Dream Theater – Greatest Hit

Dream Theater – Greatest Hit / 2008 Rhino / 22 Tracks / http://www.dreamtheater.net / http://wwwrhino.com /

Through the last twenty three years, Dream Theater has been around, creating their own distinctive brand of progressive rock / metal. While individuals in that scene have been able to see what they are doing pretty clearly, large scale success has eluded them. Sure, the band has broken onto the higher reaches of the Billboard chart twice – Awake (1994) got to #32 while Systematic Chaos (2007) hit #19 – but Dream Theater came into the purview of the average music-listening fan only when “Pull Me Under” hit it big in 1992. This album mentions that fact in calling it “Greatest Hit” instead of “Greatest Hits”; despite this little bit of goofiness, the twenty-two tracks on this album mark some of Dream Theater’s most memorable songs.

For individuals that are looking for tracks from the band’s introductory album,. “When Dream and Day Unite”, or from their latest album, “Systematic Chaos”, they will be disappointed with “Greatest Hit”. This is due to the fact that the band has excluded (for whatever reason) these tracks. However, what will entice individuals the most with “Greatest Hit” would have to be the number of different mixes and remixes that are prominently featured on this album.

Three tracks from “Images and Words” are given a solid remix – “Pull Me Under”, “Take The Time”, and “Another Day” – showing individuals that old tracks can definitely be given a new lease on life. Perhaps the best thing on “Greatest Hit” would have to be the orienting of songs along a dark/light continuum. The harder tracks are put forth first, while the lighter, less metal-influenced tracks constitute the second disc. These twenty-two tracks are what individuals should identify with Dream Theater most heavily, and as such, this album should be considered by anyone that is looking to get a younger individual or person that is not well versed with Dream Theater into the band. Buy this album, and then start picking up that individual albums based on what disc they like more. “Greatest Hit” may only seem to have one big song, but the two-plus hours of music here show that the band has had countless hits during the fifteen (or so) year period that was covered by this disc. Give it a go, even if you only need a compilation in your car.

Top Tracks: Endless Sacrifice, To Live Forever

Rating: 7.4/10