STRING QUARTET TRIBUTE TO DREAM THEATER

Excellent addition to any Dream Theater music collection. Apocalyptica-like tribute to great songs of DT. This is non-essential for common Prog rock collections mainly because it's a string quartet (very talented one). They reproduce DT's songs entirely, even the sound effects like the beginning of Ouverture 1928, The Dance of Eternity and As I Am. Some parts may seem weird as it cannot rely on the strong drum parts on certain songs, but overall, it sounds great! They sometimes use their instrument to make percussions.

I know there are still some more interesting albums to buy, but this a great side-prog. It is very intersting to hear the string version and then listen to the original one! The Dance of eternity is in my top 3 prefered DT song and is very nicely done here.

My ratings mix my appreciation of the original song and the perfomance/arrangments of the quartet.

1- Ouverture 1928 : 4/5 2- Pull me under : 3/5 3- Lifting Shadows Off a Dream : 3/5 4- As I Am : 4/5 5- Ytse Jam : 4/5 6- The Dance of Eternity 5/5 7- Hell's Kitchen : 4/5 8- Peruvian Skies : 3/5

4.1/5 for DT fans

3.2/5 for others (this is great, beautiful music, somewhat prog by itself, but not rock)

Great arrangments, great work!

Collector's iten

When I first saw this album on the internet I thought it would be an awesome tribute to an awesome band, but my dissapointments begun right when I gave it the first spin. The group that made this tribute limits itself to play reduced versions of Dream Theater's songs, many times excluding interesting parts or not being able to deliver them propperly (possibly due to the instrumental limitations of the group itself, meaning that they are unable to cover the guitar, the bass and the keyboard very well with only four bowed string instruments). The result of this is that few songs are actually satisfactorily played, such as Overture 1928, The Dance Of Eternity and Hell's Kitchen.

The song selection also isn't the best. There are many other Dream Theater songs that could be played here that would sound better than the majority of the songs on this album, such as Vacant and Stream of Consciousness, for example.

Grade and Final Thoughts

The rating that I am giving to this album is to be taken literally. The String Quartet Tribute to Dream Theater is a collector iten aimed for the band's fans, and even so only fot those who have everything else Dream Theater had already already released. Seriouly.

Let's say you have just left your suite on one of the upper floors of the Waldorf. You step into the elevator, and as you descend to the lowest floor you hear this lilting dark repose played by string instruments. You mutter to yourself, "Is that Hell's Kitchen?" You listen a bit longer and say, unintentionally loud, "THAT is Hell's Kitchen!" By this time everyone freaks out on the elevator, expecting they are plummeting into the abyss.

OK a bit dramatic, but I had to somehow define this CD. The Vitamin String Quartet has produced dozens of tribute rock and pop tributes, so if your taste in music is string quartet rock tributes, then you have found one to add to your collection! Or if you have parents who dread the thought that you actually listen to rock and roll, you could buy this for them and say "This is what I listen to" and they would think you have finally seen the musical light.

It's hard to acclimate your musical ear to a string quartet tribute of Dream Theater tunes, but IF you accept the music on its own merit, without making comparisons to the original songs, you could actually learn to like it. I personally favored three of the tunes:

As I Am: Sounds like an Icelandic Indian native rock string dance production. Peruvian Skies: Percy Sledge waking up from an all-nighter at the top of Machu Picchu. Hell's Kitchen: Makes for an interesting elevator ride conversation.

I have to give this CD a 3 Star rating for a couple of reasons: Is it an "essential" for a progressive rock fan? NO. Is it an essential for a die-hard Dream Theater fan? Probably not. Is it an essential for a String Quartet fan? Maybe Yes. The musicianship is excellent, the arrangement is top-notch - you just have to be a fan of string quartet arrangements or classical music in general to really appreciate the music. Because of the talent, the rating has to be high, it's just not an easy sell to those without classical music inclinations.