Starting in 2021 Dream Theater have been giving their hardcore fans little release treats. Entitled the ‘Lost Not Forgotten Archives,’ these releases focus on rare, never released archival material. Such as the instrumental version of the entire ‘Train of Thought’ album. Or the already released ‘Images and Words: Live in Tokyo.’ But the strongest release so far is the new soundboard recordings from the ‘Dramatic Tour of Events.’
Spanning from 2011 to 2012, the tour was one of Dream Theater’s most successful. The new live release focus’ on songs that were played on the tour, but may not have made it to the official live album, ‘Live at Luna Park.’ Unlike most of Dream Theater’s live albums, this one is comprised of recordings from a variety of different shows. And remember, they’re soundboard recordings, so there’s a tiny bit of inconsistency within the record. However, the recordings are more than worthy. And will certainly make a welcome addition to any die hard Dream Theater fan.
There’s some great, never before released live versions of some the strongest DT songs. ‘Count of Tuscany’ finally gets its live debut. And it’s about time. Seeing as how it’s easily top ten greatest Dream Theater songs. Frankly, I’m a little surprised it hasn’t made its way onto a live album sooner. The other live highlight is ‘The Great Debate.’ One of the most overlooked tracks in all of Dream Theater’s vast catalog. And it’s a track that’s more relevant than ever. Displaying the divisions between American citizens. Plus, it’s got one of John Petrucci’s best guitar solos.
There’s also a killer Mike Mangini drum solo, recorded in Austin, TX. It’s always a welcome addition. Seeing as how each solo is improvised and different. You’ll never get the exact same solo. Which makes listening completely worthwhile. Mostly because it’s otherworldly what Mangini can do on the skins. Followed by the ‘YTSE’ jam, it’s another excellent addition to the DT live collection.
Overall, this is a pretty good live album. It’s certainly something that’s geared more towards the hardcore fans than not. But those are really the only kind of fans that Dream Theater has. So, I do expect the album to have some level of sales success. Just remember, they’re soundboard recordings. So you’re not going to get quite the quality you would from an official live album. I’m certainly looking forward to more archival live material being released in the future. It is a strong live album. Get it and jam it.
