A DRAMATIC TURN OF EVENTS

I am an old prog guy (70s Genesis, Yes, Kansas, Camel, ELP, etc.). So when I first bought Images and Words, I thought the keyboard playing was so plastic - and I returned the album (I lived in Phoenix, AZ, at the time, and Zia Records is the BEST place for any genre of rock - and other - music). Then, I bought Awake and I said, "Well, what have we here?" I thought the artistry was fantastic - right up there with the best of ELP or Genesis, especially. I thought Portnoy definitely had chops, but nothing to glue me to the band. Then, I got the DVD of G3 Live in Tokyo (2005) and it featured John Petrucci (and Mike Portnoy) of Dream Theatre. And, again I said, "Well - that is some really good music." I lived in the southern Philippines at the time, with no access to recent music. By the time we came home to the States in late 2010, there was a buzz about a shake-up in Dream Theatre. When I heard later in 2011 that Mike Mangini replaced Portnoy, I said I have got to check them out again, because I have tried to follow Mangini especially since his stints with Extreme and Vai (on G3 in 1996). My son got me A Dramatic Turn of Events for Christmas 2011 and - wow - I have a new appreciation for the band that is Dream Theatre. They capture a lot of what I loved about 70s prog - nice melodic sections mixed with virtuostic guitar playing (both lead and bass) and excellent drumming. Since I haven't really followed the band throughout their career, I will have to give this album a 4.75. Because it is an "excellent addition to any prog rock music collection" and it aspires to be "essential"...to be "a masterpiece of progressive rock music." As one with a palette for the choice 70s prog, I would rank this right up there with one of the best I have ever heard...