Dream Theater "Greatest Hit (...And 21 Other Pretty Cool Songs) (Digipak, USA, Atco Records, 8122-79938-1)"

Greatest Hit (...And 21 Other Pretty Cool Songs) is a compilation album by American progressive metal band Dream Theater, released in Australia on March 29, 2008, and by Rhino Records in the United States on April 1. The title alludes to their only top 10 radio hit, "Pull Me Under." It features three songs from their breakthrough album, Images and Words, remixed by Kevin Shirley: "Pull Me Under," "Take the Time," and "Another Day." The compilation also includes "To Live Forever," a re-recording from the Awake era of a song originally from the Images and Words sessions (previously featured as a B-side of the single "Lie"), which had not been released on a full-length album. Several single edits of popular Dream Theater songs are also included.

The tracks are divided into two discs: the first, titled "The Dark Side," features heavy, metal-influenced songs, while the second, "The Light Side," highlights the band's melodic side. The collection spans the years 1991 to 2005 and, as a result, does not include any songs from Dream Theater's debut album, When Dream and Day Unite, their A Change of Seasons EP (despite its 1995 release), or their 2007 album, Systematic Chaos.

Drummer Mike Portnoy explained in the album's booklet that the song selection was carefully curated to appeal to both new listeners and longtime fans. The compilation offers alternative versions of songs from previous albums to entice newcomers to explore the band's catalog while providing existing fans with fresh takes on familiar tracks. He also remarked that a third disc, titled "The Epic Side," should have been included.

Track listing:

Disc one ("The Dark Side")

1. "Pull Me Under" (2007 remix) L: Kevin Moore M: Dream Theater Images and Words, 1992 8:13
2. "Take the Time" (2007 remix) Dream Theater Images and Words 8:22
3. "Lie" (Single edit) L: Moore M: Dream Theater Awake, 1994 5:02
4. "Peruvian Skies" L: John Petrucci M: Dream Theater Falling into Infinity, 1997 6:42
5. "Home" (Single edit) L: Mike Portnoy M: Dream Theater Metropolis Pt. 2: Scenes from a Memory, 1999 5:38
6. "Misunderstood" (Single edit) L: Petrucci M: Petrucci, John Myung, Jordan Rudess, Portnoy Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence, 2002 5:14
7. "The Test That Stumped Them All" (Single edit) L: Portnoy M: Petrucci, Myung, Rudess, Portnoy Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence 5:00
8. "As I Am" (Clean single edit) L: Petrucci M: Petrucci, Myung, Rudess, Portnoy Train of Thought, 2003 7:14
9. "Endless Sacrifice" L: Petrucci M: Petrucci, Myung, Rudess, Portnoy Train of Thought 11:23
10. "The Root of All Evil" (Edited version) L: Portnoy M: Dream Theater Octavarium, 2005 7:16
11. "Sacrificed Sons" (Edited version) L: James LaBrie M: Dream Theater Octavarium 9:41

Time: 01:22:45

Disc two ("The Light Side")

1. "Another Day" (2007 remix) L: Petrucci M: Dream Theater Images and Words 4:25
2. "To Live Forever" L: Petrucci, Moore M: Dream Theater B-side to the "Lie" single, 1994 4:56
3. "Lifting Shadows off a Dream" L: Myung M: Dream Theater Awake 6:09
4. "The Silent Man" L: Petrucci M: Petrucci Awake 3:47
5. "Hollow Years" L: Petrucci M: Dream Theater Falling into Infinity 5:55
6. "Through Her Eyes" (Alternate album mix) L: Petrucci M: Dream Theater Metropolis Pt. 2: Scenes from a Memory 6:03
7. "The Spirit Carries On" L: Petrucci M: Dream Theater Metropolis Pt. 2: Scenes from a Memory 6:40
8. "Solitary Shell" (Single edit) L: Petrucci M: Petrucci, Myung, Rudess, Portnoy Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence 4:10
9. "I Walk Beside You" L: Petrucci M: Dream Theater Octavarium 4:28
10. "The Answer Lies Within" (Edited version) L: Petrucci M: Dream Theater Octavarium 5:15
11. "Disappear" L: LaBrie M: Petrucci, Myung, Rudess, Portnoy Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence 6:45

