 'Through Her Eyes,' a live run through of 'Home' and a Dream Theater medley of epic proportions! It sounds alright for a promotional disc, but really, the only thing thats worthy of praise is the intelligent arrangement and combination of songs that the band uses for the EP's closer. Otherwise, there is not much to explore here.

The alternative version of 'Through Her Eyes' isn't that much different from the original; therefore Dream Theater fans won't find themselves losing their heads over it. The alternative just sounds like it was tweaked a bit to sound fitting on a typical pop radio station. The saxophone solo towards the end is really beautiful however, and it would have been nice to have the solo on the original. Besides the nice solo, I can take a pass.

The only thing I can really criticize as being 'terrible' is James LaBrie's vocal performance during the final medley. LaBrie's vocals have occasionally garnered flak for being a bit half-baked during live performances, but in no other happenstance have I found them to be so terrible. The other instruments give the intelligent arrangement of the medley fair justice, but LaBrie's vocals sound either drunk, or very confused. The man can definately sing, but he struck out on this one. The british-sounding accent he adopts halfway through the song also doesn't help his case much.

It's alright for a listen or two, but for an accompanying EP for one of the greatest albums of all time, I would expect more!

Not much for a single but a lot for an Extra bonus CD.

If you like Dream Theater and if you already heard this song, you might want to have this "Single" promo disc. For a single to promote DT is a total failure. A song that doesn't have a drum performance (just a program drum pattern) and nothing really in the routes of the original DT stuff. The song is great, touching and mellow but it's not Dream Theater, and shows that they really can compose a regular song without being crazy and fill it with acrobatic solos and stuff. Even worse, we have here an edited version, so we don't have the vocal introduction of Teresa Thomasson, who have a magical voice and is in the original version.

Then we have an alternate take of the complete song, with a difference in the guitar effect, a strange and soft delay change the texture of the guitar, as well as a sax solo. Basically the same song, but the additions are interesting for any who already love this song.

We have an early live version of HOME, which is nothing special because of Labrie really screwing up the theme, but it's an average decent version. The Japanese import included a bonus track, HOME in an edit version. This one in particular is quite different. They changed the order of some patterns as well as cutting out all, I mean "All!" the instrumental section, so we found a 5 minutes song from the original 14+. It's the same version we found in the Greatest Hit double CD, so, it's unnecessary to buy the import, but it's a nice complement to this promotional.

For what this albums shines with it's own light is the last song, a live medley called properly "WHEN IMAGES & WORDS UNITE", that it a mix of different parts of their most classical repertory: UNDER A GLASS MOON, PULL ME UNDER, TAKE THE TIME with their first album pieces of ONLY A MATTER OF TIME and A FORTUNE IN LIES. A great 16 minutes track that worth to check it out.

3 stars is fair to this good but not essential CD. But for fans it's a most have. But sure they already knew it.

A single that's as long as an LP? Well I never!

When it came to 1999's 'Scenes From A Memory', it was clear that Through Her Eyes was going to be the lead single from the album. You'd have probably passed it by in a shop if it hadn't had the words 'Includes over 40 minutes of previously unreleased live and studio material' stickered on the front. The sticker is true, but it's a little cheeky. Firstly, the running time is 40:43, so the use of the word 'over' is a bit naughty. Secondly, OVER 10 minutes (10:30 to be precise... see I can do it too!) are the alternate versions of Through Her Eyes and I can guarantee that about 9 of those minutes have been released. Still, lets not cry over spilt milk.

The Radio Edit of the song is exactly the same as the album version, except the beautiful John Petrucci/Theresa Thomason duet is absent. If you were missing that part of the song, you'll get to hear it again in the Alternate Album Mix. There are some subtle changes to the song, like the change of guitar effect heard in between verses, but the real difference lies in the outro. Instead of Petrucci's guitar, we get to hear Jay Beckenstein (who previously played with the group on the track Another Day) perform a sensational sax solo. Why this version wasn't included on the record, I do not know, as I feel it is superior.

Also included is half an hour from a show in Brussels. The band play the album track Home followed by a medley entitled When Images And Words Unite. The first track is played normally, if a little slow, but the second track is far more interesting. As you would probably guess from the title, the medley is a mash-up of songs from the band's first and second albums. Since I find this the band's best era, I can't help but love this medley. There's nothing better than hearing the climactic finale of Only A Matter Of Time followed by the timeless, anthemic outro of Take The Time.

However, there is one problem with this performance: LaBrie's vocals. Believe me when I say that the man sounds awful on this CD. At points he sounds like he has a blocked nose, and at others he's just missing the notes altogether. During Pull Me Under, he asks the audience to help him out at a chorus, and I think that this could be an actual plea! His vocals don't ruin the performance, but they do lower the quality considerably.

Surprisingly enough, this little single actually encapsulates quite a lot about Dream Theater, even if it does take 40 minutes and some crappy vocals to do so. This is far from being the best single that Dream Theater have ever done, but I've still managed to have a lot of fun whilst listening.

Releasing singles to promote concept albums is always going to be tough. I mean, most often the songs are a small part of a larger narrative, but need to be able to work in the context of a single track. Dream Theater's 'Through Her Eyes' does this well.

It seems a bit of an odd choice for a single to promote the phenomenal 'Scenes From a Memory' album, but the soft, gospel-inspired ballad is a catchy and emotional piece. This EP release comes with two different versions of the track, with an alternate mix having a more soulful feel to it. However, the track as a whole is actually probably one of the more subtle and possibly weaker moments from the record it's promoting.

Then there are two live tracks, both of which come close to the 15-minute mark in duration. Now, Dream Theater are one of my favourite bands, but these recordings are pretty weak, and fairly poorly mixed, and coming at a time when James LaBrie's vocals were suffering from a previous injury he'd sustained, they don't really do justice to the band. A medley of moments from their first two albums, 'When Images and Words Unite' sounds like it should be an interesting nugget for fans, but it's actually really not all that inspired.

Overall, 'Scenes From a Memory' is an absolute masterpiece, and is a highly regarded and highly recommended album, but 'Through Her Eyes' is definitely one for collectors.