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Awake (Dream Theater album)

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Untitled

Awake is the third studio album from progressive metal band Dream Theater.

History

Released in 1994, this album is much darker and heavier than the band's previous full-lengths, and is the last album to feature keyboardist Kevin Moore.[1] Often criticized for its heavier sound by fans who were drawn to the band by Images and Words, it nonetheless is a fan favorite with several of the songs remaining concert staples to this day. In addition, many consider it to be the band's finest hour, citing more concise and mature songwriting mixed with the increasingly proficient technical abilities of the instrumentalists. When the band was finishing the recording of the album, Kevin Moore announced his leaving of Dream Theater, which, according to John Petrucci, was unexpected.[2] Moore was thus excluded from the rest of the album-making process (such as mixing),[3] and doesn't appear in the two music videos produced from the album.

The band has never performed the final song "Space-Dye Vest" live; Mike Portnoy has said on the matter that the band is not willing to do it without Kevin Moore, insisting that "it's his song", and furthermore that they would not have included the song on the album had they known that Moore had wanted to leave the band.[4]

Songs

Tracks 4-6 form a three-part suite titled A Mind Beside Itself. They are labelled as such inside the CD booklet; however, the back of the album cover lists them individually, with no mention of the phrase "A Mind Beside Itself." Each song is a separate index on the CD, and Dream Theater often treats them as individual songs at live concerts. They have, however, been played together (back to back) in concert. They were released on the live album Live Scenes from New York and are listed under the title "A Mind Beside Itself parts I, II and III" there.

Similarly, "The Mirror" and "Lie" can be said to be parts of a single song broken in half. They flow coherently into each other and have a very similar mood with the interlude in "The Mirror" repeating in an altered state as a solo section in "Lie". Despite each part being written by a different member, they share similar themes of betrayal, trust and loss of control.

The samples in "6:00" are taken from the John Huston film adaptation (the last film he made before he died) of James Joyce's The Dubliners.

The samples in "Space Dye Vest" are from the 1986 film, A Room with a View, "Late Night With Conan O'Brien", and from a news report following the OJ Simpson freeway chase.

Track listing

All music composed by Dream Theater except where noted.

  1. "6:00" – 5:31 (lyrics by Moore)
  2. "Caught in a Web" – 5:28 (Petrucci / LaBrie)
  3. "Innocence Faded" – 5:43 (Petrucci)
  4. A Mind Beside Itself: I. "Erotomania" – 6:45 (Dream Theater, instrumental)
  5. A Mind Beside Itself: II. "Voices" – 9:53 (Petrucci)
  6. A Mind Beside Itself: III. "The Silent Man" – 3:48 (music and lyrics by Petrucci)
  7. "The Mirror" – 6:45 (Portnoy)
  8. "Lie" – 6:34 (Moore)
  9. "Lifting Shadows off a Dream" – 6:05 (Myung)
  10. "Scarred" – 11:00 (Petrucci)
  11. "Space-Dye Vest" – 7:29 (music and lyrics by Moore)
  12. "Eve" - 5:23 (Japanese bonus track / B-side from "The Silent Man" single)

Chart performance

Albums[5][6]

Year Chart Position
1994 Billboard 200 #32
1994 UK Top 75 #65
1994 DAT20 #15

Singles[7]

Year Single Chart Position
1994 "Lie" Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks #38

Credits

Band

Cover art references

Although not confirmed by the band to be an intentional effort, some elements on the cover art represent some of the tracks. Examples:

  • Hour and minute on the moon, representing the song "6:00"
  • The spider web beside the mirror, representing the song "Caught in a Web"
  • The big mirror on the ground, representing the song "The Mirror"
  • The false reflection seen on the mirror, representing the song "Lie"
  • The old man, as shown on the music video, representing the song "The Silent Man"
  • The night sky with the planet, representing the song "Space Dye Vest"

Demo version

According to the liner notes of the Awake demo CD released through Ytsejam Records, some of these songs had different working titles, which are used for the band members to reference while recording and were never intended to remain as such on the final album. Those that were changed were originally titled as follows:

  • "6:00" was called "Beachhouse Reality"
  • "Caught in a Web" was called "Squid"
  • "Innocence Faded" was called "Fresca"
  • "The Mirror" was called "Puppies on Acid" (the early version of this song, consisting of the introduction up to where the vocals come in, appears on Live in Tokyo and Once in a LIVEtime)
  • "Lie" was called "Kittens on Crack"
  • "Lifting Shadows Off a Dream" was called "Blowfish"
  • "Scarred" was called "The Keymaster"

References

  1. ^ Carter, Phil. "Awake - Overview". All Music Guide. Retrieved 2007-01-29.
  2. ^ "Why did Kevin leave the band?". Dream Theater FAQ. Retrieved 2007-01-29.
  3. ^ "Does Mike like the mix on Awake, since Kevin Moore has voiced a negative opinion of it?". Mike Portnoy FAQ. Retrieved 2007-01-29.
  4. ^ "Will Dream Theater ever play Space Dye Vest live?". Mike Portnoy FAQ. Retrieved 2007-01-29.
  5. ^ "Charts & awards - Billboard albums". All Music Guide. Retrieved 2007-01-29.
  6. ^ "Dream Theater - Discography". Rock Detector. Retrieved 2007-01-29.
  7. ^ "Charts & awards - Billboard singles". All Music Guide. Retrieved 2007-01-29.
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