Time: 58:32

• The versions of "As I Am" and the four songs originally released on Octavarium differ slightly from the original recordings, although this is not indicated in the album credits. "As I Am" omits the opening orchestral chord and removes the use of profanity, while the songs from Octavarium exclude the sound effects that originally served as interludes between tracks. For example, the opening F note played on the keyboard and the one-minute intro to "The Root of All Evil" are removed, with the song beginning precisely at 1:00.
• On the album cover, the "s" in "Greatest" and "hit" in "Hit" are subtly printed in red, forming the word "shit" as a commentary on the band's well-documented frustration with the status of "Pull Me Under." The album artwork extends this theme, featuring a seagull dropping stain on an armchair emblazoned with the Dream Theater logo.

Dream Theater "Once in a LIVEtime (2CDS, USA, Elektra Records, 62308-2)"

Once in a LIVEtime is the second live album by American progressive metal band Dream Theater, released in 1998. It is their second live release. It was produced and recorded by Kevin Shirley during the European leg of the Touring into Infinity world tour, at the Bataclan theater in Paris.

Jay Beckenstein of Spyro Gyra plays alto saxophone on "Take Away My Pain". Beckenstein had previously played on the song "Another Day" on the album Images and Words.

The album cover, one of two designed by Storm Thorgerson for the band, shows an overhead view of the ancient Roman theatre in Orange, France set into a head of a monk. Like Falling into Infinity it does not feature the band's traditional logo due to Thorgerson's distaste in working with existing band logo designs. When Dream and Day Unite and Dream Theater are the only other albums without the classic font (although the font can be seen on the spine of Dream Theater).

Tracklist:

Disc 1

1. A Change of Seasons (Part 1: The Crimson Sunrise) 03:56  
2. A Change of Seasons (Part 2: Innocence) 03:06  
3. Puppies on Acid 01:24  
4. Just Let Me Breathe 05:53   
5. Voices 10:35   
6. Take the Time 12:20   
7. Derek Sherinian Piano Solo 01:54  
8. Lines in the Sand 13:13
9. Scarred 09:28
10. A Change of Seasons (Part 4: The Darkest of Winters) 03:18  
11. The Ytse Jam 04:09  
12. Mike Portnoy Drum Solo 07:00  

Time:  01:16:16  

Disc 2

1. Trial of Tears 14:11  
2. Hollow Years 07:01
3. Take Away My Pain 06:17  
4. Caught in a Web 05:16   
5. Lie 06:46   
6. Peruvian Skies 07:50  
7. John Petrucci Guitar Solo 08:07  
8. Pull Me Under 08:15  
9. Metropolis (medley) 06:17  
10. Learning to Live (medley) 04:13   
11. A Change of Seasons (Part 7: The Crimson Sunset) 03:49   

Time:  01:18:02  

Throughout the album, parts of songs originally recorded by other artists are played by the band.

• The segue from "Burning My Soul" into "Voices" features John Petrucci playing the first half of John Williams' "Force Theme" from Star Wars.
• The ending of "Take the Time" contains the solo from Lynyrd Skynyrd's "Freebird" and the main riff from Led Zeppelin's "Moby Dick".
• "Derek Sherinian Piano Solo" contains themes that would later be used in the track "Platt Opus" by Platypus (a progressive rock supergroup of which Sherinian and John Myung were members).
• Before the beginning of "Trial of Tears", and at the end of the song, Petrucci plays the famous five tone motif from the film Close Encounters of the Third Kind. The opening of the same song contains portions of the Rush songs "Xanadu" and "The Trees" played by Mike Portnoy.
• "Peruvian Skies" contains portions of Pink Floyd's "Have a Cigar" and Metallica's "Enter Sandman".
• "John Petrucci Guitar Solo" contains portions of Liquid Tension Experiment's "Paradigm Shift" (a progressive rock supergroup of which Portnoy and Petrucci are members), Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov's "Flight of the Bumblebee", and themes that would later be used in "Gemini", which appeared on Petrucci's 2020 solo album Terminal Velocity.

