I Want You To Know I'd Die For One More Moment

Albums
Since the last quack I have listened to:
Anderson, Bruford, Wakeman and Howe - Anderson, Bruford, Wakeman and Howe
Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence - Dream Theater

Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence - Dream Theater
Another double album to look at, although this one is very much two CDs as opposed to two sides of vinyl. In fact, this is very much two CDs sold as a sinlge album by Dream Theater. The first CD is half a dozen ten or twelve minute tracks and the second a single piece, forty minutes or so.

The first CD is mostly from the heavier end of Dream Theater's repertoire (see below for utterly divergent rant). You wouldn't be blamed for thinking that the opening of the first was from a Metallica album, at least until the keyboard part kicks in. The tracks are all well written and sustain their length very well. Instrumentally things are superb, Jordan Rudess in particular merging his more proggy keyboard style in well with John Pretrucci's thrash lead and Mike Portney's heavy drumming.
My only reservation about the first CD is track four, The Great Debate. Politics and music have been bed fellows forever and music can be a powerful voice for thoughts and ideas. Sometimes however, it can feel a bit forced and unfortunately I think that this track does. The music is grand, but the lyrics seem shoehorned in and as important as the issues raised are, it does cut the enjoyment for me a little.

The second CD is a single piece and palys well as such. It leans much more in the progressive rock direction than the first and shows that the whole band are capable of thoughtful and gentle playing that you might find unexpected having only listened to the first CD. That isn't to say that it doesn't have its heavy moments though. As is to be exected from Dream Theater, the story of the piece is dark in places but has some lovely light moments and is written with a sense of humour (which can only be a good thing in my mind). At some points there are hints of Lake/Sinfield style lyrical desperation, but I'll let Dream Theater off.

A corking album, in particular I love the second CD, but both are great. One I shall keep close by me for a long time to come.

Recommended to:
-Dream Theater fans (and anyone who has heard from any of Mike Portnoy's many projects)
-Metal/rock fans who would like to try something a little more thoughtful and varied
-Everyone who can cope with slightly louder music

Not recommended to:
-Prog rock fans who think the genre (poor pigeon) finishes at the end of Rick's Moog (even though Jordan R does have his moments).
-People who think amplification is for degenerate philistines

Utterly divergent rant:
In my first year at secondary school (around the age of eleven for those as don't know the Enlgish school system) my English class was asked to produce an A to Z list of the form 'She had the aspect of an angel', the key points being the words starting with the letter a. My attempt for r was heartlessly rejected by my teacher, for which I was most miffed for I thought it was one of my better ones. 'He had the repertoire of a rat'. And exactly how many rats have you heard that can sing more than one tune? Hmmm?

Laser Squad Nemesis
Tonight we have the 99ers from division one and Aftershock Reloaded from division two.

99ers:
A clan to be wary of. Although they lack top fifty elite players, the 99ers line up has depth, with several players with a great deal of experience who are never far away from the top of the table. They should be capable of holding their own against the main contenders and I expect them to be one of teams fighting hard for a high ranking place.

Aftershock Reloaded:
For the players they have, Aftershock always seem to have under achieved a little. They have the quality to take it all the way, and are by far the strongest of the division two clans that weren't promoted last season. Even if they don't manage to beat the better of the demoted division one clans, they should be top three finishers this season.

Other People's Mistakes
Pay close attention when you first ride a bicycle with pedal clips. This is espescially important when slowing or stopping the bike. Although it is immensely amusing to slowly topple sideways (it really is), it is also quite dangerous and may damage the bicycle.