| CD Reviews Last updated: 9.27.05 Dream Theater A Change Of Seasons [EP] Tracklist: 1. A Change Of Seasons (23:06) (Lyrics: Portnoy, Music: Dream Theater) 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 2. Funeral For A Friend / Love Lies Bleeding (10:49) (Elton John/Bernie Taupin) 3. Perfect Strangers (5:33) (Ritchie Blackmore/Ian Gillan/Roger Glover) 4. The Rover / Achilles Last Stand / The Song Remains The Same (7:28) (Jimmy Page/Robert Plant) 5. The Big Medley (10:34) I. In The Flesh? (Roger Waters, originally perforrmed by Pink Floyd) II. Carry On Wayward Son (Kerry Livgren, originally perforrmed by Kansas) III. Bohemian Rhapsody (Freddie Mercury, originally perforrmed by Queen) IV. Lovin, Touchin, Squeezin (Steve Perry, originally perforrmed by Journey) V. Cruise Control (Steve Morse, originally perforrmed by The Dixie Dregs) VI. Turn It On Again (Tony Banks/Phil Collins/Mike Rutherford, originally perforrmed by Genesis) Total: 57:30 Introduction Awake, released in 1994, is one of Dream Theater�s best albums. Fans were eagerly anticipating the follow-up album. And while the next album, Falling Into Infinity, didn�t arrive until 1997, fans did have some �new� material to keep them occupied until then. In 1995, about a year after the release of Awake, Dream Theater released an EP entitled, A Change Of Seasons. The EP opens with one of Dream Theater�s greatest (and longest) songs, �A Change Of Seasons�. The rest of the EP features cover songs from Dream Theater�s �Uncovered� Fan Show. Also, this is the first appearance of Dream Theater�s new keyboardist, Derek Sherinian, replacing Kevin Moore, who departed after the recording of Awake. Synopsis The album opens up with the epic title track, �A Change Of Seasons�. The whole song is nearly 24 minutes long. There are seven parts to �A Change Of Seasons�, the first being �The Crimson Sunset�, an instrumental part that starts of slowly and soft, but eventually builds up and gets heavier; great guitar and keyboard parts here. The second part is titled �Innocence�, where the vocals come in. James sings really well here, and the lyrics are really good. Mike Portnoy penned this song, by the way. Moving on, part three, �Carpe Diem�, is an acoustic part. The lyrics in this part are the best in the song, in my opinion. �The Darkest of Winters� follows up next, and it�s the best instrumental of the three in the song. �Another World� starts off slowly and softly, like the beginning, but then the rest of the instruments come in eventually. �The Inevitable Summer� is another instrumental, and another good one at that; Petrucci plays some great solos here, and Sherinian has a good one as well. And this opus ends with �The Crimson Sunset�, a fitting end to an awesome song. And, as you know, the rest of the album has cover songs, recorded at the �Uncovered� Fan Show. �Funeral For A Friend / Love Lies Bleeding� is a medley of two Elton John songs. Some may find this as surprising, but Dream Theater�s versions of the two songs sound good. The third track on the album is a cover of Deep Purple�s �Perfect Strangers�, off of the album of the same name. This one is a good and lighthearted cover. Petrucci lands that guitar solo perfectly. Next up is the Led Zeppelin medley. Dream Theater does an excellent job of covering these three songs. It�s a definite must-hear for Zeppelin fans. The medley starts off with the beginning of �The Rover� from Physical Graffiti, and then goes into �Achilles Last Stand� off of Presence, which is one of my favorite Led Zeppelin songs ever. The Dream Theater version is exceptional. Then, the medley ends with �The Song Remains The Same�, from Houses Of The Holy. And the final song of the album is titled �The Big Medley�, because, well, that�s what it is. The band plays parts of six songs in ten minutes. I think it's amazing how the band flawlessly switches from one song to the next. This is a must hear track, especially if you like at least one of the songs included in the medley. Highlights: �A Change Of Seasons�, � The Rover/Achilles Last Stand/The Song Remains The Same�, "The Big Medley" Bottom Line: Even though there is only one new song on here, A Change Of Seasons is definitely a must-own for Dream Theater fans. "A Change of Seasons" is truly one of their best songs, and the cover songs on here are nice too. And the fact that this EP can be found at a relatively low price is also a plus. Final Grade: B+ Any questions, comments, submissions, or anything related to the site should be e-mailed to me: shadowdragonxx [at] hotmail [dot] com. Don't take anything from the site without permission. |
| A Change Of Seasons [EP] Album line-up: James LaBrie � Vocals John Myung - Bass John Petrucci - Guitars Mike Portnoy - Drums and Percussion Derek Sherinian - Keyboards Additonal Personnel: N/A Release Year: 1995 Label: EastWest Records Produced by: David Prater and Dream Theater |
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