Recording information:

Recorded at Le Bataclan - Paris, France on June 25th 1998 with Manor Mobiles.

Mastered at Absolute Audio, NYC.

Kevin Shirley - engineering, production

Alex Goodison - assistant engineer

Ian Dyckoff - assistant engineer

Rich Alvy - assistant engineer

Leon Zervos - mastering at Absolute Audio, New York City

Dream Theater "A Change Of Seasons (EP, Canada, EastWest Records America, CD 61842)"

A Change of Seasons is the first EP by American progressive metal band Dream Theater, first released on September 19, 1995, through East West Records. It comprises the 23-minute title track and a collection of live cover songs performed at a fan club concert on January 31, 1995, at Ronnie Scott's Jazz Club in London.

The title track was recorded at BearTracks Studios in New York and was originally slated to be released on the 1992 album Images and Words, but was instead re-recorded and released as an EP. Although the song includes audio samples from the 1989 film Dead Poets Society (as well as quotes from the 1648 Robert Herrick poem, To the Virgins, to Make Much of Time), the lyrics, written by drummer Mike Portnoy, were not inspired by the film. Instead, "it's about the cycle of life. Basically, I took a lot of personal incidents, like losing my mother and a couple of things that happened in my life, and I wrote them into the lyrics." The back cover has a calendar displaying the date November 16, the date Portnoy's mother died. A Change of Seasons was also the first Dream Theater release featuring Derek Sherinian on keyboards.

Excerpts from the title track were used by NBC in a segment on downhill skiing during the 2002 Winter Olympics.

Although the record is labeled as an EP, its running time of 57:30 makes it significantly longer than a standard EP, and even many LPs, including Dream Theater's first two albums. According to Portnoy, "It was important for us and the label for it not to be perceived as the latest studio record. That's why we tagged it an EP."

Tracklist:

1. A Change of Seasons 23:09   
2. Funeral for a Friend / Love Lies Bleeding (Elton John covers) (live) 10:49   
3. Perfect Strangers (Deep Purple cover) (live) 05:33   
4. The Rover / Achilles Last Stand / The Song Remains the Same (Led Zeppelin covers) (live) 07:29   
5. The Big Medley (live) 10:33   

Time:  57:33  

A Change of Seasons has seven parts, this song was written before "Images & Words" recording during the years 1990 and 1991:

I) The Crimson Sunrise

II) Innocence

III) Carpe Diem

IV) The Darkest of Winters

V) Another World

VI) The Inevitable Summer

VII) The Crimson Sunset

The Big Medley:

In the Flesh? (Pink Floyd)

Carry On Wayward Son (Kansas)

Bohemian Rhapsody (Queen)

Lovin' Touchin' Squeezin' (Journey)

Cruise Control (Dixie Dregs)

Turn It On Again (Genesis)

Recording information:

Pre-Production at Star Trak Studios, Fairfield, NJ.

Recorded and mixed at Bear Track Studio, Suffern, NY, May 1995.

Mastered at Sterling Sound, NYC.

David Prater – producer, mixing

Doug Oberkircher – engineer (track 1), mixing

Andy Scarth – engineer (tracks 2–5)

Robert Siciliano – assistant engineer

Ted Jensen – mastering at Sterling Sound, NYC

Larry Freemantle – art direction

Joseph Cultice – photography

"Uncovered" (tracks 2 to 5) recorded live at Ronnie Scott's Jazz Club, London, England, January 31st, 1995 with the A&D Mobile Recording Unit.

