Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Music to make musicians get a fuzzy warm feeling..., 7 Jul 2005
This was my first ever Amazon buy and I thought I might be taking a risk, not ever having heard over a minute of music by this band - but I bought it anyway and for it's price, I found it great value for money.
I would be lying if I were to say that I found every track on this album absolutely fantastic. Some, in my opinion, are definitely better than others. Without doubt,
"When the Water Breaks" is my favourite - seventeen minutes of complexity, virtuosity and bizarre chord sequences and metres! The bit in 7/4 about 3 minutes in with the soaring guitar parts is probably my favourite bit of my favourite track ever. It does what music is supposed to do - uplift you.
In fact, I haven't found anybody who doesn't like at least some part of this album. Some parts are very reminiscent of the progressive rock bands of old.
'Biaxident' is also a favourite with some real head-back air guitar moments among the classical, jazz and rock fusion.
'Acid Rain' is a fast-paced metal track which must go into some racing videogame someday.
'Another Dimension' is a weird yet cool heavy rockfest with a little bit of accordion thrown in for good measure and rhythms you'll have to listen to 50 times for spot-on toe-tapping.
'914' is basically a short improvised jam which does have some good melodic ideas and 'Hourglass' is a pleasant acoustic closing piece.
However, the two other improvised jams 'Chewbacca' and 'Liquid Dreams' were a little too ambient for my liking and I do agree that Levin's Chapman Stick is a little too low in the mix, especially in some of the more complex moments doubling up Petrucci's guitar.
Well, those two tracks don't matter and they are listenable. Just remember the fact that these four instrumentalists are among the best around in terms of skill and when put together for just a few sessions to make music, allowing for the fact that guitarist John Petrucci had to take a leave of absence half-way through recording for the birth of his daughter (identified by a baby's cry in 'When The Water Breaks') before overdubbing most of the tracks, and this is what you get - a great album!(By the way, if you're a singing fan... none on this album! Sorry!)
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10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Must-have instrumental album, 25 Sep 2001
"WHAAAAAAT?!?" is how I went when I accidentally heard the title track "Acid rain" somewhere. I bought the album for this soaring track alone, but almost all of it is great music. (I didn't care much for "Chewbacca".) Much more musical, and less willfully experimental, than its predecessor LTE vol. 1, it contains both the mind-blowing instrumental blasts of "Acid rain" and the lingering ballad "Hourglass". Will appeal to progressive rock & metal aficionados as well as to jazz-rock fans and indeed everybody who appreciates top-notch musicianship and isn't put off by the occasional "heavy" touch and/or by sweeping mood changes. A rare gem, all the more amazing for having been composed and recorded in a few sessions only. (Some tracks were recorded "live in the studio".) And, needless to say, no Dream Theater fan will want to miss this one...
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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
LTE II! stunning and mindblowing technicallity!, 7 May 2003
By A Customer
When I was first told about this band by my friend, I went out and bought the CD for a test on the band. I was amazed when I first put the opening track on, named 'Acid Rain'. This song shows you the type of music your in for and the amazing skill of the musicians. I am a guitarist myself and I have only heard guitar skills like this in Dream Theater. Fans of DT will like this band because it contains the bands Guitarist(John Petrucci), Keyboardist(Jordan Rudess) and Drummer (Mike Portnoy) and Peter Gabriel’s Bassist (Tony Levin). All these musicians are very talented and work well together.
With songs ranging from heavy riffed 'Acid Rain' to ballad type 'Hourglass' and the ultimate 16 minute track 'When The Water Breaks', this CD throws everything at you with mind-blowing riffs and frustrating solo's. This CD is worth a buy if you into Dream Theater.
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