IMAGES AND WORDS: DEMOS 1989 - 1991 [OFFICIAL BOOTLEG]

The third instalment of Dream Theater's official bootleg demo series covers my favourite album of all time, or at the very least, one of them; 1992's 'Images and Words'. Like before, this is something that would be best reserved for the die-hard fans, and normally something that I'd not pay too much attention to myself, since I'd rather listen to the actual studio release. But since these are demos for the greatest album in history, my interest is slightly more piqued than usually.

Similar to previous demo releases, this album is split into four parts. First there are instrumental demos, recorded by the band on a four-track Tascam tape recorder, followed by vocalist audition demos. These could be of interest to long-time fans, as it features three different vocalists who all tried out for the band. A highlight here is a very raw version of 'A Change of Seasons' which features different lyrics, vocal phrasing and musical arrangements.

Then there's 'The Atco Demos' and finally, pre-production demos, and this is where the songs really take shape. There's not many differences compared to the finished product, besides a more polished sound, but I guess it's kind of cool to hear the bands versions of these songs before they were properly recorded.

Of course, at the end of the day, who'd honestly choose to listen to these demos of varied quality, when you could simply listen to the actual album itself? I'll tell you who... nobody (and possibly a bunch of nerds trying to be cool or something). However, as is always the case with these official bootlegs, they're only really for the most dedicated of fans, especially as, if you're like me, you're only likely to listen to it a couple of times before leaving it to collect dust in your mum's attic.

I listened to the Lost Not Forgotten Version of this album, which I assume is identical to the official bootleg version. Just some different titling for songs I think. So this album has 4 different "sections", which I'll give overall reviews for.

Instrumental Demos - 7/10 - This release starts off with 4 instrumental demo songs. These have no production and are pretty raw, especially with the keyboard midi sound. Definitely a dated sound. Once you hear the wack keyboard sounds in this demo, you will forever listen to DT's keyboard tracks differently. Anyways, these are enjoyable listens and it's cool to hear behind the tracks a little more.

Vocalist Auditions - 8/10 - These tracks are the most interesting part of this album, with listeners being able to listen to 3 different singers sing 4 songs with the band. Theses tracks sound pretty good too, production-wise. And John Hendricks' and Chris Cintron"s tracks sound pretty good actually. I think it's especially cool to hear the different version of "A Change of Seasons". Steve Stone's recording isn't too hot though, but still interesting to listen to.

ATCO Demos - 10/10 - These and the Pre-Production Demos sound pretty close to the album, which I believe is a 10/10 so no qualms with me. Just a few slight differences here and there. Both these and the Pre-Production Demos could honestly be interchanged with the studio version in my opinion.

Pre-Production Demos - 10/10 - Like the ATCO Demos, these songs sound really similar to the album. One while the production is slightly rougher with the demos, it is so nice being able to actually hear the bass and some other instrumental parts are more clear. Plus James Labrie's takes on these tracks are pretty good.

Overall a pretty solid release. I'd definitely recommend listening to the vocalists' auditions to see what an alternate universe Dream Theater might look like.