Derek Sherinian "The Phoenix (USA, InsideOut Music, 19739783232)"

The Phoenix is the eighth studio album by keyboardist Derek Sherinian, released on 18 September 2020. It is Sherinian's first solo studio album since Oceana, which was released in 2011.

The Phoenix has been critically well received. Bosco Aguilar of Prog Report stated that "when I finished listening to the album for the first time, I found myself excited for everyone to listen to it. Fantastic production, catchy and powerful songs, each guitarist's personality shined across the album, and of course a Derek Sherinian who shows again why he is one of the greatest prog keyboardists". Rodrigo Altaf Sonic Perspectives stated that "true to their vision, Derek and Simon achieved what is seemingly impossible for an album with so many guests: a unified sound and a clear direction. Perhaps inadvertently, they created THE guitar album of 2020, even though keyboards and drums are the main driving force throughout the compositions". Steph Warren stated that "the riffs and melodies on these tracks are very reminiscent of early Led Zeppelin with great rolling waves of guitar and keyboard, the mix of different inputs create a wide space of sound". Laurence Todd stated that the album will "have a definite appeal to prog fans, given when Sherinian made his name, but it should also appeal to anyone with a fondness for exceptional musicianship of a modern fusion persuasion with some crunching guitar included just for good measure". David Pearce of Rock Poser stated that the album "cements the already high reputation of Derek Sherinian and confirms him as one of the foremost keyboardists of this or any other era".

Track listing

1. "The Phoenix" – 5:24 (Sherinian)
2. "Empyrean Sky" – 3:56 (Sherinian/Phillips)
3. "Clouds of Ganymede" – 6:02 (Sherinian)
4. "Dragonfly" – 3:46 (Sherinian/Phillips)
5. "Temple of Helios" – 6:01 (Sherinian/Phillips)
6. "Them Changes" – 5:28 (Buddy Miles)
7. "Octopus Pedigree" – 5:04 (Sherinian/Phillips)
8. "Pesadelo" – 6:55 (Sherinian/Loureiro/Phillips)

Time:  42:33

Recording information:

Mixed at Phantom Recordings, Ojai, California.

Mastered at Red Mastering.

Simon Philips, Joe Bonamassa and Ernest Tibbs recorded at Carbonite Sound, Ojai, California.

Steve Vai recorded at Harmony Hut.

Ron Thal recorded at Bumblefoot Studios, Princeton, New Jersey.

Kiko Loureiro recorded at his house in Helsinki, Finland.

Billy Sheehan recorded in Nashville, Tennessee.

Zakk Wylde recorded at The Black Vatican.

Derek Sherinian recorded at Beachwood Manor Studios, Burbank, California.

Derek Sherinian "Oceana (Holland, Music Theories Recordings, MTR 7448 2)"

Oceana is the seventh studio album by keyboardist Derek Sherinian, released on September 5, 2011, through Music Theories Recordings. After his recording sessions for the album, guitarist Joe Bonamassa posted on his official forum: "This session was one of the most challenging of my career. To be in the studio with Derek Sherinian and Simon Phillips [is] daunting. A huge thanks to both Derek and Simon for getting me through it. I learned a lot. Oceana is a killer record. Highly recommended."

Track listing

1. "Five Elements" Derek Sherinian, Simon Phillips 4:37
2. "Mercury 7" Sherinian, Phillips 4:29
3. "Mulholland" Sherinian, Phillips 5:56
4. "Euphoria" Sherinian, Phillips 5:34
5. "Ghost Runner" Sherinian, Steve Stevens 4:54
6. "El camino diablo" Sherinian, Doug Aldrich 5:06
7. "I Heard That" Sherinian, Joe Bonamassa, Phillips 4:53
8. "Seven Sins" Sherinian, Phillips 5:56
9. "Oceana" Sherinian, Stevens, Phillips 5:38

Total length: 47:03